1 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:10,160 Hi and welcome to the Via Zion Sermon podcast. 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,440 We are a local church based here in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,680 We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will 4 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,920 encourage, inspire and instill fresh faith in you. 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,040 We have a fresh word for you today called It is Well with My 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,120 Soul. We look together at God's Word 7 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,400 and hope to discover the joy that comes from enjoying God's 8 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,880 presence more than attempting to serve him or ask Him for things 9 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:36,560 that He already. Knows we need. 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,880 As you listen in, will you check the condition of your soul and 11 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:45,000 ask God to help you live with a fresh understanding of who He 12 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,520 is? Hi Church, it's my joy to bring 13 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:51,680 to you the Word today. As we saw last week, we looked 14 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:55,360 at the sermon titled It is Well with My Soul, and that was part 15 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,040 one. We looked at how Jesus has to be 16 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,480 the source of our sustenance. Jesus has to be the source of 17 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,400 our existence. And we looked at how we were 18 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,520 created for more than just survival and for justice getting 19 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,880 by. We were created for thriving, to 20 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,000 live an abundant life. And that abundance is only found 21 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:17,400 in Jesus. And we looked at how we ended on 22 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,440 how Jesus sat by the well and met the Samaritan woman. 23 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:22,120 And I'm going to begin from that place. 24 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,760 If you look at a well in ancient culture and even today in in 25 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:30,040 small towns and villages, the village well is a place of 26 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:31,920 communities where the community comes together. 27 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,040 It's where they meet, where stories are exchanged, alliances 28 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,840 are made, and so much more so. Well, is very. 29 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:41,880 Pivotal in in community culture and I believe that the well. 30 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:46,360 That Jesus was seated at was no. And this Samaritan woman had 31 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:48,360 come there. She had this conversation, but 32 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:51,880 it didn't end there. The Samaritan woman got to drink 33 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,160 from the living water himself, but it didn't just stop there. 34 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,400 I want us to look at John chapter 4, verses 39 to 42. 35 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,760 It says many of the Samaritans from that village committed 36 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,120 themselves to Him because of the woman's witness. 37 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,480 He knew all about the things I did. 38 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,680 He knows me inside and out. They asked him to stay on. 39 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,360 So Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted 40 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:15,880 their lives to him and they heard what he had to say. 41 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,320 They said to the woman, we're no longer taking this on your say. 42 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:22,560 So we've heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. 43 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:28,320 He's the saviour of the world. It's amazing that it didn't just 44 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,200 end with a Samaritan woman, but it it spread out. 45 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:36,960 She was like a channel for the entire village to come to know 46 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,840 Jesus. And that's the beauty of 47 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,320 drinking from the living water. It never just ends with us. 48 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,600 It's never for ourselves. And I remember how Jesus on the 49 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,880 final day of the feast of Tabernacle says if anyone 50 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,640 thirst, come to me and out of you will flow living waters. 51 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:55,080 He didn't just say he was the living water. 52 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,320 He said those who drank of him or or leaned on him for 53 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:02,280 everything out of them would be, would, would flow rivers of 54 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:04,240 life. And what does that mean? 55 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,720 It just means that we are meant to bless others. 56 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,560 We are blessed to bless others when we hunger and thirst for 57 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,280 more of God. What we are filled up with will 58 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:18,520 eventually go and touch others, but there is a a reality that we 59 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:22,680 need to be very clear of. There are many times in our walk 60 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,920 that the struggles, the hardships, the attacks, the 61 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:30,680 setbacks, all of that can deplete us and leave us feeling 62 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:32,480 pretty dry and. That's what we're going to be. 63 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,000 Looking at today, we're going to be looking at the different 64 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:39,160 things that cause us to get depleted so that our well is 65 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:41,080 dry. The cistern of our life 66 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,720 sometimes runs dry. And it's so interesting because 67 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,240 the the idea of being filled with the Spirit is that we would 68 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,880 be like a gushing stream, just pouring out goodness and 69 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,080 freshness and blessing everyone and bringing life to everyone. 70 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,240 But unfortunately, many times we allow ourselves, maybe because 71 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,800 of certain seasons in our life, maybe because of certain 72 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,240 laziness on our part in and our pursuit of God. 73 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:08,480 I don't know, could be different reasons that we begin to start 74 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:11,920 moving down from a gushing spring to a trickle and 75 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,280 eventually we begin to run dry. And today we're going to see how 76 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,600 these dry cisterns are actually very dangerous situations. 77 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,520 And how many of us need rescuing from these dry cisterns? 78 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,040 We're going to be looking specifically at the story of 79 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:28,960 Joseph. Today's Joseph is the 11th son 80 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,440 of Jacob and you know the story of Joseph. 81 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:33,840 So I'm not going to get into it in detail, but I just want to 82 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:38,040 take this simple visual of Joseph for you. 83 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,880 Joseph was a favorite son of of Jacob. 84 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,000 He was born from the wife Rachel. 85 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,760 Joseph didn't have a sibling for many years or from his own 86 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:49,680 mother. Eventually Benjamin was born. 87 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:54,600 Now he had ten older brothers that were born out of his half 88 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,960 his step mom who was Leah. And so his was a full house. 89 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,800 It was a blended family. Eventually, because of his 90 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,560 foolishness, he shares certain dreams prematurely with his 91 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,200 family. His brothers, you know, set 92 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:12,000 themselves against him and they ship him off to the Ishmaelites. 93 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,200 They get rid of him, tell their father that he's dead and send 94 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:17,360 him off. He's literally trafficked as a 95 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:21,040 slave into Egypt. In Egypt he is hired by 96 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,840 Potiphar, the captain of the King's guard, and he's kept in 97 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:26,400 his house. And Potiphar likes him so much. 98 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:28,920 He finds so much favour that he's made head of Potiphar's 99 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:31,800 home. Eventually he faces a bit of 100 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,560 hardship when he's unjustly accused by Potiphar's wife of 101 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,880 rape and he's put in jail. In jail, he's languishing there, 102 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:43,160 yet he finds favour in the eyes of the warden, and he's given 103 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:45,360 charge of the entire prison and all the prisoners. 104 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:51,680 And by a stroke of pure divine intervention, 2 of Pharaoh's 105 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:53,760 officials are dropped into the prison as well. 106 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:55,280 Same prison. They have dreams. 