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Faithfulness of God- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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Speaker 1: Perhaps you've heard the story of the lady who invited
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Speaker 1: a large group of people over to her house for
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Speaker 1: Easter lunch. It was a stressful day, didn't go as
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Speaker 1: she had originally intended. And by the time lunch rolled around,
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Speaker 1: she got everybody seated at the table. She was pretty frazzled.
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Speaker 1: And she looked across the table to her six-year-old daughter
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Speaker 1: and said, honey, why don't you just say the blessing today?
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Speaker 1: And the little girl said, oh, mommy, I don't know
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Speaker 1: what to say. And the mother said, well, Just say
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Speaker 1: to the Lord what you hear your mother say to
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Speaker 1: the Lord. And the little girl bowed her head and said, Lord,
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Speaker 1: why on earth did I invite all these people to lunch? Well,
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Speaker 1: hopefully your Easter is not that stressful. Although we do
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Speaker 1: have a lot of people here, all seven of our
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Speaker 1: overflow rooms are full and this place is packed. And
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Speaker 1: so we're grateful that you're here. And doing our best
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Speaker 1: to manage the large number of people and looking forward
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Speaker 1: to this time next year when we'll have a little
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Speaker 1: more elbow room. We're very grateful that you're here and
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Speaker 1: may God's richest blessings be upon you as we celebrate
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Speaker 1: the resurrection of Christ. If you're a guest, we'd like
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Speaker 1: to extend to you our sincerest welcome. You honor us
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Speaker 1: by being present today. We're so very grateful that you're here.
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Speaker 1: We are really wrapping up a series of messages that
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Speaker 1: we began last fall, early in the fall, a series
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Speaker 1: of messages on the 30 big ideas of the Bible.
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Speaker 1: Our senior minister, Randy Frazee, compiled a topical Bible called Believe,
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Speaker 1: in which they took all of the scriptures of the
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Speaker 1: Bible and divided them up according to themes. And it's
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Speaker 1: a wonderful way to study scripture, to get the big
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Speaker 1: idea on the big ideas of scripture. And one of
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Speaker 1: these is the theme of faithfulness. And that's where we
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Speaker 1: land today on Easter weekend. And I can't think of
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Speaker 1: a topic more important than faithfulness and more appropriate to
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Speaker 1: Easter Sunday. Now, if you don't have one of those
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Speaker 1: topical Bibles, that's fine. Please don't worry because every verse
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Speaker 1: that I share is going to be projected on the screen. Also,
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Speaker 1: as you came in, you received a weekend handout. And
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Speaker 1: I'd like to point out to you that this weekend
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Speaker 1: handout has a tearaway card. Would you go ahead and
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Speaker 1: keep that handy? Because at the end of the message,
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Speaker 1: I'm going to turn your attention to this card and
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Speaker 1: you'll want to know where it is. It's got a
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Speaker 1: tearaway card. If you want to tear it off now,
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Speaker 1: you can or tear it off later. And we're going
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Speaker 1: to give you a chance to fill that out, to
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Speaker 1: make some spiritual decisions and also to give us some information.
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Speaker 1: And so as we turn our attention to the theme
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Speaker 1: of faithfulness, we have a A key verse that accompanies
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Speaker 1: each chapter each week. And so this week's key verse
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Speaker 1: is found in the book of Proverbs. The words are
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Speaker 1: going to appear on the screen. Would you say them
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Speaker 1: aloud with me? Let love and faithfulness never leave you.
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Speaker 1: Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet
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Speaker 1: of your heart. Then you will win favor and a
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Speaker 1: good name in the sight of God and man. As
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Speaker 1: we pray this week, we're remembering one of our partner churches.
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Speaker 1: There are 14 other churches in the San Antonio area
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Speaker 1: that are going through the Believe series. One of these
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Speaker 1: churches is the Primera Iglesia Cristiana. Johan Mora is the pastor.
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Speaker 1: Let's pray for them and then we'll get to work.
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Speaker 1: We lift up to you, Lord, this wonderful congregation asking
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Speaker 1: Easter blessings to be upon them, upon Pastor Mora and
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Speaker 1: all the good work they do. Forgive our speaker. His
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Speaker 1: sins are many. Grant that we can see Christ, just Christ.
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Speaker 1: Through Christ we pray. And all the church said, amen.
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Speaker 1: When you think about faithfulness, it's like a coin that
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Speaker 1: has two sides. On one side, God's faithfulness to us.
