Joseph Prince - God's POV on Prosperity
God is a good God. God is a generous God. God wants to see your life prosper in every way, amen? You know, regardless of how unpopular it is, you know, to hear the word «prosperity» in some circles, the Bible is full of it. The Bible says that, 3 John 2, «Beloved, I wish above all things». Imagine, this is God’s heart. The apostle will not write something that would not represent God’s heart, amen? All scripture is God-breathed, including 3 John 2. And God says, «Beloved, I wish above all things…» Imagine that. Above all things that God desires for you, God says, «I desire, I pray above all things that you prosper and you be in health even as your souls prosper».
So that covers the three dimensions, amen, of man: Health for his body, prosperity for his soul, even as his soul prospers, and not only that, that you prosper and be in health, prosper materially, prosper outwardly, prosper in his relationships. But God is just, you know, God is just out to bless us, to get us with his blessings. What I’m going to share with you today is going to bless you, it’s going to help you, amen. But before it helps you, it’s going to, you know, sometimes medicine will not be so pleasant to take. But guess what? You’ll be okay after that, amen? And I am believing God that each and every one of you will prosper and be in health even as your souls prosper.
So another picture that God has for you is in Genesis 39. It says that… by the way, I must give you the background before you read verse 2. Joseph is now sold by his brothers to a band of Midianites. They were passing by, a passing caravan. They sold him. The brothers were jealous of him. Sold him to this traveling caravan who were on their way down to Egypt. So in Egypt, he stood up, all right, to be sold like a slave. Like, literally like a cow, you know? Like a sheep being sold in the market.
So there was bidding going on, yelling, screaming. Just imagine how he felt. He was the favored son. He was the beloved son. He was the son of Jacob’s old age. Just a matter of a few days ago, he had a beautiful coat of many colors. And the coat of many colors in Hebrew tells us that he had a long robe that extended also to the wrists, all right? Why I say that? Because in Hebrew it says that. In Hebrew it says that. That means he was destined to be a ruler, not a worker doing menial tasks where they have to have short sleeves.
In fact, many of the people then had sleeveless clothes. That means they are laborers. But the father gave him not just a coat of many colors, but a long-sleeve coat, which means he was to rule. Not to do natural work. You know what I’m saying? Only a few days ago, he was like this. Now he’s only stripped. You know, I don’t even think they gave him a courtesy of a loin cloth because they have to see him, to examine him before they can bid a price for him, all right, in those days. Just imagine all the, what do you call that? The sense of special favor all stripped from him. And all because he was faithful and loyal to his father. So his brothers sold him.
So let’s follow the story. A man called Potiphar bought him and he says here: «The Lord was with Joseph,» ha, ha. So when you have nothing, not even the clothes on your back, but the Lord is with you, you will get it all back. And more. And more, amen? The most important person that needs to be with you is the Lord. It doesn’t matter your best friend forsake you, you’ve been betrayed by a friend you trusted. As long as the Lord is with you, look at what happened. «And he was a successful man». I like the old King James. «He was a prosperous man». He was a prosperous man.
The Hebrew word, «tsalach». He was a prosperous man. And in the Hebrew, it literally says the Lord was with Joseph and caused him to become successful. The Lord caused him that he feel used, he feel is used to make something happen. The Lord was with him and caused him. The Lord can cause you to be a success. The Lord can cause you to prosper. The Lord, all right? And you can say, «Well, Pastor Prince, maybe he had connection». He had no connections. He was a slave. He was sold as a slave. Nobody knew him here. But the Lord was with him. And the Lord caused him to be prosperous.
So as a slave, you think about it. What is there to prosper? Maybe he took care of a garden. All right, the garden yielded bumper crops, amen. He took care of some dispute among other slaves and the boss noticed that, right? And there was calm. It seems like he always gives good counsel. And it’s like everything he touches at a slave level prospered. So Potiphar put two and two together, he says, «I’ll put more responsibilities in his hands because everything under his hands prospers,» amen? And the Bible says that «he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him. The Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand».
The Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. «So Joseph found favor in his sight,» see? I told you it’s all favor, grace. Say grace. Say favor. It’s the same. Grace and favor is the same. I’m giving you a picture right now because you need to understand that Joseph had favor from God. If it just depend on his good looks, because the Bible says Joseph is handsome. And I’ll tell you a reason. That later on, it tells you that he’s handsome, okay, but it doesn’t tell you he’s handsome now. Why? Because God wants you to know that it’s not his handsomeness or your prettiness that gets you the job, that gets you the open door, that gets you the success that you want.
God wants you to know that it is favor. So a lot of us, we are still depending on the flesh. We are depending on things that is actually obstructing favor. So God doesn’t bring the fact that he’s handsome here. He brings it later at a point that we understand. So he says here, «Joseph found favor». So favor is unearned, undeserved, «and he served Potiphar. Then Potiphar made Joseph overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority». Look at verse 5: «So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake».
I have no doubt, many of you, your company is blessed because you are there, amen? Your organization is blessed because you are there, amen. I have no doubt, this nation is blessed because we are here, amen? We are not to be, you know, a pain or a bane to our nation complaining, complaining all the time. Let’s be a blessing, amen. We are called to bless, amen. And the one that is getting the benefit is an Egyptian. So forget about this, you know, only God will only bless Christians.
Let me tell you this. Because of the believers, God will bless whoever you are associated with. That’s why God doesn’t want you to anyhow just get into a relationship or a contract with an unbeliever where you have to compromise your moral integrity and all that and do things his way, amen. Why? He’s getting your blessing but you’re getting all his bad things. Not a good deal. Not a good deal, amen? But they will be blessed. They will be blessed because of you.
All right, so God blessed everything in the Egyptian’s house. «Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate». That’s really letting go. Then it tells you: «Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance». Okay, why? Because of the next verse. The next verse says: «Thus it came to pass after these things, his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, 'Lie with me.'» Now this is not, tell lies with me, okay?
So let me just tell you this. A lot of people have this idea. If the Lord prospers me, why do I get into trouble? Because he’s about to get into trouble. Now he didn’t sleep with her, okay, listen carefully. In fact, he resisted her advances. Joseph actually said in Hebrew, «How can I commit», all right? Gadol-ra. Gadol is Kohen Gadol, like high priest, big priest, high priest. Gadol, big, gadol is big, all right? Ra is evil, «How can I commit this big evil»?
Adultery in the eyes of Joseph was great evil. Joseph had a sense of divine favor, so he could say no. He was far from his family. Nobody would know. In fact, sleeping with the boss’s wife would put him in good favor with her. She can open doors for him, amen. She already opened one door, eh? The physical door. So the thing is this, you know, I mean, he’ll be in good standing, isn’t it? So there are ways that you can actually do things that will put you in good standing with your business partners and things like that, or are you depending on the favor of God? Are you willing not to compromise?
Stand up for moral excellence that will glorify Christ and do things right. Expect God’s favor to make up for the difference. Then you can say, you know, you are like Joseph, amen? But if you are compromising, you are cheating, you are conniving, you are not telling the truth all the time, and then you prosper, then you say it’s God’s favor, it’s not God’s favor, amen? Praise the Lord. Now you must understand, God’s vision for you is you be like Joseph. «It came to pass after these things, the Lord prospered him». A lot of people say, «Pastor, I confess I’m the righteousness of God in Christ. And now next thing I know, I get into trouble».
Well, the trouble is designed by God as a stepping stone. Because he’s about to end up in prison. That’s a stepping stone, amen. And he’s about to interpret the dreams of the king’s butler who later on will tell the king about him. And because of his testimony, Joseph will not just be brought out of prison but out of Potiphar’s house to stand in the presence of the most powerful monarch during that time. So you think about it, you know, people say, «I confess I’m the righteousness of God in Christ and I get into trouble. Why this trouble»? Hey, it is still the favor of God.
