Latest / Max Lucado Daily Sermons / Believe in God, Do you still need to think - Minister Max Lucado

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Believe in God, Do you still need to think - Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Just about 48 hours ago, right now, I was in
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  Speaker 1: a dental chair before an oral surgeon. I woke up
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Friday morning thinking that there was an ice pick in
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  Speaker 1: my jaw. Thanks to three different dentists, all of whom
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: attend this church, Dr. Tyler Ferris, Char Ferris, and Dr.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Stephen Buckley, I was informed that something needed to come out.
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  Speaker 1: And so... the good news is I was able to
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  Speaker 1: put our little teaching series to the test because just
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: as I leaned back and they put the gas on
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  Speaker 1: my face, the last thought I had was, I'll get
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  Speaker 1: through this. It won't be quick. It won't be painless.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: So if you don't like the sermon, you can blame them.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: If you do like it, you can blame them too.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: You have an outline in your handout if you'd like
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: to pull it out and follow along. If you're watching online,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: I invite you to click the YouVersion button. Join us online.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome to all of you in the overflow rooms. May
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  Speaker 1: God's blessings be upon you as well. We're going to
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  Speaker 1: open our Bibles to Genesis 39. After we say a prayer,
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  Speaker 1: we'll get right to work. For your mercy that kept
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  Speaker 1: us all weak, we give you thanks. For your mercy
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  Speaker 1: that sustains us even now. We bless you. Forgive, please,
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  Speaker 1: the sins of the one who speaks. There are many.
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  Speaker 1: May we see Jesus and just Jesus. Through Christ we pray.
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  Speaker 1: And all the church said. A middle-aged couch potato received
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  Speaker 1: a gift from his wife. A week of private workout
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  Speaker 1: lessons at the local health club. His trainer was Tanya,
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and athletic clothing model. He documented
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  Speaker 1: the outcome in an exercise diary. Day one. Started the
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  Speaker 1: morning at 6 a.m. Tough to get up, but worth
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  Speaker 1: it when I arrived at the health club and Tanya
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  Speaker 1: was waiting for me. She's something of a goddess with
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  Speaker 1: blonde hair and a dazzling white smile. Tanya was very
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  Speaker 1: encouraging as I did my sit-ups, though my gut was
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  Speaker 1: already aching a little from holding it in the whole
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  Speaker 1: time I was talking to her. This is going to
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  Speaker 1: be great. Day two. Took a whole pot of coffee
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  Speaker 1: to get me out the door, but I made it.
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  Speaker 1: Tanya had me lie on my back and push this
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  Speaker 1: heavy iron bar up into the air, and then she
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  Speaker 1: put some weights on it. Legs were a little wobbly
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  Speaker 1: on the treadmill, but I made it. Her smile made
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  Speaker 1: it all worthwhile. Muscles feel great. Day three. The only
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  Speaker 1: way I can brush my teeth is by laying the
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  Speaker 1: toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and
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  Speaker 1: forth over it. Driving was okay as long as I
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  Speaker 1: didn't try to steer. Tanya was a little impatient with me.
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  Speaker 1: And said that my screaming was bothering the other club members.
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  Speaker 1: Day four. Tonya was waiting for me with her vampire
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  Speaker 1: teeth in full snarl. I can't help it if I
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  Speaker 1: was an hour late. It took me half an hour late.
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  Speaker 1: It took me that long just to tie my shoes.
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  Speaker 1: I hid in the men's room until she sent Biff
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  Speaker 1: looking for me. Day five. I hate Tonya. I hate
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  Speaker 1: Tanya more than any human being has ever hated any
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  Speaker 1: other human being in the history of the world. If
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  Speaker 1: there was any part of my body not in extreme pain,
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  Speaker 1: I would hit her with it. She thought it would
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  Speaker 1: be a good idea to work out my triceps. Well,
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  Speaker 1: I have news for you, Tanya. I don't have triceps.