107 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:58,560 Joseph steps in because he has the gift of not just dreaming, 108 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:00,040 but he can also interpret dreams. 109 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,440 And so he starts to interpret their dreams and what he says 110 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,360 comes true. He asked them to remember him, 111 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:10,840 but they forget. Like man generally does, right? 112 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:12,840 We are forgetful. They forget. 113 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,520 He's left to languish for some more time in jail, and 114 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,960 eventually Pharaoh himself has a dream. 115 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,960 And at that moment, the the cup bearer to the king, the guy 116 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,400 whose dream was interpreted correctly, says, master, I 117 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,240 remember there's a guy in the prison who you need to meet. 118 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:33,600 Pharaoh takes Joseph out overnight. 119 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:38,840 He's removed from his prison garb and he's dressed well. 120 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:42,000 He's clean shaven and he's brought before Pharaoh and he 121 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,080 interprets the dream for Pharaoh and doesn't stop. 122 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,200 There he gives him. You know what? 123 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,160 It should look like what the future looks like. 124 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,720 He gives him a forecast. He tells him how to proceed with 125 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,240 wisdom. Basically, Pharaoh is impressed. 126 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:57,880 Overnight, Joseph moves from a prison. 127 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:00,840 He moves into the palace. He is second in command. 128 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:05,040 Now I want to focus on the fact that at the beginning of 129 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,720 Joseph's detour, it was literally like a wilderness 130 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:09,600 season. Hardship everywhere he saw. 131 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,800 But it began in a dry cistern because when he went to meet his 132 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:19,000 brothers to check on them, they looked at him and said, let's 133 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:23,400 get rid of the dreamer. They hated the fact there was 134 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:26,160 something different about him. They hated the fact that he had 135 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,080 forecasted that eventually they would serve him or, you know, 136 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,000 worship at his feet. He didn't understand what he was 137 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,400 saying, but neither did they. And at this weird juncture, they 138 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:40,520 take him and throw him into an empty cistern without water. 139 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,160 It is from there that his life literally goes downhill. 140 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:49,640 But it's amazing when Jacob comes and meets him many years 141 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:54,800 later in Egypt, Jacob has this moment where he prophecies over 142 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,880 each of his sons and he tells them about the days to come and 143 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:00,840 he prophecies this over Joseph. And I want to read it for you. 144 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:06,120 Genesis 49 verses 22 to 24. It says Joseph is a fruitful 145 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:11,080 bow, a fruitful bow by a well. His branches run over the wall. 146 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,960 The Archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him, and 147 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:19,120 hated him, but his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his 148 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:22,520 hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of 149 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,360 Jacob. From there is the Shepherd, the 150 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:28,880 stone of Israel, and it goes on to say that he will have the 151 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:30,200 blessings of the breast and womb. 152 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,280 He his blessings of of his Father are greater than his 153 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,080 ancestors and. It goes on. 154 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,440 His blessing is so long compared to the rest of them. 155 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:41,840 But here's the thing I want you to look at this highlight that I 156 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,240 found. Joseph is a fruitful bow. 157 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:48,920 Bow is a tree. A fruitful bow by a well from 158 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:55,160 being in a dry cistern. God lifts him up so that he is a 159 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:59,720 fruitful bow beside a well, and it's interesting his branches 160 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:01,160 run over the. Wall. 161 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:04,480 He was not limited by his circumstances. 162 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,080 The Archers have bitterly grieved him. 163 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,840 He was targeted, tarnished at different times of his life. 164 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:15,880 His own family turned against him, shot at him, hated him, but 165 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:20,360 his bow remained in strength, meaning his hands were steady. 166 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,520 Bow is that of what a warrior has in his hand. 167 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,280 It's the weapon of his war, and the hands and the arms of his 168 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:31,320 hands were made strong. A warrior with a shaky bow or 169 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:34,600 shaky hand is useless. And yet he says he was 170 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,400 strengthened by the God of the Lord of heaven and earth because 171 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,120 there was a purpose he had to complete and fulfill. 172 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:44,400 And it's so beautiful when you look at the story, the book of 173 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:49,000 Genesis, this story of Joseph is placed right after the story of 174 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:53,320 Jacob, almost to say if this story was missing, if the Joseph 175 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,760 story is missing, the sustenance of Jacob and his family would 176 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,400 have just not happened. They would have been annihilated 177 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:03,960 by the the famine that hit them. Joseph had to be taken out, sent 178 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,040 separate to. Prepare a place so that Jacob 179 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,480 and his family would have a place to come and thrive it. 180 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:12,520 And so the important thing to understand is Joseph may have 181 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:15,840 started out in a dry cistern. He may have started out in a 182 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:21,480 cistern without water, but he was consistently filled within. 183 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:24,760 He may have found himself in the most barren of circumstances, 184 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:29,080 the driest seasons possible to for any human, and yet he was 185 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,680 never spiritually dry. He thrived wherever he was 186 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:36,920 placed in Potiphar's house, in the prison with the gods, with 187 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,280 the men, men from Pharaoh's palace who came in. 188 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,120 He was ready to serve people. He was ready to bless people. 189 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:46,640 He is the definition of being blessed to be a blessing. 190 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:48,520 You don't need a situation to be ideal. 191 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:50,200 You can serve right where you are. 192 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:54,120 You can pour out right where you are if you are being filled. 193 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,400 And that is the important thing because it says from there is 194 00:10:57,400 --> 00:10:58,960 the shepherd, the stone of Israel. 195 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,280 Joseph's source was God Almighty. 196 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,880 Joseph's source was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 197 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:10,600 Joseph's source was the God who had given him wisdom to see 198 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:15,480 things beyond his visible eyes. And so his life looked 199 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:17,760 different. And I believe that each of us 200 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:22,320 here have a season of dryness. We all have it, but it's so 201 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:26,040 important to remember. That it's on us, whether we stay 202 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,840 in that dry season, whether we stay in that dry pit, or we 203 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:32,400 allow God to pull us out, or whether we allow God to pull us 204 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,960 out in His time, but along the way to have our hands steady, 205 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:38,920 it's on us. For too long we have been 206 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:43,120 blaming our circumstances, our situations, our backgrounds, our 207 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,840 stories, our barriers, our baggage. 