David Diga Hernandez - 7 Trials of the Called: Jealousy

Now in Genesis chapter 40, we continue looking at the progress of the life of Joseph as he begins to walk toward the destiny that God has for him. There’s a destiny that God has given to you, and you are walking toward that destiny with every act of obedience. Every step of obedience brings you closer to the destiny and call of God for the fulfillment of His plans for your life. As you progress day by day in accomplishing the will of God on earth, you begin to pass tests, and as you pass these tests, you are promoted in the spirit. As I have said during this series before, we are examining the life of Joseph, and we are seeing him pass various tests on his way to the fulfillment of the dream that God had given him. At the same time, I’m sharing some experiences from my life that will hopefully help and encourage you as we look at these points. Now, go to Genesis chapter 40. This is where Joseph is already in prison, and where I discussed in number five of this series the test of blessings. Joseph went from Potiphar’s house to the prison, and what looked like a demotion in the natural was a promotion in the spirit. Even though he gave up blessings, he was actually promoted. I encourage you to look at number five in this series, but let’s go now to Genesis chapter 40, beginning at verse 1. Again, Joseph is in prison, and he has been there for a while. This is where the story picks up. The scripture says, «Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and chief baker offended their royal master. Pharaoh became angry with these two officials, and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them while they were in prison.» Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset. «Why do you look so worried today?» he asked them. They replied, «We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.» «Interpreting dreams is God’s business,» Joseph replied. «Go ahead and tell me your dreams.» So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream first. «In my dream,» he said, «I saw a grapevine in front of me. The vine had three branches and began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.» «This is what the dream means,» Joseph said. «The three branches represent three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cupbearer. Please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you; mention me to Pharaoh so he might let me out of this place.» Now, the baker also had a dream, but his interpretation was not in his favor. In fact, Joseph interpreted the baker’s dream and told him that he would be executed, which indeed happened. Recall here that Joseph asked the cupbearer to remember him when he finally stood before Pharaoh. When he was finally restored to his position and released from prison, he was told at that time to remember Joseph. This was Joseph asking the cupbearer to remember him for having interpreted his dream. The scripture tells us in verse 20, «Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoned his chief cupbearer and chief baker to join the other officials. He then restored the chief cupbearer to his former position so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup, but Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had predicted when he interpreted his dream.» Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought. I want you to think about this: Joseph was in prison longer than the cupbearer. Joseph was in prison for quite some time, then the cupbearer came to prison, had a dream, and Joseph interpreted that dream. The cupbearer was then restored to his rightful position before Pharaoh. This is amazing to me because I see that the cupbearer is receiving that which Joseph is believing for. So the question of jealousy is not about whether or not you can celebrate another minister of the gospel. Let me tell you the truth: ministers of the gospel can be very competitive, and it’s sad. It’s not just in my generation; it has been in former generations. It’s something that I pray will be set aside in our generation because if we are to focus on winning souls and what truly matters in the kingdom of God, then we must set aside our egos, ambitions, and desires to be the top person or the center of attention. I don’t care what any preacher tells you; everyone struggles with ambition and ego because that is human nature. We must live close to Christ to overcome that. Now, Joseph interprets this man’s dream. So, imagine being the one to declare to somebody that they are going to receive what you have been asking for.