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  Speaker 1: Day six. Got Tanya's message on my answering machine, wondering
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  Speaker 1: where I am. I lacked the strength to use the
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  Speaker 1: TV remote control, so I watched 11 straight hours of
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  Speaker 1: the Weather Channel. Day seven. Well, that's the week. I'm
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  Speaker 1: so glad it's over. Next year, maybe my wife will
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  Speaker 1: give me something a little more fun, like a root
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  Speaker 1: canal or a kidney stone. You've likely never met Tanya,
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  Speaker 1: but you have met the teacher who drilled you or
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  Speaker 1: the band director who pushed you or the coach who
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  Speaker 1: challenged you or the sergeant who all but killed you.
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  Speaker 1: Where do they get these kind of ideas? Well, somewhere
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  Speaker 1: along the line, they learned this principle, and that is
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  Speaker 1: tough tests toughen people. Tough tests toughen people. Long before
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  Speaker 1: a coach planned a workout or a School teachers scheduled
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  Speaker 1: a rehearsal. God was already in the business. Of strengthening
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  Speaker 1: his people. Through tough tests. He certainly did with Joseph.
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  Speaker 1: If you're just picking up on this study of Joseph.
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  Speaker 1: Joseph was 17 years of age. When this Hebrew boy
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  Speaker 1: was dumped over the edge of a cistern. And then
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  Speaker 1: pulled out. Not to be saved. But to be sold
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  Speaker 1: into slavery. And then taken prisoner. into Egypt. He worked
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  Speaker 1: his way up the house of a man by the
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  Speaker 1: name of Potiphar, only to catch the eye of Mrs. Potiphar.
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  Speaker 1: And about the age of 27, she put the move
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  Speaker 1: on him, and he did the scoot out the door,
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  Speaker 1: only to be caught by Mr. Potiphar. And Mr. Potiphar,
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  Speaker 1: Joseph's master, took him and put him into prison, a
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  Speaker 1: place where the king's prisoners were confined. And we wonder,
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  Speaker 1: since when does a high road lead off the cliff?
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  Speaker 1: All Joseph did was all he could. He did what
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  Speaker 1: was right. He did his best in Potiphar's house. Kept
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  Speaker 1: his nose clean. Kept his bed made. Got his chores done.
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  Speaker 1: And yet in spite of it all, he gets prisoned
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  Speaker 1: with no hope of parole. Surely he was wondering, where
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  Speaker 1: in the world is God in this story? Maybe you're
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  Speaker 1: wondering that in yours. You know, you can do everything
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  Speaker 1: that's right, and life can turn out so wrong. Maybe
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  Speaker 1: you've made the right choices. You earned a degree, but
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  Speaker 1: now you can't find a job. Or you have a job,
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  Speaker 1: but the job is a dead-end cubicle. Or you took
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  Speaker 1: a stand for morality only to be dumped by a
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  Speaker 1: boyfriend or a girlfriend. Or you prayed for children yet
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  Speaker 1: the womb is still empty. Or you raised a house
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  Speaker 1: full of kids and now the house is empty. Life
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  Speaker 1: can feel like a prison. I'm thinking about a friend
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  Speaker 1: who after a half century of marriage told me not
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  Speaker 1: long ago about his wife and how she has begun
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  Speaker 1: to lose her memory and how earlier that week He
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  Speaker 1: had to go take her car keys from her. Half
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  Speaker 1: a century of marriage. He has to stay right close
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  Speaker 1: to her lest she fall. They had these hopes of
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  Speaker 1: growing old together. Well, they still will. It's just that
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  Speaker 1: only one of them will know what day of the
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  Speaker 1: week it is. How do we explain these occurrences in life? Carefully. Carefully.
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  Speaker 1: None of us know everything God is doing. None of
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  Speaker 1: us understand the full counsel or the full throttle of
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  Speaker 1: God's plan. Only God understands what He's doing. But we
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  Speaker 1: do know enough about God's character to know that His
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  Speaker 1: actions are never capricious, never callous. And they're never spontaneous.
