Latest / Max Lucado Daily Sermons / You’ll Get Through This No Matter What - Minister Max Lucado

Transcript

You’ll Get Through This No Matter What - Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: You know, we have a very special pastor with us
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: this weekend. I consider him to be a father to
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the body of Christ and definitely a friend to this house.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Would you please give a warm gateway welcome to Pastor
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Max Lucado and his wife, Dina Lynn. you want to
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: remain standing for just a moment my wife is going
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: to lead a prayer you have welcomed us into your
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: worship service many times over the last decade yet of
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: all the occasions that uh We have been here. None
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: are we more honored and grateful than we are today.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: It is a genuine blessing to be in your presence.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: I know the last few weeks have been hard. I
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  Speaker 1: know you're walking an uphill path and you're feeling the
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  Speaker 1: wind in your face. But I also know that God
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  Speaker 1: is still on the throne. And that he loves you
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  Speaker 1: with a deep and abiding affection. And Jesus is building
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  Speaker 1: his church.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: He'll get you through this. Indeed, that's the... theme of
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  Speaker 1: my message. You'll get through this. Let's pray and then
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: we'll get to work.
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  Speaker 2: Church, I want to speak God's word over you. Have
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  Speaker 2: you not seen, have you not heard that our God
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  Speaker 2: is an everlasting God, creator of the ends of the earth,
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  Speaker 2: He does not grow tired or weary. In his understanding
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  Speaker 2: no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary.
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  Speaker 2: And power to the weak. Even youths will stumble and fall.
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  Speaker 2: And young men will grow tired and weary. But those
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  Speaker 2: who wait on the Lord. Those who hope in the Lord.
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  Speaker 2: Shall renew their strength. They will mount up with wings
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  Speaker 2: like the eagles. They will run and not grow weary
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  Speaker 2: and they will walk and not faint. Lord Jesus, we
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: bow before you today because you are the authority. You
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  Speaker 2: are sovereign God. We humble ourselves before you so you
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  Speaker 2: can lift us up in due time. Lord, we love
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  Speaker 2: this church.
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  Speaker 1: You love this church.
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  Speaker 2: And I want to ask you to pour out your mercy,
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  Speaker 2: your grace, your goodness, your care.
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  Speaker 1: You are our caregiver.
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  Speaker 2: You are every heart's caregiver.
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  Speaker 1: And what do you say?
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  Speaker 2: You say, cast your cares on me and I will
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  Speaker 2: care for you. So Jesus, we ask you, I ask
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  Speaker 2: you for this church, for these people, for every heart,
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  Speaker 2: that you would meet each one where they have need.
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  Speaker 1: Their sorrow, we admit.
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  Speaker 2: Can we just admit?
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  Speaker 1: We're sad. We're sorrowful.
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  Speaker 2: We grieve.
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  Speaker 1: We grieve.
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  Speaker 2: We hear things, we see things that make us sad.
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  Speaker 2: But God, we know that you can take our tears,
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  Speaker 2: that you can take our sadness, that you can take
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  Speaker 2: our confusion, you can take our anger, our misunderstanding, Lord,
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  Speaker 2: and you can turn it into goodness and to joy.
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: And it might not be a joy that jumps up
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  Speaker 2: and down. It might just be just a quiet leading
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  Speaker 2: into green pastures besides still waters. This is what we
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  Speaker 2: want you to do, Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: Our good shepherd.
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  Speaker 2: Lead this beautiful church into green pastures besides still waters
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  Speaker 2: so they can hear you speak. Help them to know
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  Speaker 2: thoughts to think. Words to say. Remind them of who
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  Speaker 2: you are. That you are mighty and that you are
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  Speaker 2: in their midst. That you haven't left them. You haven't
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  Speaker 2: turned your back on them. That you are for them.
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  Speaker 1: You are for us.
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  Speaker 2: You are for your church. You love your church. We
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  Speaker 2: are your bride. Sometimes you have to do some shaking.
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  Speaker 2: Sometimes you have to do some like exposing or some care.
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  Speaker 2: Like you have to be tender. We thank you for
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  Speaker 2: your tenderness right now, Lord. We thank you that you
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  Speaker 2: get your bride ready for your return. We are ready
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  Speaker 2: for you to come back, Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: And you are.