208 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,480 God is saying it's time that you look to me. 209 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:52,960 I am the one who will bring you out of that system and I want to 210 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:58,400 leave with you three symptoms or situations that actually create 211 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:00,840 a waterless system like situation in our lives. 212 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:03,840 Three symptoms that you could actually be in a waterless 213 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:07,200 system. The first symptom is a trauma 214 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:10,320 from the past. I'm sure that you've heard this 215 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:16,320 word a lot, being traumatized. Trauma triggers. 216 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:22,000 The first symptom of being in a waterless pit is when you are 217 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,800 traumatized by the past. Lot of times our past. 218 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,840 The trauma is real. The abuse was real, the neglect 219 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:34,920 was real. The abandonment was real. 220 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,240 The pain was real. The suffering was real. 221 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:42,160 None of that is imagined, but trauma has this way of rearing 222 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:44,200 its ugly head even in the present. 223 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:48,800 And what trauma does is it basically creates this image at 224 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,480 the moment of the the traumatic event happening, it imprints on 225 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,320 your brain. It creates that imprint on your 226 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:57,520 brain. And what happens is years down 227 00:12:57,520 --> 00:12:59,560 the line, you can just go completely normal. 228 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:01,400 You can you just be you've found a way to cope. 229 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:04,600 You're moving through life at the most inopportune time. 230 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:08,240 When something in your present happens, it triggers the memory 231 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:11,480 from the past. And that's when trauma rears its 232 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:14,600 ugly head. And when you're on social media 233 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,680 today, you find a lot of these psychologists and and 234 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:20,520 counsellors explaining to you how you must walk through your 235 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:23,600 trauma, how you must face it. But there's another breed of 236 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:28,240 social media users who talk only about their trauma, what they 237 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,640 went through, what formed them, what shaped them. 238 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,480 But I want to ask you today, by us going on talking only about 239 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,760 the trauma, we kind of get stuck at this place. 240 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:42,280 We make an altar of our trauma, but what are we going to do with 241 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,360 what has happened? God was sovereign. 242 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,520 Even in the midst of our trauma, God has been sovereign. 243 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:51,280 And in the midst of the greatest of our suffering, He never 244 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:54,120 stopped being God. Did He allow it in our lives? 245 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:58,880 Yes, in His sovereignty He did. But it requires that I move past 246 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,920 my trauma into the next season of healing. 247 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:06,160 It's so important that we don't get stuck at the place of our 248 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:09,640 trauma. Joseph had every reason to be 249 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,560 traumatized, His own father and mother at a point said. 250 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,800 Are you saying from this dream that you're telling us that we 251 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:17,360 are going to bow before you? Never. 252 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,560 His siblings cut him off. He was trafficked into slavery 253 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:26,280 by his own brothers. They lied to his father about 254 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,800 his death. He's left to fend for himself. 255 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:34,240 The pampered son of 11 children is left to fend for himself. 256 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:38,840 He is actually accused of raping someone when he was so righteous 257 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:41,560 he didn't even touch her. He ran the opposite direction. 258 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:46,880 He had every reason to live. Traumatized by his past. 259 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,360 He lived in a prison for the better part of two years, 260 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:53,320 catering to the needs of other prisoners. 261 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:55,920 Worst situation. The prisons didn't look great. 262 00:14:55,920 --> 00:15:01,560 They were dank sellers and yet when he comes out and he has 263 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,080 children of his own, this is what he names them. 264 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:08,400 Genesis 41 verses 51 and 52. Joseph name the first born 265 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:13,240 Manasseh causing to forget. For he said, God has made me 266 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:17,360 forget all my trouble and hardship and all the sorrow of 267 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:19,600 the loss of my father's household. 268 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,400 He named the second son Ephraim. Fruitfulness. 269 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:27,560 For God has caused me to be fruitful and very successful in 270 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:33,600 the land of my suffering. It's so beautiful because he was 271 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,640 not ruled by his trauma. Joseph was in a position of 272 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:39,120 ruling over the whole of Egypt, but he was not ruled by trauma. 273 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:44,280 He had come to a place of letting go. 274 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,840 How does that happen? I believe that each of us need 275 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,960 to process our trauma and sometimes we process it to 276 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:51,960 death, to the death of everyone around us. 277 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:54,840 They hear about it so much. Our social media friends hear 278 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:56,320 about it. They see posts about it and they 279 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:58,920 know, OK, this one, she's walked through this, He's walked 280 00:15:58,920 --> 00:15:59,480 through this. I get it. 281 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:00,880 They're always sharing posts about it. 282 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:05,600 While that is great, my question to you is how have you 283 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:09,480 personally allowed God to shape that trauma into something 284 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,920 beautiful? Because in all of it, He works 285 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:13,640 all things together for our good. 286 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:15,960 That's the word of God, and I believe it to be true. 287 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:19,120 God, our Redeemer doesn't leave anything wasted in our lives, 288 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:23,000 and I believe that trauma should not rule over your life. 289 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,760 Trauma can't be the place at which you build your altar. 290 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:29,360 You need to move to a place of forgiveness, forgiving the 291 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:32,360 people who caused the trauma. You need to ask God to help you 292 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:37,160 forget, Joseph said. Because he made me forget the 293 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:41,160 sorrow of the loss of my father's household and all my 294 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:45,200 trouble and hardship. Sometimes we Christians think 295 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,600 it's good to not forget. I need to remember every detail. 296 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,000 We say that by remembering every detail, we're trying to be 297 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,680 grateful for all of it. But some of the things that we 298 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,120 need to forget, we're refusing to forget because we need to 299 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,640 hold on to that like a security blanket and say, I need to 300 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,160 remember this. It keeps me sharp. 301 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,520 The pain keeps me on edge. I'm better at what I do, but I 302 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:09,800 believe God is saying I want you to release the trauma into my 303 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:14,520 hands. I took this picture this last 304 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:16,400 week. I was, we were out of town and I 305 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:19,800 saw this cute little vase with a money plant in it. 306 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,800 And as you see this picture, what really stuck out to me was 307 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,440 the roots inside the bottle. Generally, you cannot see the 308 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:27,119 roots of a plant because it's under soil. 309 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,400 But this money plant was thriving in a bottle of water. 310 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,760 And if you look at the roots, the roots are so tangled. 311 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,640 And interestingly, the the leaves that leaves in the little 312 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,160 branches that had come out of the water were not that many, 313 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:42,640 but the roots were too many to count. 