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Speaker 1: On the other, our attempt to be faithful to him.
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Speaker 1: He always has a firm grip on us and we
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Speaker 1: do our best to hold on to him. But sometimes
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Speaker 1: it's not easy. Circumstances in life can cause us to
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Speaker 1: lose our faith, but still we try to hold on.
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Speaker 1: Jonathan McComb, more than anybody, can tell you how difficult
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Speaker 1: it is to keep a steady hand of faith on
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Speaker 1: God during difficult times. I'd like to invite you to
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Speaker 1: turn your attention to the screen. We really appreciate Breonna
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Speaker 1: Whitney and the TV station K-Triple-I in Corpus Christi, Texas.
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Speaker 1: for allowing us to show this news clip that they
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Speaker 1: aired last November.
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Speaker 2: A sunny November day greets South Texas as usual. But
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Speaker 2: while most are spending this day working, Jonathan McComb is
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Speaker 2: reflecting about a day that began similarly six months ago.
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Speaker 1: It was a.
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Speaker 3: Beautiful day, sunshine all day long.
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Speaker 1: We were in the river swimming.
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Speaker 2: That day spent in Wimberley, Texas, a quaint town along
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Speaker 2: the Blanco River his family had never stayed at before.
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Speaker 2: Oh no! But that night became a nightmare. Severe weather
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Speaker 2: pounded Wimberley. The Blango River rose to a record 44
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Speaker 2: feet that night in mere minutes, knocking the home they
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Speaker 2: stayed in off its foundation, sending it flying downstream. And
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Speaker 2: one by one, Jonathan lost loved ones into the river.
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Speaker 2: His wife, Laura, his six-year-old son, Andrew, his four-year-old daughter, Leighton,
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Speaker 2: and friends.
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Speaker 3: I was shaking so bad. One, from knowing what just
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Speaker 3: happened and knowing I was never going to see you.
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Speaker 3: you know, my family and friends again.
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Speaker 2: Six months later, Jonathan is now living a new normal,
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Speaker 2: but his home remains the exact same as it did
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Speaker 2: before his family left that weekend. Toys, stuffed animals, still
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Speaker 2: laying out. How did you walk back into this house
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Speaker 2: that has so many memories of your family? I mean,
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Speaker 2: how did you do that?
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Speaker 3: And lots of people have asked me that question. I said,
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Speaker 3: you know, there was so many good memories here that
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Speaker 3: It does make me feel better. I mean, I think
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Speaker 3: if I went somewhere else where their memory wasn't, that
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Speaker 3: I felt like I would maybe lose them again.
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Speaker 1: For a second time.
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Speaker 2: But now, these memories hold his greatest moments, starting with
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Speaker 2: what he calls the first best day of his life,
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Speaker 2: his wedding day with Laura.
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Speaker 1: A lot of good memories.
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Speaker 2: And something special he just found from their honeymoon now
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Speaker 2: rests on top of a wedding picture that shows just
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Speaker 2: how in love they were.
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Speaker 3: That's actually a champagne cork.
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Speaker 1: From our honeymoon in Anguilla, 05.
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Speaker 2: And then, a few years later, the second best day
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Speaker 2: of his life. The day his son Andrew was born.
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Speaker 2: The son he always wanted.
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Speaker 1: He liked to fish with you, right? I like to fish.
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Speaker 1: I like to hunt, go.
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Speaker 3: To the ranch.
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Speaker 2: Andrew's words now keeping his spirit alive. His school just
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Speaker 2: found his daily classroom journal. Jonathan reading through it for
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Speaker 2: the first time.
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Speaker 3: One day I was at school and it was the
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Speaker 3: best day ever because it was Valentine's.
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Speaker 2: And then one page that wasn't about school, but about
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Speaker 2: his dad. A simple sentence and drawing.
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Speaker 3: My dad is the best because he plays with me.
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Speaker 2: Andrew was the best big brother to his little sister, Leighton.
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Speaker 2: The day she was born, the third best day of
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Speaker 2: Jonathan's life. Like any little girl, she loved the color
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Speaker 2: pink and playing dress-up. That sweet smile, the last thing
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Speaker 2: Jonathan would see before he went to bed. Which is
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Speaker 2: why there is a fourth best day of his life.
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Speaker 3: Knowing that they're all in heaven, without a doubt. You know,
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Speaker 3: if I had doubts, I'm not sure that I could
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Speaker 3: be where.