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  Speaker 2: Getting us ready. So I thank you that we can
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  Speaker 2: trust you, Jesus, with all our hearts. We don't have
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  Speaker 2: to lean on our own understanding or what we think.
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  Speaker 2: But we can acknowledge you and invite you into everything.
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  Speaker 2: And you will make our path straight. So we thank
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  Speaker 2: you for your word. How it makes us alive. And
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  Speaker 2: how it makes us feel. And I ask, Lord, that
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  Speaker 2: you would just minister to every feeling, every thought. In
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  Speaker 2: this precious church. And it's in your name Jesus I pray.
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  Speaker 1: Amen. Please be seated. She had a tremble to her.
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  Speaker 1: And in her tremble. The kind that you can sense
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  Speaker 1: if you just place a hand lightly on a person's shoulder.
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  Speaker 1: I hadn't seen her in some months. Ran into her
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  Speaker 1: of all places in a grocery store. Asked about her kids.
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  Speaker 1: Asked about her husband. And when I did, her eyes
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  Speaker 1: began to water and her chin began to quiver. And
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  Speaker 1: the story spilled out. After 20 years of marriage and
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  Speaker 1: three kids and a dozen moves, he was gone. Traded
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  Speaker 1: her in on a younger model. She did her best
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  Speaker 1: to maintain her composure, but she couldn't. And the grocery
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  Speaker 1: store section became a sanctuary of sorts. And right there
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  Speaker 1: between the tomatoes and the heads of lettuce, We prayed.
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  Speaker 1: She wept. And then I said, you'll get through this.
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  Speaker 1: It won't be painless. It won't be quick. But God
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  Speaker 1: will use this mess for good. And in the meantime,
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  Speaker 1: don't be foolish. Don't be naive. Don't despair either. Because
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  Speaker 1: with God's help you'll get through this. Two days later
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  Speaker 1: a friend called. He'd just been fired. The dismissal was
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  Speaker 1: his fault. It said some inappropriate things at work. Crude
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  Speaker 1: offensive statements. His boss had no choice. Now he's a
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  Speaker 1: 57 year old. unemployed manager in a struggling economy. His
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  Speaker 1: wife is angry. His kids are confused. He needed some assurance.
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  Speaker 1: And so I gave it. I said, you know, you'll
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  Speaker 1: get through this. Won't be painless. Won't be quick. But
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  Speaker 1: I really believe God will use this mess for something good.
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  Speaker 1: So in the meantime, don't be foolish. Don't be naive.
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  Speaker 1: Don't do something stupid. But don't despair either. With God's help.
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  Speaker 1: you'll get through this. And then there was the teenager
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  Speaker 1: that I saw at a restaurant that I frequent. She
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  Speaker 1: was serving my food. And we struck up a conversation.
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  Speaker 1: She was 18 years of age. And I said, tell
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  Speaker 1: me a bit of your story and it was a
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  Speaker 1: hard story her parents were divorced when she was six
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  Speaker 1: they got back together when she was 15 and then
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  Speaker 1: they divorced again just a few months ago and now
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  Speaker 1: they're demanding that she pick loyalty side with either mom
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  Speaker 1: or dad she got misty eyed and then we didn't
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  Speaker 1: get a chance to talk more I haven't had a
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  Speaker 1: chance to see her since But if I do, you
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  Speaker 1: can bet your sweet September that I'll look her square
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  Speaker 1: in the eye and I'll say, now, you're going to
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  Speaker 1: get through this. Won't be painless. Probably won't be quick.
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  Speaker 1: But God can use messes like this and he can
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  Speaker 1: do it for good. But in the meantime, it's important
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  Speaker 1: that you don't be foolish or not be naive or
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  Speaker 1: not make quick rash decisions. But don't despair. Don't give up.
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  Speaker 1: Because with God's help, you'll get through this. Audacious of me, right?
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  Speaker 1: How dare I say words like that to struggling people?
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  Speaker 1: How dare I speak such phrases of promise into such
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  Speaker 1: deep problems? Where did I conjure up such a paragraph?
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  Speaker 1: In a pit, actually. A pit so deep that the
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  Speaker 1: boy couldn't get out. So steep that he was stuck.
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  Speaker 1: And had he been able to work his way out,
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  Speaker 1: his brothers would have just shoved him back in. They
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  Speaker 1: were the ones who put him there in the first place.
