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Youll Get Through This- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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  Speaker 1: You know, we have a very special pastor with us
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  Speaker 1: this weekend. I consider him to be a father to
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  Speaker 1: the body of Christ and definitely a friend to this house.
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  Speaker 1: Would you please give a warm gateway welcome to Pastor
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  Speaker 1: Max Lucado and his wife, Dina Lynn. you want to
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  Speaker 1: remain standing for just a moment my wife is going
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  Speaker 1: to lead a prayer you have welcomed us into your
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  Speaker 1: worship service many times over the last decade yet of
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  Speaker 1: all the occasions that uh We have been here. None
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  Speaker 1: are we more honored and grateful than we are today.
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  Speaker 1: It is a genuine blessing to be in your presence.
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  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. He'll get you through this. Indeed, that's the...
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  Speaker 1: theme of my message. You'll get through this. Let's pray
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  Speaker 1: and then 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
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  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. You love this church. And I want to
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  Speaker 2: ask you to pour out your mercy, your grace, your goodness,
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  Speaker 2: your care. You are our caregiver. You are every heart's caregiver.
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  Speaker 2: And what do you say? You say, cast your cares
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  Speaker 2: on me and I will care for you. So Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: we ask you, I ask you for this church, for
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  Speaker 2: these people, for every heart, that you would meet each
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  Speaker 2: one where they have need. Their sorrow, we admit. Can
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  Speaker 2: we just admit? We're sad. We're sorrowful. 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, into joy. And
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  Speaker 2: it might not be a joy that jumps up and down.
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  Speaker 2: And it might just be just a quiet leading into
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  Speaker 2: green pastures besides still waters. This is what we want
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  Speaker 2: you to do, Jesus, our good shepherd. Lead this beautiful
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  Speaker 2: church into green pastures besides still waters so they can
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  Speaker 2: hear you speak. Help them to know thoughts to think.
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  Speaker 2: Words to say. Remind them of who you are. That
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  Speaker 2: you are mighty and that you are in their midst.
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  Speaker 2: That you haven't left them. You haven't turned your back
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  Speaker 2: on them. That you are for them. 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: An inner tremble. The kind that you can sense if
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  Speaker 1: 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. He'd 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 wife is angry.
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  Speaker 1: His kids are confused. He needed some assurance. And so
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  Speaker 1: I gave it. I said, you know, you'll get through this.
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  Speaker 1: Won't be painless. Won't be quick. But I really believe
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  Speaker 1: God will use this mess for something good. So in
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  Speaker 1: the meantime, don't be foolish. Don't be naive. Don't do
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  Speaker 1: something stupid. But don't despair either. With God's help. you'll
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  Speaker 1: get through this and then there was the teenager that
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  Speaker 1: I saw at a restaurant that I frequent she was
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  Speaker 1: serving my food and we struck up a conversation she
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  Speaker 1: was 18 years of age and I said, tell me
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  Speaker 1: a bit of your story. And it was a hard story.
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  Speaker 1: Her parents were divorced when she was six. They got
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  Speaker 1: back together when she was 15. And then they divorced
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  Speaker 1: again just a few months ago. And now they're demanding
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  Speaker 1: that she pick loyalty side with either mom or dad.
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  Speaker 1: She got misty eyed. And then we didn't get a
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  Speaker 1: chance to talk more. I haven't had a chance to
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  Speaker 1: see her since. But if I do, you can bet
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  Speaker 1: your sweet September that I'll look her square in the
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  Speaker 1: eye and I'll say, now, you're going to get through this.
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  Speaker 1: Won't be painless. Probably won't be quick. But God can
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  Speaker 1: use messes like this and he can do it for good.
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  Speaker 1: But in the meantime, it's important that you don't be
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  Speaker 1: foolish or not be naive or not make quick rash decisions.
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  Speaker 1: But don't despair. Don't give up. Because with God's help,
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  Speaker 1: you'll get through this. Audacious of me, right? How dare
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  Speaker 1: I say words like that to struggling people? How dare
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  Speaker 1: I speak such phrases of promise into such deep problems?
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  Speaker 1: Where did I conjure up such a paragraph? In a pit, actually.
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  Speaker 1: A pit so deep that the boy couldn't get out.
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  Speaker 1: So steep that he was stuck. And had he been
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  Speaker 1: able to work his way out, his brothers would have
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  Speaker 1: just shoved him back in. They were the ones who
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  Speaker 1: put him there in the first place. It's the story
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  Speaker 1: of Joseph in the Old Testament. And so it came
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  Speaker 1: to pass that when Joseph had come to his brothers,
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  Speaker 1: that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of
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  Speaker 1: many colors that was on him. And then they took
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  Speaker 1: him and cast him into a pit. And the pit
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  Speaker 1: was empty. There was no water in it. And they
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  Speaker 1: sat down to eat a meal. It's an abandoned cistern.
