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Man, it's you can turn to 
Genesis 39. 

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We spent a little bit of time in
Genesis recently, but this has 

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been really fun because last 
month, appreciate it. 

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We went through the devil's 
playground. 

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We talked about a lot of the 
ways that the enemy attacks us. 

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And now, now we get to be on 
this cool place where we're 

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talking about how we are beloved
and we are. 

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There's a lot of things that 
stop us from really embracing 

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our identity that Jesus has for 
us, but we want to come against 

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anything that would distract us 
or detract from what he has for 

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us. 
The first week that we started 

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talking about this, if you 
remember, we talked about the 

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apostle John and how he calls 
himself the one that Jesus 

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loves. 
What a what a great place to 

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find your identity. 
For me, I used to read that and 

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think this guy. 
You know, he thinks a lot of 

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himself, but what I if I was 
meeting him ever try to talk him

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out of it. 
Think about this. 

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I want you to imagine you meet 
up with your friend and your 

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friend is like, man, Jesus loves
me so much. 

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Would you, would you seriously 
be like, really? 

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Does he? 
And so I just love that John's 

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identity was primarily in being 
the one that Jesus loved. 

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You know, week two, Week 2, we 
talked about the Father you've 

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always wanted. 
And that wasn't emotional. 

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It was fine. 
We had some people that didn't 

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have that issues but got them 
after that week. 

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Just just kidding, even if 
you've had a wonderful father, 

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and we have the privilege here 
of having families worship 

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together very often, there 
really is only one perfect 

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Father and we worship him. 
Family is special, isn't it? 

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Only pause for a moment because 
I can, because y'all are 

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listening to me. 
Thanks. 

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Yesterday I celebrated. 
My grandmother's 92nd birthday 

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and she's here celebrating with 
us today. 

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We prayed for her and she said, 
look at look at this family. 

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And I said, yeah, this is all 
your fault. 

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So honored to be a part of a 
family that loves each other. 

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I know you're like, why is he 
doing this? 

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Just just having some fun with 
it. 

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Do you remember what we talked 
about last week? 

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ADHD has taken over. 
Who told you that? 

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Talked about the lies that we 
tend to believe that end up 

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becoming labels on our life and 
how a lot of times, some people,

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even ones that really mean well,
they don't really service us 

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well, do they? 
They say things to us. 

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I didn't use it last week, but 
I'll never forget my pastor 

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sharing a story that when he was
younger, he said he was asleep 

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on the couch. 
And he did what kids never do. 

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He pretended he was asleep when 
the adults came in and he heard 

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his aunt and his uncle, they 
looked at him and they said, 

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poor Tommy, he'll never amount 
to anything. 

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And so he went through a lot of 
his life saying, I'll show them 

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So he accomplished good things 
with wrong motives. 

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And he would tell you that if he
was here today. 

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And I wonder when I'm going to 
run out of these. 

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Last week was important because 
you have to be able to take the 

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lies off of you. 
If you can't take the lies off 

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of you, that becomes how you see
yourself. 

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And I don't know if anybody's 
told you this, but you don't 

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need lies. 
You already know yourself. 

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You already know that you've 
done some pretty bad things in 

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your life. 
You don't need the lies on top 

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of them. 
But today I am specific. 

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Want to also talk about when 
things are done to you and how 

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we tend to carry those. 
Wouldn't it be a bummer if this 

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whole thing collapsed right now?
I think we're good. 

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All right, yeah, I'll talk about
that later. 

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So today we're going to close 
with one final battle for worth.

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And this happens when you start 
to find your identity based off 

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of things that have happened to 
you. 

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And I don't always preach in 
this direction normally. 

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The direction that I like to 
preach is, hey, you can do this,

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you're equipped. 
Don't worry about, you know what

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they've got. 
The Lord has something for you 

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that's better. 
But the reality is we are all 

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shaped by the things that have 
happened to us. 

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That's why many of us, we even 
have the same laugh as our 

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parents. 
Or when you run into somebody, 

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they're like, oh, you're the. 
Spitting image, which is a weird

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saying, but we know what it 
means. 

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They're saying you remind me so 
much you're it's such a vivid 

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connection between you and this 
relative. 

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That's from a physical 
standpoint. 

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Some people act the same way. 
Sometimes when we're having 

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discussions, we all know that 
we've recreated ourselves and 

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other people just because of 
characteristics. 

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But. 
I want to challenge you today on

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the things that you've gone 
through. 