One thing about the trouble is that it’s like the ship in the ocean, okay? As long the water don’t get into the ship, no problem. You are in the midst of the trial. But God will not allow the trial to get into you. You will thrive in the midst of the trial. So drop this idea that when God prospers everything you touch, there’s no trouble. There will be trouble. But the trouble is like, you know, it’s like stepping stones. It’s like the devil throw you all kinds of stone and you are in a hole. You got nowhere to go out, he throw you stones and all that, amen.
And the stone never hit you. But you built from that stone, you built a ladder. You built a stepping stone literally all the way out, amen. The devil throws lemons, you make lemonade, amen? It’s that kind of thing. When favor is on you, even the bad things turn for good. Because if the brothers never were jealous of him, they never would have sold him off. If they didn’t sell him off, he wouldn’t end up in Egypt. If he didn’t end up in Egypt, he wouldn’t be in Potiphar’s house where Potiphar’s wife saw him.
If it’s not for Potiphar’s wife who lied about him, he would not be thrown into prison. If he wasn’t in prison, he wouldn’t be in position, in place, to interpret the dream of the king’s butler. If he never interpreted the dream, he would still be there. But one thing led to another. And next thing you know, he became the most powerful man able and empowered to save his family and many others. Now the flesh. Many of us, we don’t know how bad. You know how the apostle Paul calls his flesh in the present tense, in the Greek, «in my flesh,» present tense, «dwells no good thing». We don’t believe that. We really don’t believe that.
And that’s why we don’t mind sending a sister home. It all starts innocently. I just want to send her back because it’s very late. Friend, don’t trust your flesh. «Pastor, my flesh is not so bad». They won’t say that, of course. «I know how to handle this». That’s confidence in the flesh. That’s where it all starts. And I can believe that many, many, many, many affairs start innocently, with a little, «I can handle this. I can handle a coffee with her. I can handle sending her back». It all starts like that. Nobody starts, waking up in the morning, «I think I’m going to commit adultery today».
If you have that, you’re not saved. You’re not born again. No one gets up in the morning any more than the apostle Peter got up in the morning, «I think I’m going to deny Jesus today. Let me see. One time? Two times? I think three times I’ll deny him». Do you think he got up that morning thinking that he’s going to deny Jesus three times? No, of course not. It all starts with confidence in the flesh. God is rescuing you. But you don’t realize what stops grace is your attempt trying to justify, to make yourself righteous. In Galatians, please? All right, «Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law».
Justified is made righteous, you see? The moment you are trying to be self-righteous, the moment you are trying to be justified by the law, you are fallen from grace. You are fallen from the realm where grace holds you, where grace is able to help you, where grace supplies you, where grace covers you. You are fallen from grace. Grace is higher or else you cannot fall from it. Law is lower or else you cannot fall into it. So friend, grace is higher than the law. Grace will accomplish what the law cannot. The law says don’t steal. Grace will make you a giver and allow some people to steal you without suing them in court, amen.
I’m telling you this. Grace is a supplier but when you are fallen from grace, you’re not in the place where you’re able to receive that grace. The thing about the flesh is this. We all know the flesh. Show them the flesh. The flesh, we all know flesh as in the Pharisees is self-righteousness, pride, conceit. It produces a superiority complex. Or because I am this, this person is inferior. Because I have this paper qualification, this person is inferior. Because of my position, this guy is inferior. Because I am worth this much money, all right, this person is inferior to me because he earns less. Because I live in such a house, therefore I am this.
Superiority complex. It’s all flesh. Watch out that you don’t have this superiority complex. But give all the glory to God and his grace, amen? And then, when we sin, this is what happens. We all understand this part. I think people who listen to my teaching, they understand this part here. But the flesh can also manifest in the other way like this: shame, condemnation, defensiveness, trying to atone for your sins, trying to defend yourself, trying to make it appear like, «No, that should not have happened. Let me do this. Let me do that for you. Let me do this, God. Let me do that, Lord. I’ll go to the mission field, Lord. I’ll double-tithe, I… I… I…»
No, friend. When you have sinned, okay, the response that people show, many a times, show, «Now, Pastor Prince, don’t you believe there must be a certain kind of grief in the heart»? It’s called godly sorrow. I believe in godly sorrow. Godly sorrow, work of repentance. This is not godly sorrow. Shame, condemnation is what the devil wants you to have, defensiveness and all that. So when you sin, it’s still the flesh! Whether it’s pride, it’s focused on self, occupied with self.
