Pastor David Koop

Joseph is another example of someone who learned the power of meekness - strength under control.

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Like Joseph, in this life you will be judged, misunderstood, cheated and betrayed. If you handle it right God will turn it around for your advantage.

The key is to take care of your character and leave your reputation and destiny up to God.

In the story of Joseph he wore three coats, and the first two were taken from him. In both cases people misjudged his heart. It could have destroyed his life but there was one coat he wore which no critic could ever remove.

You too will get a chance to wear the first two coats in life but the third coat, can only be worn by those who are able to let go of the first two. The three coats are:

1. The Coat of Human Affection
   
   Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. Genesis 37: 3
1. This coat is the affection and praises we receive from others. If your identity rests in the affection and praises of others you will not fulfill your destiny.
   
   
2. Joseph was wrongfully judged as a dreamer. He was at the bottom looking up. His mother had died, he was sold as a slave and his brothers hated him. He was stripped of his natural identity and all he had left was God.
   
   
3. Human affection alone will never make you strong but trials will.
   
   Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. James 1: 2-4
   
   Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1: 10
   
   Now the most important thing about a servant is that he does just what his master tells him to. What about me? Have I been a good servant? Well, I don't worry over what you think about this or what anyone else thinks. I don't even trust my own judgment on this point. My conscience is clear, but even that isn't final proof. It is the Lord himself who must examine me and decide. 1 Corinthians 4: 2-4 (TLB)
   
   
2. The Coat of Human Achievement
   
   Potiphar liked Joseph so much that he made him his trusted servant. He put him in charge of his household and everything he owned…. When she realized that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside. Genesis 39: 4,13
   
   
1. This coat is the title or honor we have in life because of our achievements. Positions and titles can be well deserved, but if your identity rests on this you will not fulfill your destiny.
   
   
2. The dream that God had given Joseph empowered him to flee. Destiny will help you keep your priorities with life’s fleeting temptations and your sanity when you are misunderstood.
   
   “There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Genesis 39: 9
   
   
3. When man makes a leader he/she is sent to Harvard, when God makes a leader He sends him/her to Desert University. Joseph had been forgotten by his father, his brothers, his employer and the evil seductress—all but a living God.
4. He would spend 10 years in jail getting his Doctorate in Depending on God.
   
   For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. 2 Timothy 1:12
   
   
3. The Coat of Divine Destiny
   
   And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh placed his own signet ring on Joseph’s finger as a symbol of his authority. He dressed him in beautiful clothing and placed the royal gold chain about his neck. Genesis 41: 41,42
   
   
1. This coat no man can remove because man did not give it to you.
   
   For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11: 29
   
   
2. Your destiny can only be found in God.
   
   Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. Philippians 3: 8,9a