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  Speaker 1: The jagged rocks and roots extend from the side. And
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  Speaker 1: this 17 year old boy lies at the bottom. His
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  Speaker 1: hands 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: You get the point?
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  Speaker 2: Why?
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  Speaker 1: Well, his father Jacob pampered him like a prized calf.
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  Speaker 1: Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah, but he really
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  Speaker 1: just had one love. And that was Rachel. And when
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  Speaker 1: Rachel died, he kept her memory alive by fawning over
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  Speaker 1: their son, Joseph. Joseph played favorites. Consequently, they hated him.
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  Speaker 1: And they could not speak peaceably to him. And finally,
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  Speaker 1: their opportunity came. They caught Joseph 50 miles away from
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  Speaker 1: daddy's protection and they went nuclear on him. They stripped
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  Speaker 1: Joseph of his tunic. They took him and they cast
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  Speaker 1: him into a pit. Defiant verbs. They wanted not only
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  Speaker 1: to kill Joseph, but they intended to hide the body.
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  Speaker 1: It was a murderous cover-up from the get-go. We shall
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  Speaker 1: say some wild beast has devoured him. And had their
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  Speaker 1: greed for money not been just a feather heavier than
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  Speaker 1: their lust for blood, Joseph would have perished. But they
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  Speaker 1: had the opportunity to sell him into slavery, and so
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  Speaker 1: they did. Joseph didn't see this coming, did he? He
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  Speaker 1: didn't wake up that morning and think, well, this is
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  Speaker 1: the day I get thrown into a pit, so I
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  Speaker 1: better wear some padded clothing. The attack caught him off guard.
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  Speaker 1: And so did yours. Joseph's pit came in the form
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  Speaker 1: of a cistern. Yours came in the form of what?
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  Speaker 1: A diagnosis? A foster home? betrayed loyalty. Joseph was thrown
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  Speaker 1: into a pit and despised. And you? Thrown into an
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  Speaker 1: unemployment line and forgotten. A divorce court and betrayed into
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  Speaker 1: a bed and abused. The pit. Some people never get out.
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  Speaker 1: It's not easy to get out of a pit. There's
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  Speaker 1: no easy exit. Joseph's story, if you know it, got
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  Speaker 1: worse before it got better, didn't it? Abandonment led to enslavement.
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  Speaker 1: That led to entrapment. That led to imprisonment. The guy
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  Speaker 1: was sucker punched. He was lied about. He was sold out.
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  Speaker 1: He was mistreated. People made promise after promise only to
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  Speaker 1: break them, offered gifts only to take them. If hurt
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  Speaker 1: is a swampland, then Joseph was sentenced to life without
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  Speaker 1: parole in the Everglades. But he never gave up. He
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  Speaker 1: never gave up. Bitterness never staked his its claim. Anger
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  Speaker 1: never metastasized into hatred. His resolve never vanished. He not
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  Speaker 1: only survived, he thrived. He ascended like a helium balloon.
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  Speaker 1: An Egyptian official promoted him to chief servant. The chief
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  Speaker 1: warden in the prison promoted him and placed him over
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  Speaker 1: the other inmates. And Pharaoh was The then highest ruler
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  Speaker 1: on the planet shoulder-tapped Joseph to serve as his prime minister.
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  Speaker 1: And by the end of his life, Joseph, the boy
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  Speaker 1: in the pit, became the prime minister in the palace,
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  Speaker 1: the second most powerful man in his generation. It's not
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  Speaker 1: hyperbole to state that his plan to weather the famine
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  Speaker 1: saved society. From disaster. How? How? How did he flourish?
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  Speaker 1: Not just survive. But how did he flourish? During a
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  Speaker 1: tough time. During a hard season. During an uphill walk.
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  Speaker 1: During stiff headwinds. How did he do it? Well we
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  Speaker 1: don't have to speculate. We have an insight today. into
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  Speaker 1: the heart of Joseph. Some years later, the roles were reversed,
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  Speaker 1: weren't they? And Joseph, who had been the weak one,
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  Speaker 1: is now Joseph, the strong one. And the brothers who
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  Speaker 1: had been the strong ones are now the weak ones.
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  Speaker 1: And when they realize that they have come to Egypt
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  Speaker 1: in search of help and see, oh, that's our brother.