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Speaker 1: I am today.
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Speaker 2: He knows he's never alone.
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Speaker 1: That he misses you.
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Speaker 3: Not going to forget you.
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Speaker 2: And most importantly, never without love.
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Speaker 1: Jonathan said that without faith, he didn't know if he
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Speaker 1: could make it. When a river comes into your world,
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Speaker 1: when circumstances rush into your life and they wash away
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Speaker 1: your hopes and your dreams, your aspirations, when a tidal
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Speaker 1: wave crashes into your economy or your finances or even
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Speaker 1: your health, Do you find it difficult to respond in faith?
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Speaker 1: Do you find yourself reacting more in panic or in peace?
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Speaker 1: More in fret or more in faith? It's hard to
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Speaker 1: respond with an attitude of faith. And maybe that's why
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Speaker 1: our reading this week includes the story, the Old Testament
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Speaker 1: story that we cherish so much. And that is the
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Speaker 1: story of Joseph in many ways mirrors the resurrection story
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Speaker 1: because in a season of tragedy God created a moment
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Speaker 1: of triumph the story of Joseph occurred 1600 years before
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Speaker 1: the story of Jesus on the timeline of your Bible
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Speaker 1: you would have Abraham and then Jacob, and then Joseph,
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Speaker 1: and then further down you'd have the story of Moses.
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Speaker 1: So we reach back 1600 years before the birth of
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Speaker 1: Jesus to recall the story of the young dreamer, the
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Speaker 1: son of Jacob. He was a dreamer, wasn't he? Remember
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Speaker 1: how he enters the story in Genesis chapter 37? He
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Speaker 1: enters the story of Jacob's family as one of 12
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Speaker 1: boys one of 12 sons but he's the one who
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Speaker 1: had the dreams looking back he probably should have just
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Speaker 1: kept his dreams to himself He walked into the breakfast
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Speaker 1: room one morning and told all of his brothers, hey,
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Speaker 1: I had an interesting dream last night and I interpreted
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Speaker 1: my own dream and it means that someday you're all
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Speaker 1: going to bow down to me. I'm not sure how
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Speaker 1: he expected them to react to that, but it wasn't positive.
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Speaker 1: He had already been given the coat of many colors
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Speaker 1: and was treated as the favorite son of Jacob. The
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Speaker 1: next day he came in with different images, different symbols
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Speaker 1: in his dream, but the same interpretation. Someday, he said,
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Speaker 1: everybody in this family is going to bow down to me. Well,
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Speaker 1: that was all the boys could take. They seized the
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Speaker 1: opportunity to seize their brother, and they threw him in
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Speaker 1: an empty cistern, a pit. They really intended to kill him,
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Speaker 1: but their love for money was just a feather heavier
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Speaker 1: than their thirst for blood. And so they had a
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Speaker 1: chance to sell him to a group of merchants, Ishmaelites,
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Speaker 1: who were passing through the area headed to Egypt. And
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Speaker 1: so they did the unthinkable. They sold their brother Joseph
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Speaker 1: into slavery, absolutely certain, I'm sure, that they would never
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Speaker 1: see or have to hear from him again. And so
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Speaker 1: where we pick up the story on page 455 in
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Speaker 1: your Believe book, if you brought it, Or Genesis chapter 39.
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Speaker 1: If you'd like to follow in your Bible. Where we
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Speaker 1: pick up the story. We have this one sentence statement.
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Speaker 1: That is loaded with significance. Genesis 39 in verse 1.
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Speaker 1: Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Down to Egypt.
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Speaker 1: Have you ever noticed how life can just pull us down?
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Speaker 1: He was let down by his family. He was put down.
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Speaker 1: by his siblings. He was sold down the river as
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Speaker 1: a slave. Now he's led down the road to Egypt.
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Speaker 1: He arrives in Egypt with nothing, placed on the auction
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Speaker 1: block and sold like a cow to the highest bidder. Potiphar,
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Speaker 1: an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain
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Speaker 1: of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had
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Speaker 1: taken him theirs. Potiphar was in charge of the security
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Speaker 1: that oversaw the care of Pharaoh. So he would be
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Speaker 1: the equivalent to a secret service agent who oversaw the
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Speaker 1: protection of the president. So he's an important man. He
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Speaker 1: buys Joseph. Joseph becomes his servant. Joseph doesn't speak the language.