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I want you to think about some 
of the things that you are the 

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most ashamed of. 
That's what you came here for, 

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right? 
But we're going to tackle them 

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together today. 
And don't worry, I'm not going. 

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To make you say it out loud, but
I want it to be uppermost in 

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your mind because this matters. 
Because at best it's a 

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distraction from the Kingdom and
at worst it's something that is 

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actively holding you back from 
the Kingdom. 

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So we need to attack it 
together. 

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Some of us were shaped not by 
our own choices, but by somebody

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else's. 
Somebody else's sin, somebody 

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else's failure, somebody else's 
betrayal, their abuse, their 

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absence, or their rejection. 
And just like that, shame sneaks

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in. 
And it's not because we did 

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something wrong sometimes, but 
once it happens to us, it's hard

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to let go of it. 
Then all of a sudden we look at 

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life through prison bars that 
somebody else built and there is

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a way out, but we don't even 
think to look for it. 

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So if you've made your way to 
Genesis 39, I'll give you a 

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little bit of back story, 
although this is pretty well 

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known story. 
It's the story of Joseph. 

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Before Joseph ever wore a royal 
robe or sat in a prison cell, he

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was a teenage dreamer with a 
God-given destiny. 

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And I know this scripture well 
because even before I read the 

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Bible for myself and was trying 
to glean everything that God had

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for me when I was in high 
school, I was in the drama club.

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It's probably where I get it 
from. 

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And one year we did a musical 
called Joseph and the Amazing 

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Technicolor Dreamcoat. 
Anybody ever see that? 

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It's theologically not the most 
sound, but you know, I played 

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Levi. 
And I played, I played well, I 

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didn't play the goat, but I was 
the guy off stage that had to 

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roll the goat on wheels out that
they end up killing. 

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And what happens basically is 
his brothers get very jealous of

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him. 
God is giving him dreams and 

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they're prophetic in nature and 
they're talking about his 

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destiny and his future. 
And So what he does is. 

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He's. 
Just a kid and he runs out to 

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his brothers. 
He's like, hey, I had this dream

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that you guys are going to bow 
down to me someday. 

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Isn't that crazy? 
Go on the way back, machine. 

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Go back to your siblings. 
I want you to imagine your 

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brother or sister ran up to you 
as a kid. 

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Hey, one day you're going to 
work for me. 

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Isn't that a cool dream God gave
me? 

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Why won't you be happy for me? 
Although most of us wouldn't do 

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what his brothers did, They 
said, you know what? 

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He's got to go now. 
Their father Jacob gave Joseph 

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something he didn't give 
anybody. 

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Else it was a coat of many 
colors. 

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I don't know if it was 
reminiscent of the coat that we 

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wore at Swansboro High School 
senior year production, but I 

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hope it wasn't because that was 
ugly. 

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But here's the reality. 
In that day, to have that many 

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garments with that many colors 
would have been very valuable 

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and very expensive. 
When you think of it from this 

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perspective, it's really not 
that different from today. 

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Some people wear stuff just so 
that you know that they've got 

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the money to afford it. 
And he's wearing this expensive 

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coat. 
So what they do is they throw 

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him in a pit and they're going 
to tell their dad that he was 

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murdered by a wild animal. 
So they take this coat off of 

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him, and their plan is to dip it
in this goat's blood. 

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And then one of them, so 
courageous, the oldest brother, 

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Ruben, he says. 
Hey, let's not kill him, let's 

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let's sell him to some wandering
people instead. 

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And he plans to come back later 
and save him. 

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But. 
The best laid plans, right? 

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And so in Genesis 3920 we find 
that he has been picked up, 

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purchased by these travelling 
nomads, these merchants. 

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They've taken him to Egypt and 
now he's working in Potiphar's 

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house. 
It says in verse 20 Potiphar 

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took Joseph and threw him into 
prison where the King's 

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prisoners were held, and there 
he remained. 

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Why would Potiphar throw him in 
prison when he had already been 

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thrown in a pit? 
Well, if you know the story, you

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know the story if you don't. 
He ends up working for this 

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government official named 
Potiphar, and his job is to be a

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slave of the household and to do
whatever the owners of the 

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household tell him to do. 
But as many of us know, there's 

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a difference between having a 
principal and a preference. 

