 Hello, David Diga Hernandez here, and welcome to Spirit Church. Today I'm talking about nine divine tests that God will test you through before He promotes you to the next level in ministry, in life, in blessing. Before God will bless you, He will test you. And we're going to look at the life of Joseph and discover what these nine divine tests are. But right now, Stephen Makhazuma is here. He's going to lead us in some worship. You made a way for me to enter the holy place. You made a way to enter the holy place. You made a way to enter the holy place. So today I'm going to be talking about passing divine tests. Really, the Lord wants to take you to the next level in your ministry. He wants to take you to the next level in the anointing in which you walk. He wants to take you to the next level in life, in your relationships, in your goals. Some of you have been blessed with businesses. God wants to help you get to the next level in business. Whatever God has blessed you with, you can grow and receive more and be responsible over more as you learn to pass divine tests. We're going to be looking at the life of Joseph. And we're actually going to be looking at a lot of scripture today. So go to Genesis chapter 37. And we're going to be going through more scripture than usual in Spirit Church. But I think that's a plus here. And I want to talk to you about why God will promote someone. Why God will increase the power on someone's life. And really, I understand that in Christ we have all things. That in Christ we've received everything that when He died and gave His life, He sacrificed once and for all to give us everything that we need to live the Christian life. And I'm not saying that God will reward what I would call a faction of the spiritually elite, if ever there was such a faction. I'm simply saying that God will give you larger influence. God will allow you to see greater miracles. God will take you to more places. God will allow you to touch more lives. As you are faithful in the little, the scripture tells us that God gives us more. And so I'm talking about nine tests, nine divine tests that God will put you through. That we at least see here in the life of Joseph. Now I'm not saying that these are all the tests that God has, but certainly these are ones that I've experienced in my own life and Joseph actually experienced in his. Now, it's amazing to me that people talk about going through circumstances in their lives and they look at it like a negative thing. When the scripture says that everything that we go through works perseverance and ultimately helps to build our faith and mature us spiritually as we go through these certain issues. And I believe that God will do more in opposition. God will do more in your pain than he'll do through almost anything else. So the life of Joseph we see in Genesis 37. Let's go ahead and read Genesis chapter 37 verse 1 through 11 first. And this is what the scripture says. So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan where his father had lived as a foreigner. This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was 17 years old, he often tended his father's flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilal and Zilpha. But Joseph reported this to his father some bad things his brothers were doing. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph, a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn't say a kind word to him. One night Joseph had a dream and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. So I want you to try to imagine this. Already in this home there is some tension around the relationship regarding Joseph and his brothers and his father. Because Jacob has favor for Joseph as demonstrated by the coat of many colors that he had given to him as a gift. Now if you have the favor of God upon your life, you're going to stand out among the rest. Not only are you going to stand out among the rest as blessed because your father loves you and has favor on you. But people will often come to hate you because of the blessing that you carry, because of the favor that you carry. The further you go in the favor of God, the further you go in the blessing of God, the more God rewards you, the more people will hate you for what God has given to you because they don't have it. Now I'm over the belief that anyone can become a favored person of God so long as they obey what he does. The scripture tells us that favor can be acquired through obedience, favor can be acquired through pleasing God and faith pleases God. So there are many ways in which you can become favored of God and that's a totally different lesson for a different time. But we see that Joseph does have this distinguishing mark of the favor of his father placed upon him in the form of a robe of many colors, a coat of many colors. And so his brothers dislike him, his brothers are jealous, his brothers can see obviously that their father has a favor on their brother. And this makes it so much worse because the scripture says, go to verse 5, Genesis 37, 5, One night Joseph had a dream and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. Wait till you hear the dream. The dream goes like this. Listen to this dream he said, we were out in the field tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine. Now can you imagine in the middle of all that tension? Here we see Joseph presenting a dream that basically has the implications of his brothers bowing before him as their ruler. Verse 8, his brothers responded, so you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us? And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them. That verse jumped right out at me. It says they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them. Have people ever hated you for the way you talked about your dreams? Have they ever become jealous? Have they ever become hateful? Have they ever become disdainful toward you because of the dream that God has given you? You may say it and they may misunderstand you and what you're trying to do. And then to make matters a little more tense, verse 