Uncategorized – Page 26 – The Joseph Factor

A rest for the weary

March 20, 2019 thejosephfactor

Excerpt from The Jacob Generation: A guide for pioneers

Gen. 27:46 “And Rebekah said to Isaac, ‘I am weary of my life.’”

Ever been here? The words of Rebekah have been echoed through the centuries by great men and women of God, who, despite their fruitfulness and success, still plummet into a season of weariness.

Weariness is one of the devil’s strategies to “wear out the people of God,” particularly those who are most active. The business of the ministry, the constant demands of the job, the complexities of a large family all converge on the soul at some point in our walk when we just feel like we have to take a break.

Unfortunately, the breaks we take to restore ourselves seldom deliver on the rest they promised. Our desire to vacation comes from the root word, vacate, to leave behind or abandon. Our problems are not easily left behind, however, and those same sources of weariness and fatigue are still present with us during the vacation and waiting for our return.

The only true solution to weariness is the presence of God. “Take my yoke upon you.” (Matt. 11:28) “In repentance and rest, you shall be saved.” (Is. 30:15) “Those who wait on the Lord will mount up.” (Is. 40:31) The admonitions in Scripture do not condemn the weary. God does not shake His fist at us in our weakness and extract more labor. Instead, He offers a place of repose. His presence is our holy place where we are to find our holiday.

God’s solution to weariness is found best exemplified in the Sabbath. “Six days you shall labor, but the seventh is a day of rest.” (Ex. 20) God employs a routine of resting in His creation, which is but a shadow of the Sabbath rest we are granted in Christ. “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works God did from His.” (Heb. 4:10) Our weary souls result from our distance from God’s holiness. I lack rest because I am consumed by cares only the Prince of Peace can calm.

Instead of the worldly approach of earning my vacation, my work is to strive to enter His rest. This place of faith is an attitude molded by His very Word and secured by His constant presence. If I have found my peace in His promises, then the living Word of God separates my restless soul from His Spirit, then I begin partaking of restful truth. This word discerns my thoughts and intents and knows “all my anxious thoughts.”

The gift of prayer is bringing these anxieties before the throne knowing that mercy and grace are available to me in my time of need. Mercy neither condemns nor berates me in my weary state. Grace does not leave me there helpless but provides the power to rise above. Between these ministers of mercy and grace, the weary soul slowly revives.

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The last enemy.

January 1, 2019December 26, 2018 thejosephfactor

Gen. 35:18 Benjamin, “as her soul was departing, he called his name.”

Fast-forward to the final chapter of Rachel’s life. She is on her deathbed and gives birth to the last child of Jacob. Her name for the child is Ben-Oni which means “son of my pain.” The father, Jacob, renames the child Benjamin, “son of my right hand.”

Watching his beloved wife depart surely impacted Jacob. His name for Benjamin, however is a prophetic picture of the culmination of the ages. The 11 earlier sons, Reuben (a son), Levi (loved), Simeon (heard), Judah (praise), Dan (judge), Naphtali (wrestling), Gad (troop), Asher (happy), Issachar (reward), Zebulon (gift), and Joseph (add) all are types of prayer and levels of maturity in the church. What begins as simple love for the Son, matures to praise, endures through wrestling, receives the gifts of God’s joy, and then replicates again and again in the lives of others. You will see each of these seasons come and go again as you walk with God into your destiny and the life stages of a ministry.

Recognizing the seasons helps us better respond to challenges either with laughter and praise, or maybe with wrestling and warfare. Prayer encompasses all these rich emotions. Asking for God’s vindication on the wicked, receiving help from the troop around us, expecting a reward and addition to are labors are all themes of prayer.

The final episode of the saga however is postponed several chapters later when Benjamin is born. Benjamin is the last stage of the church, the son of my pain who is transformed into the son of my right hand. God’s ultimate desire in history is to bring all things in subjection to Himself. “He must reign until He has put all things under His feet.” (1 Cor. 15:27, Ps. 8:6) “The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” (v. 26)

Once the Father has subdued all of creation under His command, the “Son of His right hand,” Jesus will be the ruler and heir of all redeemed creation. This redemption will encompass the souls of men, the physical creation, and all spiritual beings who will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father. (Phil. 2:11) Seeing this Son of God’s right hand exalted over all creation is the end goal of our prayers. Rather than a home in heaven or some earthly blessing, our petitions are ultimately asking that “His Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.”

When the Son of Man subdues every enemy under His feet, the end is here which is really the beginning of His glorious Kingdom come on earth. Our prayers ought to agree with that ending, and when we come to a point of declaring this Kingdom come with authority and power, we have entered in the intercessions of Jesus.

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The coming generation

January 1, 2019December 26, 2018 thejosephfactor

Gen. 30:23 Joseph, “God has taken away my reproach.”

Leah says, “The Lord will add.” Joseph represents the never-ending blessing of our spiritual heritage. So often we think our life is an end in itself, but the Bible reminds us of the transgenerational transfer of blessing that endures throughout the ages. Joseph is the gift that keeps giving. He adds, not only to the present situation, but he is launched forward into history and sent to prepare a place for God’s people.

Joseph is the child of destiny like “an arrow in the hand of a warrior.” (Psalm 127:4) When we send out our heritage from our house and ministry, we are giving to the generations yet to come and reaching across the ages to establish peace on the earth.

In The Joseph Factor, we explore early the significance of a transgenerational vision. By now in your ministry, you ought to be thinking about replication and ways your work will continue when you are done. Joseph is the adding factor that allow the Kingdom of God to continually increase on the earth when we are far gone.

Am I being conscience of the effect I desire to leave on the next generation? Am I actively sowing into my children and the future leaders of my ministry? Is the children’s ministry an afterthought? Is documenting the minutes a burden? Strategic plan on the constant to do list? If so, we are not thinking of adding.

If you do not take time to give to these now, the time will never come. God will short-circuit a ministry that does not think of the next generation. When we are only consumed with day to day living, we neglect saving, storing away, discipling our next leader, and taking time to record our insights for years to come.

Joseph is eventually carried away from the entire family so that the process of preparation could take place to prepare the ground in Egypt. God added to Jacob not be prospering his place of comfort, but by removing him.

Jerusalem experienced the same removal and persecution in order to get out of their insular mentality. China, India, Argentina, Communist Russia all became difficult places to live and, in the process, created exponential growth for the church.

If America cannot pass these lessons to the generation to come, we will find our children exported and enslaved to a culture that forces their faith grow under the auspices of persecution and difficulty. Joseph adds to the tribe by undergoing the trials to preserve his people.