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  Speaker 1: That's Joseph. They assume they're about to get thrown into
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  Speaker 1: a pit of their own, of his making. But he
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  Speaker 1: doesn't settle the score. And by Joseph's explanation, we find
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  Speaker 1: amazing inspiration to help us weather tough times. He said
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  Speaker 1: this to his brothers. As for you, you meant evil
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  Speaker 1: against me, but God meant it for good in order
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  Speaker 1: to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive.
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  Speaker 1: You meant evil against me. This word for meant is
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  Speaker 1: a Hebrew word that traces its origin back to weave
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  Speaker 1: or plait. In other words, you came weaving evil against me.
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  Speaker 1: You came embroidering, weaving in and out the threads of
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  Speaker 1: hatred and betrayal and jealousy. But God, and he flips
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  Speaker 1: this verb into a different tense, And says, but God
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  Speaker 1: rewove it. God meant it for good. God took the
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  Speaker 1: very threads that had been intended to serve as a
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  Speaker 1: tapestry of disaster. And God rewove them into something good
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  Speaker 1: that actually resulted in the salvation of many people. Joseph
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  Speaker 1: got it. He saw that it was God who brought
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  Speaker 1: him to Egypt. It was God who got him through
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  Speaker 1: the tough times. It was God who took the evil
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  Speaker 1: that was intended to destroy him and used it for
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  Speaker 1: something good. Satan's plan was simple. If he could destroy
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  Speaker 1: the family of Abraham, he could destroy the descendants of Abraham,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. All of hell, it seemed, was intent on
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  Speaker 1: destroying Jacob's boys. But watch the master weaver at work.
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  Speaker 1: Joseph's situation was a perfect mess. But in God's hand,
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  Speaker 1: it was the perfect chance to train and teach and
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  Speaker 1: prepare the future prime minister of Egypt. The famine seemed
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  Speaker 1: to be disaster. Not for God. He was using the
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  Speaker 1: famine to relocate his lineage to Egypt. Everybody else called
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  Speaker 1: it Egypt, not God. He called it protective custody. A
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  Speaker 1: place where the children, the descendants of Abraham could grow
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  Speaker 1: protected from the Canaanite giants and enemies. And there they
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  Speaker 1: could for 400 years turn into the nation that they
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  Speaker 1: would become. Satan wove, but God rewove. Can he reweave
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  Speaker 1: your story, this story, As well, can't he? Let Joseph
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  Speaker 1: instruct you. You know what Joseph did that's worthy of
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  Speaker 1: our imitation? He kept God at the center of his story. Again,
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  Speaker 1: look at the words. This is Joseph speaking to his brothers.
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  Speaker 1: You meant evil against me, but God. But God. Raise
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  Speaker 1: your hand if you have a but God story in
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  Speaker 1: your life. I was heading off the deep end. But God.
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  Speaker 1: The doctor said there was no hope. But God. We
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  Speaker 1: were about to split up. But God. Everything looked bleak.
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  Speaker 1: But God. But God. Look what Joseph is doing. He's
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  Speaker 1: keeping God right in the center of the story. First
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  Speaker 1: came evil. But then came God. And the result was good. Evil.
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  Speaker 2: God.
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  Speaker 1: Good.
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  Speaker 3: Good.
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  Speaker 1: Take God out of the story, evil stays evil. Believe
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  Speaker 1: God in the story and evil becomes good. God reweaves
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  Speaker 1: it into something good. Now we see pictures of this
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  Speaker 1: all throughout scripture, don't we? But in the most famous
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  Speaker 1: passage of God's sovereignty, Romans 8, 28. We know that
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  Speaker 1: in all things... God works for the good of those
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  Speaker 1: who 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?
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  Speaker 4: Boy, I do.
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  Speaker 1: Dillon and I, that's our favorite thing to do in
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  Speaker 1: the morning. When I wake up, the first thing I
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  Speaker 1: think is, oh boy, coffee. And I stumble into the
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  Speaker 1: room where we have the coffee machine and there's all
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  Speaker 1: the ingredients. And when I take a drink of that
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  Speaker 1: first cup of coffee, I say, oh, that is, that's what? Oh,
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  Speaker 1: that's good. That's good stuff right there. Now, what am
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  Speaker 1: I saying? Am I saying that the coffee filters are good?