314 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:45,680 And as I was looking at, I realized that so many of us, our 315 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:47,800 trauma from our past looks like those roots. 316 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:51,560 The outside, we look all put together. 317 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,120 There's small little kings in the armor, which those closest 318 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:56,680 to us know of. But by and large, we're put 319 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:58,520 together, but the trauma runs deep. 320 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,840 And those that those roots are so tangled up, they're so messy, 321 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,160 and we are afraid to touch it because we don't know if we 322 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:06,880 touch what is like a ticking time bomb. 323 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:08,760 I don't know which one to clip. I know what's going to go. 324 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,040 Off but here's the thing, I believe that God is calling in 325 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:15,400 us into a place of exposure and what does that look like? 326 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,200 I want us to read Job chapter 12 verse 22. 327 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,720 It says he uncovers deep things out of darkness and brings the 328 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:28,960 shadow of death to light. I believe God is calling us to 329 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:31,880 uncover our trauma in the light. Of his presence. 330 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:34,480 I'm not asking you to do it in the light of social media. 331 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:36,720 I'm not asking you to do it in the light of your leaders. 332 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,440 Do it before God. God is saying bring it to me 333 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,600 because the light of Jesus, the presence of God is light. 334 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:50,200 Anything that is brought into the light receives exposure. 335 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:54,600 It receives healing. A lot of time trauma has this 336 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,920 way of triggering us because we keep it under the covers of 337 00:18:57,920 --> 00:18:59,720 darkness. We don't want anyone to know 338 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:01,240 about it. We don't want to talk about it 339 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:02,840 ourselves, though. I don't want to talk about that 340 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:04,480 part of my life. I don't want to talk about that 341 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,440 relative. I don't want to think about that 342 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:08,840 season of my life. But God is saying I want you to 343 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:11,200 think about it in order to release it completely. 344 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:13,840 The more we hold on to it, the more we keep it under the 345 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:15,800 carpet, the more harm it does to us. 346 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,800 Think of those standard roots. God is asking us to bring it 347 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:22,920 into the light and the Holy Spirit. 348 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,800 He's the one who brings things into the light with the express 349 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,160 reason of healing it. He doesn't do it to expose you 350 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:32,800 to the world. He doesn't do it to demonize 351 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:34,440 you. No, He does it to heal you. 352 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,080 I remember when my kids were small, sometimes they would cry 353 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:41,000 from the room because they were scared of the dark. 354 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,280 And I remember the season we were living abroad and we just 355 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,600 had a older two and our oldest used to be scared sleeping in 356 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:49,760 his own room. And so he would call out to me 357 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,200 from the dark room and when would I would go inside, He 358 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:55,080 would say, oh, I think there's a monster behind my, you know, 359 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:56,800 dresser. And he would say all of these 360 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:58,640 things. So what I would do is I would 361 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:00,800 switch the light on. And the minute I switch the 362 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,040 light on, he would see that it was all familiar. 363 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:07,280 Things in the dark, it looked unfamiliar, but when the light 364 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:10,760 was switched on, he found there was really nothing to fear. 365 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,240 And I believe God's presence is no different. 366 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:18,440 When we come to the drink at that water, the living water, 367 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:24,160 the Spirit of God reveals what's actually going on deep inside. 368 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:26,960 Like I said last week, deep cries out to deep. 369 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,760 The Spirit of God is working deeply inside me. 370 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,840 And a good question, couple of questions to ask yourself as you 371 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,120 process your trauma. Do this. 372 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:38,200 If you have access to a Spirit LED counselor, do it. 373 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:43,600 But I found that the Spirit of God, he's called our counselor, 374 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,680 the Paraclete, the one who comes alongside us, the one who helps 375 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:51,720 us know the mind of God. He wants to heal us. 376 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,360 So some of the questions that I ask myself, you know, when I'm. 377 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:59,000 Very triggered and very exposed in terms of something from the 378 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,360 past coming up. What I do is I start question 379 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,800 asking questions of myself. Why am I acting like this? 380 00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:08,920 Why am I saying these things? Why does this person evoke this 381 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,200 reaction and I go deep with myself. 382 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,720 I have stopped trying to analyse others. 383 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:18,400 My trauma is mine. It's for me to process in the in 384 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,680 the secret place of the Most High God. 385 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,000 I bring it to Him. God, why am I acting like this? 386 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:27,440 What is it about this person or this situation or this place or 387 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:29,000 that? That remembrance? 388 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,240 What? Why is it triggering me so much 389 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:34,280 God? And I found that when I bring it 390 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:38,120 into the light of God's presence, things happen in that 391 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:41,040 week. Situations unfold wherein He 392 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:44,480 gives me clarity. This is why you are reacting 393 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:46,600 like this. This is what is happening. 394 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:49,840 And so I wanted to encourage you to do this. 395 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:53,640 I wanted to encourage you. Instead of processing your 396 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,560 trauma to death to the detriment of everyone around you, would 397 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:03,400 you process your trauma into a grave, into a finality, a place 398 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:06,440 of finality where you're saying, God, I want this trauma to be 399 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:09,320 dead and gone, but I know that out of it. 400 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,200 The beautiful thing is when I give something to God and I say, 401 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:13,880 you know what? I processed this. 402 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:18,560 Now I'm laying it to rest. God redeems the very thing that 403 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:20,160 the enemy tried to use against you. 404 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,160 You will find that the place of your greatest brokenness is the 405 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,760 place of your greatest ministry. It's incredible. 406 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,560 I love that song, that Elevation Rd. which was he turns graves 407 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,200 into gardens. It cannot be truer in our lives. 408 00:22:34,360 --> 00:22:37,360 The things that I allow the Lord to take. 409 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:40,000 When I say I am done, Lord, I'm putting this to rest. 410 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:42,400 It's amazing what he does with it. 411 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:46,600 And I love that scripture in Isaiah, and it comes in Hosea as 412 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:50,280 well, where he talks about God taking away the sting of death. 413 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,760 If you've ever been bitten by a bee, you know that the bee by 414 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:56,760 stings you flies off, it leaves it's sting in you. 415 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:01,080 And I can't help but thinking that trauma has this way of 416 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,320 leaving its sting in you. But when you process the trauma 417 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:06,000 to a grave, you say, you know what? 418 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:08,680 I have thought this to God. I want this to, I want to be 419 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:10,640 healed. I want to be set free. 420 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,720 So I'm laying it down. You can do with it as you will. 421 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:18,640 It's amazing because God takes the sting out. 422 00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:22,000 How do you know you're healed from trauma? 