And then shame. You’re still looking at yourself. You’re not looking to God and his grace and what Jesus, the fact that God made Jesus to be sin for you, that you might become the righteous, you’re not looking at that. You’re looking at, «How can I do that? I feel so bad, I feel so shameful». No, friend. Sometimes people feel bad they hurt their wife. They feel bad they expose their children to it. They feel bad that their friends find out about it. But they are not feeling bad towards God.
When David committed adultery, when David killed the woman’s husband, David prayed this prayer in Psalms 51: «Against you, you only, have I sinned». How could David say that? He told God, «Against you, you only, have I sinned». He killed Uriah, committed adultery with his wife, brought shame to those who know about it. And the nation of Israel has other nations looking at the God of Israel and what he’s able, and instead of that, you know, he told God… all sins actually are sin against God. But we can feel sorry horizontally without ever really feeling bad vertically. Really, his honor has been discredited. You took glory away from him.
So the best response is when you say, «God, sorry Lord, I thank you you have forgiven me and I see afresh the need for Jesus to come and die. Father, Jesus is my righteousness. Jesus is my righteousness. I have none of my own». When you respond correctly because of your shame, you know what God says? If you respond correctly and receive Jesus as your righteousness, now you really understand Jesus is my righteousness. I have none of my own. I get concerned when people start saying that «Well, Pastor Prince, you know, the Bible says I’m righteous».
And they stop there. I feel like saying always, I know I sound legalistic, but I feel like saying, «Say the whole thing: 'I’m the righteousness of God in Christ.' Not in yourself». Some people have this idea that, you know, I’m born again, I’m righteous. No, it’s always in Christ. Your flesh is still your flesh. You’re listening, people? But if you respond well, if you respond by embracing Jesus as your righteousness and say, «Lord, truly you’re my righteousness,» you know what’s going to happen? You know what’s going to happen? One hundred and twenty percent restoration in the very area you lost.
Don’t ask me how, God does it. I mean, that guy I told you about, definitely 120%. Family blessed, most of all his personality, his radiance. What a wonderful testimony. And his business prospers. People who know might not want to do business with him because of what happened. But then instead of that favor, Isaiah: «For your shame,» God says, «you shall have double honor. Instead of your shame».
So in other words, instead means what? In place of your shame, you will have double honor. There are people in our church, all right, that from years ago, they have done something but when I look at them today, I cannot, I must stop or be reminded or think about what was the sin again? Because there’s so much favor on their life. There’s such a double honor compared to other people, that the double honor swallows up whatever shame there was.
Some people say, «You know, I did that thing, Pastor. I don’t know how to face my family, I don’t know how to face people,» and all that. Don’t respond and stay there for too long. It is still self-occupation. You stop the favor of God. See, pride, I am this, I am that, I am this, I’m not like this, I’m not like that, I’m this, I’m this. That will stop grace from flowing. That’s self-occupation. But this is also self-occupation that goes undetected: «I’m so shameful, I’m this, I’m that, I’m that».
Stop it! And be Christ-occupied. And you know when you’re Christ-occupied? Show them. In quietness and in confidence. «Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: 'In returning and rest you shall be saved.'» Yasha! Whatever situation you’re in, you shall be saved from your shame. «And then God says, 'In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.' And you would not».
So when you are Christ-occupied, don’t look at yourself. This is looking at… pride is looking at yourself. Shame is also looking at yourself. Yes, you should have godly sorrow, especially towards God. But then, after that, no, the devil tripped me, all right, in this area. Okay, Lord, I receive you, Jesus, as my righteousness. And then guess what? You are Christ-occupied.
The moment your eyes is on him, watch this: «In quietness and confidence shall be your strength». Quietness and confidence will replace all your pride, all your conceit, all your defensiveness, all your trying to atone for your sins, all your shame. Instead of that, there’s going to be a quiet confidence. «In quietness and confidence shall be your strength».