HEALING A NATION (part 2):THE RISE OF JOSEPH
I gave my life to Christ in the late 90’s and I was a teenager back then.
I come from a generation where we were taught to have ambitions for the interests of the Kingdom.
We were taught to aspire to become heroes like Joseph, Kind David, Joshua, Caleb, Ezra and other Bible heroes who shook their nations and the world.
Interestingly, in our youth meetings, we were taught to emulate Bible heroes who were Judges, politicians, military leaders and business men.
The pastors, who were teaching us, wanted us to be molded into models that would shape society. They were not moulding us to necessarily be famous people but to be Christians with a constructive impact in society.
Among all the teachings of bravery, there was one Scripture we were all always taught to confess:
‘ I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.’
(Psalms 2:7-8)
We were taught to ask God for the nations as our inheritance and for the ends of the earth as our possession. We were taught to ask those things not just for personal benefits but to be a conduit of God’s Light throughout the Earth.
When I was a teen, we were told to emulate the Blessing of Abraham. When most people read Genesis 12:1-4, they simply stop to the part that says: ‘I will bless you’. They don’t go further to the part that says: ‘all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you’
Paul wrote: ‘If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. ‘ (Galatians 3:29)
This means that ,as Christians, we have received the very same blessing that Abraham received. Abraham was blessed and he became a blessing to the nations. This means that a Christian should be a blessing to all the peoples of the earth (including his/her own people).
A Christian who lives in his own country should be a blessing to his own people and to the other peoples of the Earth. A Christian who is a foreigner should be a blessing to his own people and to people of the land where he/she lives and to all the other peoples of the world.
One of the biggest problems we have encountered in this current age is the fact that in the past 20 to 25 years, the Church got infested with messages and preaching that trained Christians to be self-centered. As a result, we had an entire generation that did not care about becoming a blessing in a wider scope that goes beyond themselves and their nuclear family.
In light of the Scriptures, what does it look like to inherit the nations, to possess the ends of the Earth and to be a blessing to all the peoples of the Earth?
A great picture responding to the question can be found in the life of Joseph,son of Jacob.
Joseph received a vision from God that says He would be a leader (Genesis 37:1-11). The vision was designed to create ambition in Joseph. It is important that messages we preach (especially to the youth) carry seeds of ambitions that motivate people to do great things for the interests of the Kingdom.
Joseph said ‘no’ to sexual immorality (ref. Genesis 39). If he had succumbed to sexual immorality, he would have shortened his destiny. Besides sexual immorality, there are various forms of immorality that can shorten a righteous journey.
Even in prison, Joseph was a diligent person who could be trusted to be in charge (ref. Genesis 39:1-6 ; Genesis 39:21-22). He was not a lazy person. Knowing that Joseph became the second in charge in Egypt, we can conclude that a person cannot build a nation through laziness. As ministers of God’s Word, we have to condemn laziness from the pulpit and through our messages. One of the main reasons why nations get destroyed is because of lazy leaders who do not have a sense of work ethic that uplift the people.
Joseph was able to hear from God. He did not just stop at keeping the word of the Lord for himself. He would be gracious enough to share the solutions that God gave for Egypt (Ref. Genesis 41:1-37). When a nation is in crisis, I always believe that there must be someone to whom God has given a solution. And if the national crisis persists, it means that the recipient of God’s solution is acting disobedient.
However, above all, Joseph had favor from God. The favor from God is a currency in the spiritual world. It is a currency that opens doors for the righteous. If somebody has been anointed by God to lead and make righteous changes in a Nation and in the world, he/she must have the favor of God to ascend. The favour of God must meet diligence and faithfulness in anyone willing to rise and inherit the nations for the Kingdom of God.
Is there anyone willing to rise like Joseph did?