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Speaker 1: He doesn't know the culture. The work is hard. The
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Speaker 1: demands are intense. I'm sure he's homesick. We would imagine
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Speaker 1: that the next verse is going to describe Joseph's consequential
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Speaker 1: plunge into despair or addiction or discouragement. But just the opposite.
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Speaker 1: The next verse says, the Lord was with Joseph so
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Speaker 1: that he prospered. And he lived in the house of
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Speaker 1: his Egyptian master. And when the master saw that the
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Speaker 1: Lord was with him, And that the Lord gave him
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Speaker 1: success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his
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Speaker 1: eyes and became his attendant. Look at that. Joseph shows
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Speaker 1: up in Egypt with nothing but the shirt on his back.
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Speaker 1: And in short order, he's the personal assistant to one
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Speaker 1: of the most powerful people in Egypt. How do we
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Speaker 1: explain this? Is it the talent of Joseph? Is it
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Speaker 1: the managerial skills of Joseph? Surely he had both. But
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Speaker 1: according to Genesis 39, the reason... that Joseph succeeded is
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Speaker 1: that God was present. God was with Joseph, the scripture says.
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Speaker 1: God was with him. He was to Joseph what a
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Speaker 1: blanket is to a baby. He was all over him.
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Speaker 1: Joseph could not move anywhere outside of the presence of
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Speaker 1: the Lord. And because God was present, Joseph was successful. Now,
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Speaker 1: the presence of God did not guarantee the absence of problems. Joseph,
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Speaker 1: scripture will tell us, like your preacher, was young and handsome.
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Speaker 1: I don't know why you're laughing. Potiphar's wife, as it
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Speaker 1: turns out, had a thing for young and handsome Hebrews.
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Speaker 1: Now Joseph was well built and handsome. And after a while,
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Speaker 1: his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, come
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Speaker 1: to bed with me. Kind of a steamy story right
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Speaker 1: here in the book of Genesis. But he refused. No
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Speaker 1: one is greater in this house than I am. My
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Speaker 1: master has withheld nothing from me except you because you
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Speaker 1: are his wife. How then could I do such a
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Speaker 1: wicked thing and sin against God? And though she spoke
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Speaker 1: to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to
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Speaker 1: bed with her or even be with her. The coin
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Speaker 1: of faithfulness has two sides. God is faithful to us.
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Speaker 1: We seek to be faithful to him. God had been
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Speaker 1: faithful to Joseph and now Joseph is seeking to be
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Speaker 1: faithful to God and succeeds. But Mrs. Potiphar is not
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Speaker 1: a happy camper. She does not like not getting her way.
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Speaker 1: So she lied to her husband Potiphar and told Potiphar
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Speaker 1: that Joseph was guilty of sexual harassment. Joseph was thrown
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Speaker 1: in prison. While he was in prison, he made friends
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Speaker 1: with a couple of people who had been sent to
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Speaker 1: prison from the throne room of Egypt. One was the
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Speaker 1: cup bearer. The other was the baker. Turns out the
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Speaker 1: cup bearer and the baker both had dreams. And Joseph,
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Speaker 1: who had a knack for interpreting dreams, interpreted them both.
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Speaker 1: He said to the baker, I've got bad news. You're
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Speaker 1: going to death row. He said to the cup bearer,
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Speaker 1: I've got good news. You're going back to Pharaoh. Turns
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Speaker 1: out he was correct. The baker had bad news. got
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Speaker 1: sent to death row the cupbearer got to return to
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Speaker 1: serve in the royal throne room and as the cupbearer
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Speaker 1: was leaving Joseph could be heard yelling out after him
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Speaker 1: hey buddy would you put in a good word for
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Speaker 1: me and the cupbearer said of course I will and
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Speaker 1: believing that the cupbearer would keep his word Joseph got
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Speaker 1: ready to be rescued we can envision him going back
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Speaker 1: to his jail cell collecting all of his belongings thinking
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Speaker 1: it's just a matter of time before he's rescued from jail.
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Speaker 1: But a day passed, nothing happened. Two days passed, nothing happened.
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Speaker 1: Three days, three weeks, three months, six months, nothing happened. Finally,
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Speaker 1: the final verse of chapter 40 reads like this. The
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Speaker 1: chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph. He forgot him.
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Speaker 1: Just forgot all about him. And so that chapter ends.
