We live in a world today that is constantly changing. Many people are not on the forefront of this change. Even fewer Churches and Ministries are on the forefront of this change. It is more likely that change is dragging people and organisations by the proverbial nose ring. Solomon said that there is a season for everything under the sun. Isaiah put it this way.

Isaiah 43:19-21 MSG
(19) Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.
(20) Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’ –the coyotes and the buzzards– Because I provided water in the desert, rivers through the sun-baked earth, Drinking water for the people I chose,
(21) the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me.

I believe we are at a critical time in history. Change is happening more and more rapidly. In fact, I was able to visit one of the top research facilities in the world last week. There are significant technological advances that will severely change the way we live our lives, conduct our business and access or world.

In this series, we will examine how changes affected people in the Bible. We will look at how David, Solomon, Daniel, Joseph and many others dealt with changes in their lives and what the results of those changes were. There will be 10 parts in this series – this introduction and nine others. We will examine each of them over the next nine days.

What is a crisis? The definition may surprise you….

CRISIS, n. plu. [Gr. L., to separate, to determine, to decide. See Crime.]

1. In medical science, the change of a disease which indicates its event; that change which indicates recovery or death. It is sometimes used to designate the excretion of something noxious from the body, or of the noxious fluids in a fever.
2. The decisive state of things, or the point of time when an affair is arrive to its highth, and must soon terminate or suffer a material change.

In other words, SHIFT! Looking at the second definition, there is a radical change that takes place in a relatively short period of time. There are many examples of people in the Bible that faced a crisis, which created a radical shift in the circumstances around them and around nations.

For example, Joseph encountered radical change in his life that seemed to place him further and further down in society. Think for a moment – When you are thrown into the bottom of a dry well and you cannot get out you have a crisis? In Genesis 39, we pick up on the life of Joseph as he was discarded by his brothers and sold by his cousins to the Egyptians as a slave.

Genesis 39:1 NLT
(1) 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.

Obviously this was not one of Joseph’s better days. Regardless, Joseph had a decision to make.

1.) Be Bitter.
Our liberal society of grayscale morals would actually condone and promote this behaviour. In fact, our society celebrates this sliding scale of behaviour because moral absolutes have been steadily educated out of people.

2.) Serve God
Joseph could choose to pick himself up and take sustained positive action in his present situation. Joseph was not prepared to sever his ties to God, because he had already experienced God. In essence, Joseph was living out what the apostle Paul wrote:

2 Thessalonians 2:15 NLT
(15) With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.

Look around you. What Crises are around you screaming opportunity at you? Take a step back and examine where you, what you are doing and why you are doing it. You may be surprised to find that there are trees that forest.

Opportunity produces Ministry.

When we examine the life of Joseph, we find that Joseph made the decision to believe God. This is the most critical desion that anyone can make. Once Joseph made his decision, he stuck with it despite all the negative circumstances that he landed in. Sticking with this decision allowed Joseph to excel in both his work and work ethic.

Genesis 39:2-3 NLT
(2) The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.
(3) Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.

Joseph was annointed for business and administratration. In fact, Joseph was not only able to read and write, but also able to interpret diagrams and architectural drawings. He was more than capable in this area and Potiphar noticed this.

When you are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing the right people will notice you. The world calls this luck or brown-nosing. Whatever it is that you are called to do will not grow beyond a seed unless you grow it in the proper environment. Joseph was just a boy, a younger brother to be tolerated by Isreal and his family. To Potiphar in Egypt, Joseph was a capable, shrewd administrator.

It did not happen only to Joseph. Step through the Bible and look at opportunities taken. David took the opportunity to move beyond the “back forty” into the Palace. Remember, nobody told David to fight Goliath, yet it released the warrior in David.

1 Samuel 17:23-37 NLT
(23) As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.
(24) As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.
(25) “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”
(26) David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
(27) And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”
(28) But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”
(29) “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!”
(30) He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer.
(31) Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.
(32) “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
(33) “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
(34) But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock,
(35) I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.
(36) I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!
(37) The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the LORD be with you!”

