Season 4 Genesis 39: 1-5 (Joyelle Lee)
To watch the replay of this bible study please visit:
OR
Gen 39 1-5
“When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. (chief of police); Potiphar was head of Pharaoh’s personal security force, the king of Egypt.
2 The Lord was WITH Joseph, so he succeeded (prosperous/ BLESSED) in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.
3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was WITH Joseph,
(Joseph must’ve told Potipher about the Living God since Egyptians worshipped multiple gods.)
giving him success (BLESSINGS) in everything he did.
(God doesn’t bless us to make us “happy” but so that we can bless others & give Him all the glory for it!)
4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.
5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to BLESS Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake.
All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished.
6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!”
Remember:
This is a real story.
A real person.
With real emotions.
With real pain.
Very real trauma.
Learn to sharpen your empathy skills by entering into his pain — & not disassociating/ compartmentalizing from Joseph’s story.
Joseph was sold as a slave.
Looked at as a piece of property & not a human.
Joseph was 17 years old (motherless child) when he was sold into slavery (Genesis 37:2 (https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria=Genesis+37.2&t=NKJV))
The irony-
when it LOOKS like God had forgotten Joseph; God was actually WITH Joseph!
What times in your life did it look like God abandoned/ forgotten you— not realizing He was instead WITH you?
Jesse elevator story
(The one sheep)
John 14:16 (JAMIE)
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate (we have a TRIUNE TEAM) who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it (1) isn’t looking for him and (2) doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives WITH you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.”
it was The withness of God that changed my life
more than “uprooting roots” (explain)
More than obtaining more knowledge ….
More than praying away external circumstances…
It was knowing my sins, failures, and mishaps — I didn’t DETEST Him but INVITED Him!
“I didn’t come to call the righteous, but the SINNERS!” - Jesus (Mark 2:17)
My Orphan spirit caused significant LOSS in my life (SATAN IS A THIEF)
Worked at an orphanage— examined how they
Believed
Thought
Felt
Chose/decided
If you BELIEVE God isn’t with you— no matter how many times you change your STINKIN THINKIN… you’ll NEVER be free!!!!!
2 cor 10:5 (take every thought captive) is often cherry-picked & taken out of context!!
It took TEN chapters for Paul to explain the character & enoughness of God FIRST (your belief) before talking about capturing thoughts !!
Have An INTENTIONAL EXPECTANCY that God’s “good” hand is on you!
Every room you enter, he’s already prepared it.
Every unmet need not offered to you— he’s ready to fill it.
Every Loss— He’s ready to deeply comfort you.
Every stupid decision— He’s already written plan B.
Every physical ailment— He’s ready to use it.
Every fear— he’s ready to frighten it!
Every shame- he’s ready to clean it w/ His hyssop branch.
Every addiction— he’s ready to unfasten its chains!
Every pit— He’s ready to climb in & rescue you.
Every limitation— He’s ready to reveal He’s unlimited.
Joseph was in Potiphar’s house for 11 years.
• it can take 11+ years for an acorn to become an oak tree
• BUT Mushrooms grow overnight.
God compares us to a tree— not a mushroom!!!
“We have a lot of mushroom Christians!”
“ You will know them by their fruit!”
Mushrooms don’t produce fruit!
Joy & sorrow = married.
Ezra 3:13
“The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noise that could be heard far in the distance.”
Joseph was “BLESSED”:
Psalm84
(Kristi McLelland)
1. Blessed = “those who DWELL (marry, abide, stay, cling, WAIT, STAY, TRUST, walk, obey, rely, revere, repent) in your house and in your presence, they will be singing your praises all day long. (84:4)
Joseph TOLD Potiphar about HIS God!
Phone -3x wk
Journal - took w/ me
Non-negotiable = read word (I was too scared of myself not to!)