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  Speaker 1: That I'm just going to eat a coffee filter and
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  Speaker 1: call that good? That I might have some coffee beans
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  Speaker 1: and just chew on them for a little bit and say, mmm, boy,
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  Speaker 1: that's good stuff right there. No? What about that the
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  Speaker 1: pot 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
• 28:21
  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,
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: the truth is sometimes you got to take your moods
• 28:31
  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
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: to his character. Quarry from your Bible a list of
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: qualities of God that matter much to you. A good
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: exercise during a tough time would be just to make
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: a list of what doesn't change while everything else seems
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: to be changing. My list reads like this. He's still sovereign.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: He still knows my name. Angels still respond to his call.
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: The hearts of rulers still bend at his bidding. The
• 29:05
  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.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: The grave is still temporary housing. God is still faithful.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: He's not caught off guard. He uses everything for his
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: glory and my ultimate good. He uses tragedy to accomplish
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: his will and his will is right, is perfect and holy.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: Sorrow may come with the night, but joy always THAT
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: COMES IN THE MORNING. CREATE YOUR LIFT. Let truth defy
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: mistruth and let the Word of God speak over your
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: heart in changing times. Lay hold to the unchanging character
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: of God. Also lift up your eyes. Jeremiah did. He
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: was a prophet to Judah during her darkest period of rebellion.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: Did you know they called him the weeping prophet? You
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: want to know why? Because he was one. He wrote
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: a book so full of complaints, they called it Lamentations.
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: In that book, he said, my soul has been rejected
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: from peace. Look at this. I have forgotten happiness. And
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: so I say, my strength has perished. And so has
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: my hope from the Lord.
• 30:24
  Speaker 5: He wept.
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: He went to the condition of his people and the
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: depravity of their faith. But then, look what he did.
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: He lifted his eyes. Please take note of the intentionality
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: of his words. This I recall to my mind. I
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: recall to my mind. Therefore, I have hope. The Lord's
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: loving kindness, indeed. Kindnesses, indeed, never cease. For his compassions
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithful.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: Dear church, lift up your eyes. Just lift up your eyes.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: Don't get lost in your troubles. Don't let them weigh
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: you down. Don't get sucked into the quicksand of sadness.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: Lift up your eyes. Dare to believe that good things
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: will happen. Dare to believe that God was speaking to
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: you when he said all things work together for the
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: good of those who love him. Please know The mind
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: cannot be at once full of faith and full of fear.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: Something's got to go. So when you feel fear moving in,
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: set your eyes on God. Because the promise of scripture
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: is he will keep in perfect peace all those who
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord.
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: Are you troubled? Are you restless? Sleepless? then I dare you.
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: I double dog dare you. Expose your worries to an
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: hour of heartfelt worship. Let God flex his muscles. And
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: your concerns will melt like ice on a July sidewalk.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: And then one more. Lean on God's people. Lean on
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: God's people. Cancel your escape to the Himalayas. Forget fleeing
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: to a deserted island This is no time to be alone.
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: It's no time to be a hermit. I know you
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: want to be, but this is no time to isolate yourself.
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: Be a barnacle on the boat of God's church. Be
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: a barnacle on the boat of God's church. Anybody can
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: be a part of the church during good times, but
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: there are those whose faith is tested but faith desperately
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: needed because you're faithful during tough times. Jesus said, look
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: at this, where two or three are gathered together in
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: my name, I am there. I'm there. You want to
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: see Jesus? Hang out with Jesus's people. That's where Jesus is.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: You want the abiding presence of Christ? Then don't avoid
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: the church. Pursue the church. His people purvey His presence.
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: Years ago, my precious wife, Dinalyn, who you just met,
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: passed through a period of depression. Every day was great.
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: Her life was loud and busy. two kids in elementary
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: school and one in diapers. And she had a husband
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: who didn't know to get off the airplane and stay home.
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: And so the days took their toll. Depression can buckle
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: the knees of the best of us, but it's especially
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: difficult when you're the wife of the pastor. Congregants expect
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: the wife of the pastor to radiate joy and bite bullets.
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: But Dinalyn Much to her credit, never has been one
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: to pretend. Never has been one to play games. On
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: a given Sunday, when the sadness was suffocating, she made
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: this resolve as she was driving our three kids to church.
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: Her husband was already there. And she made this decision.
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: If anybody says, how are you doing? I'm going to
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: tell them. And so she answered, how are you? With
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: a candid, not well. I'm depressed. Will you pray for me?
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: And casual chats became deep conversations. And brief hellos became
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: heartfelt moments of tenderness. And by the time she left
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: the church service that morning, she had enlisted well over
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: a dozen people who promised to pray every day for her.
