Some prophetic words simply have to be spoken out so that the very environment hears what is announced, and becomes charged with the power of that word and that it might come to pass; those kinds of word actually birth the change of season, and, like the train guard might shout “all aboard!”, all those hearing may recognise the season. This, I believe, is one of those words:

Announcement brings anointing:
Like a Town Crier announcing the time, (like the Sons of Isaachar knowing what time it is), the crier reveals what time it is.

Joseph’s Name
In Hebrew = Literally “increaser”, “let him add”.
The Hebrew Root for this word = “gather together, increase (more + more), join, to continue to add, conceive again”

Joseph’s Positioning
Joseph’s positioning was Strategic. God’s plan was for the individual, in order for that person to fulfil their personal destiny, but it was also, ultimately, God’s plan for the nation, for God’s people, for His community, His society.

Joseph was Positioned to feed God’s Chosen
There’s something about the word for now which is directed at the individual and for the Church community.

The first identity of Joseph we readily recognise was the “coat of many colours”. This identified His father’s love upon him (Gen 37:3), His father’s favour was visible, evident and manifest – and others hated that.

Gen 37:23, “They stripped Joseph of his tunic”. Joseph was so identified with the robe that they showed the bloodstained tunic to the father to show that Joseph had gone.

Joseph then goes into slavery, and ends up in Potiphar’s house as overseer.
Gen 39:12, Potiphar’s wife says “lie with me….” “but he left his garment in her hand and ran outside”.
v16 “she kept his garment with her until Potiphar had come home….” – he was again identified with and by his clothing.

Joseph placed into prison where he interprets the other inmates’ dreams.
Gen 41:14 (having got the dreams right) “Pharaoh sent and called Joseph and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon and he shaved, changed his clothing and came to Pharaoh.” He then interprets Pharoah’s dreams correctly. He changes out of his prison clothing.

Note those words RAN and QUICKLY – sometimes change can happen very quickly, others are often left holding on to what they thought was your identity but you’ve moved on, you’re no longer there, you’ve changed, you’re at the next level. Sometimes that change can seem like a wrench, others want to hold on to the identity they know, it can even make them angry when that change takes place, but we’ve got a destiny to meet!

Gen 41:42, “Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand and he clothed him in garments of fine linen…”

From Prison to Power – suddenly ! From Pauper to Provider – swiftly!

Gen 42:8, Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt due to the famine. Joseph is now Governor. “they did not recognise him”. One reason they didn’t recognise him was the Egyptian clothing he wore, he appeared Egyptian, and to others this was now his identity.

Gen 45:1, “Joseph made himself known to his brothers”. (I imagine Joseph here peeling back his head-dress or similar).

Every stage of Joseph’s journey was marked by the removal of his clothing – this represents an identity change, a progression to the next phase.

God wants us to go from ‘glory to glory’, ‘faith to faith’. Like a lizard sheds its skin – once it’s outgrown its time for a new one. Jesus said, “don’t put new wine into old wineskins”.

Like a chrysalis, which turns into a butterfly, it sheds the former identity. ‘Blind Bartimaeus’ threw aside his garment. The ‘Woman at the Well’ left her water pots. (I might add that the disciples left their nets).

Paul said “When I was a child I thought like a child. But when I became a man I put away childish things”. It’s time to grow to the next level.

It’s time for a change, a new identity, a development out of the old into the new, a new appearance. There are things as individuals we need to leave behind. (I don’t just mean sin – though if the cap fits ! but certainly in our thinking…). What is it we must leave behind to attain the next level, what do we need to discard, and run away from, in order to reach our destiny?

For the church to fulfil its God-given destiny (To strategically be positioned for the feeding of God’s people, to add and increase to the Kingdom of God) each individual must make the change from one degree of glory to the next. In this way the community changes from strength to strength. God means it for good !!

I pray that we might be obedient to fulfil our destiny, move on, shedding old identities, old ways of thinking; that we might be positioned for God’s plan, for the greater good, and that we might progress, be transformed; that we might “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ”, and “be clothed with Christ”, be “conformed to the image of his dear Son”.