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Speaker 1: You know the space between the end of that chapter
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Speaker 1: and the beginning of the next on your Bible? That
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Speaker 1: little ribbon of uninked space? You can move from that
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Speaker 1: chapter to the next in an instant. But you know
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Speaker 1: how long it took Joseph to move from the end
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Speaker 1: of that chapter to the beginning of the next? Read
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Speaker 1: the first sentence in the next chapter. When two full
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Speaker 1: years had passed, two full years, Pharaoh had a dream
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Speaker 1: two years, 24 months, plenty of time for a person
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Speaker 1: to grow bitter, cynical, sour, plenty of time for a
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Speaker 1: person to lose their faith. People have given up on
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Speaker 1: God for lesser reasons in less time. But Joseph did not.
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Speaker 1: He did not. He was faithful. And on a day
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Speaker 1: that began just like any other, there was a noise
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Speaker 1: at the entrance to the dungeon. And a soldier said,
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Speaker 1: we're here for Joseph. And they came and took Joseph
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Speaker 1: and cleaned him up, put a new robe on him
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Speaker 1: and some sandals on his feet and marched him of
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Speaker 1: all places into the throne room of the most powerful
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Speaker 1: man on the planet. And so it was for the
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Speaker 1: first time, the eyes of Joseph and the eyes of
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Speaker 1: Pharaoh looked at each other. Turns out that Pharaoh had
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Speaker 1: had a dream and he hadn't slept well the night before.
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Speaker 1: And when the cupbearer overheard Pharaoh talking about the dream
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Speaker 1: that had kept him awake, the cupbearer slapped himself in
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Speaker 1: the forehead. That's right there in the Bible. He slapped
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Speaker 1: himself in the forehead and he said, oh my goodness,
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Speaker 1: I forgot all about Joseph. And he told Pharaoh, I
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Speaker 1: know just the guy. And they sent for Joseph, had
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Speaker 1: Joseph brought into the throne room. And Pharaoh began to
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Speaker 1: tell Joseph the dream. Well, it was easy. It was
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Speaker 1: first grade math for Joseph. He said, well, I know
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Speaker 1: exactly what that means. You're going to have seven years
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Speaker 1: of feast. Then you're going to have seven years of famine.
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Speaker 1: You'd be wise to get ready because that famine is
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Speaker 1: going to be severe. There was something that Pharaoh really
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Speaker 1: liked about Joseph. Something he really liked. So much so
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Speaker 1: that he decided to shoulder tap Joseph. to be his
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Speaker 1: prime minister. And as quickly as you can say Egyptian prince,
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Speaker 1: Joseph became exactly that. And if you've read the rest
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Speaker 1: of the story, you know why God took Joseph from
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Speaker 1: the pit to the and now to the palace. You
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Speaker 1: know exactly why God took him on that circuitous, curious journey.
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Speaker 1: Because now he has Joseph where he wants him, prepared
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Speaker 1: and positioned to be the person in charge when the
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Speaker 1: famine comes. Under the care and supervision of Joseph, Egypt
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Speaker 1: prepares during the seven years of plenty. And when the
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Speaker 1: seven years of want began, the storehouses of the Egyptians
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Speaker 1: are full. Consequently, people come from all the surrounding nations
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Speaker 1: with their hands out, begging for help. And among those
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Speaker 1: who come, does anyone want to guess who was first
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Speaker 1: in line?
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Speaker 3: Anyone?
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Speaker 1: The brothers of Joseph. The brothers of Joseph who had
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Speaker 1: put him in the pit. The brothers of Joseph, who
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Speaker 1: no doubt thought Joseph is long dead and buried by now.
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Speaker 1: And when they came asking for assistance, they did not
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Speaker 1: recognize their baby brother. Because now he had the appearance
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Speaker 1: of a what? An Egyptian prince. He was clean shaven.
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Speaker 1: He was dressed in the Egyptian garb. But boy, Joseph
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Speaker 1: recognized them. And Joseph's heart was so tender that when
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Speaker 1: he saw his brothers, he had to excuse himself and
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Speaker 1: just go and weep. And then he collected himself. And
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Speaker 1: he came and presented himself to his brothers and revealed
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Speaker 1: his true identity. Well, those brothers, upon realizing this, that Joseph,
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Speaker 1: the one they threw into a pit and sold into slavery,
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Speaker 1: was alive and well, and the prime minister of Egypt,
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Speaker 1: they assumed that he was going to seek what? Retribution.