9 tells us soon Joseph had another dream. And again he told his brothers about it. Listen, I have had another dream. He said, the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed low before mine. This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. What kind of dream is that? He asked, what will your mother and I and your brother actually come and bow to the ground before you? But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant. The first test you will go through when God has called you, when God has placed a dream upon you, when God has spoken to you, when God has given you something special, the first test you will go through is the test of being misunderstood. Do not expect everyone to celebrate the call of God on your life. Do not expect everyone to celebrate the dream that he has given you. In fact, when you have the favor of God, expect that people will become jealous, that people will become hateful, that people will misunderstand you. You know I remember one time I was attending a conference and this conference was a gathering of several pastors from all over the world and we were coming to hear the word of God, I was very excited to attend this conference and this was maybe about a year or so after I had started in television and news got around that I was doing television ministry and you know as that spread the first time some people you know they were happy that we were reaching more people with the gospel because that's really the heart behind the matter. Other people would talk down on it and I never really listened to the critics anyway but I remember I went to this conference and I was so excited to hear the word. I went I saw a seat down open in the front I said awesome I'm gonna go sit down and I remember I have my notepad and everything I'm sitting down and I'm listening to the speaker. I enjoyed the conference it was powerful God spoke to me I was I was refreshed and as I'm getting up and I'm leaving to go to the back of the room which is the exit a pastor comes up to me and goes oh yeah I see you in the front trying to sit up there to get all the attention I said okay well maybe maybe it was wrong of me to go and sit in the front maybe this time I'll go and sit somewhere else so the next night I decided I'm gonna sit in the back of the church service this way I don't draw any attention or no one thinks that I'm trying to draw any attention and so I sat in the back still had my notepad still had my Bible and I was excited to see what God was doing God spoke to me I was refreshed again and I'm getting ready to leave and as I'm leaving a pastor another a different pastor comes up to me he goes oh so you're sitting in the back huh you think you're so popular that you have to hide and I thought well I guess there's really no pleasing anybody no matter what I do if I have the favor if I'm blessed of God no matter what I do no matter where I go I'm gonna be misunderstood let me tell you something and I hope this liberates you you do not have to explain yourself to your critics I don't know how many times I've been accused of being arrogant to being prideful of being I mean you name it I've been accused of it and I don't know where most of this stuff comes from I guess some people misunderstand my persona but for the most part I don't even bother with critics in fact all I know is that I focus my eyes on Jesus I seek to obey him sure I have people around me who if I were to get out of line they would tell me I have good friends like Steve here who I guarantee you Steve would you have any trouble correcting me if I was out of line not at all right I mean so I mean I surround myself with good friends I have great pastors and that you should do but when it comes to trying to explain yourself to everybody listen you're gonna go crazy trying to please everyone and trying to get everybody to see you in the way you want to be seen not everyone is going to look at you or view you in a positive light in fact when you have the favor of God those who are experiencing turmoil in their life will look at you and be highly critical of you because they don't have what you have but I want to tell you this that's the first test you will go through is you will be misunderstood people will question your motives people will question your persona people will question even how you come across everything about you will be questioned when you step into the destiny that God has for you whatever it may be that God placed on your heart the first test is being misunderstood the issue with being misunderstood only arises if you allow it to give you power over you I encourage you today to pass this test you simply keep your eyes on Jesus second go to chapter 37 we're going to read now just a few verses verse 12 through 14 this is what the scripture says soon after this Joseph's brothers went to pastor their father's flocks at Shechem when they had been gone for some time Jacob said to Joseph your brothers are pastoring the sheep at Shechem get ready and I will send you to them I'm ready to go Joseph replied go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along Jacob said then come back and bring me a report so Jacob sent him on his way and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron now number two is the test of service you see even though God had given Joseph a dream even though Joseph knew by divine revelation that he would one day be of influence to the point where his father his mother and his brothers would all bow before him he was still willing to serve we see the same thing about King David King David tended sheep before he was king and I believe it was in the worship when tending to sheep that King David received the power that he needed to overthrow Goliath and the various oppositions that came his way God will allow you to serve and it is a privilege to serve no matter which capacity to what capacity it's in God will allow you to serve as a test to see where your heart is service comes before those who are about to be promoted so my encouragement to you the only way you can pass the