Overflow – Part II (I Believed, But I
Didn’t Know)
Study Text: Genesis 39:7-23
When I was 11 years old, my parents divorced, so my sister and I lived with
my mother. My mom was an independent woman who ensured that we were always fed
and had clothes to wear. She was also a woman of faith who taught me that we
couldn’t make it in this world without God. At that time, as long as mom was
being blessed I BELIEVED in God, but I didn’t KNOW Him. I saw Him providing
through my mother, but again I didn’t really have my own personal relationship
with Him. A few years passed and I went into the U.S. Army. During this time,
however, something happened that made me learn for myself that God is real and
He is a provider.
It was the night before payday, I didn’t have a dime to my name, and I was
hungry!! Earlier I had eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Uncle Sam wasn’t
giving out anymore free meals. To take my mind off the hunger, I went to play
basketball. Afterwards, I showered and drank some water to take the edge off.
But I was still hungry, so I decided to take a walk around the base. As I
walked and pondered my predicament, I looked up and said, "God, could you
please help me?"—nothing eloquent, nothing pretty—just sincere. Well, no
sooner than I could get the words out of my mouth, I looked down and there,
stretched out on the ground before me, was a twenty dollar bill. At that point
in my life, at the age of twenty, I finally KNEW for myself that God truly
exists.
In our text, Potiphar’s belongings are being blessed because he turned them
over to Joseph. Now remember Potiphar didn’t KNOW the Lord, but Joseph did.
Therefore, everything that Joseph "touched" the Lord blessed and
prospered [See last week’s message, "Overflow," at
Http://www.elyonministries.org]. Well, soon afterwards Joseph was gone and so was
Potiphar’s supernatural prosperity (Joseph’s overflow) because there were a few
things that Potiphar didn’t know. This week we are going to look at those
things that Potiphar should have known that we need to know.
(1) Know that satan is On His Way:
The first objective of the enemy is to make you miserable. Therefore, when
you get blessed, he’s ready to start stealing. It is for this reason that he is
referred to in John 10:10 as "the thief" who is out to "steal,
kill and destroy." In the 7th verse, we see him rise up in
Potiphar’s wife as she propositions Joseph to sleep with her. Remember, when
the blessings come, the enemy is close behind.
(2) Know Where The Blessings Come From
Now when we get blessed, our flesh will lead us to haughtiness. Sometimes,
we get dem’ Big Britches. That’s why it’s important to remember that our
blessings come only by the grace of the Lord. In the 8th and 9th
verses, Joseph tells Potiphar’s wife, "With me in charge my master does
not concern himself with anything. . . . Everything he has entrusted to my
care. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his
wife."
Now even though Joseph had it goin’ on, he still knew his place; he didn’t
get "Big Britches." However, when a person does get the "Big
Britches" we can be sure that the "Big Bust" will soon follow.
This happened to a fellow named lucifer who fell from heaven because he thought
he was all that (Isaiah 14:12-20).
(3) Know the Father’s Ways
To keep our blessings flowing, we need to stay within God’s will. The only
way to do this is to know His ways. A great example of this can be seen in
children knowing what to ask their parents for. Now if a child knows that his
parents are against using drugs then we can be sure that he won’t ask,
"Mom/Dad, can I get high on marijuana today?"
In the latter part of the 9th verse, Joseph shows how well he
knows his Father. After being propositioned by Potiphar’s wife, he tells her,
"How then can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" The man
knew his Father, and this kept him from sinning against God. Therefore, if we
know our Father’s ways, we should abide by His ways in order to keep our
blessings flowing.
(4) Know That Satan Will Use Anyone (even your closest friend)
Even when you are Growing, Glowing and Going for God, YOU’RE GONNA HAVE SOME
ENEMIES!! Don’t cry over it or complain about it; just face it!! Now the sad
thing is that your enemies may be those who are closest to you. In verses
10-20, even though Potiphar was extremely blessed by Joseph being in his house,
the enemy was using his wife to mess up everything. She constantly
propositioned Joseph, but he continually denied her. One day when Joseph came
in, she grabbed his cloak and said, "come to bed with me" but Joseph
ran out of the house because he wanted no part of that.
During his mad dash, Joseph left his cloak in the house. Potiphar’s wife
called her servants and said, "Look, this Hebrew [Joseph] has been brought
to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed and
when I screamed he left his cloak beside me and ran out the house." She
then kept Joseph’s cloak and told that same "Young and The Restless"
lie to her husband. Well, Potiphar got mad and threw Joseph in prison. So
Potiphar knew that someone was against him, but he didn’t realize that satan
was using his own wife to take away his blessings.
(5) Know That The Lord Can & Will Bless You Wherever You Are
So now Joseph, a righteous man, is in prison. However the 21st
verse says it all: "The Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and
granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden" (21st). Why
would the Lord allow someone to be put in that situation? To show us that He is
Lord of everything and in control of everything and every situation. He can
bless you in a jail or on your job, in your luxurious town house or in an
outhouse. If He wants to bless you, no place is inescapable! [Alleluia!!]
(6) Know That You Will Be Restored Beyond Restoration
Even though the Lord allowed Joseph to be placed in prison, He restored
Joseph to a position similar to the one he held in Potiphar’s house. Joseph
found favor in the eyes of the warden and the warden put him in charge of
everything (22nd). LOOK AT THIS AGAIN!!! The warden put a prisoner
in charge of everything! Not only this, but the warden didn’t even pay
attention to anything Joseph did because of the success the Lord granted Joseph
in everything (23rd). Now we should know that this was nothing but
God!!!!! Even later we see Joseph in Pharaoh’s court, moved from restoration
into power. (Read through the rest of Genesis)
To conclude, Potiphar lost his blessings primarily because he didn’t KNOW
God for himself; he only BELIEVED, just like I did when I was in the army. Even
though Potiphar and I were blessed we couldn’t keep our blessings flowing
because we did not KNOW how. To keep our blessings, we have to go straight to
the "the well" for ourselves. Stop being solely under the prayers and
testimonies of our parents. Those intercessions (overflows) are good as a
start, but now is the time for us to increase our individual relationships with
God. If we don’t KNOW God for ourselves, our blessings will be few and far
between. So take the time to increase your relationship with the Father. You
can’t do that without spending constant time in the Word, praying, and getting
to know the Son, Jesus Christ. If you don’t then you’ll be just like I was at 20
years-of-age. . . just BELIEVING in God and HOPING for Prosperity rather than
KNOWING Him and KNOWING He is the KEY To Prosperity.