JOHN 15;4-5
• Remain (ABIDE) in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you CANNOT be fruitful unless you REMAIN (ABIDE, WAIT, STAY) in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who REMAIN in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
2. Blessed = “Those who strength is in you. (THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY “STRENGTH “ (Nehemiah)- not a feeling but a PLACE!!!. Strength means my “SAFE Place.” “My Shelter.” “My Rock. “ “my anchor,” “my guard/guide,” “my safe haven.” ) ……“And (her) heart that’s set on a pilgrimage (a highway) to Jerusalem. When they walk through the VALLEY of Weeping/ Baca (just passing through/ not my destination) (“even though I walk THROUGH the valley, I will fear no evil— for you are WITH ME!” Psalm 23), “ you will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.” (My tears become the watering source of new life! - (grieving) (84:5-6)
* Jerusalem = “the valley of vision” (is 22:1) (Jerusalem is on a city surrounded by 3 VALLEYS)
In order to get to Jerusalem, you first have to go through the valley.
*JERUSALEM= “the place of PEACE.”
Valley
the valley is the JOURNEY thru (not destination)
STORY: “You HAVE to go through in order to GET TO!”
“God doesn’t lead you through the valley to WOUND you, but to WOO you.”
⁃ David didn’t write one single psalm while living in the “safe” Philistine land- only in his VALLEY & cave & times of repentance.
3. Blessed = “the one who trusts in you.” = I can’t TRUST God if I believe He’s not WITH ME!!!!
Apple tree story— (6 years to produce apple!)
Telling a “newly planted tree” to bear the fruit of trust is not only impossible but grossly misleading. It causes us further shame, BUT— they’re not designed or wired to yet trust.
God desires to take them on a journey, in the dark, of pulling down their root system, little by little, so that they are one day unshakeable, well watered & bearing fruit in & out of season.
Don’t tell/pray someone to just trust— pray they’ll experience & receive God’s love — The “God WITH us! (Emmanuel)
TRUST= time + believable behavior
We all want the BLESSING— but are we willing to “go THROUGH the valley of weeping— towards the city of peace??”
Double portion
Elijah /Elisha story= 2 Kings 2:9-10 “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said.” (6 words!)
1 Sam 1:5-6 (Hannah received double portion— but couldn’t CONCEIVE) “But to Hannah, he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.”
Isaiah 61:7 (https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Isaiah/61/7) Instead of your SHAME, you will have a double portion, And instead of HUMILIATION, they will shout for joy over their double portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, Everlasting joy will be theirs.”
they FIRST experienced SHAME & HUMILIATION (before the double blessing)
Zechariah 9:12 (https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Zechariah/9/12)
“…This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.”
“Double for your trouble.”
but instead, we want: “double w/ NO trouble!”
You. Can’t. Have. Both.
John 16:33
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you WILL have trouble. But take heart(be undaunted, courageous, filled w/ joy)! I have overcome the world.” ~ Jesus
pastor STORY = if you want double portion, you have to receive DOUBLE=
Double hardships,
Double criticism,
Double warfare,
Double attacks on kids, marriage, family
Double sacrifices,
Double sleepless nights,
Double tears
Double loss of friends
Double Gossip/ slander
Double Loneliness (having to study instead of go out)
Double CANCELLATION
Double Misunderstood
“The barn is so pretty” =
“there was nothing pretty about getting here!” (Jamie )
had to quit a job to go to California
Had to become a 6 yr old walking on a plane
Had to BREAK DOWN on public beach
“Gets to” wake up at 4 am every morning to be in a secret place w/ Jesus
Had to experience public shaming on business platform after sharing testimony
Had to OFFER God entire savings to build barn (share story)
2 cor 4:17
“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce (for us) a GLORY (of a double portion) that vastly outweighs the sufferings— and will last forever!
BUT GOD’S redemption plan always involves:
The vault (the pit)
The valley (the journey)
The victory
Vault (Joseph’s pit) SHAME Places my soul in a vault!
the VAULT is satan’s prison system.
The vault is what keeps me hiding. I put secret things behind the vaults of my heart.
If Satan can keep you from God’s secret Place- he’ll keep you from revealing YOUR secret places where Shame & fear & insecurity, & LIES live!
Psalm 91:1
⁃ “He that DWELLS in the secret place of the most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
• THE VALLEY
• THE Victory (leading Gods people to freedom)
ENDING:
Ez 47:13 (Ezekiel’s prophetic dream:)
“Thus says the Lord God
, “This
shall
be the boundary by which you
shall
divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel;
Joseph shall have TWO portions.”
Double for his trouble!