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And so while he does anything 
that he's asked, he will not do 

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something that breaks the moral 
code that the Lord has instilled

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in him. 
And while Potiphar is gone, his 

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wife goes to Joseph and says, 
hey, you and I are going to 

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have. 
Extra snuggles. 

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I'm looking around. 
I know there's a few kids here, 

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so they're going to have extra 
snuggle time. 

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Joseph at this point runs away 
so fast, so hard, he leaves his 

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cloak in her hands. 
I've heard people say he ran 

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away naked. 
I don't think it was that 

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dramatic, but he ran away, lost 
a coat for the second time so. 

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How does Potiphar's wife? 
Handle this well. 

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Potiphar gets home and she says 
this Hebrew slave that you 

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brought into the house. 
Tried to have snuggles with me. 

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I know, I know, I know. 
Don't worry. 

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00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:57,160
We're not talking about snuggles
all morning. 

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And so he throws them in prison 
and that's where he finds 

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himself. 
Think about this. 

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Even though this is such a well 
known story, can you not relate 

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to Joseph's plight? 
He was just being a kid, caught 

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00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:14,680
a lot of junk from his family, 
thrown into a pit, thrown into 

192
00:10:14,680 --> 00:10:17,280
slavery. 
And even there, he's doing a 

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00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,440
good job in the house. 
He's good at his work, and he's 

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00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:23,400
a moral guy. 
And now he's in jail for it. 

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00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:31,280
Would you be sitting in that 
jail cell singing oh, oh, oh, my

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00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:35,320
God did not fail. 
No, you might be singing God, 

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where are you right now? 
Well, while he's sitting in that

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00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,080
prison, he helps interpret 
dreams for two of Pharaoh's 

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00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:44,480
officials that get thrown in 
there. 

200
00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:48,520
Anybody remember who they are? 
You've got a Baker and a cup 

201
00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:50,960
bearer. 
Cupbearer was a tough job 

202
00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:52,840
because really he had to make 
sure it wasn't poisoned. 

203
00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:54,080
You know, he's also a taste 
tester. 

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00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,240
But he has a dream. 
The Baker has a dream. 

205
00:10:57,240 --> 00:10:59,320
And he says, hey, can you 
interpret this? 

206
00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:00,720
And he says. 
Yeah, I think you're going to 

207
00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,320
die. 
The cupbearer has a dream also, 

208
00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:05,920
he says, I think you're going to
get restored. 

209
00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:10,200
And he said, But listen, when 
you do get restored, Remember 

210
00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:15,560
Me, Genesis 423. 
Pharaoh's chief cupbearer, 

211
00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:18,680
however, forgot all about 
Joseph, never giving him another

212
00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:20,320
thought. 
Not the way it goes. 

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00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:22,840
Sometimes you do something for 
somebody and you're like, you 

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00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:24,040
know, one day they'll pay me 
back. 

215
00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,600
One day this will pay off. 
I was really kind to them. 

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00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:28,720
I was really helpful. 
I'm sure one day when I need 

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00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:31,040
them, they'll be there. 
Not another thought. 

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00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:37,560
Have you ever felt like you were
forgotten and your healing like 

219
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you've been left in a holding 
pattern and you're waiting for 

220
00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:42,200
God to move and you're wondering
if anyone even remembers that 

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00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:45,440
you exist? 
You have a wound that hurts, but

222
00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,000
sometimes it's not just the 
wound, it's the waiting. 

223
00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:51,080
To finally be healed. 
That hurts worse than the wound.

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00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:55,640
Well, then, next chapter over 
Genesis 41, the story takes a 

225
00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:58,320
turn because now Pharaoh's 
having some crazy dreams. 

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00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,960
So Pharaoh says, I need somebody
who can interpret dreams. 

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00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:09,600
And the cupbearer says, 
actually, isn't it funny? 

228
00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,000
He brings it up when it is 
beneficial to him. 

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00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:14,520
Sometimes we feel used like that
too. 

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00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,760
So he tells him in In verse 14 
we see that Pharaoh sent for 

231
00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:21,000
Joseph at once. 
He was quickly brought from the 

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00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,120
prison, and after he shaved and 
changed his clothes, he went in 

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00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,920
and stood before Pharaoh. 
So Joseph interprets Pharaoh's 

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00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,720
dream, and Pharaoh responds in 
verse. 41 He says this, I hereby

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00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:34,360
put you in charge of the entire 
land of Egypt. 