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  Speaker 1: They have a purpose. Interestingly, that purpose, it seems more
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  Speaker 1: often than not, is explained in that four-letter word, test.
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  Speaker 1: This is some form of test. And this time in
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  Speaker 1: prison for Joseph was exactly that. If you like to
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  Speaker 1: fill in the blanks, here's the first line. God gave
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  Speaker 1: the test. Now, how can we be so sure that
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  Speaker 1: this time in which Joseph was in prison, how can
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  Speaker 1: we be so sure it was a test? Well, because
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  Speaker 1: the Bible tells us so. It's curious. It's a reference
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  Speaker 1: in the book of Psalms to Joseph. Psalm 105. You
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  Speaker 1: may have never seen this. Psalm 105, verses 18 and 19.
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  Speaker 1: There in prison, they bruised Joseph's feet with fetters and
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  Speaker 1: they placed his neck in an iron collar and Until
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  Speaker 1: the time came to fulfill his word, look, the Lord what?
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  Speaker 1: Tested Joseph's character. There it is in black and white.
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  Speaker 1: So we know without a doubt this time in prison
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  Speaker 1: was a time to test, train, mature, develop. strengthen the
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  Speaker 1: character of Joseph. Joseph ended up in prison not because
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  Speaker 1: of Potiphar but because of God. Part of the training
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  Speaker 1: of Joseph, part of the blueprint for Joseph's life included
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  Speaker 1: a difficult stint. in an Egyptian prison, a time in
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  Speaker 1: which God would test Joseph's character. It's not easy, nor
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  Speaker 1: is it always possible, to differentiate the difference between temptation
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  Speaker 1: and testing. But it seems that last week's message was
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  Speaker 1: a picture of temptation, of Satan trying to cause Joseph
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  Speaker 1: to stumble and fall. And this is a picture of testing.
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  Speaker 1: Of God bringing a challenge to help Joseph stand strong.
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  Speaker 1: Satan wants to trip us up so we'll fall. God
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  Speaker 1: wants to test us so we'll be strong. Satan is
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  Speaker 1: always trumped by God. So even the temptations of Satan
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  Speaker 1: eventually become tests. That strengthen us. And this no doubt
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  Speaker 1: is a test of God. Intended to test or put
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  Speaker 1: some strength in the soul. of Joseph. Early translations of
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  Speaker 1: Psalm 105 mistakenly translated the word neck as soul. And
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  Speaker 1: in some very, very ancient translations, none that you and
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  Speaker 1: I would purchase, but only that the scholars could find,
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  Speaker 1: this translation appears. They placed his soul in an iron
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  Speaker 1: collar and Later, when Jerome created the Latin translation of
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  Speaker 1: the Old Testament, he mistakenly inverted the subject and object
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  Speaker 1: of that very sentence. And he wrote, iron entered his soul.
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  Speaker 1: To this day, there are some old translations that have
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  Speaker 1: in the margin, you know, those little tiny words in
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  Speaker 1: the margin next to a little tiny letter. There are
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  Speaker 1: some of those old translations that have the phrase His
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  Speaker 1: soul came into iron. The translation is poor and long
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  Speaker 1: since been corrected. But the message is real. And that
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  Speaker 1: is in the prison, God was depositing some iron in
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  Speaker 1: the soul of Joseph. This was a test. And when
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  Speaker 1: God gave the test, look what happened. Joseph passed it.
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  Speaker 1: Joseph passed the test. And the keeper of the prison
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  Speaker 1: committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in
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  Speaker 1: the prison. And whatever they did there, it was his doing.
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  Speaker 1: This was a test. Remember, God was looking for a
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  Speaker 1: man of high character to whom he could entrust the
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  Speaker 1: entire population of a soon-to-be famine-struck world. Now, where do
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  Speaker 1: you develop a character like that? Well, you might begin
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  Speaker 1: in Potiphar's household in which for ten years he oversaw
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  Speaker 1: the estate of Potiphar. And then you might continue that
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  Speaker 1: training in an Egyptian prison. Because it's one thing to
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  Speaker 1: oversee the willing servants of Potiphar. It's something else entirely
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  Speaker 1: to oversee the unruly prisoners of an Egyptian prison. Now
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  Speaker 1: at this point, when the prison warden came to Joseph.