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Speaker 1: But Joseph wasn't out to settle the score. He wasn't
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Speaker 1: out to get even. He had calculated the will of
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Speaker 1: God into his life. And consequently, he spoke to his
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Speaker 1: brothers what may be the greatest summary of faith in
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Speaker 1: the entire Bible. It's Genesis chapter 50 and verse 20,
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Speaker 1: a passage worthy of being memorized and highlighted. Joseph said,
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Speaker 1: you intended to harm me, but God intended it for
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Speaker 1: good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving
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Speaker 1: of many lives. You intended to harm me, but God
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Speaker 1: intended it for good. So there was harm, and then
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Speaker 1: there was good, and harm became good. Why? Because there
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Speaker 1: was a God in the middle. A but God. There
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Speaker 1: is a but God in the story of Joseph. Harm
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Speaker 1: was coming my way, But God intervened. But God repurposed.
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Speaker 1: But God oversaw. But God exercised sovereign control. Do you
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Speaker 1: have a but God in your biography? I'm really sorry.
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Speaker 1: I'm really sorry. I'm really sorry for all the pain
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Speaker 1: that's come into your life. I am. Maybe your brothers
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Speaker 1: didn't sell you into slavery. But maybe your parents neglected you.
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Speaker 1: Maybe somebody inappropriately touched you or abused you. Maybe you
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Speaker 1: were forgotten or abandoned. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Maybe it
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Speaker 1: wasn't Potiphar's wife who lied about you, but somebody did.
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Speaker 1: Somebody took advantage of you. And you did what was
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Speaker 1: right and you were treated like you did what was wrong.
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Speaker 1: I'm sorry. I'm sorry that that person said I do
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Speaker 1: on your wedding day, but spent every day since saying
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Speaker 1: I don't. Sorry for the job market that crashed. Sorry
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Speaker 1: that it seems like every day you're feeling like you're
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Speaker 1: just getting dealt a bad hand of cards. I'm sorry
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Speaker 1: that you have ended up in Egypt. But if Joseph's
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Speaker 1: story tells us anything, it tells us that we have
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Speaker 1: a choice. That we can focus on the harm or
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Speaker 1: we can focus on God's help. That we can dress
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Speaker 1: ourselves every day in the garment of our hurt or
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Speaker 1: we can dress ourselves every day in the robe of
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Speaker 1: faith and hope. That we can allow our pain to
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Speaker 1: define us or we can allow our pain to refine us.
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Speaker 1: We do not choose whether or not problems come into
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Speaker 1: our world. We cannot keep the blanco rivers of our
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Speaker 1: lives from rising But we can choose how we respond.
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Speaker 1: I've noticed, I bet you have too, that people of faith,
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Speaker 1: they have a but God in their biography. I wasted
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Speaker 1: the first half of my life, but God spoke to me.
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Speaker 1: And he restored me and gave me grace. I was
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Speaker 1: a jerk of a husband the first five years. But
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Speaker 1: God woke me up and gave me a new chance.
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Speaker 1: I got myself wrapped up in drugs and addiction. It's
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Speaker 1: not been easy. But God has held me every step
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Speaker 1: of the way. I wasted a career. I blew an opportunity.
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Speaker 1: I dropped out of school. But God came along and
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Speaker 1: called me back. I was bitter and resentful and angry
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Speaker 1: and ticked off at the world for the first half
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Speaker 1: of my life. But God Reminded me how good he is,
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Speaker 1: how faithful he has been. People of faith have a
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Speaker 1: but God in their story. Do you have one? Or
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Speaker 1: are you more focused on the hurt than you are
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Speaker 1: God's help? A person of faith is determined, stubbornly determined
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Speaker 1: to filter everything through the loving care of a good God.
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Speaker 1: But God. And if you would like to put a
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Speaker 1: but God in your story, Joseph's story tells you how
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Speaker 1: to do it. I close with these two abiding principles.
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Speaker 1: Number one, God is with you. The reason that Joseph
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Speaker 1: prospered was because God was with him. Did you know
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Speaker 1: that God is with you? This passage from the New Testament,
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Speaker 1: the book of Acts, says he is not far from
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Speaker 1: each of us. Please raise your hand if you're in
27:41
Speaker 1: each of us. I just want to see. A few
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Speaker 1: of you didn't raise your hand, but you are one.