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00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,200
Now one moment Joseph is in 
prison clothes, and the next he 

237
00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,720
was in royal robes. 
But you need to know that even 

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00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,320
when it looks like nothing is 
happening, God is still writing.

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00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:47,040
By the time we reach Genesis 50,
which is where we'll read a 

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00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:50,640
little bit more of the Scripture
together, a lot has happened. 

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00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:52,560
There's a huge famine across the
land. 

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00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:55,600
But because God has given wisdom
to Joseph, Joseph has been. 

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00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:58,400
Able to not only take care of 
Egypt but the surrounding areas 

244
00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:00,600
and people are coming there and 
they're selling everything 

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00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,400
they've got so that they can 
have what they need and this 

246
00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,880
includes his brothers and they 
don't even recognize him at 

247
00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,600
first how could they he was a 
kid when they sold him and now 

248
00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:13,760
he's dressed in all of these 
nice clothes he's. 

249
00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:16,840
Going out on a limb here that 
this Hebrew in Egypt probably 

250
00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:20,480
had a pretty good tan, right? 
He looked different. 

251
00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:23,880
But when he revealed himself to 
them, they throw themselves at 

252
00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:25,560
his feet and they say, hey, 
we're your slaves. 

253
00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:27,360
We're so sorry for what we did, 
Please forgive us. 

254
00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:29,000
Don't hurt us. 
And he said, no, no, no, you're 

255
00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:30,600
good. 
He took care of them. 

256
00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,840
In fact, he got his father Jacob
brought back to Egypt or brought

257
00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,480
into Egypt so that he could then
be reconciled with his father. 

258
00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,960
And what we find in verse 50 is 
a sad story because now their 

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00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:44,520
father Jacob has died. 
And in verse 14 it says after 

260
00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,360
burying Jacob, Joseph returned 
to Egypt with his brothers and 

261
00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,840
all who had accompanied him to 
his father's burial. 

262
00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,880
But now that their father was 
dead, Joseph's brothers became 

263
00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:56,880
fearful. 
Now Joseph will show his anger 

264
00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,360
and pay us back for all the 
wrong that we did to him. 

265
00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:02,640
So they sent this message to 
Joseph. 

266
00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,800
Before your father died, he 
instructed us to say to you. 

267
00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,280
Please forgive your brothers for
the great wrong they did to you 

268
00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:12,720
for their sin and treating you 
so cruelly. 

269
00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:16,200
So we, the servants of the God 
of your Father, beg you to 

270
00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,360
forgive our sin. 
I mean, when Joseph received 

271
00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,120
this message, he broke down and 
wept. 

272
00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:23,720
I just want to pause there. 
We'll read the next couple 

273
00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,440
verses. 
But there is no indication that 

274
00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:28,680
Jacob even knew about what 
happened. 

275
00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:31,840
There's no indication he may 
very well have. 

276
00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,360
He may not have, but why 
wouldn't Jacob just give that 

277
00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:38,800
message to Joseph himself? 
Before he died. 

278
00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:42,720
Could you imagine that? 
Hey, I'm going soon, Why don't 

279
00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:45,360
you go to your brother and just 
tell him that I said don't kill 

280
00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:48,400
you? 
No, it's manipulation. 

281
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:52,360
But I'm going to tell you this, 
You've got 2 cases of shame here

282
00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:55,080
and two different reactions. 
The brothers have lived in this 

283
00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:58,280
shame for a long time and now 
their shame is on display 

284
00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:00,680
because now the person in 
authority knows what they did. 

285
00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,480
How could he not? 
So when you live in shame, you 

286
00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,920
are obviously suspicious that 
somebody's going to do something

287
00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:10,480
like that to you or get you back
for what you did. 

288
00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:12,720
And so because they're living in
shame now, they've got to come 

289
00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:14,640
up with ideas. 
Why don't you just tell them 

290
00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:16,760
that? 
That our dad said not to hurt us

291
00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,720
and to leave us alone. 
But there's been a lot that's 

292
00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,280
been done to Joseph too, hasn't 
there? 

293
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,720
And these things that happened 
to us can also define us if we 

294
00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,480
let them. 
And Joseph refuses to let what 

295
00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:34,200
happened to him define him. 
Verse 18 his brothers came and 

296
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,720
threw themselves down before 
Joseph and said, look, we are 

297
00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,680
your slaves. 
But Joseph replied, don't be 

298
00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,640
afraid of me. 
Am I God that I can punish? 

