Joseph the (Almost) Perfect Man Part 4 “A Prosperous Man”
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1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
Introduction
Introduction
How do you call a slave a prosperous man?
The unique thing about Joseph is no matter where you put him, no matter what the conditions were, he ended up the winner.
Prosperity is not being a person with no opposition, it is being a person who overcomes opposition.
Prosperity (Hebrew)
(1) to go over or through (as a river)
(2) to attack, to fall upon, used of the Spirit of Jehovah falling upon a man.
A river finds a way.
A man or woman who has been chosen by God for a particular purpose will be prosperous, because their purpose will not fail.
Eleazar was sent by Abraham with a purpose, to find Isaac a wife, and he prospered.
56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.
Why did this Message succeed? God’s servant was prosperous.
Prosperity in Potiphar’s House
3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
6 And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
When you are prosperous in what God has done for you, look for the devil to tempt you.
Remember when Joseph was sold into slavery, he was a 17 year old unmarried man.
7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
This would have been normal behavior in Egypt. Normal isn’t always right.
Just because you see it on a movie doesn’t make it right.
8 But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
I have responsibility.
9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
This is integrity, doing the right thing for the right reasons.
10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
Opportunity.
The best way to keep your integrity is to limit opportunities for temptation.
Many times I’d go to houses and there are women standing out there. And I go to the house, knock on the door, and a sister would come to the door, “Come in, Brother Branham.” If her husband is not there, ’less it’s a case of sickness and somebody with me, I don’t go. 62-0601 - "Taking Sides With Jesus"
Billy Graham was known for his integrity. Why? He protected himself. His rule stated:
The “man of God” will not be alone with a woman other than his wife or relative (mom, daughter, etc). He will not share meals with a woman alone, will not counsel a woman alone, will not go places with a woman alone.
Every man, especially every young man is going to deal with this obstacle.
12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
This was absolutely the right thing to do. No amount of rules are going to keep you out of every situation. It takes integrity of the heart.
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Why do you need to flee? Because you are human.
It isn’t sin to be tempted.
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
We overcome by humility.
Jesus told us how to do it. He overcome. Overcome means “to stand the test,” that’s right, like all the old saints did; like Jesus did: amidst of all of His enemies, He stood the test. Everything He was tested against, He stood it.
In the very face of sickness, and Him being Messiah, He healed them. In the face of death, He brought it back to life. In the face of Calvary, His Own death, He defeated it by surrendering Himself.
Why? By the Word. Said, “You destroy this Temple, and I’ll raise it up in three days.” The Word said so. See? And in the presence of death, He defeated it. He overcome death. In the presence of hell, He defeated hell and overcome hell.
In the presence of the grave, He overcome the grave. Why? All by the Word, and humility. Oh, my! There’s the real Man. There’s the One to make your example. See? He defeated everything, overcome it.
Look. Temptation was for Him. You know that? The Bible said, “He was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin.” He was tempted by drinking. He was tempted by women. He was tempted by everything that could be tempted by. He was tempted by everything that we are. He was a Man, and yet you couldn’t put a mark on Him.
Overcome means “to recognize the devil in every one of his tricks.” Lot of people says, “There is no devil. It’s just a thought.” Don’t you believe that. There’s a real devil. He’s just as real as you are or anybody. A real devil, and you must recognize him real. You must know he’s a devil.
Then, the same time that you recognize him, and know that he’s a devil and he’s against you, then, to overcome, you must recognize that the God in you is greater and mightier than he is, that the One that’s in you has already overcome him.
And, by His grace, you are more than a match for him. Amen. There’s real overcoming, when you recognize.
You look back, say, “I’m doing this and I’m doing that,” then, no, you, you’re defeated. “But there’s no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, that walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Then you realize that you’ve overcome. 63-0825M - "How Can I Overcome?"
Don’t dwell on it. Flee!
Paul understood who he was without Christ.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
My flesh is still a sinner but I don’t have to give in to that, I’ve got to do something about that.
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Paul had the Holy Ghost.
I’ve had the Holy Ghost for years. You can’t look at a woman and her half dressed…I carry a little cross in my car, many of you seen it. Somebody said to me, “Are you a Catholic?” Where did the Catholics ever get an option on the cross? The cross means “Christian.” 58-0927 - "Why Are We Not A Denomination?"