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  Speaker 1: He could have just crossed his arms and he said, alright,
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  Speaker 1: you want me to head up this crew? You can
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  Speaker 1: forget it. I headed up the crew over there in
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  Speaker 1: Potiphar's house and look what it got me. Prison stint.
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  Speaker 1: I'm just going to sit here and be quiet. But
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  Speaker 1: that's not what Joseph did. He didn't complain. He didn't criticize.
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  Speaker 1: He stayed positive. When he was given a task, he
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  Speaker 1: took it. You might say he passed the test. If
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  Speaker 1: you read the text, you know that two of the
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  Speaker 1: people in that prison came from the king's court, a
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  Speaker 1: butler and a baker. One morning, Joseph noticed that both
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  Speaker 1: men were sad. Again, Joseph could have dismissed their expressions.
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  Speaker 1: What concern was there sorrow to him? Who cares if
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  Speaker 1: they were sullen? Who cares if they were bitter? Joseph, however,
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  Speaker 1: took an interest in them. In fact, the first recorded
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  Speaker 1: words of Joseph in prison are terms of kindness. He said,
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  Speaker 1: why do you look so sad? Why do you look
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  Speaker 1: so sad? I don't know about you, but I think
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  Speaker 1: compassion would be a suitable quality for somebody who's about
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  Speaker 1: to be put in charge of feeding the whole world.
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  Speaker 1: Joseph passed another test. When he saw a hurt, he
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  Speaker 1: addressed it. As the story goes on, the butler and
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  Speaker 1: the baker were disturbed by their dreams. In his dream,
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  Speaker 1: the butler saw a vine with three grape-bearing branches. He
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  Speaker 1: pressed the grapes and gave them to the king. The
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  Speaker 1: baker dreamed about the bread. Three basketfuls on his head,
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  Speaker 1: and then they were eaten by the birds. Joseph listened
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  Speaker 1: to the dreams and he told the butler, he said, well,
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  Speaker 1: I've got good news for you. He told the baker,
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  Speaker 1: he said, I've got bad news for you. To the butler,
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  Speaker 1: he said, you'll be out in three days. To the baker,
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  Speaker 1: he said, you'll be dead in three days. One gets
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  Speaker 1: a new start, the other gets a noose around the neck.
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  Speaker 1: Another test? Well, Psalm 105 said this is a test.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe the test was, could Joseph be trusted enough to
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  Speaker 1: share the news, both good and bad, if God gave
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  Speaker 1: it to him. If God told him to tell Pharaoh,
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  Speaker 1: you can expect seven years of abundance and then seven
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  Speaker 1: years of famine, could Joseph be trusted to deliver both
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  Speaker 1: the good news and the bad news? Apparently he could.
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  Speaker 1: Because when God gave him a message, he shared it.
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  Speaker 1: The good news with the butler, the bad news with
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  Speaker 1: the baker. Test, test. You know, this looks like a prison,
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  Speaker 1: doesn't it? Smells like a prison. Sounds like a prison.
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  Speaker 1: But if you were to ask the angels who are
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  Speaker 1: looking down from heaven and say, where's Joseph? They would say, oh,
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  Speaker 1: he's in a testing time. And you? Maybe it looks
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  Speaker 1: like unemployment. Maybe it feels like rehab. Maybe it feels
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  Speaker 1: like rehab. Maybe it sounds like a hospital. But I'm
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  Speaker 1: wondering for some of you, if we could ask the angels,
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  Speaker 1: where is she? They would say, oh, she's in training
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  Speaker 1: right now. She's in a time of testing. Perhaps you
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  Speaker 1: have seen waiters or waitresses. Maybe you've even worn a
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  Speaker 1: little name tag that has your name, but then beneath
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  Speaker 1: it it says, In training. God gives those out too.
