By: Pastor Fola Odufuwa
We are the offspring of God. We resemble Him in every way because we
have been made in His similitude. We bear His image as men and we are on earth
as His representatives to reign in life. Two things are obvious from the
passage. God’s plan for man can be summarized with the words: PURITY and
PROSPERITY.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth. Gen.1:26
Our text contains the twin phrases: LET US and LET THEM. “Let us” refers
to PURITY, while “Let them” relates to PROSPERITY. God’s image has been engraved upon our
hearts, if we are genuinely converted, but we are to operate our lives AFTER
His likeness. The image is in the past but the likeness is in the here and now.
The image is complete but we are to manifest it by operating in the
likeness of God. We are to live our lives like we are GOD ON EARTH. God has a
role to play but you as well have work to do. What God will do, He will do. But
what you are expected to do, God will not do for you.
So there is PURITY and there is PROSPERITY. This two are directly linked together. 3 John
1:2 “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in
health, even as thy soul prospereth.” Unlike the people of the world, the
prosperity of believers is tied to the purity of their lives.
PURITY and PROSPERITY work hand in hand. You cannot have one without the
other. Though the image has been engraved upon you at conversion by God,
prosperity is a matter of choice – “let them”. What does “let them” mean?
“Them” refers to male and female Adam (Gen 1:27). Dominion is for “them”, not
devils, not angels, not Satan. Divine prosperity has been reserved for God’s
kind of man.
But that man cannot go farther than the quality of his wife. Whether you
will prosper in life is a direct function of your choice of marriage partner.
Purity can be achieved alone, but true Christian prosperity is reserved for
godly homes. Your wife can either make or mar your life.
In order to prosper, God placed man “over all the earth” and made him
responsible for everything that happens in the world.
All the authority of the
Godhead was vested in man so that he can become the master and ruler of the
earth. God gave man a power backup to bind and loose and gave him power was
over the sea, the air and the land. The earth has been given to man as a
possession and he has been ordered to prosper in it as long as He can maintain
the image of God. Let’s pursue the principle of PURITY and PROSPERITY in the
life of Joseph.
The Two Dreams (Genesis 37:5-11)
Joseph’s dreams spoke of PROSPERITY (v. 7) and PURITY (vs. 9). He saw
himself as a light that shines brighter than the sun, moon and all the stars
put together - someone who shines with brilliant rays in the midst of gross
darkness and perversion; someone whose light cannot be overwhelmed by the
powers of the night. He also saw himself as a fruitful vine – someone whose
prosperity covers the land and to whom other vines would naturally bow to.
Purity & Prosperity in the Life of
Joseph
In Gen 49:22-26, we see Joseph as a tree of life and as a warrior. We
also see five dimensions of prosperity which he operated: (a) blessings of
heaven above (divine favour and opportunity), (b) blessings of the deep
(material blessings), (c) blessings of the breasts (marital blessing), (d)
blessings of the womb (child-bearing, a godly family), and (e) blessings of the
fathers (biological and spiritual generational blessings).
Why was the prosperity of Joseph dimensioned in this way? Because the
prosperity of a believer goes beyond cash! It extends unto the “utmost bound of
the everlasting hills”, that is the realm of things that money cannot buy.
These blessings were however poured “on the crown of the head of him that was separate
from his brethren”.
Attributes of
Purity (Genesis 39:1-6; 37:1-6)
There are five qualities of purity that we read about in Joseph though
we shall focus in this short discussion on only three. The first and most
notable is:
1. Separation (Gen 49:26)
At two levels by a divine encounter
– first from unbelievers, and also from ungodly believers (1 Cor 5:11). An
unbeliever is of no use to you. There should be no communion, no fellowship, no
accord, no concord with the people of the world (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). We are
to hate what they love and love what they hate. Indeed your life has to be the
exact opposite of unbelievers. Joseph refused to be shaped by the pressure of
the peers around him.
Besides being separate from Gentiles,
he was also different from his elder brothers. In Gen 37:2 we read that “these
are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old…” Notice the
full stop after Jacob in Gen 37:2. 10 elder brothers were bypassed and Jacob’s
genealogy commenced with a very small boy who happened to be the 11th
son. Why did God skip 10 generations to start with Joseph? Joseph did not
indulge himself in the “evil” activities of his brothers.