test of service is if despite the favor of God despite the vision that he has given you despite the dreams that he has placed in your heart the only way you're going to pass that test is if you stay humble I don't think there's anything that God hates more than pride the scripture says that God resists the proud think about that God resists them actively pushes them away but he gives grace to the humble now humility is a misunderstood trait altogether I think a lot of people think that humility has to do with self-degregation or self-criticism I don't think humility is self-criticism at all humility doesn't deny that a gift has been given but humility acknowledges the source of that gift so you don't have to criticize yourself you don't have to look at yourself in a negative light to be humble you simply have to recognize your position and that everything you have is because of what God has done and that everything you have is because of the mercy of God and everything you have is despite the fact that we've messed up that's how you pass the test of service as you remain humble and you do the things that some people would disdain or would look lowly upon do those things if you do what's before you promotion will come from the Lord you know I don't understand how people think that they could move on to the next place in ministry if they haven't been humbled I was listening to my brother minister a sermon this past week and he said something to the effect of this and it was really powerful he said something to the effect of this he said some of you are upset because someone else is getting promoted over you and you're saying why hasn't God promoted me and then my brother said well it's that very attitude that keeps you from being promoted it's that very perspective it's that lack of humility it's that pride, it's that ego it's that drive, it's that ambition that keeps you down God will exalt the humble and he'll humble the exalted this is the test of service we cannot think that we're going to the next level the next step, the next anything if we have not passed our test you know I remember for me it was quite an ordeal to get my driver's license I had this phobia of cars many of you who've read my books know my issues with anxiety that I used to battle real heavily and I just had this anxiety when it came to driving cars and I must have gone to take the test okay first of all the first three times I went to even go into the test the people didn't show up that were supposed to let me use their car in fact one of them is sitting behind the camera that I'm looking at right now but all is forgiven, all is forgiven but anyway so I had three people three different people try to take me each person there was three different people because I didn't have a car and I had to say hey can you let me use your car take me there I worked it out three different people three separate occasions did not show up on time or just didn't show up all together I won't say who that was even though that person may be operating a camera here right now but finally the second the fourth time I get in I was like yes okay now I have a vehicle I'm actually taking it in and I failed the test then the next time I want to believe it was the fifth time I went in I failed the test again and I forgot how many times I I don't know if I got the exact number but I remember it felt like so many times and I remember one of the times I went in the time before I passed the test and got my license I actually caused an accident so it was not it was not at all an enjoyable experience for me I still remember this day because I saw a pedestrian as turning right and I saw a pedestrian coming off of the curb and I thought the person was going to walk and I had the green light to go straight ahead so I stopped thinking the pedestrian and sure enough like three cars back there was an accident because I stopped on the green light and the instructor said go go go I'm not here just go and I don't remember what happened to that instructor but we parked and then he took off and said you're on your own and left me so that's how that ended I don't know what was up with that instructor but it would have been odd if I had passed after having failed so miserably you see we study we prep for natural tests and we study and prep for natural challenges and we don't expect to be promoted when we fail those why would it be any different with God when it comes to eternal matters we cannot expect to fail the test that God sends our way and get promoted if you're struggling with the same thing again and again if you're repeating the same cycles in your life you're going through the same issues you're dealing with the same problems you're fighting the same habits the same things repeat themselves in your relationships in your emotions in your ministry in your church attendance in your business and they come up again and again maybe you're not passing the test and instead of asking God to get you out of the circumstance ask him to help you pass the test so that you don't have to go through it again God will cycle you back around until you pass the test I remember there was one year in the ministry where I was just so very discouraged and I was to that point and I know you've been there too where you're just trying to guilt God into a response you're saying things like Lord don't you see me God can't you hear me God are you there and you know he's there you're just trying to make him feel bad and I remember I said something so foolish and I'm just being very open with you I like to be very transparent with the viewers because you guys can see authenticity anyway and I remember I told the Lord because it was a financial hardship we had faced and I was so tired of going through that financial hardship every year around the same time of the year and I don't know where to take a hit financially and dive and I couldn't figure out why it was and finally I was so fed up I was so frustrated I felt like my backup was up against the wall I know you've been there and you feel like there's no options you're