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  Speaker 1: And he looks at us and he says. Okay it's
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  Speaker 1: time for a time of testing. It's time for a
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  Speaker 1: time of training. If you are in a time of training.
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  Speaker 1: A time of testing. Then you've probably already had this thought.
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  Speaker 1: And that is God must not love me anymore. He
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  Speaker 1: must not care for me anymore. He's turned away from me.
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  Speaker 1: Because our initial reaction to a time of testing is
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  Speaker 1: we assume that means the absence of God. But just
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  Speaker 1: the opposite. He has his eye on you. He sees
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  Speaker 1: what you're going to need tomorrow or what the kingdom
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  Speaker 1: is going to need tomorrow. And he gives it to
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  Speaker 1: you today by taking you through a time of testing.
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  Speaker 1: Did you know that the Hebrew word for test comes
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  Speaker 1: from a Hebrew verb that means to see or to
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  Speaker 1: look intently? So, to pass through a time of test
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  Speaker 1: is to be in the eye of God, in the
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  Speaker 1: gaze of God. Think about this. The creator of the
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  Speaker 1: universe has said, oh, I've got a special task for
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  Speaker 1: that person, so I'm going to pass them through a
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  Speaker 1: time of testing. Testing. So that when the test comes later,
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  Speaker 1: the strength will be there today. By the way, did
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  Speaker 1: God have the right to do this to Joseph? Change
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  Speaker 1: the question. Does God have the right to do this
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  Speaker 1: to you? He is the potter. I'm sorry, the potter.
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  Speaker 1: And we are the clay. Right? He is the shepherd
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  Speaker 1: and we are the He's the vine dresser and we're
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  Speaker 1: the vine. He's the author, we're just the words. He's
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  Speaker 1: the teacher, we're just the student. He's the creator, we're
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  Speaker 1: the created. A good prayer for us to learn to
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  Speaker 1: pray is, God, do not stop this struggle until you
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  Speaker 1: have accomplished everything you want in my heart during this
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  Speaker 1: time of testing. Friend, you're going to get through this.
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  Speaker 1: You are. All tests are temporary. You'll get through this.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not saying it's going to be quick. Nor am
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  Speaker 1: I saying it's going to be painless. But if God
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  Speaker 1: can make a prince out of a prisoner, if He
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  Speaker 1: can draw and hone a hero out of a hole,
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  Speaker 1: don't you think He can do something with this mess
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  Speaker 1: in which you find yourself? Of course He can. But
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  Speaker 1: in the meantime, you have to do your part. What's
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  Speaker 1: your part? Here it is. Take the test. How do
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  Speaker 1: you take the test? Well, I think we at least
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  Speaker 1: do what Joseph did. And that is when you're given
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  Speaker 1: a task, take it. No task is too small. Do
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  Speaker 1: you aspire to do great things? Then show up on time.
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  Speaker 1: Do your work. Don't complain. God watches the way we
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  Speaker 1: do little tasks. If you're faithful over a few things,
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  Speaker 1: he'll set you over many. Did you notice that Joseph
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  Speaker 1: succeeded in the kitchen of Potiphar and the dungeon of
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  Speaker 1: Pharaoh before he succeeded as prime minister of Egypt? He
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  Speaker 1: cared for the butler and the baker before he cared
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  Speaker 1: for the nations. The reward of a good work is
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  Speaker 1: greater work. So do good work. Now's the time to
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  Speaker 1: just do good work. Let others bemoan the humble charge.
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  Speaker 1: Let others grumble in the corner of the prison cell.
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  Speaker 1: Not you. You know you're in a time of training.