299
00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,920
You, which is a very comforting 
question because he's not God, 

300
00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:47,720
but he certainly could have 
punished them. 

301
00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,880
He said you intended to harm me,
but God intended it all for 

302
00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:54,640
good. 
He. 

303
00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:57,640
Brought me to this position so 
that I could save the lives of 

304
00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,160
many people. 
No, don't be afraid. 

305
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,120
I will continue to take care of 
you and your children. 

306
00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,280
So he reassured them by speaking
kindly to them. 

307
00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:11,320
He didn't just forgive them. 
He didn't just not murder them. 

308
00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:13,560
I mean, for most of us, we're 
like, well, that. 

309
00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:17,120
Would be my goal. 
He spoke kindly to them. 

310
00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,200
Could you speak kindly to them? 
I want you to think about who 

311
00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,320
did the worst thing to you. 
Could you speak kindly to them 

312
00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:27,120
if you ran into them when you 
walked out the door today? 

313
00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:32,520
As a believer, I don't want you 
to feel shame over this, but I 

314
00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:33,680
want you to know that's the 
goal. 

315
00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,280
And it may take time to get 
there, but we're going to start 

316
00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,080
that journey together today 
because the God who was with 

317
00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:43,040
Joseph in the prison is the same
God who is with you right now 

318
00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,960
this morning. 
And he has not forgotten you, 

319
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:47,760
and he has not finished with 
you. 

320
00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:50,440
And you may feel like you're in 
an emotional or traumatic 

321
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:53,640
prison, but I want you to know 
that what was meant to break you

322
00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:55,880
might just be the place where he
uses you the most. 

323
00:16:57,440 --> 00:16:59,800
The first thing I want to talk 
about is we are all defined by 

324
00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:02,720
what was done to us. 
There's no way around that. 

325
00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:05,480
We like to say that we're not. 
We like to say, well, that's how

326
00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:08,079
I was raised, but that's not who
I am. 

327
00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:10,680
Well, it was until you chose 
that it wasn't going to be. 

328
00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,359
That's just the truth of it. 
That's why a lot of people, as 

329
00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:17,160
they grow up, they vote the same
way as a parent or because of 

330
00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:19,680
dynamics, they choose to vote 
the opposite way of their 

331
00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,319
parent. 
That's why a lot of people grow 

332
00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:25,480
up and they embrace the same 
hobbies and the same interests 

333
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,600
and the same mannerisms. 
You are defined by things that 

334
00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:30,720
are done, whether they're 
positive, negative or neutral. 

335
00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,120
Maybe you acquired a taste for 
something because it was 

336
00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:37,840
something that you grew up with.
I know when my mom and I said 

337
00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:39,720
when we were growing up, when I 
was growing up, she was an 

338
00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:43,160
adult, but. 
We didn't have a lot of money at

339
00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,320
one point, and so our favorite 
snack was to get Graham 

340
00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,480
crackers, crush them up, and 
then pour milk on top of it. 

341
00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,800
And in case you're wondering, 
isn't that instant mush? 

342
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,640
Yes, it is instant mush. 
It's not even cereal that gets 

343
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,080
soggy over time. 
I love it to this day. 

344
00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,560
If I had a bowl full of Graham 
crackers and milk, I'd love it. 

345
00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:03,880
I did it one time in front of my
kids and they were like, what is

346
00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:09,240
that? 
I think I, I think my daughter 

347
00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:10,760
called it. 
I think she said it looked like 

348
00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:14,040
lumpy baby food. 
And you know, it's probably safe

349
00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:16,960
for them. 
But I love this because it's 

350
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:18,960
part of MyHeritage is how I came
up. 

351
00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:22,080
What happens to you defines you.
If you grow up with one parent, 

352
00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,520
both parents blended family. 
If you grow up adopted, it does 

353
00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:27,240
define you for a season, does it
not? 

354
00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:30,920
You have to decide what parts to
keep and what parts not to turn 

355
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:32,960
to. 
Second Samuel, Chapter 9. 

356
00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,960
I want you to know that for a 
lot of these things, they're 

357
00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:38,720
worse than Graham crackers, 
right? 

358
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,120
Sometimes the things that shape 
us is that somebody walked out 

359
00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:43,520
when we thought they'd never 
leave. 

360
00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:45,680
Somebody lied to us that we 
never thought would lie. 

361
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:49,200
Somebody hurt us, ignored us, 
abused their power. 

