RULING AND REIGNING WITH
GOD Part 5
August 28, 2020
We continue this week with
our look at what happened with Joseph, how the integrity of the Lord operated
in him even when he was a slave, then falsely accused and thrown into prison.
I said this last week, and
I will say it again! The authority of
the Lord is not cheap! If we are going
to operate in all that we’ve been designed and created for, our flesh is going
to undergo pain, deprivation and occasional periods of what seems like torture.
The big difference between
what our flesh endures and what our spirits experience is that our spirits
prosper, and we grow into the level of spiritual maturity that must exist in
us. We were designed from the beginning
for dominion and rulership, but we know from the
original Creation that there were commands and restrictions for that dominion
to function and continue.
NOW! Watch what happens with Joseph.
Genesis 39:21-23: But the LORD was with
Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour
in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed
to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they
did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was
with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
There is an important
principle revealed here. When we have
the favor of the Lord, when we have His mercy, when we maintain our fellowship
and love for the Lord in the face of every attack or accusation that comes, we
can be solidly assured that the Lord will be with us, and everything we put
our hands to will prosper.
Now things are going
to take an interesting turn. Joseph has
now been in prison for 11 years. Every
prisoner in that prison is under his watch.
Although he was not the official superintendent of the prison, he was
the practical superintendent. Whatever
any prisoner needed or desired, they came to Joseph.
Two more royal
offenders are now cast into this same prison: the king’s butler (another term
for his cupbearer) and the chief baker.
Watch what now unfolds!
Genesis 40:1-8:And it
came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt
and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was
wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and
against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the
captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they
continued a season in ward.
And
they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man
according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the
king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto
them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his
lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so
sadly to day? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter
of it.
Now we are going to
see a new dimension of the authority of the Lord manifested in Joseph.
Genesis 40:8-19: And Joseph said unto
them, Do not interpretations belong to
God? tell me them, I pray you. And the chief
butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was
before me; And in the vine were three branches: and it was as
though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof
brought forth ripe grapes: And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took
the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into
Pharaoh’s hand.
And
Joseph said unto him, This is the
interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: Yet within
three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and
restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver
Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. But think on me when it shall be well with
thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto
Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: For indeed I was stolen away out of
the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put
me into the dungeon.
All of a sudden,
Joseph realizes that his case could be brought before Pharaoh! He could actually be released from the
prison.
When
the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I
also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on
my head: And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of
the basket upon my head. And Joseph answered and said, This is the
interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: Yet within
three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on
a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
Sure enough, Joseph’s
prophecy comes to pass.
Genesis
40:20-23: And it
came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday,
that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of
the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the
chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s
hand: But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did
not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
Two more years
pass. Now we will see the final events
unfold that bring Joseph to the throne of Egypt as its Prime Minister.
Genesis 41:17-44: And Pharaoh said unto
Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: And, behold,
there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and
they fed in a meadow: And, behold, seven other kine
came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt
for badness: And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten
them; but they were still ill favoured, as at
the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came
up in one stalk, full and good: And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and
blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: And the thin ears devoured
the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there
was none that could declare it to me.
And
Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath showed
Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good kine
are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the
dream is one. And the seven thin and ill favoured
kine that came up after them are seven years;
and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of
famine. This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is
about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout
all the land of Egypt:
And
there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be
forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; And the
plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for
it shall be very grievous. And for that the dream was doubled unto
Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and
God will shortly bring it to pass.
Now
therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the
land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over
the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven
plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that
come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the
cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of
famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through
the famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all
his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one
as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said
unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall
all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh
said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
And
Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and
arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And
he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before
him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And
Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man
lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph’s
name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah
priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the
land of Egypt.
So Joseph is now the
Prime Minister of Egypt. The
dreams/visions he had some 13 years earlier are now unfolding in technicolor. But there is still one more part of this yet
to fulfill.
Genesis 42:1-6: Now when Jacob saw that
there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why
do ye look one upon another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is
corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may
live, and not die. And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him. And the sons of
Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the
land of Canaan. And Joseph was
the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the
people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves
before him with their faces to the earth.
Now the second part of Joseph’s dreams have been fulfilled. His brothers are bowing down before him. Thirteen years, his dress as an Egyptian, and his place of authority have so altered his
appearance that his brothers don’t recognize him. But there is still more to come. Joseph’s father still has to be a part of
this picture. We skip forward past
Joseph’s test of his brothers.
Genesis 42:29-32: And
they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all
that befell unto them; saying, The man, who is
the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took
us for spies of the country. And we said unto him, We are
true men; we are no spies: We be twelve brethren, sons of our
father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father
in the land of Canaan.
Joseph’s test of his
brothers takes on a couple more tests, the last one requiring that they bring
his brother Benjamin to see him.
Genesis 43:15-18: And the men took that
present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up,
and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And when Joseph saw Benjamin
with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and
slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. And the
man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. And
the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house;
No kidding! Joseph had been playing a game with them to
reveal their hearts and to see if change had occurred in them as well. Now it was time to reveal himself. Because of the treachery of his brothers many
years before, you can understand their fear.
Joseph had to assure them that everything that had unfolded was for the
purpose of their salvation and preservation, along with the nation.