423 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:23,800 I believe it's a lifelong process. 424 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,160 There will be times you're triggered even as you healed. 425 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,760 But the beautiful thing is, God brings you to a place where you 426 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:32,160 can actually laugh about the very things that brought tears 427 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,760 to your eyes. He brings you to a place where 428 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:36,920 you can minister to others who are walking through a very 429 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,320 season you walked through many seasons before. 430 00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:43,840 That is the sign of healing. God is calling you to stop 431 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,920 processing it to your own death, but to process it to death, to 432 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:51,880 leave it in a grave for God to deal with, for God to do what 433 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:54,440 only He can. The way you process it is bring 434 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:59,040 it into the light. Shame, guilt, secrecy. 435 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:02,040 That's what trauma thrives in. But God is saying, bring it to 436 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,720 me, Let me help you process this. 437 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,440 Let me help you unpack this so that the burden is lifted 438 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,360 completely. That's the first thing I believe 439 00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:14,600 that. One of the symptoms of a dry 440 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,520 cistern life is being traumatized by the past again 441 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:19,840 and again. The second thing is being 442 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:24,480 terrified of the present. This past month, just the kind 443 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,560 of crimes that have been happening around us has been 444 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:29,480 very nerve racking. And I know it's just not just 445 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:30,600 me. I have a bunch of friends. 446 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:33,880 We're from different parts of the nation and we just text each 447 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,400 other on Instagram and all of us, we're just sharing with each 448 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:39,040 other stuff that's happening in terms of violence against women. 449 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,920 All of us have daughters and I think all it was really heavy on 450 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:43,920 us. We're like, God, we need to 451 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:46,040 educate our daughters. We need to release our daughters 452 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:47,960 from our homes. How are we going to do that? 453 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,360 The situation seems so bleak all around us. 454 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:53,640 It seems so scary and you think about it. 455 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:57,880 Joseph's life was no different. And Joseph, not just Joseph, but 456 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:01,520 his brothers and his father, they all had moments in this 457 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:05,000 whole narrative where they must have been immensely scared, 458 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,520 immensely terrified of what? What's going to happen now we 459 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,400 have come to this place, but what next? 460 00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:15,160 Genesis 46 verses one to four is a very lovely verse where Jacob 461 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,880 is moving to Egypt to see Joseph and to settle down there. 462 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:20,680 It's the middle of a huge famine. 463 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:22,640 It's it's terrible. It's touching all parts of the 464 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:26,160 world and this is what happens. So Israel set out with all that 465 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,760 was his. And when he reached Beersheba, 466 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,960 he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 467 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:36,200 And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, Jacob, 468 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,960 Jacob, here I am. He replied I am God, the God. 469 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:43,640 Of your father, he said, do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, 470 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,120 for I will make you into a great nation there. 471 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,640 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you 472 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:54,920 back again, and Joseph's own. Hand will close your eyes. 473 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,000 Transition. Transition is never easy It's 474 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,200 moving from that previous season to the present. 475 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,120 It's like a doorway into which you walk, but you feel like you 476 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:06,880 just never experienced this kind of push back in your life. 477 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:11,640 And in this transition, it's so easy to get so petrified and 478 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,320 fearful of what is happening right now. 479 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,840 Jacob had lived for so many years in Canaan and here he was 480 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:22,120 stepping into unknown territory at 130 years old. 481 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:24,720 This is not a joke. This was must have been really 482 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,080 hard. And God and his kindness meets 483 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,040 him and says, don't be afraid. I am with you. 484 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:31,960 I'm going to keep my word to you. 485 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,760 Fast forward a little bit down Genesis 50. 486 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:40,440 We see Joseph's brothers having a momentary panic attack when 487 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:42,920 their father passes away. They're afraid that Joseph will 488 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,240 turn around and attack them now that their dad is gone. 489 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:49,840 Genesis 50 verses 19 to 21, it says Joseph said to them, do not 490 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:52,800 be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 491 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:56,720 But As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for 492 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:01,160 good in order to bring about it this day to save many people 493 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,760 alive now. Therefore, do not be afraid. 494 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,240 I will provide for you and your little ones. 495 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,840 And he comforted them. And spoke kindly to them. 496 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:16,240 I love that God understands how hard the present is. 497 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,200 He is not nullifying how hard the present is. 498 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,440 He knows what we are viewing. He knows what we read in the 499 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:22,720 news. He sees the. 500 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,280 Situation for what it is. He knows we are human. 501 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:28,640 He knows that we are like dust, just a mist, here today, gone 502 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:30,440 tomorrow. He understands all that. 503 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,920 And yet I believe that when we find ourselves in this dry 504 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:40,840 cistern of doubt and fear. He requires us to become all the 505 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,240 more dependent on him, the living water. 506 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:48,560 It's so important that we don't get caught up in the terror that 507 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,800 is all around us and instead tap into the. 508 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:55,200 Power. Of the most high God and I love 509 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,000 what the psalmist says in Psalm 92 verse 10. 510 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:01,880 He says, but my horn, which is an emblem of strength and power. 511 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:04,800 You have exalted like that of a wild dogs. 512 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:08,320 I am anointed with fresh oil for your service. 513 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:11,200 What is this fresh oil day in day out? 514 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:13,720 I need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 515 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:17,600 I need His strength, I need His protection, I need His 516 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,640 empowering. I don't want an anointing for 517 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:23,000 the entire season. I want an anointing for the day. 518 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,960 God is calling us to enjoy the present. 519 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,600 He wants me to enjoy this moment He has entrusted to me. 520 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:36,600 It's so important that you and I, when we find ourselves terror 521 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,920 stricken, maybe you're walking through a season of ill health 522 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:41,760 in your family. Maybe you're walking through a 523 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,040 season of crazy financial crisis. 