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  Speaker 1: It's the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. And
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  Speaker 1: so it came to pass. when Joseph had come to
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  Speaker 1: his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the
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  Speaker 1: tunic of many colors that was on him. And then
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  Speaker 1: they took him and cast him into a pit. And
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  Speaker 1: the pit was empty. There was no water in it.
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  Speaker 1: And they sat down to eat a meal. It's an
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  Speaker 1: abandoned cistern. The jagged rocks and roots extend from the side.
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  Speaker 1: And this 17-year-old boy lies at the bottom. His hands
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  Speaker 1: are bound. His ankles are tied. He's on his side.
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  Speaker 1: His voice is hoarse from screaming. His eyes are wide
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  Speaker 1: with fear. It's not that the brothers don't hear him.
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  Speaker 1: It's not that his brothers couldn't see him. 20 years
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  Speaker 1: from now, when famine has tamed their swagger and Guilt
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  Speaker 1: has dampened their pride. They will make this confession. We
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  Speaker 1: saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us.
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  Speaker 1: And we would not hear. These are the great grandsons
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  Speaker 1: of Abraham. These are the sons of Jacob. These are
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  Speaker 1: the couriers of God's covenant to a galaxy worth of people.
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  Speaker 1: Tribes will bear their banners. The name of Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 1: will appear on their family tree. Yet in this moment,
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  Speaker 1: they are a bronze age version of a dysfunctional family.
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  Speaker 1: They could have their own television show for crying out loud.
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  Speaker 1: Their hearts are as hard as the desert. Lunch matters
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  Speaker 1: more to them than their brother. They despise Joseph. They
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  Speaker 1: hated him. And could not speak peaceably to him. They
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  Speaker 1: hated him. Even more, they hated him. His brothers envied him.
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  Speaker 1: Get the point? Why? Well, his father Jacob pampered him
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  Speaker 1: like a prized calf. Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah.
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  Speaker 1: But he really just had one love. And that was Rachel.
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  Speaker 1: And when Rachel died, he kept her memory alive by
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  Speaker 1: fawning over their son, Joseph. Joseph played favorites. Consequently, they
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  Speaker 1: hated him. And they could not speak peaceably to him.
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  Speaker 1: And finally, their opportunity came. They caught Joseph 50 miles
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  Speaker 1: away from daddy's protection and they went nuclear on him.
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  Speaker 1: They stripped Joseph of his tunic. They took him and
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  Speaker 1: they cast him into a pit. Defiant verbs. They wanted
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  Speaker 1: not only to kill Joseph, but they intended to hide
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  Speaker 1: the body. It was a murderous cover-up from the get-go.
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  Speaker 1: We shall say some wild beast has devoured him. And
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  Speaker 1: had their greed for money not been just a feather
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  Speaker 1: heavier than their lust for blood, Joseph would have perished.
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  Speaker 1: But they had the opportunity to sell him into slavery,
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  Speaker 1: and so they did. Joseph didn't see this coming, did he?
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  Speaker 1: He didn't wake up that morning and think, well, this
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  Speaker 1: is the day I get thrown into a pit, so
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  Speaker 1: I better wear some padded clothing. The attack caught him
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  Speaker 1: off guard. And so did yours. Joseph's pit came in
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  Speaker 1: the form of a cistern. Yours came in the form
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  Speaker 1: of what? A diagnosis? A foster home? Betrayed loyalty. Joseph
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  Speaker 1: was thrown into a pit and despised. And you? Thrown
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  Speaker 1: into an unemployment line and forgotten. A divorce court and
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  Speaker 1: betrayed into a bed and abused. The pit. Some people
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  Speaker 1: never get out. It's not easy to get out of
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  Speaker 1: a pit. There's no easy exit. Joseph's story, if you
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  Speaker 1: know it, got worse before it got better, didn't it?
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  Speaker 1: Abandonment led to enslavement. That led to entrapment. That led
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  Speaker 1: to imprisonment. The guy was sucker punched. He was lied about.