362
00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:54,360
Somebody failed to protect us. 
Suddenly we weren't just us 

363
00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:55,760
anymore. 
Now we started looking at 

364
00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:58,480
ourselves as the abandoned one 
or the rejected one. 

365
00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:02,400
We were the kid whose dad never 
showed up, or the woman who was 

366
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:05,160
taken advantage of. 
The one who was never picked. 

367
00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:10,120
Or if I was picked, it was last.
Maybe we were the one who had to

368
00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:13,560
grow up too fast. 
Shame doesn't always happen as a

369
00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:16,480
public humiliation. 
It creeps in quietly and tells 

370
00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:17,760
you this is just who you are 
now. 

371
00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:20,440
This was your lot in life. 
These are the cards that you 

372
00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:22,960
were dealt. 
And even when you try to find 

373
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,160
it, I want you to know identity 
always wraps itself around you. 

374
00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,920
You may say who you want to be, 
but it doesn't mean that's who 

375
00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:32,600
you are at the core. 
I remember growing up having 

376
00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:36,360
some friends that were like, oh,
I don't like the Backstreet Boys

377
00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:38,960
or In Sync. 
They were popular in my teen and

378
00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,800
young adult years. 
They're 2 pop, they're 

379
00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:45,880
mainstream so I don't like them.
Oh, you just. 

380
00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:48,360
Chose who you want to be then, 
so now you'll like somebody just

381
00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:52,040
because they're not mainstream. 
Either way, you've stuck 

382
00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:55,040
yourself into a box. 
You either only like the popular

383
00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:59,320
songs or you only like what's 
indie or seems cool, and either 

384
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:01,880
way, you are deciding who you 
want to be based off of the 

385
00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:07,000
opinions of other people. 
I can sing bye bye bye with the 

386
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,480
best of them, but I want you to 
know this. 

387
00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:12,880
The story of Mephibosheth that 
we're going to see in Second 

388
00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:15,600
Samuel 9 is so powerful. 
It's one of my favorite things 

389
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:17,000
to preach on. 
I get to preach on a couple of 

390
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:18,640
my favorite stories today to 
end. 

391
00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:23,960
This beloved series, but 
Mephibosheth, it's really fun to

392
00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:27,280
say. 
First of all, Mephibosheth is 

393
00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,480
kind of the inspiration for this
whole season of Liberty Church 

394
00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:32,640
that you have a seat at the 
table. 

395
00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:37,400
So Mephibosheth, he's the 
grandson of somebody named King 

396
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,080
Saul. 
His father is Jonathan. 

397
00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:41,960
Jonathan is best friends with 
David. 

398
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,760
And David and Jonathan, I mean, 
they're so tight. 

399
00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:46,760
They got a soul tie. 
They've got this brotherhood. 

400
00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,360
It said that the love they had 
for one another, it surpassed 

401
00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:52,760
that of the love of a woman, 
which means nothing other than 

402
00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:55,520
they were very close friends and
had an intense bond of loyalty 

403
00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,000
that was centered around the 
Lord over the course of wars and

404
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,680
bad decisions, Jonathan dies, 
King Saul dies, David assumes 

405
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:06,320
the throne, and David goes in 
there. 

406
00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:09,200
And he asked this question in 
Second Samuel. 9 right in the 

407
00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,400
first verse. 
He asks, is anyone in Saul's 

408
00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,960
family still alive, anyone to 
whom I can show kindness for 

409
00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,560
Jonathan's sake. 
So he summoned a man named Zeba 

410
00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:22,080
who had been one of Saul's 
servants. 

411
00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,640
And in verse 3, the king asks 
him, is anyone still alive from 

412
00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,320
Saul's family? 
If so, I want to show kindness 

413
00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:32,400
to him. 
And Zebra replies, yes, one of 

414
00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:36,920
Jonathan's sons is still alive. 
He's crippled in both feet now. 

415
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,600
What you need to know is during 
one of these wars, one of these 

416
00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:46,080
altercations, somebody's taking 
care of Mephibosheth as a young 

417
00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:49,120
child, picks him up, starts 
running and accidentally drops 

418
00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:51,920
him. 
And so he becomes crippled in 

419
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:54,600
his feet from a young age. 
He probably has no memories of 

420
00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:56,880
not being crippled in his legs 
at this point. 

421
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:01,360
So verse 4, where is he? 
King David asks. 

422
00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:05,280
And they said in Lodobar, at the
home of Makir, son of Amio. 

