Genesis | Pt. 34 Favor In Unfavorable Places

Joseph
There are more chapter about Joseph in Genesis then there are about Adam and Eve, Noah, and even Abraham.
Last time we saw that Joseph was a dreamer.
He was a dreamer who grew up in a very dysfunctional family.
Joseph finds himself thrown in a pit by his own brothers and then sold as a slave for just twenty pieces of silver (price of a handicap slave)
We pick up the story in Genesis 39.
The Word of the Lord this morning Favor In Unfavorable Places.

Genesis 39:1
So here is Joseph, once the favorite son of his father Jacob finding himself sold on the slave market for just a few dollars.
Now this could have really gotten to Joseph.
He could have said to himself, “Am I really worth just twenty pieces of silver? Is that my value?”
Unfortunately, a lot of people think like that.
They let their salary at their job or their position at their job determine how valuable they think they are.
Our value and purpose in life does not come from the job we have or the salary we make.
Our value and purpose comes directly from God the creator of heaven and earth.
He uses tough seasons in our lives to prepare us for our next season.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16,
We are lights and we are called to shine in the darkness.
You may work at a company that is completely godless and full of darkness.
Your co-workers are extremely negative and it’s a bad environment. You are begging God, “please get me out of here.”
Could it be that God has placed you in that dark environment so that the light which is in you could shine through you in the midst of that darkness?
Joseph was in a dark place in Egypt but God placed him there so his light could shine bright.
You can bring light to the darkness by the life that you live and people will take notice.
That is what happened to Joseph in Potiphar’s house. Look at verse 2.
Genesis 39:2-3
Verse 3-6
Joseph may have been in a dark place but he his light shined.
Now this is quite impressive if you think about it.
Joseph is in a foreign country where he does not know the language and he does not know the culture but yet he still excels; he does not just barely survive but he thrives because God’s favor was with him.
Potiphar realized that whatever Joseph did it succeed.
God gave Joseph favor with his boss.
One day of God’s favor far surpasses a thousand days of hard labor.
God can accomplish more in one moment with His divine favor than you can accomplish in an entire lifetime.
Sometimes in life it feels like everything is going right.
There is money in the bank and gas in your tank.
You feel good about life.
You sense you are in a good season and you are expecting good things to continue to take place.
But there are other times in life when you feel like you are out of season;
Joseph was out of season as a slave in Egypt.
But I just want to encourage you that God can bless you even in an unlikely season.
In fact, God specializes in blessing his people out of season.
God says in Isaiah 43:19
When you think you are out of season all of a sudden you experience the unlikely favor of God.
Some of you feel like you are out of season right now.
Your circumstances tell you that the odds are against you.
Once there was a time when Moses was leading the Hebrew people through the wilderness and they began crying out to Moses because they wanted meat.
All they had in the wilderness was this bread like substance called Manna.
They wanted meat but Moses said there is no way for us to get meat out here.
We are in the desert. Moses had put God in a box.
Moses thought they were out of season in order to receive meat.
Moses was looking at things in the natural.
What he forgot is that God looks at things from the supernatural.
God says don’t put me in a box Moses. Just watch what I can do.
And in the most unlikely of ways God sends this massive wind that blows hundreds of thousands of quail into the dessert.
Now quail don’t travel in the desert but God is in control of the wind and God is in control of the quail.
God blessed the Hebrew people with meat in an unlikely way at an unlikely time even though they felt like they were out of season.
God wants to do the same thing in your life.
The conditions may not be favorable, but God can give you favor in unfavorable times.
There is no limit to God’s power.
And remember one touch of God’s favor is all you need.
God being for you is more than your family being against you.
God being for you is more than your boss being against you.
God knows how to bless you in unlikely ways.
What is favor? Better yet, who is favor
Favor is not a place; Favor is a person
Go to Luke 4
Picture not definition of favor
Jesus proclaims the year of the Lord’s favor in the synagogue of his hometown Nazareth
Notice that right before he proclaims favor he is tested by the devil in the wilderness
Luke 4:13