looking for a way out you can't see how things are possibly going to get any better and I said Lord and again I spoke very foolishly do not say this but this is what I said I said Lord if you don't come through I have to quit the ministry of course I spoke that out of frustration and I'll never forget what I heard back in my spirit the Lord said then quit now some Christians say that wasn't God that wasn't the Holy Spirit well you have to understand that God deals with people of different maturities in different ways he likely deals with you most of our viewers there are people who are hungry for more of God and you may have known the harshness with which God can speak sometimes though he is loving he corrects those whom he loves and he spoke it very sharply just then go ahead and his point was to humble me God knew I needed humbling and I remember nothing came of that prayer and I just continued in the ministry despite what had happened and the next year the same issue came up and very foolishly I spoke those same words again in the same season and the Lord didn't say then quit you know what the Lord told me he said you just caused yourself to go through another year of the same test and it shook me yeah I know that's intense the Lord basically said you just bought yourself another year and it shocked me what God had spoken sure enough another year of struggle like that came through until I was pressured to the point and that time I responded differently financially but I bought myself another year because I failed to pass the test so now let's continue looking at the test there's number one the test of being misunderstood number two the test of service number three is found in Genesis chapter 37 verse 18 through 28 we see and I'll just tell you what happens for the sake of time you can read it later that's Genesis 37 18 through 28 we see that Joseph's brothers see him coming they all here comes the dreamer they're mocking him they're mocking the dream within him and they take him and they sell him into slavery you know this story that's number three the test of betrayal those who should be loyal to you often will turn look it happened to Jesus it happened to Paul if it happened to the greatest men of God in the Bible it's gonna happen to you and I the scripture talks about people going through betrayal now you have to guard your heart because when you are betrayed you can grow bitter when you are betrayed you can feel a righteous or so called righteous indignation to talk bad to downplay to degrade someone's character and that's not what God wants you to do you have to face betrayal if you're going to be Christ like number three the test of betrayal then number four let's read Genesis chapter 39 verse 1 through 2 and this is after Joseph's in slavery for a while or he had just been sold in slavery the scripture says this when Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders he was purchased by Potiphar an Egyptian officer Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh the king of Egypt the Lord was with Joseph so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master so number one the test of being misunderstood number two the test of service number three the test of betrayal and then we see that Joseph despite the discouraging circumstance serves number four the test of discouragement you know persistence doesn't even begin until you feel like you've given all you have persistence doesn't even begin until you feel like quitting when all of your energy your emotion your resource and your effort is exhausted then persistence kicks in people think they're being persistent when they face a little opposition they keep going no persistence comes when you've given all that you know how to give when you've emptied yourself of all that you have and keep going persistence doesn't even begin until you've given all that you've had and Joseph in this discouraging circumstance could have turned he could have changed his attitude he could have become bitter he could have become frustrated and angry he could have said I shouldn't even be here I'm called of God I have destiny I have dreams I'm special I have favor but instead of letting his favor cause him to become an entitled person instead of letting the favor of God give him a sense of entitlement it gave him encouragement in the times of discouragement Joseph decided that no matter what I face no matter where I am no matter what comes against me no matter how bad it looks I'm gonna serve I'm gonna do what's right I'm gonna keep going and this is what he did he kept going when he was in slavery he kept going when things looked the worst can you imagine he goes from being a favored son to being thrown into a pit to serving a man named Potiphar and he's a slave but he kept serving he kept doing what was right he kept being excellent in not so excellent times say often we look at our surroundings and say God get me out of here but I deserve better God and we try to blame the chaos on what's happening outside of us when really the chaos is what's going on inside Joseph experienced inner peace in times of outer chaos and eventually that took the times of outer chaos into times of outer peace but if you surrender your inner peace then the chaos gets inside of you it's possible to be in a storm without having the storm being you and that's what Joseph did he said though I'm in the dark times though I'm in darkness darkness will not be in me I will be light in the darkness instead of letting it consume me he didn't grow discourage he didn't settle down let me just get real with you some of us were serving in the ministry and we're becoming discouraged and you're so discouraged that you don't put as much quality work you're not trying as hard as you used to try and now you're going through the motions and it looks like you're staying consistent but really you've allowed discouragement to take away from the quality of what you're supposed to do for God and because discouragement has taken from the quality it's also taken from the excellence and therefore the favor that