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  Speaker 1: He was sold out. He was mistreated. People made promise
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  Speaker 1: after promise only to break them, offered gifts only to
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  Speaker 1: take them. If hurt is a swampland, then Joseph was
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  Speaker 1: sentenced to life without parole in the Everglades. But he
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  Speaker 1: never gave up. He never gave up. Bitterness never staked
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  Speaker 1: his its claim. Anger never metastasized into hatred. His resolve
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  Speaker 1: never vanished. He not only survived, he thrived. He ascended
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  Speaker 1: like a helium balloon. An Egyptian official promoted him to
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  Speaker 1: chief servant. The chief warden in the prison promoted him
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  Speaker 1: and placed him over the other inmates. And Pharaoh was
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  Speaker 1: the then highest ruler on the planet, shoulder tapped Joseph
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  Speaker 1: to serve as his prime minister. And by the end
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  Speaker 1: of his life, Joseph, the boy in the pit, became
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  Speaker 1: the prime minister in the palace, the second most powerful
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  Speaker 1: man in his generation. It's not hyperbole to state that
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  Speaker 1: his plan to weather the famine saved society. from disaster
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  Speaker 1: how how how did he flourish not just survive but
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  Speaker 1: how did he flourish during a tough time during a
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  Speaker 1: hard season during an uphill walk during stiff headwinds how
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  Speaker 1: did he do it well we don't have to speculate
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  Speaker 1: We have an insight into the heart of Joseph. Some
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  Speaker 1: years later, the roles were reversed, weren't they? And Joseph,
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  Speaker 1: who had been the weak one, is now Joseph, the
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  Speaker 1: strong one. And the brothers who had been the strong
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  Speaker 1: ones are now the weak ones. And when they realize
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  Speaker 1: That they have come to Egypt. In search of help.
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  Speaker 1: And see. Oh that's our brother. That's Joseph. They assume
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  Speaker 1: they're about to get thrown. Into a pit of their own.
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  Speaker 1: Of his making. But he doesn't settle the score. And
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  Speaker 1: by Joseph's explanation, we find amazing inspiration to help us
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  Speaker 1: weather tough times. He said this to his brothers. As
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  Speaker 1: for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant
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  Speaker 1: it for good in order to bring about this present
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  Speaker 1: result to preserve many people alive. You meant evil against me.
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  Speaker 1: This word for meant is a Hebrew word that traces
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  Speaker 1: its origin back to weave or plait. In other words,
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  Speaker 1: you came weaving evil against me. You came embroidering, weaving
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  Speaker 1: in and out the threads of hatred and betrayal and jealousy.
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  Speaker 1: But God, and he flips this verb into a different tense,
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  Speaker 1: And says, but God rewove it. God meant it for good.
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  Speaker 1: God took the very threads that had been intended to
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  Speaker 1: serve as a tapestry of disaster. And God rewove them
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  Speaker 1: into something good that actually resulted in the salvation of
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  Speaker 1: many people. Joseph got it. He saw that it was
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  Speaker 1: God who brought him to Egypt. It was God who
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  Speaker 1: got him through the tough times. It was God who
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  Speaker 1: took the evil that was intended to destroy him and
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  Speaker 1: used it for something good. Satan's plan was simple. If
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  Speaker 1: he could destroy the family of Abraham, he could destroy
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  Speaker 1: the descendant of Abraham, Jesus Christ. All of hell, it seemed,
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  Speaker 1: was intent on destroying Jacob's boys. But watch the master
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  Speaker 1: weaver at work. Joseph's situation was a perfect mess. But
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  Speaker 1: in God's hand, it was the perfect chance to train
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  Speaker 1: and teach and prepare the future prime minister of Egypt.
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  Speaker 1: The famine seemed to be disaster. Not for God. He
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  Speaker 1: was using the famine to relocate his lineage to Egypt.
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  Speaker 1: Everybody else called it Egypt, not God. He called it
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  Speaker 1: protective custody. A place where the children, the descendants of
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  Speaker 1: Abraham could grow protected from the Canaanite giants and enemies.
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  Speaker 1: And there they could for 400 years turn into the
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  Speaker 1: nation that they would become. Satan wove, but God rewove.
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  Speaker 1: Can he reweave your story? This story? As well, can't he?
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  Speaker 1: Let Joseph instruct you. You know what Joseph did that's
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  Speaker 1: worthy of our imitation? He kept God at the center
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  Speaker 1: of his story. Again, look at the words. This is
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  Speaker 1: Joseph speaking to his brothers. You meant evil against me,
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  Speaker 1: but God. But God. Raise your hand if you have
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  Speaker 1: a but God story in your life. I was heading
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  Speaker 1: off the deep end. But God. The doctor said there
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  Speaker 1: was no hope. But God. We were about to split up.
