Keion Henderson - Turning the Page

Somebody shouted, «This is the year of elevation!» In Genesis chapter 39, we’re going to begin at verse number 1. Somebody say, «I’m going higher!» I want you to make up in your mind that, come hell or high water, you refuse to end this year the way you started it. You better put this year on notice early -"Till 2018, I’m coming early and I’m coming often, going to the next level.» The Bible says in Genesis chapter 39, verse 1, «And Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down there.» And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was prosperous; he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. I want you to hear this because normally when people preach the story of Joseph, they either preach chapter 37 when he entered slavery or they preach chapter 50 when he came out. Very rarely have you heard anybody preach this particular text. I don’t want you to think that just because you know something about this story, you understand this text. This text is different from the other perceptions of Joseph. The Bible says in verse 2, «And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man.» How can the Lord call him prosperous when he just entered slavery? I’m telling you, you have miscalculated your situation. He has just been thrown into a pit by his brothers; his coat has just been ripped from his body. They have put animal blood on it; his father thinks he is dead. He has no money, he has no home; he has now been sold by his brothers to the Ishmaelites. Now Potiphar comes and purchases him as a bond slave to put him in the dungeon. And the Bible says, through all of that, the Lord was with him, and he was prosperous. Now you’ll never, you’re looking at it wrong. His master saw that the Lord was with him. So, it was because he does not-that when you don’t feel like the Lord is with you, your enemy still sees it. Verse 5 says, «And the master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.» Joseph found grace in his sight, and we were just talking about this. He served him and made him overseer of his house, and all that he had put in his hand. And it came to pass, from that time, that he had made him overseer of his house and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the man. You have to understand that the Egyptians were polytheistic; they served multiple gods. Joseph’s anointing was so powerful that when the man made a mistake and picked the right person for the wrong reason, his anointing was so strong that God blessed everything in his house. Do you know that you’ve got so much anointing that every room you walk into has to be blessed because you walked in it? Touch your neighbor and say, «You better be glad you’re sitting next to me because everything on this row is going to be blessed!» Who am I talking to? Just look at him and say, «I don’t know what you’re going through, but evidently the Lord loves you because He lets you sit next to me.» I want to talk on this subject: for every person who understands that you are just one moment away from a miracle. I want you to help me preach this, and I want you to look at your neighbor and say, «Neighbor, Pastor wants to talk about turning the page.» Oh God, help me in this place today! God’s about to turn the page on your life. Somebody shout, «Turning the page! Turning the page!» Hallelujah! From chapter 37 to chapter 39, the life of Joseph has changed drastically. When you start chapter 37, his life isn’t a boat of bliss; his father has identified him out of 12 sons to be his most precious commodity. For some, it’s right to say that all of the other brothers had on white tunics-white robes, regular, maybe elbow-length, maybe mid-calf in length — but plain white. Somehow, this father picks his youngest boy when history teaches us that the rights should go to the oldest. He skips over son one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and goes to the eleventh boy. Somehow, through the favor of God, he adorns him with the coat of many colors. Some say it was a purple coat, possibly because purple was a symbol of royalty, but the original translation says it was a coat of many colors because purple is made of many colors. He 's got royalty, but his robe doesn’t stop at the elbow; it goes down to the wrist. It doesn’t stop at the knee or the calf; it stretches to the ground, making a differentiation between him and his other brothers. He has so much favor on his life that his father is willing to display it, even if it makes the other brothers mad. You see, when God gets ready to bless you, He’s going to have to make somebody mad. You won 't deserve it; you won’t be the oldest; you won’t have the most experience. But favor is when God breaks the rules to put a coat on your shoulders. Chapter 37 starts off good for Joseph; it seems like it’s going to be a smooth ride. But whenever you get favored…