should take you to the next step some of us just go through the motions and expect God to reward it but if you're just going through the motions and not doing the best that you can with where you are and with what you have you cannot expect for God to take you to the next level Joseph despite the circumstances allowed heavenly excellence the culture of the king to flow through who he was you have to pass this test of discouragement are you always finding yourself discouraged? perhaps you're just repeating the test again and again you see it's not just going through something that God rewards it's going through something with a good attitude so you could face a trial with a bad attitude and not be promoted and expect this sense of Lord I went through the trial you should promote me because it was your attitude in the trial that caused you to fail the test and you'll do good for 6 months 9 months even a year maybe and then want the blessing now that's gratification not realizing that those who are blessed that those who succeed that those who go to the next level are people who all felt like quitting at one point let me tell you something don't quit keep going do not let yourself be discouraged pass that test then in chapter 39 verse 3 through 20 and many of you know the story of Joseph we see that Joseph is serving in Potiphar's house eventually the excellence with which he's serving causes him to become in charge of all of Potiphar's responsibilities and Potiphar's wife takes a liking to Joseph now in this season of his life Joseph from the outside looking in seeing as though he was blessed think about it he had good food, he had good clothes he had good influence in fact it's quite possible that Joseph could have thought that living in Potiphar's house was the fulfillment of the dream sometimes we'll get to a place where things are pretty good and we'll want to settle down but Potiphar's wife took a liking to Joseph and tried to have sex with him and Joseph being a man of integrity a man of God pulls away when he pulls away she takes his rope he tried to enslave me he tried to have his way with me and I fought him off and now I have his robe now I find it interesting that Joseph wasn't put to death I think Potiphar believed Joseph not his wife but how do you respond when doing the right thing seems to put you in the wrong place this test the fifth test is the test of blessings sometimes God will put good things in your hands to see if you'll settle it is in the times of success that we become most vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy it is when we are most blessed that we are most vulnerable we let our guard down we relax we start to enjoy where we are quality starts to suffer we're not as desperate anymore we're not as hungry to do something for God because we're blessed the test of blessings Joseph passed it because he kept his integrity even in the times of blessing let me ask you something have you settled in the house of Potiphar I wonder how many people have settled for their first round of blessings held on to it not giving it up and missed out on the ultimate destiny that God had for them I wonder how many people held on to something smaller when God had something greater for them and they never received the greater because they were satisfied with the smaller Joseph was not satisfied in the house of Potiphar enough to give up his integrity he passed the test of blessings isn't it funny that we're on our face before God in desperate times just seeking the Lord and then all of a sudden once we're blessed we kind of back off could it be that God disrupts our comforts so that we can pray could it be that God removes things from our lives so that we will seek his face and if so why does he have to do that because we do not pass the test of blessing you're settling for Potiphar when God has promised the palace you're settling for what you have now because you're comfortable and you're not willing to give it up it's interesting that when Joseph did the right thing he was sent to prison but I find it even more interesting that prison was a promotion now from the outside of it it looked like in Joseph's mind that he's going backwards in his mind if I was Joseph I would have thought wow I'm serving the Lord and this seems to be a setback but what you think is a setback just might be a divine setup you say God this is the enemy setting me back but God says no this is me setting you up your divine setbacks are actually divine setups the prison seemed to be a worse place but the prison was the step right before the palace things will get worse just before the greatest blessing times will be toughest just before the biggest promotions just when you think that you're facing the worst things that you have ever faced know that it's because the greatest blessings are just around the corner that's not cliche, that's not rhetoric that is truth that when you're facing the darkest times God has the brightest blessings shining before you on the other side what waits for you on the other side of the prison is the palace now you may look at your circumstance you may say I did the right thing God I was blessed and I did the right thing and I seem to have lost it all but you need to know that when you pass the test of blessings God removes those blessings not just to take them from you but so that he can give you the real thing God will give you a test of blessing before he gives you the fruit of the actual blessing and you may be saying God I did the right thing I'm serving you I'm doing everything you asked me to do why is everything falling apart it's because you're being promoted you may say God why are things seeming like they're setting back it's because you're being promoted why are things getting worse it's because you're one step away now from the palace you look at your circumstance you say God I don't see how this is better but you do if I was Joseph I would not have seen how the prison was better than Potiphar's house but it was just another step in the journey pass the test of blessings now number six verse 