423
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:08,280
So David sent for him and 
brought him in from Makir's 

424
00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:10,320
home. 
And his name was Mephibosheth. 

425
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:12,680
He was Jonathan's son and Saul's
grandson. 

426
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:15,840
When he came to David, he bowed 
low to the ground in deep 

427
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:18,240
respect. 
That must have been excruciating

428
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:24,160
for him, if you think about it. 
David said, greetings, 

429
00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:26,680
Mephibosheth. 
And Mephibosheth replied, I am 

430
00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:28,640
your servant. 
He didn't reply with greetings. 

431
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:34,080
Why shame, Fear, the same kinds 
of things that we deal with 

432
00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:35,960
today, just a very different 
scenario. 

433
00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:38,840
So in verse 7, David says, don't
be afraid. 

434
00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,360
I intend to show kindness to you
because of my promise to your 

435
00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:45,080
father Jonathan. 
And I will give you all the 

436
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,000
property that once belonged to 
your grandfather Saul, and you 

437
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,440
will eat here with me at the 
King's table. 

438
00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,480
Mephibosheth bowed respectfully 
and exclaimed. 

439
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,880
Who is your servant that you 
should show such kindness to a 

440
00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:01,480
dead dog like me? 
And then the king summoned 

441
00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,040
Saul's servant Ziba, and said, 
I've given your master's 

442
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,440
grandson everything that 
belonged to Saul and his family.

443
00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,480
You and your sons and servants 
are to farm, fill land for him, 

444
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:11,400
and produce food for your 
master's household. 

445
00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,920
But Mephibosheth, your master's 
grandson will eat here at my 

446
00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:19,880
table it. 
Says in the latter half of verse

447
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:21,800
11. 
From that time on, Mephibosheth 

448
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:25,400
ate regularly at David's table, 
like one of the King's own sons.

449
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,520
And in verse 13, we see 
Mephibosheth, who was crippled 

450
00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,400
in both feet, lived in 
Jerusalem, and ate regularly at 

451
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,920
the King's table. 
This is a beautiful picture of 

452
00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,280
how the Lord shows kindness to 
us. 

453
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,800
In this illustration, you can 
see this man after God's own 

454
00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:48,320
heart, showing us God's own 
heart, and we are Mephibosheth. 

455
00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,560
What do we have to offer? 
The Lord accept our obedience 

456
00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:56,880
and yet in His kindness He 
doesn't look at us for the 

457
00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,080
things that hold us back. 
In His kindness, He doesn't look

458
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,120
at us and blame us for the sins 
of our family members and our 

459
00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:05,160
lineages and those skeletons in 
the closet that we don't dare 

460
00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,960
talk about. 
He says, why don't you pull up a

461
00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,160
chair? 
I would love to have you at the 

462
00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:13,200
table with me. 
You are defined by what is done 

463
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,960
to you, but you get to decide if
you're defined by what was done 

464
00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,480
to you by people, or if you are 
defined by what was done to you 

465
00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,440
by the Lord. 
There's a really old book and I 

466
00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:26,920
read it but didn't enjoy it and 
don't have plans to read it 

467
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:28,680
again. 
But maybe you read it especially

468
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,400
in high school or homeschool. 
Anybody read the Scarlet Letter?

469
00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,400
Even if you haven't, a lot of 
people know the concept of the 

470
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,200
Scarlet Letter. 
It's written in 1850. 

471
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,720
It's one of the first Great 
American novels, according to 

472
00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:45,960
literature critics. 
It's not that great, but the 

473
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,200
story is. 
This woman becomes pregnant out 

474
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:49,120
of wedlock. 
Won't. 

475
00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:52,760
Reveal who the father is. 
And so they decide in this 

476
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:58,320
community to put a big scarlet 
red A on her clothing that she 

477
00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:02,000
must wear at all times. 
It means adulterous, means 

478
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,480
adultery. 
It means everywhere she goes, if

479
00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,200
she's going to pick up some 
food, there's the adulterer. 

480
00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:10,480
If she is there raising her 
daughter as she does throughout 

481
00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:14,040
the book, there's the adulterer.
If she's there serving the poor 

482
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,600
as she does in the book, there's
the adulterer. 

483
00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:19,360
When you see her coming, the 
first thing that you see is this

484
00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:22,880
bright red A. 
And there is no denying what you

485
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:24,640
think of first, whether you 
wanted to or not. 