524 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:47,000 It's so tight, so dry, you cannot believe it. 525 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,800 But God is saying, I don't want you to look at it as an entire 526 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:52,880 season and ask me for something big for that. 527 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:57,240 Ask me for the day. His Word tells us that His 528 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,680 mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. 529 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:04,040 If I can come to a place of dependence on Him for my 530 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:09,880 everyday, I can successfully move past this terror. 531 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:14,040 Too many of us are stuck in a cistern of fear. 532 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,160 We are so worried that if I take the wrong step, I'll mess it up. 533 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:20,160 You and I don't have that kind of power. 534 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,240 God is sovereign. God is supreme. 535 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:25,840 He can override even a mistake I make. 536 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,000 But what is keeping you so paralyzed? 537 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:32,200 Is it your fear of failure? Is it a fear of stepping out? 538 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,600 When I look at Joseph's life, I realize that he had so many 539 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:38,840 reasons to have been stuck right where he was at. 540 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,720 He could have, after he got accused by Potiphar's wife, gone 541 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:46,240 into the prison, just sat in a corner, sulked, or just prayed 542 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:47,520 to himself and thought, you know what? 543 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:50,120 I'll just sit here, not talk to anyone, not make an impact, 544 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:52,960 because making an impact obviously creates problems for 545 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:57,080 me and I'll just sit it out. Even there, he outshone the 546 00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:04,160 other prisoners and is noticed. And it's amazing how God sees 547 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:09,640 the fearlessness in a Joseph and I believe God is calling us to 548 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:14,040 step, step out in courage. If you've been stuck in a pit, 549 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,560 completely fearful, completely in debilitating fear, God is 550 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:22,400 calling you to a place of requesting him for that daily 551 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:25,160 anointing. He's asking you come to me. 552 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:28,880 Come to me, I will give you the strength you need and the 553 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:30,360 beautiful thing about the anointing. 554 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:34,400 The anointing will kill the stench that the past has left on 555 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:35,960 us. Some of us are carrying the 556 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:39,720 past. It's almost like the the stench 557 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:42,600 of a dead carcass on us because the past is so heavy, which is 558 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,440 why it's so important that the trauma is set down. 559 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:48,880 But in the present, the anointing is what kills the the 560 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:51,560 the need for the flesh to rise up. 561 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:54,800 And the anointing helps us to live in step with the Spirit of 562 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:58,600 God. God gives us the strength to 563 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:01,360 move past our automatic reactions. 564 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:03,880 He helps us to move past our weaknesses. 565 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,440 He helps us to move past our default bad behavior, bad 566 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,960 attitude. It is only by His strength. 567 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:12,960 It is only by His grace. It is only by the anointing of 568 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:17,440 the Holy Spirit will I move past this crippling terror. 569 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:21,800 So if you've been stuck in a space of being so scared of 570 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,800 failure, so scared why it happened once, it could happen 571 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:29,960 again, God saying enough, ask me for that anointing. 572 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:33,360 Ask me for that strength, ask me for my power. 573 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:36,440 It's all yours already. To begin with. 574 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:41,760 The third symptom The third symptom of being in a waterless 575 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:44,680 pit is when you're trust deficient for the future. 576 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:48,840 Trust deficient for the future. I've I've been in a situation 577 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:51,560 like this where just because of the things that have happened in 578 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,960 the past happening in the present, I couldn't look ahead 579 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:58,400 clearly the the the future looked turbid. 580 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:02,600 It looks so blurry. I didn't have clarity of what 581 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:05,520 would actually come of this. It looks so blurry. 582 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,200 It looks so bleak. I didn't know what was going to 583 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:09,240 happen. I don't know if things were 584 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,720 going to evolve or change. And like I said, we can only 585 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:15,400 take one day at a time. We can ask God for His mercies. 586 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,560 We can deal with the trauma, We can lay down our baggage. 587 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:22,920 But it requires some a supernatural edge in order for 588 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:25,400 us to stride into the future with boldness. 589 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:29,760 And Joseph had that edge. You know what the edge was 590 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:33,000 because of his anointing. He had a very specific gift set. 591 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:39,120 His gifting it was that he had dreams, he had visions, and he 592 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:40,560 could interpret dreams for people. 593 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:44,960 It was a specific gifts which in the New Testament is mentioned 594 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:47,920 as a gift of the Holy Spirit given to followers of Jesus. 595 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:51,960 And so it's not just a Joseph who has that edge, it's you and 596 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,400 me. But for too long we have demoted 597 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:57,200 the Holy Spirit. We have put Madam as our 598 00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:58,840 footstool. We have, we've given the 599 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,040 Trinity, you know that the members of the Trinity, this 600 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:04,600 hierarchy and the Holy Spirit gets something inferior when all 601 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:09,200 the three persons are God in entirety and the holy. 602 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:13,240 Spirit is so powerful and he's so true to his word. 603 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:17,240 If, if the prophet Joel said in the last times, my people are 604 00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:19,000 going to dream dreams and see visions. 605 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:23,760 My men, my women, my slave girls, everybody, whoever on 606 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:27,240 whoever the Spirit of God rests will have these giftings. 607 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:29,880 We have diminished and said, well, I don't want that. 608 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:33,200 That's, you know, it's an Old Testament thing. 609 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:35,720 It's a new early church thing. It's no more for me. 610 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:42,800 For too long we have given up access that God had given us to 611 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:44,920 know a little bit more of what lies ahead. 612 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:48,560 And because of which Joseph knew what was coming. 613 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:51,840 God had shown him the interpretation for Pharaoh's 614 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:53,480 dream. He knew how to prepare for the 615 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:55,920 next seven years and then the years after that. 616 00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:00,600 Even as a little child, as a 17 year old, God had shown him 617 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:04,600 there was a time when he will be in leadership over even his 618 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:06,600 family. He didn't understand it. 619 00:34:06,600 --> 00:34:09,239 He didn't know the ramifications of it, but God had shown him and 620 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:13,800 I bet when he stood that day, his eleven brothers in front of 621 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:16,840 him, bowing before him, it all made sense. 622 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:21,040 When his father came into Egypt to meet him, when he stood there 623 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:23,800 at the at the right hand of Pharaoh, it must have made 624 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:25,560 sense. But this is what I want to 625 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:28,679 remind you of. We have been talking of how we 626 00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:31,480 have access to the living water and Jesus said if anyone is 627 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:34,760 thirsty, come to me. Out of me will flow rivers of 628 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:36,960 out of him will flow rivers of living water. 