He did not steal the father’s sheep. He
did not carry over and continue the mistakes of his earthly father. Joseph did
not carry over into his own life the evil genes of his elders; neither did he
have any traces of the seed of profanity of his uncle Esau. He did not practice polygamy (Gen 41:43), unlike Jacob
that had two wives and two concubines. He did not give birth endlessly to
children he could not train (Gen 41:50-52), unlike his father to whom sons were
born out of competition, strife and rivalry.
He was separate from his brothers who were fornicators, liars, and
ruthless fellows. Reuben had problems with secret unconfessed sins. Simeon and
Levi had problems with anger and cruelty. Judah had problems with sexual
immorality. Joseph was different. Why? He separated himself from them
all.
Though sinners enticed him, he consented not, even when they were his
very brothers. People, believers, even ministers that were older and more
accomplished in the faith - they could do anything, not Joseph. Joseph stood
separate and replaced Reuben to become the GENERATION OF JACOB.
Read: 6 Ways to
Win Your Man
2. Integrity (dependability/trustworthiness)
Joseph was honest, trustworthy and
reliable (39:4), unlike his father who was a 419man, a cheat, a supplanter and
a user of others. Joseph was dependable to Jacob in taking food to his
brothers. He was trusted by Potiphar with his cheques book, entire business,
household and properties. He was trusted by the keeper of the prison with ALL
the prisoners. He was trusted by Pharaoh with the management of the national
economy of Egypt – though he was a foreigner.
What is integrity? Integrity is the
ability to say no when enticed to do wrong – “but he refused” (Gen
37:8). Are you soft with sin? Do you make excuses for your weaknesses? Oh,
beloved brother, can you be trusted with anything? Until a man conquers his
lust for wealth, women and the world, he can have no integrity with which to
serve God and men faithfully. Read what Joseph said to Potiphar’s wife and
learn integrity.
3. Divine Presence:
The common report about Joseph was that
“the Lord was with him”. He was the father’s boy, “the son of his old age”, and
he, at a very tender age, settled the matter of who owned his life. He
cultivated a daily relationship with God and practiced the fear of God – even
though there was no church or fellowship to attend in Egypt.
No wonder Pharaoh
screamed, “Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of
God is?” (Gen 41:38). A man who has no lively relationship with God is
utterly useless to the world. Without the fear of God, you will regularly fall
into sin - you too will do anything. The presence of the Lord creates a
sin-free zone around your life. Praise God!
Attributes of Prosperity
Again, there are
up to seven qualities in Joseph that made him prosperous, but let’s just focus
on three because of time.
1.Diligence
Notice that Joseph was never idle. In
Genesis 37:3, we read that “the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his
hand.” Same phrase again in verse 4: “and all that he had he put into
his hand.” Even after he was made Prime Minister, Joseph was busy. Gen
41:46 “And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of
Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went
throughout all the land of Egypt.”
If you are going to prosper, there has
to be something in your hands. God has no use for lazy people and you must stop
making excuses for your failures or poverty. Prov 22:13 “The slothful man
saith, there is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.” Eph 4:28 “Let
him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his
hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that
needeth.” May I ask you like the Lord asked Moses, “What is that in thine
hand?”(Ex 4:2).
Read: How to be a Faithful Steward
2.Grace
What is grace? Gen 49:24 “But his bow
abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of
the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel).”
Though there was a bow in Joseph’s hand with which he was to fire arrows at
divine targets, he could never had achieved except for the fact that those
feeble hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God. That is grace.
Your hands in God’s hands helping you to do far much more than you ordinarily
can by your own power.
3.Wisdom
(discretion/inspiration/gifts/skills)
Joseph had wisdom or the ability to
know what to do at any given time by revelation and divine inspiration.
Everyone who came into contact with him recognized the wisdom of God in his
life. Just look at the way he handled his brothers when they got to Egypt. He
managed economic crisis with a wisdom he did not learn at any business school.
He was a solid problem-solver who lost no battle.
Let’s stop at this point. As we pray this evening, may I ask you to
commit yourself to a lifetime of PURITY and PROSPERITY. This is God’s plan for
you. You are a leader not a follower. You are a ruler not a subject; a victor
not a victim; a champion not a loser; a lender not a borrower; a head not a
tail. Are you ready to enter into God’s will for your life? Let us pray.
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