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: And she traces the healing of her depression to that
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: Sunday morning service. She found power in the presence of
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: God's people. Everything inside of you is going to want
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: you to stay away from your community. Everything. You're ticked off.
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: You're upset. You're triggered just by the sight of them.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: Don't give in. That's not God. That's the devil. And
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: when you sense that, the church needs you now more
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: than ever. More than ever. I know it's a tough time,
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: but love your small group. Love your Bible class. Love
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: your friends. Reach out. The reason God invented text messages
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: is so we can stay in touch with one another.
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: You be the voice that says we're going to be okay.
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: You be that voice. Others are going to panic, but
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: you can counterbalance it. You can be that one voice
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: that says, no, I'm not giving in because I know
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: God's power. You're going to get through this. I know.
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: You fear you won't. If your challenge is personal or
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: if it's congregational, maybe you fear you won't. You fear
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: that the depression will never lift or the arguing will
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: never stop or the solutions will never come. The solutions
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: will come. The arguing will stop. God will get you
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: through it. Now, it won't be painless. We want it
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: to be quick. And sometimes it is. Sometimes it's supernatural.
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: Sometimes it's miraculous. But many times God takes his time.
• 37:13
  Speaker 6: He does.
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: You know, Joseph was 17 years old when his brothers
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: abandoned him. He didn't see him again until he was 37.
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: 20 years passed. How long will God take with you?
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: Exactly the amount of time he needs and you need.
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: But God will use this mess for good. In the
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: chaos 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: ten jealous brothers, and one case of poor parenting, abuse,
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: unjust imprisonment, 24 months of prison food. But mix it
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: all together and what do you get? You get the
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: greatest bounce back in the Bible. The path to the
• 38:10
  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
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: he can do the same for you? Valley 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, mercy. and skill and
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: so the devil knows if he can silence you he
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: can silence his influence but you're not going to let
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: him you're not going to let him the story of
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: Joseph is in the bible for one reason and that
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: 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.
• 40:23
  Speaker 6: Amen.
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: Now, Heavenly Father, please take the words intended for each
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: heart and do not let the devil come and snatch
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: the seed. Glorify yourself now. Continue healing, helping, strengthening, and blessing.
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen.
• 40:49
  Speaker 6: I'll be all right. You don't have to stay. If
• 40:57
  Speaker 6: you've already chosen, I won't stand in your way.
• 41:05
  Speaker 3: I can feel it in your distance, in the way
• 41:09
  Speaker 3: you barely speak.
• 41:12
  Speaker 5: Like your heart is somewhere else now, somewhere I can't reach.
• 41:19
  Speaker 5: I was trying just to hold us While you slowly
• 41:24
  Speaker 5: slipped away Now I'm left with all the silence.
• 41:31
  Speaker 3: You didn't want to say Maybe I just held on
• 41:41
  Speaker 3: To something.
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: Already gone I'll be fine, you can leave You.
• 41:52
  Speaker 7: Don't owe me.
• 41:54
  Speaker 4: Anything If your heart is found away Out of what
• 42:01
  Speaker 4: we used to be I'll be fine, don't.
• 42:05
  Speaker 7: Look back I'll survive this.
• 42:09
  Speaker 4: Empty space Not tonight, maybe not soon.
• 42:16
  Speaker 3: To be okay we don't need to fake the feeling
• 42:26
  Speaker 3: i can see it in your eyes there's no reason
• 42:30
  Speaker 3: left for staying when.
• 42:33
  Speaker 7: The love already died.
• 42:38
  Speaker 3: Through the quiet in your.
• 42:46
  Speaker 7: I can hear your choice.
• 42:51
  Speaker 4: I'll be fine.
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: You can leave.
• 42:55
  Speaker 7: You don't owe me anything.
• 42:59
  Speaker 4: If your heart has found a way.
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: Out of what we used to be. I'll be fine.
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: Don't look back.
• 43:09
  Speaker 7: I'll survive this empty space.
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: Not tonight.
• 43:15
  Speaker 3: Maybe not soon.
• 43:17
  Speaker 4: But I'll learn to be okay.
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: I don't need a reason why. I can see it
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: in goodbye.
• 43:29
  Speaker 3: And it breaks me it does but i won't.
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: Ask you to stay.
• 43:39
  Speaker 7: I'll be fine you can't leave you don't owe me
• 43:45
  Speaker 7: anything if your heart is found away how.
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: I'll be fine, don't look back.
• 43:58
  Speaker 7: I'll survive this empty space Not tonight, maybe not soon
• 44:05
  Speaker 7: But I'll learn to be okay I'll be alright