Started From the Bottom, Joseph's Path to Prosperity

You know that Drake song, "Started from the bottom, now we here"? Well, that's not just a catchy hook, it's Joseph's story, and it might be yours too.

Let me be real with you for a second. After my time in the NFL ended, and yes, it was short, y'all, I found myself working at Walmart and substitute teaching. Not just teaching, but substitute teaching. That means I wasn't even the real teacher! I was wearing that tight Walmart vest (they didn't make them big enough), and people who remembered me from my playing days would walk up like, "Jomo, is that you?"

Man, those were some hard times. But here's what I learned in that season that changed everything: just because you're at the bottom doesn't mean that's who you are. It's just what you're going through.

The Foundation of True Prosperity

Let's get something straight right from the start. When we talk about being positioned to prosper, we're not just talking about money. Prosperity means nothing missing and nothing lacking. You could have wealth and no health, that's not prosperity. Real prosperity covers every area of your life.

I want to share something with you that could transform your entire perspective on where you are right now:

If I can make what's important to God important to me, God will make what's important to me important to Him.

That's Matthew 6:33 in action: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you." And 3 John 1:2 tells us, "Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health physically, just as I know your soul prospers spiritually."

Joseph: Started From the Bottom

Now let's dive into Joseph's story from Genesis 39. This brother's journey is incredible, and it's going to speak to some of you who feel stuck right now.

Genesis 39:1 says, "Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt." Notice that word, taken. That wasn't his choice. Sometimes in life, you get caught in seasons where you have no control. You don't have the money to leave. You're just stuck in this season.

The verse continues: "Potiphar the Egyptian, Pharaoh's officer and the captain of the royal guard, bought him." To be bought means you're for sale. Joseph was a slave with zero control over his situation.

But here's where it gets good, verse 2 says: "The Lord was with Joseph."

Wait a second. He's in a pit, sold into slavery, and the Lord is with him? Yes! And even though he was a slave, he became successful and prosperous.

The "Even Though" Faith

This is crucial, church. Sometimes we want to use excuses. "It's the system," "It's the man," "I'm too old," "I'm too young," "I don't have my papers straight." But the Bible cuts through all that noise.

Even though Joseph was a slave, even though he was an employee with no power, even though the odds were stacked against him, God still prospered him.

Say it with me: "We're cutting excuses today."

What's your "even though"? Fill in that blank. "I would do it, but..." No more buts. No more excuses.

Let me break down the levels of faith for you:

1. Even Though Faith - Trusting God despite your circumstances
2. Now Faith - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1)
3. Even Now Faith - Like Mary and Martha telling Jesus, "Even now, we believe you can raise our brother"
4. Even If Faith - Like the three Hebrew boys saying, "Even if God doesn't save us, we won't bow down"

That last one? That's mature faith. Sometimes you have to endure a season longer than you want, and even though it doesn't look good, you still trust God.

Fruitfulness: How Others See Your Prosperity

Genesis 39:3 says, "Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands."

How did Potiphar see it? Because when you're fruitful, your fruit has evidence. Let me give you three keys to fruitfulness:

1. There is no invisible fruit - Your fruit should show
2. The fruit is a reflection of the tree - If you say you're a believer, you should have believing fruit
3. The fruit is not for the benefit of the tree - The fruit benefits others

When your life is fruitful, people's lives change because of you. Their lives should be better because of you. You should be the game-changer in your family.

Matthew 7:20 says it plain: "Just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions."

From now on, don't say you're judging people. Say, "I'm a fruit inspector." The Bible says judge their fruit! If someone's fruit is always late, if their fruit is always broke, if their fruit brings drama, that's not judgment, that's fruit inspection.

The Prerequisite to Ownership: Stewardship

Here's where some of y'all need to pay close attention. Genesis 39:4 says Joseph "pleased Potiphar and found favor in his sight. And he served him as his personal assistant. He made Joseph overseer over his house, and he put all he owned in Joseph's charge."

Job 36:11 tells us: "If they hear and serve Him, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in plenty."

And Luke 16:12 drops this bomb: "If you have not been faithful in the use of earthly wealth which belongs to another—whether God or man, of which you are a trustee, who will give you that which is your own?"

The prerequisite to ownership is stewardship.

Let me say it another way: If you don't steward someone else's stuff well, why would God give you your own stuff?

Some of y'all are stealing and playing around at work. Stop it. Before God can give you yours, He will have you work for someone as a test to see if you can handle it.

Don't get caught up in little things when God's trying to get you big things. "He who is faithful over small things, God will make you ruler over big things."

I was at Dick's Sporting Goods returning something, and the cashier gave me way too much money back. I told her, "Sister, you didn't do your math right." She said, "I don't know, the computer doesn't work." Listen, that's a test right there. Don't get caught up on small stuff.

If you're not faithful over someone else's stuff, God will not give you your own, because you serve your way up.

When Temptation Comes With Prosperity

Here's where Joseph's story takes a turn. Genesis 39:6-7 says, "Now Joseph was handsome and attractive in form and appearance. Then after a time, his master's wife looked at Joseph with desire and said, 'Lie with me.'"

Let me keep it real with you. If Joseph wasn't prosperous, would she be looking at him? I'm just calling a spade a spade.

As God elevates you, be careful. The tempter is going to come, and it's going to be exactly what you like. How do I know? Because the book's already been written! David and Bathsheba, Solomon and his thousand wives, Samson and Delilah, this is nothing new.

But look at Joseph's response in verse 8-9: "Look, with me in the house, my master doesn't concern himself with anything. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?"

Notice the order, he said sin against God first, then the husband. Sometimes we worry about people, but God's got a big screen. Be mindful.