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  Speaker 1: God is shaping your character. And today's slave is tomorrow's
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  Speaker 1: prime minister. So if you're given an humble task to do,
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  Speaker 1: do it. That's part of the training. And when you
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  Speaker 1: see a hurt, address it. We can only wonder, what
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  Speaker 1: if Joseph had ignored the sadness on the faces of
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  Speaker 1: the officers? What if he had ignored the butler and
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  Speaker 1: the baker? What if he said, I'm not going to
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  Speaker 1: talk to them? If you know how the story progresses,
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  Speaker 1: you know that it is the memory of the butler
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  Speaker 1: that serves to get Joseph out of prison. I hope
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  Speaker 1: I'm not giving away the end of the story to you.
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  Speaker 1: But if he had ignored the butler, then the butler
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  Speaker 1: would have had no memory of the kindness of Joseph. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: it was the kindness of Joseph that served as the
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  Speaker 1: key to open the door through which Joseph could pass. Kindness.
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  Speaker 1: What are you supposed to do during this tough time
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  Speaker 1: of testing? Well, I suggest you just be kind. There's
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  Speaker 1: no time for a pity party. Cancel the will-be-me music.
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  Speaker 1: This is a time for service, not self-centeredness. And when
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  Speaker 1: God gives you a message to share, share it. Did
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  Speaker 1: you know, if you're in a test, let me just
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  Speaker 1: tell you, God has enrolled you in a postgraduate course
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  Speaker 1: of difficulty. And what you are learning in this postgraduate
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  Speaker 1: course of difficulty, you will someday teach to someone else.
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  Speaker 1: I know.
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  Speaker 2: I know.
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  Speaker 1: You did not sign up for this course. I know.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: And I know it's a hard course. No one ever
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: signs up for the course of single parenthood. Or caring
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: for an aging parent. Or raising a handicapped child. You
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: didn't sign up for it. But God signed you up
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: for it. He's the maker. And he must think highly
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: of you to give you this difficult assignment. God is
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: the dean of the University of Hard Knocks. And he
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: and he alone defines our curriculum. And sometimes he gives
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: us these tough assignments so that we in turn can
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: teach others. Have you ever seen this verse in 2
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: Corinthians 1, verses 4 and 5? God comes alongside us
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: when we go through hard times. And before you know it,
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: He brings us alongside someone else who is going through
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: hard times so that we can be there for that
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: person just as God was there for us. Here's what
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: I'm wondering. That maybe this tough time you're going through
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: has nothing to do with you, but has something to
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: do with someone else. So that when they go through it,
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: you can give a word of encouragement to them. Henry
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: Ward Beecher, celebrated preacher of over 100 years ago. Of
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: the many stories he tells, I love the one in
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: which he reflects on growing up in a very poor home.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: His father was a pastor just as he. He was
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: raised in a family of 11 children. And the father
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: was living or trying to live off of a salary
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: of $ 800 a year. He remembers the poverty. He writes...
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: How ministers ever lived in those times I cannot conceive.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: I remember that at the table one time my father
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: was drinking his tea in his way, having poured it
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: into a saucer to cool and then resting his two
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: elbows on the table. Mother sat opposite, murmuring in her sweet, refined, gentle,
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: sad way that the bills were due, that she had
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: no money, that indeed she did not see how they
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: could get along. That for her own part, she expected
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: to die in the poorhouse. At that, my father dropped
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: his hand to the table and his eyes sparkled. Something
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: was coming. My dear, he said, I have trusted God
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: now for 40 years and he has never forsaken me.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: I am not going to begin to distrust him now.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: That woke me up. It was better than the catechism.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: It sank into me. And during my earlier life, when
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: I went through similar perils of sickness and poverty and
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: all forms of limitation and trouble, I never lost sight
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: of that single scene. That sentence was never out of
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: my ears. I trusted God for 40 years and I'm
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: not going to distrust Him now. I wonder if the
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: test of the Father wasn't for the sake of the Son.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: I wonder if the test of Elder Beecher wasn't for
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: the sake of Beecher Jr. So that Beecher Jr. would
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: remember the faith modeled for him by his father. And
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: I wonder if your test isn't for someone else. So
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: that that co-worker, that neighbor, that wife, that child, that grandchild,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: somebody might see you suffer with dignity and nobility. And
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: remember how you modeled the message of God in their lives.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: Agnes did this. When Agnes was a young girl, she
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: gave her heart to God, and she was on fire
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: for her faith. She left her family, she left her home,
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: even left her country. She became a missionary. She gave
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: God everything, and in exchange, God gave her a test.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: A test of loneliness. She felt as if God had
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: left her. She wrote in her journal, Deep down there
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: is nothing but emptiness and darkness. My God, how painful
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: is this unknown pain. I have no faith. But still
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: she worked and served and she even smiled. But on
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: and off for 50 years she felt this depressing isolation,
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: this secret pain. Only later in her life did she
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: come to understand that this pain, like Joseph's prison, was
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: a part of God's plan. She said this loneliness was
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: her way to better understand, quote, the hungry, the naked,
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, and all
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: the people who feel unwanted. God was teaching her compassion
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: so that she, Agnes, or we call her Mother Teresa,
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: could have more compassion on the people for whom she cared.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: She came to see it as part of her call.