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  Speaker 1: But God. Everything looked bleak. But God. But God. Look
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  Speaker 1: what Joseph is doing. He's keeping God right in the
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  Speaker 1: center of the story. First came evil. But then came God.
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  Speaker 1: And the result was good. Evil. God. Good. Good. Take
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  Speaker 1: God out of the story, evil stays evil. Believe God
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  Speaker 1: in the story and evil becomes good. God reweaves it
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  Speaker 1: into something good. Now we see pictures of this all
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  Speaker 1: throughout scripture, don't we? But in the most famous passage
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  Speaker 1: of God's sovereignty, Romans 8, 28, we know that in
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  Speaker 1: all things, God works for the good of those who
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  Speaker 1: love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
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  Speaker 1: God promises to render beauty out of all things, not
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  Speaker 1: the individual thing, but all things. We see examples of
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  Speaker 1: this in our own lives. How many of you enjoy
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  Speaker 1: a cup of coffee when you wake up in the morning? Boy,
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  Speaker 1: I do. Dillon and I, that's our favorite thing to
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  Speaker 1: do in the morning. I can hardly, when I wake up,
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  Speaker 1: the first thing I think is, oh boy, coffee. And
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  Speaker 1: I stumble into the room where we have the coffee
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  Speaker 1: machine and there's all the ingredients. And when I take
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  Speaker 1: a drink of that first cup of coffee, I say, oh,
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  Speaker 1: that is, that's what? Oh, that's good. That's good stuff
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  Speaker 1: right there. Now, what am I saying? Am I saying
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  Speaker 1: that the coffee filters are good? That I'm just going
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  Speaker 1: to eat a coffee filter and call that good? That
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  Speaker 1: I might have some coffee beans and just chew on
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  Speaker 1: them for a little bit and say, mmm, boy, that's
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  Speaker 1: good stuff right there. No? What about that the pot
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  Speaker 1: in which the coffee is served, is it good? No,
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  Speaker 1: not necessarily. It's not the It's not the individual things.
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  Speaker 1: It's them mixed together at the right temperature, according to
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  Speaker 1: the right ingredients level, in the right way. It's bringing
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  Speaker 1: them all together in the collective cooperation that creates the good.
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  Speaker 1: This is the promise of Scripture. Nothing in Scripture would
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  Speaker 1: ever suggest that a famine is good. Nothing in scripture
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  Speaker 1: would ever suggest that a heart attack is good or
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  Speaker 1: a terrorist attack is good. These are all manifestations of
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  Speaker 1: a fallen nature of humanity. They're terrible calamities. Yet the
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  Speaker 1: promise of scripture, every message Of the Bible. Especially the
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  Speaker 1: story of Joseph. Compels us to believe. That God will
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  Speaker 1: mix all these things together. He'll mix them together. In
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  Speaker 1: the right way. In the right way. Until someday. Believe
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  Speaker 1: it or not. You'll say you know. It's good. It's good.
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  Speaker 1: So can I urge you. Just do what Joseph did.
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  Speaker 1: Keep God in the center of your struggle. How do
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  Speaker 1: we do so? I've got just a few brief suggestions. First,
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  Speaker 1: lay claim to the nearness of God. Just lay claim
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  Speaker 1: to the nearness of God. He said, never will I
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  Speaker 1: leave you, never will I forsake you. In the Greek,
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  Speaker 1: this passage has five negatives. It could literally be translated,
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  Speaker 1: I will not not leave you, neither will I not
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  Speaker 1: not forsake you. And so grip this promise like the
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  Speaker 1: parachute it is. Hang on to it. Repeat it to
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  Speaker 1: yourself over and over. And let it silence the voices
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  Speaker 1: of fear and angst. The Lord thy God is with you.
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  Speaker 1: He is mighty to save. He delights over you. He
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  Speaker 1: will quiet you with his love. He delights over you
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  Speaker 1: with singing. Now be careful. And don't ever equate the
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  Speaker 1: presence of God with a good mood. We may be
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  Speaker 1: in a bad mood, but God is ever present. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: the truth is sometimes you got to take your moods
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  Speaker 1: outdoors and give them a good talking to, don't you?
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: And then number two, cling to his character. Just cling
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  Speaker 1: to his character. Quarry from your Bible a list of
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  Speaker 1: qualities of God that matter much to you. A good
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: exercise during a tough time would be just to make
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  Speaker 1: a list of what doesn't change while everything else seems
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  Speaker 1: to be changing. My list reads like this. He's still sovereign.