629 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,080 I believe God has given each of us. 630 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:45,320 Access to his Spirit. He wants us to tap into him and 631 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,679 say, Spirit of God, give me the gift that I need. 632 00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:50,560 Give me the gift of discernment. Give me the gift of wisdom. 633 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:54,280 Give me the gift of discerning between spirits. 634 00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:57,920 These are in the New Testament. It's not something I'm not 635 00:34:57,920 --> 00:34:59,360 preaching something out of the text. 636 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:02,640 It's within the word of God, and God is asking. 637 00:35:05,240 --> 00:35:08,200 You have been bogged down by your worries, your struggles, 638 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:13,080 your anxiety, but I want your faith to supersede all of that. 639 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:17,840 And the only way we can do that is if we operate with the edge 640 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:21,720 that the Holy Spirit brings. Imagine, imagine if you operated 641 00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:24,960 with the Spirit of God and his leading, how your business would 642 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:27,880 look different, how your education would look different. 643 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,440 The things that you pursue at work, in your career growth 644 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:32,720 would be different. The way your parent, your 645 00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:35,520 children would be different. The way you you live your life 646 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:37,600 within the confines of your home would be different. 647 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:42,240 How you conduct yourself as as a spouse would be different if we 648 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:45,160 had the discernment and the wisdom that God gave us. 649 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,160 We cannot do this without the Holy Spirit. 650 00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:55,280 As we get into 20/25/2024 is coming to an end, I believe that 651 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:59,040 God is calling us into a place of greater discernment, greater 652 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:00,880 wisdom. He wants to remove the veil. 653 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:02,520 A lot of us are living veiled lives. 654 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:04,960 We have no clue what's going to happen tomorrow, and we're very 655 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:06,680 happy about saying, you know what? 656 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:07,880 I don't know what's going to happen. 657 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:09,240 You know, Chalega, we'll just see. 658 00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:12,360 But God is calling me into a place of greater discernment. 659 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:14,800 He wants me to know when a season shifts. 660 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:18,080 He wants me to pray accordingly. He wants me to cover my family 661 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:19,640 in prayer. He wants me to prepare 662 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:22,120 adequately. He wants me to save in certain 663 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:24,000 ways, which I haven't been doing so far. 664 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:27,640 But how will I do it unless I begin to pray? 665 00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:30,240 In a way He leads me to Paul. Gives us the. 666 00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:33,320 Hint in Ephesians 6 he says and pray in the Spirit at all times 667 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,920 and on all occasions. Sometimes my words are 668 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:38,720 insufficient, but when I pray in the. 669 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:41,280 Spirit The Spirit guides me as to what I should. 670 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:44,000 Pray. When I pray in the Spirit, He 671 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:47,880 directs my thoughts. He brings people into mind who 672 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:52,000 need prayer at that very moment. He's giving me language to a lot 673 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:53,480 of things that I don't have language to. 674 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,680 He highlights a scripture to me when I'm doing my quiet time and 675 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:58,680 saying this is the promise for this child. 676 00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:00,640 This is what I want you to do in this season. 677 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:03,080 He's teaching me how to pursue certain things. 678 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:08,640 He's teaching me how to let. Go Joseph's edge can be our edge 679 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,640 today. If you feel you've been trust 680 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:13,280 deficit, you've been saying, you know what? 681 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:16,760 I don't know what's ahead. I'm afraid to trust God. 682 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:18,880 I feel like he let me down in the past. 683 00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:20,760 I feel like my trauma is too big. 684 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:23,080 I feel like the terror of the present is too much. 685 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:26,360 I don't know if I can trust God. This is not linear. 686 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:28,680 This happens up. You know, you sometimes go 687 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:30,800 through a season where your trust is good for the future, 688 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,480 but your trauma acts up. So this is something that keeps 689 00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:37,800 happening in tandem. But I want to ask you, will you 690 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:43,040 like Joseph, say this Genesis chapter 50 verses 24 to 25. 691 00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:46,440 Then Joseph said to his brothers, I am about to die, but 692 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:50,480 God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land 693 00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:54,320 to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 694 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:58,280 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, God will 695 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:02,400 surely come to your aid. Then you must carry my bones up 696 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:07,320 from this place. It's amazing because hundreds of 697 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:11,280 years later, the very same Israelites who had who had 698 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,840 entered with Jacob and his family had now grown to such a 699 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,840 large extent that the Pharaoh of that time had suppressed them 700 00:38:17,840 --> 00:38:21,720 into slavery. When he's talking, nobody was in 701 00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:25,560 need of aid, but 300 years later they were in need of aid. 702 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:28,720 And that's when his words came to pass. 703 00:38:28,720 --> 00:38:34,080 Joseph had the spirits leading the spirits sense to know what 704 00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:38,480 was coming and in that he spoke in faith and said this is what's 705 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:40,240 going to happen. You will take my bodies out. 706 00:38:40,240 --> 00:38:44,320 And I love when you read the Exodus, it says that Moses and 707 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:49,200 Joshua actually take Joseph's bones up out of Egypt and back 708 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,240 where they are headed. Isn't that amazing? 709 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:56,600 So I want to ask you, what if you started living in the 710 00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:58,920 reality of what the prophet Joel spoke of? 711 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:04,440 What if you encourage your children when they sleep? 712 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:06,800 Go to sleep at night, Say Lord, speak to them in dreams and 713 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:08,360 visions. Lord, speak to me. 714 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:12,160 What if? You were to allow the Holy 715 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:15,440 Spirit to give to you the things that He's already said are 716 00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:19,840 yours, and you start acting out of that strength and authority. 717 00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:23,720 What if God wants to give you the gift of wisdom, of 718 00:39:23,720 --> 00:39:26,360 discernment, of intelligence, of intuition? 719 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:30,480 What if he wants to give you the gift of entrepreneurship? 720 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:34,360 What if he wants to give you the gift of excellence, of moral 721 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:38,800 excellence, of of tremendous success? 722 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:42,280 What if it's a gift that he wants to bless you with, but you 723 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,440 have put a lid on it and said, I, I don't want too much of 724 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:47,760 this. I don't want to appear kooky. 725 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:51,000 I don't want to appear crazy. God is calling you into place. 726 00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:55,240 Come to me, drink from me, so that out of you. 727 00:39:55,960 --> 00:40:01,240 With Pro living rivers of living water, I want to encourage you 728 00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:04,320 as I close. Only the Spirit of God can flood 729 00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:10,760 your life so that the dry cistern of your life will start 730 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:13,640 to be filled with Him. More of God. 731 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:17,320 The Holy Spirit brings us more of God and only He can take the 732 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:22,400 sting of your trauma out. Only He can help you heal and 733 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:25,320 forget. A lot of us claim we have healed 734 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:27,400 from our trauma, but we're still talking about it. 735 00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:31,880 We're still sharing every detail of it to others. 