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Speaker 1: God is not far from you. In fact, God promises,
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Speaker 1: never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.
27:53
Speaker 1: In Greek, this passage has five negatives. It could 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. I want you to grab a hold
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Speaker 1: of this passage like the parachute it is. Lay claim,
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Speaker 1: lay claim to the nearness of God. When you're in Egypt,
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Speaker 1: you feel like God is far away. Listen, your feelings
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Speaker 1: don't have a voice. Your feelings don't count. The presence
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Speaker 1: of God is not measured in goose bumps. The presence
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Speaker 1: of God is measured in the promises that come to
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Speaker 1: you through scripture. Promises like this one. The Lord thy
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Speaker 1: God is with you. He is mighty to save. He
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Speaker 1: delights over you. He will quiet you with his love.
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Speaker 1: He delights over you with singing. You want to survive
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Speaker 1: in Egypt? You want to thrive in Egypt? Then you
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Speaker 1: just lay claim to the nearness of God. Wherever I am,
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Speaker 1: you say, God is with me. And then number two,
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Speaker 1: you just do the next right thing. We get confused
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Speaker 1: in Egypt. We don't know what the future holds. We
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Speaker 1: tend to panic and make bad decisions. Joseph is the
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Speaker 1: model on how to do the next right thing. When Mrs.
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Speaker 1: Potiphar put the hanky-panky on him, he did the next
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Speaker 1: right thing. When he found himself in jail, he did
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Speaker 1: the next right thing. He made friends with the cupbearer
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Speaker 1: and the baker. When they needed his help, he just
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Speaker 1: did the next right thing. He helped them. When the
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Speaker 1: cupbearer didn't keep his promise, Joseph kept his faith. He
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Speaker 1: did the next right thing. And when two years had
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Speaker 1: passed and it was time for him to come out
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Speaker 1: of prison, he was still upbeat and he was positive.
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Speaker 1: He had a good outlook so that he could help Pharaoh.
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Speaker 1: And when Pharaoh wanted help, he did the next right thing.
29:38
Speaker 1: When Pharaoh promoted him he accepted it did the next
29:41
Speaker 1: right thing when the brothers came he did the next
29:44
Speaker 1: right thing that's all we can do folks we can
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Speaker 1: just make a decision okay i'll just do the next
29:49
Speaker 1: right thing i'll forgive somebody I'll pay my taxes. I'll
29:54
Speaker 1: show up to work. I'll do my job. I'll be
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Speaker 1: a good student. I'll do the next thing I can do.
30:00
Speaker 1: I'll do the next right thing. And to the degree
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Speaker 1: that we can be faithful to God by doing the
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Speaker 1: next right thing, then we open ourselves up for candidates
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Speaker 1: to be candidates of miracles. You see, Joseph, because he
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Speaker 1: did the next right thing, when it came time to
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Speaker 1: be promoted from the prison to the palace overnight, he
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Speaker 1: was ready. Who knows, you may be one day from
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Speaker 1: the greatest promotion, the greatest blessing of your life. You
30:30
Speaker 1: just keep doing the next right thing. And God will
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Speaker 1: take harm and he will do something with it and
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Speaker 1: turn it into good. Isn't this the story of Easter?
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Speaker 1: Satan intended harm to Jesus Christ. He nailed him to
30:45
Speaker 1: the cross. Everybody thought the story was over. But God,
30:50
Speaker 1: but God, But God had a purpose. And even though
30:55
Speaker 1: the body of Jesus was dead. And three days buried
30:58
Speaker 1: in the grave. But God raised him from the dead.
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Speaker 1: And because of God's faithfulness. We can celebrate the resurrection today.
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Speaker 1: It's not easy. And I please. I don't mean to
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Speaker 1: leave the impression that it is. Certainly hasn't been easy
31:16
Speaker 1: for Jonathan. It's been nearly a year since the Memorial
31:20
Speaker 1: Day tragedy. I remember when my wife, Dean Lynn, and
31:24
Speaker 1: I went to visit him in the hospital. He tried
31:28
Speaker 1: to talk, but the only thing that came out were tears.
31:34
Speaker 1: He had a broken hip and broken ribs. Most of all,
31:38
Speaker 1: he had a broken heart. But somehow he found the
31:41
Speaker 1: courage two weeks later to speak at his wife's funeral
31:46
Speaker 1: and the funeral of his children. And among the things
31:49
Speaker 1: he said at the Corpus Christi First Baptist Church was this.
