|
Part 1 - A Costly Coat of Dreams and Visions
Genesis 37:5-7 - "Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, 'Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.'"
I would like to give you a thumbnail sketch of Joseph. Joseph’s mantle consists of revelation and dreams. God wants to release Joseph mantles and quicken dreams and visions for you individually. As you know, Joseph as a young man who was very loved by his father. He was one who had dreams that provoked his brothers to jealousy. His father gave him a beautiful multi-colored coat, which signified him as a favorite of the father. As you know, the brothers were very jealous and they threw Joseph into the pit. As he was in the pit, some of the brothers even wanted to kill Joseph so they could get rid of him altogether. Joseph was then sold into slavery.Not Just Jealousy
Many of us have been like Joseph. Many of us have had dreams and visions - we’ve had a lot of zeal without wisdom. We would put the things forth and be so excited that we got anything at all. Then others would judge us and come against us.
There would be jealousy that would start to take us down. Yet we say, “But, it’s just jealousy”. You realize that the Pharisees were jealous of Jesus and that jealousy put Jesus on the Cross, which brought forth murder? Many of us know what it is like to be misunderstood. Here’s Joseph as a young man who lost his natural family. They plotted against him. He lost his reputation. He even lost the opportunity to be raised in his own nation with Israeli heritage and customs. He was sent into a foreign land. Many of you have also lost your reputation and people have taken you out. Many of you have had the very brothers you served in the house of the Lord be jealous of you and throw you into a pit and cast judgments against you. There was a cry in you that would say, “But no, I love you. Don’t judge me. I love the living God just like you do. Maybe I was ignorant, but don’t take me out.” Yet Joseph was taken out, wasn’t he?Friends, we will often be misunderstood for our gifts and jealousy can easily provoke villainous actions. Our response to others' actions is often the most catalytic in drawing someone toward or away from Christ. Value comes in developing the wisdom to know when to share a dream or vision and when it will not further the purposes of the Kingdom of God. Most importantly, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and know that the tribulations you face are simply preparations for the garments you will be wearing in the future. Prayer: Lord, thank you for blessing me with gifts to prophesy through dreams and visions. I pray that you will strengthen the revelatory gifts in me, placing Joseph’s mantle upon my shoulders. Lord, guard my heart from the pain of being misunderstood and judged. Show me how to love others even when they turn against me. Holy Spirit, guide me in wisdom and discernment to know when and how to share the dreams and visions you have placed in me. Part 2- Betrayed by the Very House He Served
Jeremiah 17:5-8: "This is what the LORD says:
'Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.'
'But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.'"
|
|
Joseph Becomes a Humble Servant
Then as Joseph was removed from the pit and brought onto the slave train, he served in Potipher’s house. Many of us have served in churches for years and years and yet it seemed like we were always out of place. But, we couldn’t deny our God. We wanted to have our whole family unified, but there was that wrestling, that tension. What do you do with your giftedness? What do you do with the prophetic dreams God has given you? What do you do when you are judged for praying for people who are then healed and delivered?
As you know, Joseph had great favor in Potipher’s house until Potipher’s wife lied and said that Joseph had tried to seduce her. How many of you have been lied about or wrongly accused? How many of you have spent years and years serving in the house of the Lord, but only just a fraction of your giftedness has come forth?