736 00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:37,680 Healing demands that we forget. We forgive, we move forward. 737 00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:42,000 If Joseph had got stuck at the place of his trauma, God 738 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:44,200 couldn't have done the great things he did with him. 739 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:48,720 The second thing is, only the Holy Spirit can give you fresh 740 00:40:48,720 --> 00:40:51,480 strength and courage to do what you need to do right now. 741 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:54,880 Irrespective of your past failures, irrespective of the 742 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,520 closed doors and disappointments, He is the one 743 00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:01,680 anoints you with fresh oil. Only the Holy Spirit can give 744 00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:05,120 you the discernment and the insight for your future through 745 00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:08,600 dreams, through vision, through prayer, through intercession. 746 00:41:08,720 --> 00:41:13,760 Only God can do it. And it's important that you open 747 00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:17,720 up the door of your life if thus far you could identify with one 748 00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:21,000 of these 3 dry cisterns. It's time you opened yourself up 749 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:25,280 and said, Spirit of God, flood my life, flood my life. 750 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:30,520 Remember that you were blessed not for yourself, you were 751 00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:34,400 blessed to be a blessing. Your healing has never been just 752 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:36,120 about you. Your healing is for others as 753 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:38,320 well. Yes, your healing benefits you, 754 00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:42,000 but it's amazing how what God does in you will start to reach 755 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,600 others as well. Your restoration has never been 756 00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:47,520 just for you. You are being restored, but you 757 00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:50,240 are being restored so that you will be a channel of blessing 758 00:41:50,240 --> 00:41:51,880 and restoration for someone else. 759 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:56,400 Just like a well is not meant for just one person to use, but 760 00:41:56,400 --> 00:41:59,400 it's for people to come around and gather around. 761 00:41:59,720 --> 00:42:04,160 Your life is not just about you, it's about more than that. 762 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:09,040 So even as I close, I want to just read this word from 763 00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:13,960 Zechariah Chapter 9 verse 11. It says also you by the blood of 764 00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:17,240 your covenant, I release your prisoners from the dungeon, the 765 00:42:17,240 --> 00:42:20,680 cistern that has no water in it. I pray this over you. 766 00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:24,760 If you have been saying trauma has eaten up most of my life, 767 00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:28,320 God is saying I want to take you out of that cistern today 768 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:32,920 because the blood of the lamb is sufficient to take you out of 769 00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:34,440 that cistern. If you have been living 770 00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:38,000 paralysed by fear, God is saying I want to bring you out of it. 771 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:40,720 My blood has done the job. You are free if you are. 772 00:42:40,720 --> 00:42:43,960 Saying I am so scared of my future, I don't know what lies 773 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:50,280 ahead of me. I'm confused, I have no clue 774 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:53,360 what's ahead. God is saying I will release you 775 00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:56,680 from that pit, that cistern, by the blood of the Lamb. 776 00:42:56,680 --> 00:43:00,600 You are released, you are freed in Jesus name. 777 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:04,120 Some of us are stuck in a victim mindset. 778 00:43:04,120 --> 00:43:06,440 We think, you know what, all of this has only happened to me. 779 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:08,720 I'm misunderstood, I'm slandered. 780 00:43:09,600 --> 00:43:11,600 But God is sending help your way. 781 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:15,600 You know, Jeremiah the prophet. Jeremiah found himself in a 782 00:43:15,880 --> 00:43:19,240 cistern without water just as the land went into exile. 783 00:43:19,240 --> 00:43:22,840 They threw him into a cistern and there was a man called Ebid 784 00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:27,720 Malik who went looking for Jeremiah, found him there, put 785 00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:29,800 ropes under him and drew him out. 786 00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:33,440 Many times. God will use leaders, God will 787 00:43:33,440 --> 00:43:36,920 use counsellors. God will use a godly friend to 788 00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:39,720 pull you out of the cistern. It's on you whether you receive 789 00:43:39,720 --> 00:43:44,240 the help. Will you take the help that God 790 00:43:44,240 --> 00:43:47,680 brings and climb out of that cistern that you find yourself 791 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:50,800 in? Even as we close, I want to pray 792 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:54,400 this prayer that God would restore hope to us. 793 00:43:54,640 --> 00:43:57,760 Everything that the enemy has stolen through trauma, through 794 00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:03,560 fear, just the debilitation of the things that could happen, 795 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:08,840 that would happen. God is willing to restore twice 796 00:44:08,840 --> 00:44:12,120 as much that we have lost. It requires that we return to 797 00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:15,080 him. Return to your fortress or 798 00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:18,200 prisoners of hope. Even now, I announce that I will 799 00:44:18,200 --> 00:44:22,680 restore twice as much to you, Father. 800 00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:25,240 I just bring every one of us, Lord, each of us. 801 00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:29,720 Our trauma is great. The terror of our present is 802 00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:32,720 sometimes so great. Lord, the, the sometimes our 803 00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:36,560 trust for the future is so limited, it's so diminished. 804 00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:37,960 And we just want to say we're sorry. 805 00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:41,040 And Father, we know that you understand what we walk through. 806 00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:46,760 And today, Lord, each of us here return to you, our fortress, our 807 00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:50,400 stronghold, our living water. We come back to you, and we 808 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:54,200 believe that you will restore twice as much as we have lost. 809 00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:58,000 If we have lost it through trauma, we believe that you will 810 00:44:58,080 --> 00:44:59,640 return it to us. You will restore. 811 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:02,840 If we have lost health, we believe you will restore it 812 00:45:02,840 --> 00:45:05,840 twice over. If we have lost wealth, we 813 00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:10,000 believe you will restore it. Father, if we have lost joy, we 814 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:11,040 believe that you will restore it. 815 00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:15,400 If we have lost relationships, we believe you will restore it. 816 00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:19,040 We thank you that we are cleansed by the blood of the 817 00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:23,400 Lamb and that today we stand free from the empty cisterns 818 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:27,400 that we have found ourselves in. I declare over anyone here who 819 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:31,000 has been holding on to baggage that they were never meant to 820 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:34,360 hold on to, that today they will leave it back at your feet. 821 00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:38,840 I pray that the sting of trauma will be removed in Jesus name. 822 00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:42,480 I pray they will be set free. I pray for those who've been 823 00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:45,960 paralysed by fear. We break every chain of fear in 824 00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:50,760 the name of Jesus. I pray for those who doubt has 825 00:45:50,760 --> 00:45:54,000 got a grip of their mind, a doubt about the future, a lack 826 00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:56,440 of trust for the future where faith has diminished. 827 00:45:56,640 --> 00:45:59,400 We speak to them in Jesus name that Lord. 828 00:45:59,400 --> 00:46:03,240 Their faith would be like a mustard seed, tried and true. 829 00:46:04,240 --> 00:46:06,560 They would hold on to you with everything that they have. 830 00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:11,120 Restore faith in Jesus name, restore strength and courage. 831 00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:16,960 Anoint us for the work ahead. Lord in Jesus name I pray, Amen. 832 00:46:17,320 --> 00:46:18,800 Amen. God bless you. 833 00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:22,200 I pray that you will truly take care of your soul because I 834 00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:25,680 believe God cares for our soul. That as you go through this week 835 00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:29,560 you will be very mindful to invite the Holy Spirit in to do 836 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:31,640 what only he can. God bless you. 837 00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:34,360 Thanks for listening to this message. 838 00:46:34,720 --> 00:46:38,200 We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this. 839 00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:42,560 Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past 840 00:46:42,560 --> 00:46:44,880 episodes. If you like what you are 841 00:46:44,880 --> 00:46:49,440 hearing, consider rating us, subscribing and even sharing it 842 00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:52,000 with friends. That would really help us. 843 00:46:52,720 --> 00:46:57,320 For more content from Via Zion and to connect with us, go to 844 00:46:57,320 --> 00:47:02,520 Via Zion dot in. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 845 00:47:02,760 --> 00:47:03,520 finds life.