Solomon took the opportunity to pass up riches and wealth to gain wisdom. That wisdom was known throughout the European and Middle-Eastern Areas. He was so wise, that world leaders came to him with their riches seeking what the wisdom he had asked for. Solomon is the embodiment of:

Proverbs 24:3-5 NLT
(3) A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense.
(4) Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.
(5) The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.

Paul took the opportunity to be redeemed.

Acts 22:6-21 NLT
(6) “As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me.
(7) I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
(8) “‘Who are You, lord?’ I asked. “And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the One you are persecuting.’
(9) The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me.
(10) “I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’
(11) “I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions.
(12) A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus.
(13) He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him!
(14) “Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and hear Him speak.
(15) For you are to be His witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard.
(16) What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’
(17) “After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance.
(18) I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about Me.’
(19) “‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.
(20) And I was in complete agreement when Your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.’
(21) “But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’”

What opportunities have been staring you down from the other side of the crisis you are facing. Remember this: Battle is the seed for territory. Battle is also the seed for your future. If you choose to let the crisis go unchallenged, it will grow into a mountain. Take the opportunities and exploit them for God. After all, how many mountains does it take before you are hemmed in and your progress is nullified?

When you look at the word favour, what comes to your mind. Usually, it is someone doing something nice for you because you asked for it. Favour according to:

Strong’s Concordance
H2580 חן chên khane From H2603; graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favor) or objectively (beauty): – favour, grace (-ious), pleasant, precious, [well-] favoured.

Favour according to the dictionary is:

FA’VOR, n. [L. favor, faveo.]
1. Kind regard; kindness; countenance; propitious aspect; friendly disposition.
2. Support; defense; vindication; or disposition to aid, befriend, support, promote or justify. To be in favor of a measure, is to have a disposition or inclination to support it or carry it into effect. To be in favor or a party, is to be disposed or inclined to support it, to justify its proceedings, and to promote its interests.
3. A kind act or office; kindness done or granted; benevolence shown by word or deed; any act of grace or good will, as distinguished from acts of justice or renumeration. To pardon the guilty is a favor; to punish them is an act of justice.
4. Lenity; mildness or mitigation of punishment.
5. Leave; good will; a yielding or concession to another; pardon.
6. The object of kind regard; the person or thing favored.
7. A gift or present; something bestowed as an evidence of good will; a token of love; a knot of ribbons; something worn as a token of affection.
8. A feature; countenance. [Not used.]
9. Advantage; convenience afforded for success. The enemy approached under favor of the night.
10. Partiality; bias. A challenge to the favor, in law, is the challenge of a juror on account of some supposed partiality, by reason of favor or malice, interest or connection.
FA’VOR, v.t.
1. To regard with kindness; to support; to aid or have the disposition to aid, or to wish success to; to be propitious to; to countenance; to befriend; to encourage. To favor the cause of a party, may be merely to wish success to it, or it may signify to give it aid, by counsel, or by active exertions. Sometimes men professedly favor one party and secretly favor another.
2. To afford advantages for success; to facilitate. A weak place in the fort favored the entrance of the enemy; the darkness of the night favored his approach. A fair wind favors a voyage.
3. To resemble in features. The child favors his father.
4. To ease; to spare. A man in walking favors a lame leg.

All are good definitions of favour, but they all point to this summary given by Dr. Mike Murdock who states regularly, “You do not need to have everybody like you; just the right person.” Who is the right person that you need favour from?

Esther garnered the favour of the King. Favour can turn the tables on your crisis. Haman was killed with the very weapon that was meant for Mordecai and the Jews.