Jacob was
understandably resistant when he first heard the brothers’ story of Joseph
being alive and the governor of Egypt but he did relent and at last Joseph saw
his father bow before him. The authority
of the Lord was visible for all to see.
Let’s shift gears for
a bit. If it seems like I’m traipsing
around a 40-acre field, I am.
(Grin) Bear with me, family!
Revelation 22:1-5:And he
showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on
either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations.
And
there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God
and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they
shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there
shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for
the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
One of the things
which we have heard in the realm of the Spirit is that this is a year of
promise. It is a year in which the Lord
is fulfilling the deep cries within the hearts of those who have merged with
Him. It is a year
in which we will see some very significant promises of the Lord, long kept in
our hearts, come to fruition.
It is also a year in
which -- at least during the first part of this year -- the processing will be
hotter than ever.
Witness the coronavirus pandemic.
Most of you know that I worked with David Wilkerson back in the
1960’s. In 1972, he published a book
titled, The Vision, in which the Lord showed him events to unfold in this
country in the years and decades to come.
In 1986, he had a prophetic word that precisely describes where we are
today. I’m indebted to one of our
friends for sending me this prophecy as a reminder.
“I see a plague”
David said, “coming on the world, and the bars, churches and government will
shut down. The plague will hit New York
City and shake it like it has never been shaken. The plague is going to force prayerless believers into radical prayer and into their
Bibles, and repentance will cry from the man of God in the pulpit. And out of it will come a third Great Awakening that will sweep America and the world.”
Because of the desire
of the Lord for a prepared Bride, it is essential that we endure the intense
heat of the furnace of affliction. In
spite of that, we have heard the Lord say that by the time this year passes
into the next, we will have all but forgotten the pain of that processing in
the midst of experiencing the joys He has opened to us.
Jesus Christ, from
the beginning, has sought after a Bride who would be His counterpart, His
co-equal: one who could be seated with Him on the Throne. We have all heard many messages and prophecies
during the years on the subject of "being seated with Him in Heavenly
places," but for most that is a somewhat nebulous concept. Although we do not claim to have a complete
understanding of every aspect of this truth, the Lord has been giving to us
revelation pertaining to the Throne. We
are seeing -- in a practical dimension -- how critical it has been for us to
have experienced this intense processing and preparation. We are seeing how the Throne functions. More than that, we are seeing where our Lord
and Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, is taking us in the realm of rulership. It is the unfolding of this realm that we
would like to share with you.
The first and most
important aspect is the foundation of the Throne. Without this most basic of understandings,
everything pertaining to the Throne is pure theory, and lacking in any
practical application. Being
"seated in heavenly places" is anything but a theory. It is not a metaphor, and it is not
some mystical or ethereal concept for the so-called "super
spiritual."
Consider Adam and Eve
in the Garden. Genesis 2:26 - 28 states,"And God said, Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion...........over
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing
that moveth upon the earth."
The operative word in
this statement is, "dominion."
The essence of dominion is rulership:
having and being in charge of; having active control over a region, a realm, an area. The
Hebrew word in the original text is: radah;
and it means: to prevail against, to subjugate, to rule over, to
tread upon, or to possess oneself of -- to take possession of.
Sovereign rule has
always been a part of the very essence of the makeup and character of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We know, therefore, that
we were destined from the beginning and designed for the Throne. It was a part of the daily operational
function of Adam and Eve -- but, it was only functional so long as they
were in union and communion with the Lord.
Within the Garden, in
that place of intimate relationship, Adam and Eve were clothed with the glory
of the Lord. They were clothed in
truth. As soon as they partook of the
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they substituted "Knowledge"
for Truth.
Consider the significance
of this.
First of all, we
should each be aware by this time that creation began by the spoken word of
"The Word," the Lord Jesus Christ, in a place of absolute agreement
with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
There is a phrase which occurs repeatedly during the Genesis account of
creation, "And God said…"
This phrase, inclusive with its adjoining words, has a numerical value
of 8-8-8, the triad of eights which represents Jesus Christ. Each time we read, "And
God said," it
was Jesus causing an act of creation by speaking the word out of that creative
power within His being.
When He created Adam
and Eve, we are told that He created them "in His image,"and He emphasizes this point twice in the
same verse. (see
Genesis 1:27) "...in
the image of God created He him; male and female created He them."
This is a whole lot
more than just being created with God’s physical attributes, but that’s where
we will take a break for today, and continue next week.
In case
you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia,
our Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at
about 10:30AM Pacific. That conference
number is (712) 770-4160, and the access code is 308640#. We are now making these gatherings available
on video usingZOOM.
If you wish to participate by video on ZOOM, our login ID is
835-926-513. If you miss the live voice-onlycall, you can dial (712)
770-4169, enter the same access code and listen in later. The video call, of course, is not recorded –
not yet, anyway.
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER
WORSHIP CENTER
Temple,
Texas 76502
Email
Contact: CapenerMinistries@protonmail.com
All
Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting,
copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution
and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available . Coffee
Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email,
please send a blank email to: AnotherCoffeeBreak@protonmail.com
with the word, “Subscribe” in the subject line.
To remove yourself from the mailing list,
please send a blank email to AnotherCoffeeBreak@protonmail.com with
the word “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.
CAPENER
MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt
church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as
partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or
physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.