31:55
Speaker 1: People have been asking me how I'm doing and how
31:58
Speaker 1: I can stay strong and positive in a time like this.
32:03
Speaker 1: I've told them that I've been leaning on my family,
32:05
Speaker 1: my friends, and most importantly, my faith. I have no
32:09
Speaker 1: explanation for why such a tragic event like the flood
32:13
Speaker 1: takes place. Why lives are lost. But I know God
32:18
Speaker 1: is not going to give us anything more than we
32:20
Speaker 1: can handle. I know that we're here just for a
32:23
Speaker 1: little while. I know this entire tragedy is horrible. I've
32:26
Speaker 1: been upset. And I've cried enough tears to fill that
32:29
Speaker 1: river a hundred times. But I know I can't stay
32:32
Speaker 1: angry or upset or confused or continue to ask myself why.
32:36
Speaker 1: Because I will find out that answer when my time comes.
32:39
Speaker 1: And I am reunited with them in heaven. But trust me,
32:43
Speaker 1: that will be the first question I ask. Look at
32:46
Speaker 1: Jonathan saying, I know. I know that God's not going
32:50
Speaker 1: to give us anything more than we can handle. I
32:52
Speaker 1: know I'll be reunited with my family. I know we're
32:55
Speaker 1: here just for a little while. This is the vocabulary
32:58
Speaker 1: of faith. A person digging in saying, I don't know
33:02
Speaker 1: why all of this happened, but here's what I know.
33:05
Speaker 1: Would you press into the vocabulary of faith? Would you
33:09
Speaker 1: this Easter put your faith in the God who has
33:12
Speaker 1: been faithful to you? He'll get you through this. You
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Speaker 1: hold on to him. He's holding on to you. You
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Speaker 1: just trust in the nearness of God. You just do
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Speaker 1: the next right thing. And the God who protected Joseph,
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Speaker 1: who is protecting Jonathan, who raised Jesus from the dead,
33:32
Speaker 1: that God will be at your side. Amen. Oh Lord,
33:36
Speaker 1: we pray now that you would help us receive and
33:39
Speaker 1: process this message of hope that comes from the story
33:42
Speaker 1: of Joseph. Grant that we too can be people of faith.
33:47
Speaker 1: Through Jesus we pray. And all the church said.
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Speaker 4: So so.
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Speaker 3: We'll be right back.
37:25
Speaker 5: Thank you for watching.
38:43
Speaker 6: Thank you.
39:14
Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you.
39:53
Speaker 6: You don't have to be mean.
39:59
Speaker 4: You don't have to stay close. As long as you're
40:06
Speaker 4: somewhere out there, that's enough for me.
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Speaker 5: I don't need to hold you near me.
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Speaker 4: Don't need promises to keep.
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Speaker 5: Just the thought that you are breathing Somewhere in this
40:26
Speaker 5: world I see.
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Speaker 6: Even if I'm not beside you Even if you never know.
40:35
Speaker 5: There's a quiet kind of comfort Just in knowing you
40:39
Speaker 5: still glow I don't need forever I just need you
40:50
Speaker 5: to exist.
40:53
Speaker 6: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
40:58
Speaker 6: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
41:03
Speaker 6: out there Calling softly through my days You don't have
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Speaker 6: to look my way You don't have to be my
41:13
Speaker 6: home It's.
41:14
Speaker 5: Enough to know you're living In a world I'm not alone.
41:24
Speaker 6: I won't chase you through the distance. Won't disturb your
41:28
Speaker 6: chosen life. I'll just keep you in my silence like
41:33
Speaker 6: a star that shines at night. Through the dark and
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Speaker 6: through the blue.
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Speaker 5: I still think of you.
41:52
Speaker 6: You don't have to be my home It's enough to
41:56
Speaker 6: know you're living In a world I'm.
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Speaker 5: Not alone I don't need to be your light I
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Speaker 5: don't need to cross your mind All I need is
42:38
Speaker 5: just the truth That you're somewhere Still alive.
42:46
Speaker 6: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
42:51
Speaker 6: to feel the same.
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Speaker 1: Just as long.
42:55
Speaker 6: As you're still out there Calling softly through my days
43:00
Speaker 6: You don't have to look my way You don't have
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Speaker 6: to be my home It's enough to know you're living
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Speaker 5: In a world I'm not alone