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: Could I close by inviting you to do the same?
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: See this time of testing not as an interruption to
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: your life, but as preparation for your life. Not as
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: a suggestion that God isn't here, but no, as proof
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: that He is. Not as a question of your legitimacy,
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: but as proof of your legitimacy. God does promise to
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: use this mess for something good. This trouble you're in
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: isn't punishment, it's training. The normal experience of children. God
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: is doing what is best for us. Training us to
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: live God's holy best. We've put together a little declaration
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: of faith. As it appears on the screen, I invite
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: you to fill your lungs with air and your heart
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: with hope. And let's declare it together, shall we? By
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: God's power, I'll get through this. It won't be painless.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: It won't be quick. But God will use this mess
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: for good. I won't be foolish or naive, but nor
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: will I despair. With God's help, I know I will
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: get through this. Yet with your help, Lord. So we
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: turn to you now in prayer. We ask for your help.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: Seek out, please, Lord, the person who is struggling with
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: the test of family, of faith, or fear. Come to them, Father.
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: Draw near to them now in this season of prayer.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: We're asking for the miraculous intervention of your Holy Spirit.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: Through Jesus we pray. Amen. Thank you. Thank you.
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: You don't have to be new.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: You don't have to stay close. As long as you're
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: somewhere out there, that's enough for me.
• 33:06
  Speaker 2: I don't need to hold you near me.
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: Don't need promises to keep.
• 33:17
  Speaker 3: Just the thought that you are breathing.
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: Somewhere in this world I see.
• 33:23
  Speaker 3: Even if I'm not beside you Even if you never
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: know There's a quiet kind of comfort Just in knowing
• 33:34
  Speaker 3: you still glow I don't.
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: Need forever.
• 33:44
  Speaker 3: I just need you to exist.
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: You don't have to stay with me.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: You don't have.
• 33:52
  Speaker 3: To feel the same.
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: Just as long as you're still out there.
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: Calling softly through my days.
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: You don't have to look my way.
• 34:05
  Speaker 3: You don't have to be my home. It's enough to
• 34:10
  Speaker 3: know you're living in a world I'm not alone. I
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: won't chase you through the distance. Won't disturb your chosen life.
• 34:25
  Speaker 3: I'll just keep you in my silence like a star
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: that shines at night. Through the dark and through the blue.
• 34:40
  Speaker 4: I still think of you. You don't have to be
• 34:49
  Speaker 4: my home It's.
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: Enough to know you're living In a world I'm.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: Not alone I don't need to be your light.
• 35:29
  Speaker 3: I don't need to cross your mind All I need
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: is just the truth That you're somewhere.
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: Still alive.
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: out there Calling softly through my days You don't have
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: to look my way You don't have to be my
• 36:01
  Speaker 2: home It's enough to know you're living
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: In a world I'm not alone.