2021 – Year of the Lord’s Favour – Joseph | Sunday Service | Jan 17, 2021

The River of Life Assembly of God welcomes you to the Sunday service. We are glad that God has enabled us to praise and worship him.

Again we will be learning about the God’s favor and today we will focus on the “Life of Joseph”.

The story of Joseph is taken from the book of Genesis. If we read, we will realize that Joseph had been one of the favorite sons of Jacob.

His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

And in the later life we will realize that Josepg was elevated to the too, because God’s favour was upon it.

Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.

Instead of feeling hapoy, Joseph’s brothers became jealous of him and threw him in a pit. later we see Joseph was sold to a merchant.

Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

Joseph was a young boy and turned to be a slave. Surely, all of Joseph’s hopes must have been shattered when he must have realized he was a slave. Personal freedom was taken over by bondage of slavery in Joseph’s life. And later in he life he was put inside prison.

He had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;

The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.

But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

It didn’t matter where Joseph was, God was with him. As we see above in the verses 2 and 23 of Genesis 39.

So when we have the favour of God, we need not worry. Let people do whatever they want to plan, God will plan your life.

What would you do in a situation like Joseph? Let us learn from the life of Joseph. There are three specific things that we can learn from the life of Joseph.

No matter where he was or what was happening in his life, Joseph remained faithful towards God.

Many times in our life, when we go through troubled situations, we might give up on God. Joseph understood that it wasn’t Pharaoh or the keaders but it is God who could deliver him.

When we trust God, the Bible tells us that God will make a way for us and will set our path clear.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

People you trust may fail you…. God will bever fail you!

So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

Our enemies may strip us of outward distinctions and ornaments; but wisdom and grace cannot be taken from us. They may separate us from friends, relatives, and country; but they cannot take from us the presence of the Lord. They may shut us from outward blessings, rob us of liberty, and confine us in dungeons; but they cannot shut us out from communion with God, from the throne of grace, or take from us the blessings of salvation. Joseph was blessed, wonderfully blessed, even in the house where he was a slave. God’s presence with us, makes all we do prosperous. Good men are the blessings of the place where they live; good servants may be so, though mean and lightly esteemed. The prosperity of the wicked is, one way or other, for the sake of the godly. Here was a wicked family blessed for the sake of one good servant in it.

He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

Nobody would have known what happened in the secured closed doors. However Joseph was aware of presence of God. He wasn’t pleasing his master, but God.

Sometimes God takes us to a position where we may not be comfortable, but remaining Faithful is important.

He could have taken credit but he chose to give glory to God. He honored God and gave all the credit duly to God and God’s favor came upon Joseph. From prison to high chair, Joseph waa lifted.

When Pharaoh saw a dream, Joseph interpreted  it. God enabled Joseph to do that and Joseph gave credit to God saying that God helped him interpret.

And what happened, Pharaoh pit Joseph incharge of the whole land of egypt. Joseph was given a seal of authority, second in command next to Pharaoh.

When we talk about the favour of God, others are incluned to respect you and like this you.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

If you want to see the favour of God in your life, uou need to keep on holding to God.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

People will plan and plot, but God’s plan will never fail.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

You will have troubles and challenges, yet we can see the work of God in our lives. This means God will make a way for us. God lifted Joseph and He can transform your situation also.

No matter what you go through, remember that God is at work and we will see His grace.