Maybe you feel you're in prison right now. Okay, what is it God wants you to learn? Don't stay in prison too long aye? I'll just finish it now. He grew in these things; firstly he grew in capacity. He grew in ability to live at a regal level, at a high society level. Many Christians can't handle it at all. They can't even talk or communicate with people who've got money because of what's in their own heart. Think about that. It makes them uncomfortable when someone's got money, wealth. But God wants you to be able to live in there, serve in there. They would prosper because you're there. You would ask yourself what makes me uncomfortable? That's what God wants you to grow in your capacity in, so you can welcome people.
One of the things I love about by son Dave is Dave can relate to people at every level. I've seen him. He's met with Presidents, he's met with people top financially, he's met with people right down to people out of prison and there isn't one that I don't find he can't connect with and talk with. Very few people can do that. You've got to be free inside of any envy of what they have. You have to have no agenda whatsoever and people sense it. They sense it.
So Joseph's preparation; first he grew in capacity, see? He grew in capacity. Now how did he prosper? The Bible says how you prosper. You meditate in the word of God and you get to perform the word of God, get to do it. That's what God told Joshua in Joshua 1:8, he said you meditate in it, hold the word in your mouth, do the word of God, you'll prosper. So he prospered. How did he prosper? Well we look at it and we interpret it, oh he just had a lucky break. God blessed him because God wanted to do it, but He doesn't do that for me. No, this is a principle. You're a king. You're called in a kingly calling and God will prosper if you do what other people do that prosper.
Okay, the second thing he did is he grew in character. He had to grow in character. Character's what you are when no one's looking. Character's what you are when no one sees - had to grow in character. He had some huge issues to face; hatred of his brothers, injustice, betrayal by his brothers, sold as a slave, as an object of meat, just a piece of meat down on a slave market, bitter words spoken to him, betrayal, injustice, thrown into jail on a false rape charge when he'd stood up for what was right, temptation, ingratitude by those he helped, delays. He had to face all of those things. They sound familiar to you? It's called God's training process for kings.
What did he come out with? When he emerged at the end, when his time came, he showed great grace to his brothers. Don't worry, it wasn't you sent me. God sent me beforehand. He showed huge grace. He showed generosity - I'm here to provide for you, provide for the people who are bitter and hated him and put him down and then betrayed him? That's generosity and grace. That's a great, great character quality. I don't find many Christians have that. They find that hard, hard to be kind and gracious to people that have hurt them, to bless people, so too small to be great. Understand what I'm saying? We have to grow.
These things come to grow kings. You're a king in growth. What did he show? He showed strength. You've got to be strong to handle that kind of pressure of being betrayed, of being falsely accused, thrown to the bottom of the jail and you know you did right, treated and chained like a scum at the bottom part of the jail, then still serve and work your way up until you're in charge and everyone trusts you and loves you, believes in you. Tremendous internal strength, strength of character, determined! This prison that I'm in right now - I might be chained up. Everyone says I was guilty of rape. They want to take me and cut me up or cut parts off or take my head off or something - but listen. God said it's different. I've got a better future than this. It does not end here. I'm only in the middle of the story.