Like Pressure inside a Mountain of Fire
You have learned how to weigh your words. You have learned how not to give too many prophecies or your head would be taken off. You have learned how to be mediocre because if you were mediocre, maybe you wouldn’t be kicked out of another church. Maybe they wouldn’t mind so much if you sang or gave a word occasionally, but you couldn’t be a high flyer, radical, or stir things up. Yet there is that cry in you, like pressure inside of a mountain of fire, of giftedness, that cry to be understood, yet there is no outlet. So inside, you start to die. Often, those you should be able to trust most to encourage you and challenge you to step out in faith with what the Holy Spirit is showing you are the quickest to act to squash those gifts with jealousy and unbelief. God has a perfect plan for you and He works ALL things together for good, so do not be discouraged when you get trampled a little along the way. In fact, Joseph's situation is pretty tolerable at Potipher's house compared to the trial he has before him. But good things are not far down the road....Prayer:Lord, help me to walk in forgiveness when I feel betrayed. Teach me how to trust You to guide my destiny and affirm who I am as a creation in Your image. Give me a servant’s heart – a heart that’s humble, free from bitterness, and pleased to work for Your glory from the side wings and back alleys regardless of recognition or position. Help me to remember that I am a citizen of Heaven (Phil 3:20) and it is only there that I will truly feel “at home”. Until then, arm me with the Godly boldness and courage to use every gift You grant me in Your perfect will and timing. Make my cry, “More, Lord!”
Part 3 - Called Forth into Destiny Genesis 40:8-9 "'We both had dreams,' they answered, 'but there is no one to interpret them.' Then Joseph said to them, 'Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.'"After Potipher had Joseph sent into the dungeon, he was there for many years. During this time, the Pharoah’s chief cupbearer and baker were also imprisoned. They both had dreams. As you may know, Joseph prophetically interpreted their dreams. As Joseph foretold, the cupbearer returned to the Pharoah’s court. Before he left, Joseph said to him, “Don’t forget me. Don’t forget that I gave you a word about how your life would be spared.” Completely forgotten, Joseph stayed in the dungeon two more years, even though he had given the right prophetic word. Born to Soar High
How many of you have been locked away in deep dungeons? It’s almost as though you've been put in a penalty box by the family of God with no seeable way to move powerfully in the things of the Lord. You learned how to accept intimidation. You learned how to let the fear of man cover you up. Instead of wearing that radical Joseph coat, that prophetic mantle of dreams and visions, you were forced into a coat of judgment and jealousy by people trying to tie you down and clip your wings. They said you weren’t really an eagle and the coat of jealousy became your cage, but everyone knows that an eagle will die in captivity. | |
Finally, after two long years of waiting, Pharaoh had dreams no one could interpret and the cupbearer remembered Joseph. In one day, Joseph was brought out of the dungeon. After he interpreted the dream, he was dressed in white linen. He was given a signet ring, and he became second to Pharaoh. Once again, he had on a mantle. He was even put into the Pharaoh’s chariot where men would run before him saying, “Make way, make way.” Isn’t that our cry? That there would be men that would go before us and speak out, “Make way, make way, she comes. Make way, she comes.” Isn’t it interesting that Joseph’s dreams, visions and prophetic mantle, or the coat his father gave him, was really what brought the jealousy that put him in the pit? It was also a prophetic word to Pharaoh and a governmental word to save a nation. Once again, a mantle was put on him and he was given government.Bitter or Sweet?
People, the higher your birthright and the higher God has for you, the more He has to work a death inside of you. You see, there’s a price behind the anointing. There’s a price to the high callings of the Lord. Joseph was enslaved in a dungeon for thirteen years, from age seventeen to thirty. Realize that his brothers didn’t see him until he was probably over forty! My cry to you is, “Are you going to come out of the dungeon bitter or sweet?" The Lord is saying, “Come forth, Joseph, come forth. Come forth with the mantle of revelation and impartation. I have government for many of you. I need to ask you once again, when you come forth, will your voice have an edge to it, will there be bitterness where you say, ‘It’s not been fair’.” You’re right, it hasn’t been fair. You have been used in the church. You have been used in your natural family, but are you going to be bitter or sweet? Prayer: Lord, reveal the hidden places in me where I am harboring bitterness. Kill any pride or unforgiving attitudes. Instead, give me a heart that's humble, loving and sweet. I choose to forgive those who have cloaked me with jealousy or judgments. Lord, call me forth! Call me forth from the things that have kept me in captivity. I want to soar like an eagle in all the plans You have for me! Amen.
|