Joseph refused, and when Potiphar's wife grabbed his robe, the Bible says he ran. He left his robe and ran outside.

1 Corinthians 10:13 promises us: "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. But God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability to resist. But along with the temptation, He will provide a way out."

The more you have, the more temptation comes. You better make up your mind if you're ready to pay the cost, because the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

From Prison to Palace: Don't Let Your Placement Change Your Posture

So Potiphar's wife lied on Joseph, and he ended up in prison. That's rough, right? From slavery to household manager to falsely accused and imprisoned.

But check this out, Genesis 39:21-23: "But the Lord was with Joseph and extended His love and kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the warden... The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with him. And whatever Joseph did, the Lord made him prosper."

The key to Joseph's success? He didn't allow his placement to change his posture.

Whether at the top or the bottom, he remained a servant of God.

Let's break down Joseph's journey:

• Thrown in a pit
• Sold into slavery
• Placed in Potiphar's house
• Persecuted and falsely accused
• Imprisoned
• Prepared for the palace

Everything you've gone through is God preparing you for your next level. Don't get concerned about the season you're in. Just keep your character. Keep being who God called you to be.

This is but a momentary light affliction that cannot be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us.

Your Appointment Time Is Coming

After Joseph was in prison, he interpreted dreams for a baker and a butler. He asked them to put in a good word for him when they got out. What did they do? They forgot about him.

But in the time they forgot about him, Joseph was perfecting his craft, preparing for when the king would have a dream and need an interpreter.

When the butler finally remembered Joseph and told the king, the Bible says Joseph changed his clothes and shaved his face. Why? Because he understood his appointment time had come.

Listen to me: Don't get frustrated because someone has a different appointment time than you. You're both in the same line, they just have a different time.

We all get so frustrated looking at someone else's life, but they're on a different schedule. You're in line, baby. Don't get frustrated. It's not your time yet. Stay in line!

So many times we get frustrated and get out of line, then we have to start at the back. You're not changing God. Stay in line.

Say it with me: "I got a different appointment time. I'm just going to stay in line. The same God that did it for them can do it for me."

We're all at the airport, church. We're all going to get there, we just got different flights.

The Elevation Pattern

After Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream, Genesis 41:40 records: "You shall have charge over my house. All the people shall be governed according to your word... Only in matters of the throne will I be greater than you."

Here's what the Holy Spirit just showed me: At every level, Joseph had more management.

He managed the house, then the prison, then the nation. God was elevating his management based on how faithful he was at each level.

Even when it looked like he was going to prison, he was actually getting promoted to greater management. What the enemy meant for bad, God was using for promotion.

His numbers of management increased based on his faithfulness.

The Question That Changes Everything

I want to talk to somebody who may be at the bottom right now, wondering, "God, why am I here?"

Stop asking God why and start asking God what.

What am I supposed to learn in this season?

Stop complaining about the season and ask God what you're supposed to glean from it. You're wasting time asking why.

Job asked why and got no answer. And Job was better than us, the Bible called him a perfect man, and he didn't get an answer.

Instead of asking, "Why, God?" ask, "Lord, what am I supposed to learn in this season? How can I grow in this season?"

The children of Israel complained and delayed their season. You cannot complain in your season. You have to learn in your season.

God said, "I cannot take them to the new season because they have a poverty mentality. Until Egypt gets out of them, I cannot take them to Canaan. As long as they're waiting for free fruit and vegetables, as long as they don't realize I'm their source, you've got to stay right here."

I cannot change your prosperity until I change your mind.

You've got to see differently, because if you don't see differently, you can't handle what God has for you.

Your Season of Preparation

Don't waste your season. You may not be in the best spot right now, but there's a harvest even in a bad season. You have to prepare yourself.

Don't get frustrated on a job you don't like. Don't get frustrated with a raggedy boss or a house that's too small. It's just a season.

God's preparing you for the next season. And in every season, there's something you're supposed to learn.

Sometimes there are prison seasons in your life. You may not be incarcerated, but you're in a spot you can't move from, and you're wondering why God allowed it. It's because there was something you had to perfect in that season to set you up for the next season.

God is a God of seasons. He says, "As long as the earth remains, there will be seedtime and harvest."

From Faith to Faith, Glory to Glory

Started at the bottom, now we're here. The Bible says we go from faith to faith and glory to glory. That means God wants to take you higher.

John 10:10 says, "I came to give you life and give you life more abundantly." Those are Jesus' words, not mine.

But you have to tap in and get your mind prospering. "I will have more than enough. I will have nothing missing and nothing lacking."

The prerequisite to this? Kingdom citizenship.

Are you a citizen of the kingdom? Romans 10:9 says, "If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, you shall be saved."

I don't know where you are today in your faith walk. I'm not perfect—far from it. Nobody in this church is perfect, but we serve a perfect God who helps imperfect people.

If you want something different, do something different. Change.

Your Bottom Is Not Your Identity

You may be at the bottom right now. You may be at a job you don't like. Be faithful.

The Bible asks, "Who can find a faithful man?" When you're faithful with little things, God will promote you. Increase and promotion don't come from man—they come from God.

Be faithful where you are. Whatever your job, whatever your business, be faithful, and God will elevate you.

Remember: You're a diamond in the dark. The light just hasn't hit you yet. But when it does, watch out world, because your season is coming.

This is just what you're going through. This is not who you are. Don't let your current position define your identity. You're in preparation mode, and God is getting you ready for something greater than you can imagine.

Stay faithful. Stay focused. Keep your character intact. Your appointment time is coming.

Started from the bottom? Now you're here. And you're headed somewhere even greater.

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