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  Speaker 1: He still knows my name. Angels still respond to his call.
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  Speaker 1: The hearts of rulers still bend at his bidding. The
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  Speaker 1: death of Jesus still saves souls. The spirit of God
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: still indwells saints. Heaven is still, only heart beats away.
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  Speaker 1: The grave is still temporary housing. God is still faithful.
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  Speaker 1: He's not caught off guard. He uses everything for his
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  Speaker 1: glory and my ultimate good. He uses tragedy to accomplish
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  Speaker 1: his will and his will is right. is perfect and holy.
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  Speaker 1: Sorrow may come with the night, but joy always comes
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  Speaker 1: in the morning. Create your list. Let truth defy mistruth.
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: And let the word of God speak over your heart.
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  Speaker 1: In changing times, lay hold to the unchanging character of God. Also,
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  Speaker 1: lift up your eyes. Jeremiah did. He was a prophet
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  Speaker 1: to Judah during her darkest period of rebellion. Did you
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: know they called him the weeping prophet? You want to
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  Speaker 1: know why? Because he was one. He wrote a book
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  Speaker 1: so full of complaints, they called it Lamentations. In that book,
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  Speaker 1: he said, my soul has been rejected from peace. Look
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  Speaker 1: at this. I have forgotten happiness. And so I say,
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  Speaker 1: my strength has perished. And so has my hope from
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. He wept. He went to the condition of
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  Speaker 1: his people and the depravity of their faith. But then,
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  Speaker 1: look what he did. He lifted his eyes. Please take
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  Speaker 1: note of the intentionality of his words. This I recall
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  Speaker 1: to my mind. I recall to my mind. Therefore, I
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  Speaker 1: have hope. The Lord's loving kindness, indeed. Kindnesses, indeed, never cease.
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  Speaker 1: For his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.
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  Speaker 1: Great is your faithfulness. Dear church, lift up your eyes.
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  Speaker 1: Just lift up your eyes. Don't get lost in your troubles.
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  Speaker 1: Don't let them weigh you down. Don't get sucked into
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: the quicksand of sadness. Lift up your eyes. Dare to
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  Speaker 1: believe that good things will happen. Dare to believe that
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  Speaker 1: God was speaking to you when he said all things
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  Speaker 1: work together for the good of those who love him.
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  Speaker 1: Please know The mind cannot be at once full of
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  Speaker 1: faith and full of fear. Something's got to go. So
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  Speaker 1: when you feel fear moving in, set your eyes on God.
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  Speaker 1: Because the promise of scripture is he will keep in
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  Speaker 1: perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: turn often to the Lord. Are you troubled? Are you restless? Sleepless?
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: Then I dare you. I double dog dare you. Expose
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: your worries to an hour of heartfelt worship. Let God
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: flex his muscles. And your concerns will melt like ice
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: on a July sidewalk. And then one more. Lean on
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  Speaker 1: God's people. Lean on God's people. Cancel your escape to
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: the Himalayas. Forget fleeing to a deserted island. This is
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: no time to be alone. It's no time to be
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: a hermit. I know you want to be, but this
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: is no time to isolate yourself. Be a barnacle on
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: the boat of God's church. Be a barnacle on the
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  Speaker 1: boat of God's church. Anybody can be a part of
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: the church during good times, but there are those whose
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: faith is tested, but faith desperately needed because you're faithful
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: during tough times. Jesus said, look at this, where two
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  Speaker 1: or three are gathered together in my name, I am there.
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  Speaker 1: I'm there. You want to see Jesus? Hang out with
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: Jesus's people. That's where Jesus is. You want the abiding
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: presence of Christ? Then don't avoid the church. Pursue the church.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: His people purvey his presence. Years ago, my precious wife, Dinalyn,
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  Speaker 1: who you just met, passed through a period of depression.
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: Every day was great. Her life was loud and busy.