The other day, Friday, wife and I was going to the store. I don’t mean to harp on this. But as we went down the street, I just kept turning my head one way for the other, naked women.
I promised God when I was a blind man, if He’d heal my eyes I’d look at the thing was right. And I keep a little cross hanging in my car. When I see such as that, I look at the cross and say, “O God, That’s my Refuge,” as I looked at the cross. 59-0628M - "A Deceived Church, By The World"
This didn’t go well for Joseph.
She accused him of assaulting her, and he ended up in prison.
The almost perfect type of Christ was sitting in a prison falsely accused.
Prosperity in the Prison
20 And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
21 But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.
The river found a new route.
Joseph was the son of prosperity, He was a type of Christ.
Remember, he was the son of prosperity. Everything that he did prospered. Whether it was prison, or wherever it was, it come out right.
And hasn’t He promised for His children that He’d make everything work together for the good? Whether it was sickness, prison house, death, sorrows, whatever it was, that it would work for the good to them that loved Him.
He promised it, and it must be so. It’s got to be there. It’s figurative, spoke to us in Him. He was that perfect Image of God. 64-0705 - "The Masterpiece"
1 Blessed is the man That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
(Planted)
Think of that perfect Tree! David looked back and saw It. He said, “It’s standing by the rivers of Water. He bringeth forth His leaves in His season, in His fruit; it shall not be cast, it won’t wither. Whatsoever He doeth shall prosper.” He was the Son of prosperity.
Joseph was a type of Him. He was the Antitype of Joseph. Everywhere Joseph went, it prospered.
Same thing with Jesus, His Word. “My Word will prosper, and It won’t return to Me void. It’ll accomplish that which I purposed It for.” See? He was the Word. The Word was sent to the earth, by God, and It will accomplish exactly what God sent It for. 62-0422 - "The Restoration Of The Bride Tree"
9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.
The Word is the son of prosperity!
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, Call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts: And let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, And the snow from heaven, And returneth not thither, But watereth the earth, And maketh it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, But it shall accomplish that which I please, And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
12 For ye shall go out with joy, And be led forth with peace: The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
His Word finds a way.
Prosperity sometimes looks like a prison. Sometimes it looks like a cross.
Jesus died on the cross, and when He died He was raised to the right hand of the Father. His earthly estate was a robe they gambled over and split in two.
The rich young ruler chose physical prosperity over the Word and He died rich, but lifted up his eyes in hell.
Let me choose the prosperity of the Word!
In a desert climate proximity to water led to prosperity. Wars were fought over wells.
A woman came to the well looking for a more prosperous life.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
He said, “But if you knew…” Other words, like this, “If you knew how close you was to the Fountain of Life, I’d give you water that you wouldn’t come here to draw. I’ll transplant you, you Samaritan. I’ll bring you, you sinner.”
That’s the unbeliever, and doesn’t believe in It. “If you’ll only let Me pluck you up this morning, He said, I’ll plant you by the rivers of water. I’ll put you in a position, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that you’ll believe every Word that I say is the Truth.
You’ll just let Me pluck you up, this morning, you’d be a good branch. You don’t belong in that wild vineyard. You belong over here, so let Me pluck you up; plant you in My Name, by the side of the rivers, every tributary of God’s Word.
For every Word of God is true. Every Divine promise is the Truth. I’ll plant you by the rivers of one water, one God. And you’ll bring forth fruit, in your season. Your leaves shall not wither. And whatsoever you do will prosper. You’ll stand when there’s no other place to stand, you’ll stand, anyhow, knowing that God made the promise.
Let Me pluck you up,” He said, “and plant you over here by this Water, that you don’t have to run to these creed places, and denominational places, to find, you can’t find It there, anyhow.
Let Me pluck you up, by this old dry well here, that you have to take tin buckets, and rattle and fuss, and drink a little, and come back and drink a little. I’ll give you Eternal Life, joy, just like a well, bubbling up unto everlasting Life. Let Me. Let Me do that for you,” Christ said to the woman, the sinner. 59-0920 - "Planting The Vine And Where To Plant It"
37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Do you want to be prosperous? Let Him give you living water, that will overcome every obstacle to reach the sea.