Esther 7:1-10 NLT
(1) So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet.
(2) On this second occasion, while they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “Tell me what you want, Queen Esther. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
(3) Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request, I ask that my life and the lives of my people will be spared.
(4) For my people and I have been sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant disturbing the king.”
(5) “Who would do such a thing?” King Xerxes demanded. “Who would be so presumptuous as to touch you?”
(6) Esther replied, “This wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy.” Haman grew pale with fright before the king and queen.
(7) Then the king jumped to his feet in a rage and went out into the palace garden. Haman, however, stayed behind to plead for his life with Queen Esther, for he knew that the king intended to kill him.
(8) In despair he fell on the couch where Queen Esther was reclining, just as the king was returning from the palace garden. The king exclaimed, “Will he even assault the queen right here in the palace, before my very eyes?” And as soon as the king spoke, his attendants covered Haman’s face, signaling his doom.
(9) Then Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “Haman has set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall in his own courtyard. He intended to use it to impale Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination.” “Then impale Haman on it!” the king ordered.
(10) So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.

Favour is a necessary ingredient of success. Favour is part of the Blessing. Joseph obtained the favour of Potiphar, the Jailer and eventually Pharoah.

Genesis 39:3-6 NLT
(3) Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.

Favour kept Joseph alive because the punishment for the crime he was wrongly convicted of was death.

Genesis 39:21-23 NLT
(21) 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 warden.
(22) Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.
(23) The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.

Favour kept Joseph safe while he was saying “no” to the criminals on a daily basis.

Genesis 41:37-46 NLT
(37) Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials.
(38) So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?”
(39) Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are.
(40) You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”
(41) Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.”
(42) Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck.
(43) Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt.
(44) And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”
(45) Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah. He also gave him a wife, whose name was Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt.
(46) He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt.

Joseph continually challenged the crisis and as a result he moved into a new position of authority. He had encountered many setbacks during his life, but he did not quit ministering. In each situation, Joseph postured himself as a servant and served to the best of his ability.

Pharoah gave joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah which means deilverer. This was a foreshadowing of Jesus, but it was Joseph was favoured because he was able to use all that he learned to produce a plan that not only saved Egypt from famine, but also turned Egypt into a major world power.

Ministry is work, but if you commit the work that you do to God and let Him direct your path (Prov 3:6), you will be favoured.

When you have favour, promotion soon follows. It has been said many times that you do not need everybody tolike you, only the right person. Favour is a byproduct of solving problems for those that have the authority to promote you.

Promotion comes in two forms. The first type of promoted results in you being promoted. Looking at Joseph’s life, one might conclude that Joseph was one of the most successful failures that ever made it to the top. He received a vision and was thrown into a pit by his brothers and sold as a slave to the world by his cousins. He worked hard until he was successfully running the household for Potipher only to be thrown into jail for a crime he did not commit.

Joseph again worked hard until he was promoted and was second only to the Jailer in the prison. He interpreted the dreams of Pharoah’s Baker and Cup-Bearer and was totally forgotten about for years – until Pharoah had a dream. Then he Joseph was promoted by Pharoah because he had a plan that would save Egypt and ultimately Israel and the world from starvation.

Second, your favor can cause others to be promoted. It is only lonely at the top if you do not help others get there. In the Book of Esther, Mordecai was promoted to Prime Minister second only to King Xerxes.

Esther 10:1-3 NLT
(1) King Xerxes imposed a tribute throughout his empire, even to the distant coastlands.
(2) His great achievements and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Media and Persia.
(3) Mordecai the Jew became the prime minister, with authority next to that of King Xerxes himself. He was very great among the Jews, who held him in high esteem, because he continued to work for the good of his people and to speak up for the welfare of all their descendants.

How did this happen? It was Esther who found favour in the sight of the King. Her favour not only kept Mordecai and the Jews alive, but also allowed the King to recognize the problem solving ability in Mordecai.

Looking at another example, David’s Mighty Men were not so mighty when they formed their association.

1 Samuel 22:1-2 NLT
(1) So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there.
(2) Then others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the captain of about 400 men.

These are the same men that became high ranking officials and advisors during David’s reign. It would not happen if David failed to become king. His promotion lifted others to new heights.

Favour is not difficult to obtain if you know how to solve problems for those capable of promoting you.

Increase does not always mean financial increase. Financial increase is usually a byproduct of increase. Increase usually comes to you in the realm of more responsibility, more work and more favour. You can look at any number of people in the Bible to find how increase changed them. Joseph, David, Solomon Jesus, the Apostles and Paul all had increase in their lives.