39 chapter 39 let's go there and let's read verse 21 through 23 verse 21 through 23 but the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love and the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warder even there he's letting his light shine he was promoted before long the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison the warden had no more worries because Joseph took care of everything the Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed number six is the test of faithfulness now faithfulness is not just doing something consistently faithfulness is doing consistently with excellence faithfulness cannot be had in days cannot be had in weeks cannot be had in months faithfulness is measured in years it takes a long time to be faithful now I know not a lot of people like to hear that but the truth is that it's going to take some time to process you before God will promote you that's the truth and if you're still fighting God on how long it's taking I mean I remember there was a time where I said Lord no I should be doing more right here right now Lord I should be here I should be there and I would measure myself up against the ministries that I admired and the men of God who I learned from and I said Lord I should be there I should be there and it wasn't until I said Lord help me to pass the test where I am right now just process me take the time process me it's like building a building if you rush the foundation doesn't matter how tall you build the whole thing is going to collapse anyway so you have to let him build and process your foundation now before he begins to erect the structure because if you don't allow him to work on the foundation do times of faithfulness then when you finally are blessed you'll crumble under the pressure so now I say Lord take as much time as you need I'm okay my mindset from thinking in days and weeks and months to now I plan in years and I pray in years and I think in years and because of that God has been with me every step of the way and I want to encourage you in the same thing don't rush that if you are bothered by the fact that it takes time if you and your mind are trying to work around how you might be different how you might be so special that you don't have to wait as much then that goes to show you haven't passed the test service you're still back on that one once you're okay with and you got to be real with yourself once you're genuinely okay with Lord take your time and I'm on your pace what's the rush anyway? what are we in a hurry for? I don't believe Jesus have a rush the more I look at the Bible the less I see anyone hurrying and if I'm in a hurry it means I'm in the wrong mindset it means I'm in the wrong heart or I'm not organized hurry is not a trait of the godly and so once you've stopped the hurry once you've slowed the pace you know that you've matured to the point where you can start thinking in a way that God can bless you pass the test of faithfulness don't hurry don't rush just do what's before you do well in what you are doing right now I'm not saying don't have a vision I'm not saying don't have a plan I'm not saying don't have a dream Joseph had a dream but he didn't let the dream of what was to come affect him where he was he didn't let the dream of what he knew he should have make him feel entitled to where he didn't have to be faithful in the prison be faithful in the prison be faithful in the tough times be faithful when nobody knows your name be faithful when you don't have a platform for which you can speak be faithful when you haven't started anything and you're frustrated by it be faithful and be encouraged God is with you in the prison God's going to promote you God's going to bless you but in his timing once you've yielded to that it actually makes things go a lot quicker rushing slows down the process of the call when you take your time it actually moves things along quicker because it's in cooperation with God and finally not finally but in chapter 40 verse 1 through 19 we see that Joseph meets the cup bearer and the baker and if you're not familiar with the story go and read it pause the video Genesis 40 verse 1 through 19 we see that Joseph in the prison meets a cup bearer and a baker they both have dreams he interprets them he says to the cup bearer oh you're going to be released here in I believe it was three days and then to the to the baker the baker goes oh give me a word and he says well you're going to die in three days you're going to be hanged and so he gives these words and he tells the cup bearer hey look go back and be restored as Pharaoh's cup bearer you're going to go back and you're going to serve him you're going to go back and be reconnected with him but when you go before Pharaoh remember me he's basically saying tell him about who I am get me out of here the cup bearer says okay but the scripture says that the cup bearer was released before Joseph now that's the seventh test it's the test of jealousy what do you do how do you respond and how do you feel when others receive that which you've been praying for how do you treat someone who has what you want more importantly how do you treat someone who's put in less time than you and gets what you've been waiting for the cup bearer was not in prison in fact Joseph saw the cup bearer come in and watched him go if I was Joseph I'd be honest with you I would have said Lord I've been here longer than him how come he's getting promoted out of the prison first because God wants to test you whoever is around you they have their own journey with God God wants to process you you don't know how many times in my own mind when my flesh gets to better me I've looked at things and I said Lord why did you promote that person when they barely started in ministry and the Holy Spirit will rebuke me and this was years ago I was thinking like this because I was frustrated with where we were and the Lord said you run your own race you have to pass this test and how you treat those who have what you want or how you view those some of us and let me tell you I've heard pastors