David Diga Hernandez - Divine Tests

So today, I’m going to be talking about passing divine tests. Really, the Lord wants to take you to the next level in your ministry; He wants to elevate you in the anointing in which you walk. He aims to advance you in life, in your relationships, and in your goals. Some of you have been blessed with businesses. God wants to help you reach the next level in business. Whatever God has blessed you with, you can grow, receive more, and be responsible for more as you learn to pass divine tests. We’re going to be looking at the life of Joseph, and we’re actually going to examine a lot of scripture today, so please go to Genesis chapter 37. We’ll be going through more scripture than usual in Spirit Church, but I think that’s a plus here. I want to talk to you about why God will promote someone or why God will increase the power in someone’s life. I understand that in Christ, we have all things; in Christ, we have received everything, and when He died and gave His life, He sacrificed once and for all to give us everything we need to live the Christian life. I’m not saying that God will reward what I would call a faction of the spiritually elite—if ever there were such a faction. I’m simply saying that God will give you larger influence. God will allow you to witness greater miracles. God will take you to more places; He will enable you to touch more lives as you are faithful in the little. The scripture tells us that God gives us more, and so I’m talking about nine tests—nine divine tests—that God will put you through. We at least see these tests in the life of Joseph. Now, I’m not saying these are all the tests that God has, but certainly, these are ones I’ve experienced in my own life, and Joseph actually experienced them in his. It’s amazing to me that people talk about going through circumstances in their lives and perceive it as a negative thing, while the scripture says that everything we go through works perseverance and ultimately helps to build our faith and mature us spiritually as we face these issues. I believe that God will do more in opposition; He will accomplish more in your pain than through almost anything else. In the life of Joseph, we see in Genesis 37. Let’s go ahead and read Genesis 37:1-11. This is what the scripture says: «So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner. This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was 17 years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half-brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some bad things his brothers were doing. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day, Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph: a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him. One night, Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.» So I want you to try to imagine—already in this home, there is some tension surrounding the relationship regarding Joseph, his brothers, and his father, because Jacob has favor for Joseph, as demonstrated by the coat of many colors he had given him as a gift. If you have the favor of God upon your life, you’re going to stand out among the rest. Not only will you stand out as blessed because your Father loves you and has favor on you, but people will often come to hate you due to the blessing and favor you carry. The further you go in the favor of God, the more God rewards you, and the more people will hate you for what God has given to you because they don’t have it. Now, I believe that anyone can become a favored person of God, as long as they obey Him. The scripture tells us that favor can be acquired through obedience; favor can be gained by pleasing God, and faith pleases God. There are many ways you can become favored by God, and that’s a totally different lesson for another time. But we see that Joseph does have this distinguishing mark—the favor of his father placed upon him in the form of a coat of many colors. His brothers dislike him; they are jealous. His brothers can clearly see that their father has favor on Joseph, and this only makes things worse. The scripture says, «Go to verse 5.» Genesis 37:5: «One night, Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.» Wait until you hear the dream. The dream goes like this: «Listen to this dream, he said. We were out in the field tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly, my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine.» Now, can you imagine—amidst all that tension, here we see Joseph presenting a dream that basically implies his brothers will bow before him as their ruler?