As David was promoted by the Lord, increase happened. He did not have mighty men with him when he defeated Goliath. David obtained multi-billionaire status because he sought God. Silver was worthless by Solomon’s reign because there was so much gold. The total cost of reproducing the Temple would be in the range of about 50 billion dollars. David’s personal donation was in the neighborhood of 15 billion.

Daniel moved through the civil service and eventually became the First Satrap (Minister).

Daniel 2:48-49 NLT
(48) Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men.
(49) At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

Jesus promoted Paul to take the Gospel to the Gentiles and God’s family increased mightily.

Acts 26:13-18 NLT
(13) About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions.
(14) We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is useless for you to fight against My will. ‘
(15) “‘Who are You, lord?’ I asked. “And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting.
(16) Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as My servant and witness. You are to tell the world what you have seen and what I will show you in the future.
(17) And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles
(18) to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in Me.’

The key to lasting promotion is to be different. Accepting the responsibilities that come your way will set you apart from the masses that do not have any desire to achieve. David chose to be responsible for Israel as did Solomon. Daniel chose to serve in the Public Service as did Joseph.

Be different.

In our last post, we talked briefly about accepting the additional responsibility that comes with increase. Look at the life of Joseph:

In Potiphar’s house he learned what it took to run an Egyptian household. In Prision, Joseph learned new systems on how to distribute food to the masses. As Prime Minister, Joseph was so effective that not only was Egypt saved, but the Pharoah held absolute power in Egypt because all the landowners had signed their lands over to the Crown.

Genesis 47:14-26 NLT
(14) By selling grain to the people, Joseph eventually collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and he put the money in Pharaoh’s treasury.
(15) When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Our money is gone!” they cried. “But please give us food, or we will die before your very eyes!”
(16) Joseph replied, “Since your money is gone, bring me your livestock. I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.”
(17) So they brought their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. In exchange for their horses, flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and donkeys, Joseph provided them with food for another year.
(18) But that year ended, and the next year they came again and said, “We cannot hide the truth from you, my lord. Our money is gone, and all our livestock and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give but our bodies and our land.
(19) Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we offer our land and ourselves as slaves for Pharaoh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not become empty and desolate.”
(20) So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh.
(21) As for the people, he made them all slaves, from one end of Egypt to the other.
(22) The only land he did not buy was the land belonging to the priests. They received an allotment of food directly from Pharaoh, so they didn’t need to sell their land.
(23) Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed so you can plant the fields.
(24) Then when you harvest it, one-fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for you, your households, and your little ones.”
(25) “You have saved our lives!” they exclaimed. “May it please you, my lord, to let us be Pharaoh’s servants.”
(26) Joseph then issued a decree still in effect in the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. Only the land belonging to the priests was not given to Pharaoh.

David’s responsibility increased. David was a shepherd out on the back 40 minding the sheep. The man of God arrives on the scene and annoint David to be the next King. David fights Goliath and wins.
Saul becomes jealous and attempts to kill David. David then has his family and the first 400 of his mighty men join him. He rules over Judah and Benjamin for 7 years. David then rules over Israel for 33 years. When you are the King, you are the authority. David came a long way from the pasture to the palace.

Jesus’ responsibility increased. Jesus first deals with himself.

Matthew 4:1-11 NLT
(1) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.
(2) For forty days and forty nights He fasted and became very hungry.
(3) During that time the devil came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
(4) But Jesus told Him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
(5) Then the devil took Him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple,
(6) and said, “If You are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order His angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
(7) Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’”
(8) Next the devil took Him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
(9) “I will give it all to You,” he said, “if You will kneel down and worship me.”
(10) “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only Him.’”
(11) Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Then Jesus began preaching the Gospel (Good News). Jesus produced disciples and out of those disciples he appointed the 12. Then there were the masses of people that sought Jesus because of what He taught. If that was not enough, Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for us.

Increase is not to be avoided. It is a part of the maturing process. When Jesus comes back, he is coming back for believers that actually believe and do what His Word says to do.