Keith Battle - The Gift of Favor - Part 5

I’m going to conclude this series, The Gift of Favor, today. Favor is a gift; it needs to be stewarded. So, I’m returning to Genesis chapter 39 as we conclude and will also look at Genesis 45 to connect the end of Joseph’s story to the moment we are in. If you are physically able, I invite you to stand with me as I read from the Word of God today. You can do that now. We stand as a sign of reverence for His voice; the fact that God stooped down from glory to speak to us is amazing. The fact that He will give specific, pertinent, detailed Rhema for your life is incredible. Has anyone ever gone to church and felt as though God was speaking directly to you? If so, I hope you recognize that it is God because nobody on this stage knows you well enough. We don’t know you like that, so how could we speak that specifically? That’s God. And I say, if the God of the universe is going to speak to me, that’s worth standing for. I can stand in attention to that. God, You have my attention. Speak, Lord; Your servants are listening to what You have to say. I’m not going to read all of Genesis 39; it’s a long chapter. Instead, I will read verses 20 to 23 from the New International Version (NIV), followed by Genesis 45, verses 7 through 10, from the New Living Translation. Here we go: Verse 20 of Genesis 39 (NIV) says, «Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.»

Genesis 45, beginning at verse 7, New Living Translation, has Joseph speaking to his brothers after not seeing them for over 20 years. He didn’t try to get back at them for all they had done to him. This is what he says: «God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So, it was God who sent me here, not you, and He is the one who made me an advisor to Pharaoh, the manager of his entire palace, and the governor of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and tell him, 'This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt, so come down to me immediately.' Verse 10: 'You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me, with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own.'»

In summation, Genesis 39 is Joseph’s «before» picture, while Genesis 45 is his «after» picture. You may be seated.

Let me show some love to my baby’s mama, my bride, my girlfriend, my ride or die—whatever you want to call it. She has been with me through it all. Love you, baby! That’s my bride, Vicky. Just remember, the service is back 30 minutes. Y’all still like me? Just messing with you all—I’m joking! Really, I am. It’s a little comedy inside me that sometimes lacks self-control, but I bring him along to lighten the room when needed. That was, however, totally inappropriate, and I apologize. Let’s proceed, as some of you might be able to fight, and I’m not looking for trouble.

I’m going to make five observations today as we conclude this series. The first observation I’d like to make is this: Favor doesn’t just come down; it also blesses up. What I mean by that is favor kind of moves like this—it is a wave that comes down from God to a person, and when it reaches that person, it always goes through someone to get there. That is why you cannot be poor with people and expect to be good with favor. Your favor is going to come from people. This isn’t in my notes; it must be for this audience right here. So, with Joseph, the favor came from God through Potiphar to Joseph. Potiphar is not the source; God is the source, and Potiphar is a resource. Never get those two confused. God is your source; people are a resource.

When it got to Joseph, it didn’t stop with him. He was meant to bless others. What is supposed to happen is that favor doesn’t get stuck with you; it is meant to bless those whom you support and serve. I think this is very important because many of us think favor is just for us, supposed to make our lives better. In reality, when you have favor, it doesn’t just improve your life; it also helps you improve the lives of others whom you serve.