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: two kids in elementary school and one in diapers. And
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: she had a husband who didn't know to get off
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  Speaker 1: the airplane and stay home. And so the days took
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  Speaker 1: their toll. Depression can buckle the knees of the best
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  Speaker 1: of us, but it's especially difficult when you're the wife
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  Speaker 1: of the pastor. Congregants expect the wife of the pastor
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  Speaker 1: to radiate joy and bite bullets. But Dinalyn Much to
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  Speaker 1: her credit, never has been one to pretend. Never has
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  Speaker 1: been one to play games. On a given Sunday, when
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: the sadness was suffocating, she made this resolve as she
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  Speaker 1: was driving our three kids to church. Her husband was
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: already there. And she made this decision. If anybody says,
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  Speaker 1: how are you doing? I'm going to tell them. And
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: so she answered, how are you? With a candid, not well.
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  Speaker 1: I'm depressed. Will you pray for me? And casual chats
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: became deep conversations. And brief hellos became heartfelt moments of tenderness.
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: And by the time she left the church service that morning,
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  Speaker 1: she had enlisted well over a dozen people who promised
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  Speaker 1: to pray every day for her. And she traces the
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  Speaker 1: healing of her depression to that Sunday morning service. She
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: found power in the presence of God's people. Everything inside
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: of you is going to want you to stay away
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: from your community. Everything. You're ticked off. You're upset. You're
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: triggered just by the sight of them. Don't give in.
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: That's not God. That's the devil. And when you sense that,
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: the church needs you now more than ever. More than ever.
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: I know it's a tough time, but love your small group.
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: Love your Bible class. Love your friends. Reach out. The
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: reason God invented text messages is so we can stay
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: in touch with one another. You be the voice that
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: says we're going to be okay. You be that voice.
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: Others are going to panic, but you can counterbalance it.
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: You can be that one voice that says, no, I'm
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: not giving in because I know God's power. You're going
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: to get through this. I know you fear you won't.
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: If your challenge is personal or if it's congregational, maybe
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: you fear you won't. You fear that the depression will
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: never lift or the arguing will never stop or the
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: solutions will never come. The solutions will come. The arguing
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: will stop. God will get you through it. Now, it
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: won't be painless. We want it to be quick. And
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: sometimes it is. Sometimes it's supernatural. Sometimes it's miraculous. But
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: many times God takes his time He does. You know,
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: Joseph was 17 years old when his brothers abandoned him.
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: He didn't see him again until he was 37. 20
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: years passed. How long will God take with you? Exactly
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: the amount of time he needs and you need. But
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: God will use this mess for good. In the chaos
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: called Joseph's life, I count one broken promise. two betrayals,
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: several bursts of hatred, two abductions, more than one seduction,
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: 10 jealous brothers, and one case of poor parenting, abuse,
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: unjust imprisonment, 24 months of prison food. But mix it
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: all together and what do you get? You get the
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: greatest bounce back in the Bible. The path to the
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  Speaker 1: palace wasn't quick. But wouldn't you agree with me that
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: God used that mess for good? And wouldn't you think
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: he can do the same for you? Tally up the
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: pain of your life, the betrayals of your past or
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: the betrayals of your present. You could make a long
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: list just like Joseph could. But couldn't it be that
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: God can take all of this and he can mix
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: it together and turn it into something good? The question
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: is this, is God still in control? Might the evil
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: that Satan intended be ultimate good? Could it be that
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: you will someday look back on the tough days of
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: your life and say, you know, those were hard days,
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: but boy, God used them for good. You're a version
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: of Joseph in this generation. There's something in you individually
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: and corporately that Satan doesn't want to get out. So
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: you're a version of Joseph. He's trying to silence you,
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: interrupt you, suppress you, destroy you. Why? Because you carry
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: something of God within you. Something noble and holy. Something
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: that the world needs. Wisdom, kindness, love. mercy, and skill.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: And so the devil knows if he can silence you,
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: he can silence his influence, but you're not going to
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: let him. You're not going to let him. The story
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: of Joseph is in the Bible for one reason, and
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: that is to teach us to trust God to overcome evil.
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: And what Satan intends for evil God, the master weaver
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: redeems for good. Now Joseph would be the first to
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: tell you, life in the pit stinks. And it's not
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: easy to get out. But I believe Joseph would be
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: quick to tell you that the God who turned evil
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: to good in his day can reweave any circumstance and
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: turn it into good today. Amen. Thank you, Lord. Amen. Now,
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  Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, please take the words intended for each heart
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: and do not let the devil come and snatch the seed.
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: Glorify yourself now. Continue healing, helping, strengthening, and blessing. In
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. 🎵 Outro Music 🎵