speak against other pastors I've heard ministries speak against me and for people speak against me and other pastors and it goes every which way and it's funny how the pastors such as Joel Osteen get the biggest criticism you know why they do? because people are jealous of what he has because they're jealous that he has influence on the world that he's actually changing culture and they're not I'm just going to call it like it is they're jealous because here's a man being promoted who's faithful to God and everyone just wants to criticize oh he doesn't preach enough this where he needs to be right now and God's doing through people through Joel Osteen what needs to be done I use them of course as an example but you need to stop talking bad about people who have what you want you need to stop down trying to downplay the success that God has given to others you do it because of the jealousy in your heart and we need to repent of that otherwise God won't promote you now say it again you need to stop being jealous you need to stop being jealous stop talking to people in a way that degrades them funny I've seen it people will go and they'll talk about someone and they feel better saying well yeah he has a big church but that's just people from other churches that go to his church now for some reason that makes them feel better about what they have that's jealousy we can spiritualize it all we want it's jealousy that's number 7 then number 8 is the test of hiddenness we see in chapter 40 verse 20 through 41 through verse 1 that Joseph was in the prison for 2 more years that cut-bearer forgot all about Joseph and Joseph was in there for 2 years now here's Joseph with a gift to serve in a high capacity and he's in a prison Joseph has all of the excellence to serve in the high command that a prisoner number 8 you're going to have to go through seasons where you're hidden where it seems like God tucks you away in a corner and forgets about you he doesn't but he does this as a test do you feel overlooked do you feel like you're not given your chance you feel like you're perfect for something and you're just not given the opportunity good that is the test of hiddenness and if you can keep your heart right when God hides you then you'll remain humble when he promotes you and finally number 9 Joseph stands before Pharaoh and he interprets the dream and he just very clearly lays it out this is what God says but it took faith to do that number 9 is this test of faith you cannot step into the next realm of your destiny unless you have faith if you're going to go where God wants you to go you're going to step there and you know a word that is often synonymous with faith is the word risk have you stepped out have you done something radical have you done something different have you done something counterintuitive what's God asking you to do we wait we sit back we pass all eight of the test but it's going to do you no good to pass all the other eight tests and then fail the test of faith to do something my brother my sister I want to urge you pass your tests and then step out in faith are you afraid are you weary are you worrisome are you apprehensive about what could possibly happen when you obey God good that means it takes faith to do what you're supposed to do so Lord I pray help us to realize when we're being tested and more importantly help us to pass those tests I pray God that blessing and promotion would come as we obey your word as we live in your favor and as we do what we're called to do we thank you father for our brothers and sisters Lord we bless those who have what we want we bless those who have what we believe Lord we pray help us to slow down all of these areas that would help us now I'm going to pray that God's spirit would just come on you afresh stretch your hands toward mine in faith Lord in Jesus name let the gentle breeze of the Holy Spirit's presence move across the room let them sense your divine touch let them sense your nearness Father I pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to flow to touch each one watching touch that one watching Lord encourage them infuse them with power from on high we thank you Lord Lord forgive us for not passing our tests and help us to pass them in times to come we thank you Lord for second chances that your mercies are new every morning we thank you for your mercy remove the guilt remove the shame remove the frustration and let us move forward with faith as we walk into our divine destiny in Jesus name we pray and you said amen well as usual I want to now encourage you to make a gift to this ministry if you're blessed by what we do here or you're a member of spirit church I encourage you to sow into this ministry do something today I need people to begin sowing people have been sowing we've experienced more growth we're able to do more for the Lord now and we have big things coming you'll be hearing about them soon by the way if you watch this before November 21st 2015 I want you to know we have a benefit dinner coming up for the ministry at that dinner I'm gonna be making a very big announcement for the ministry there's only about 50 seats available left for that dinner register now also August 30th I'll be in Orange California one night a Sunday night at 7 o'clock I really feel that God is going to do something very special at this event I want you to do whatever you have to do to be there I don't care if you have to drive down fly down cancel some other events get down to this service it's going to visit us in a powerful way I just know it that's August 30th at 1200 West Alvarez in Orange California for more information on that you can visit David Hernandez Ministries dot com slash encounter OC again make your gifts help us sponsor these events help us sponsor what we're doing for the Lord we can continue to grow, expand, touch the world and soul needs saving that's why we do it we do it for someone eternity I want you to remember this this is not just a cliche I want you to really believe this know this, let it settle in your heart nothing is impossible with God