486
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:26,680
And a lot of us feel that way, 
don't we? 

487
00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:28,120
We feel like we've got 
something. 

488
00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:30,320
Maybe we don't feel like we've 
got something. 

489
00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,200
A lot of us have somebody that 
might as well have a big red A 

490
00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,120
on them when they come walking 
around us. 

491
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,280
Because when we see them, the 
first thing we think about is 

492
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:39,560
what they. 
Did to us the first thing we 

493
00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,200
think about is how we know what 
they said behind our back makes 

494
00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,360
us feel like we're in control. 
I could blow that up at any 

495
00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:46,840
time. 
I know they said that, but I 

496
00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:48,400
won't because I'm the bigger 
person. 

497
00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:50,720
Why are you talking to yourself 
like that? 

498
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:55,320
This is such an influential 
story that years and years 

499
00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,200
later, a couple years ago, it 
inspired a movie. 

500
00:25:58,200 --> 00:25:59,840
Anybody remember what movie it 
inspired? 

501
00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,760
It's called Easy A, starring 
Emma Stone. 

502
00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:07,120
And in this movie, she does not 
do anything. 

503
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:12,360
She does not participate in 
unauthorized snuggles and. 

504
00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:17,880
So what she does do is she lets 
the rumors fly about her and 

505
00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,840
everybody starts having a story 
about her and she feels like she

506
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:23,200
can handle it. 
At one point she actually 

507
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:27,520
stitches a red A on her shirt to
just own the identity that 

508
00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,600
everybody thinks they understand
about her. 

509
00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:32,240
Why do I share both of these 
with you? 

510
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:37,400
Because the shame that you carry
today, it might be something 

511
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,920
that genuinely did happen to 
you, like Hester in The Scarlet 

512
00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,640
Letter. 
Or what happened to you might be

513
00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,440
something people assume about 
you, like what happened to the 

514
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:52,360
character Olive in Eazy A. 
Either way, it feels real, and 

515
00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:54,160
it changes how people interact 
with you. 

516
00:26:55,000 --> 00:27:00,640
Now, that being said, what do 
you do when this shameful act is

517
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,280
what has shaped the way that you
view yourself, and you assume 

518
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:06,480
others view you too? 
What if you're the kind of 

519
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,520
person who's gotten used to 
apologizing for your existence? 

520
00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:12,680
Don't act like you're not here 
because I know many people that 

521
00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,440
will bump into an end table and 
turn around and say, I'm sorry. 

522
00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:21,920
What if the first time somebody 
says, I didn't really like that,

523
00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:24,360
I'm so sorry. 
Why are you sorry? 

524
00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:27,920
You didn't do anything wrong, 
but now you've been conditioned.

525
00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:29,480
You've probably conditioned 
yourself. 

526
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:34,080
I want you to know we all adjust
our posture to match our pain 

527
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,640
and we walk through life. 
With our shoulders slumped, our 

528
00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:39,720
heads down, voices are hesitant 
sometimes. 

529
00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:41,560
And I want you to know it 
doesn't have to stay that way. 

530
00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:46,760
I was reading in a book one time
and they were talking about 

531
00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,960
lobsters. 
I was teaching my daughter about

532
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,440
the lobsters this morning. 
Lobsters battle a lot. 

533
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:57,640
I don't know if you know that. 
And that's why whenever you are 

534
00:27:57,640 --> 00:27:59,480
picking them out at a fancy 
restaurant, they got those big 

535
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:01,480
rubber bands around their claws.
Because if they don't, they'll 

536
00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,720
be fighting. 
And it's much like you would 

537
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:07,080
think, you know, they're chase 
each other with their pinchers 

538
00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:09,120
and they attack. 
But here's the thing about 

539
00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:11,440
lobsters. 
Lobsters. 

540
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,200
The more that they're defeated, 
the more that their antennas get

541
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:16,640
clipped, the more that they get 
wounded and scratched. 

542
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:18,960
They actually change the way 
they carry themselves. 

543
00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:23,960
A lobster that has lost many 
battles starts carrying itself 

544
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:27,680
like a loser. 
No offense to any lobsters that 

545
00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:29,160
might be watching on the live 
stream. 

546
00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:33,920
But when they lose a lot, they 
honestly carry their pinchers 

547
00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,280
lower, their head is lower, 
they're worried that their 

548
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:38,080
antennas are going to get 
snapped again. 

549
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:39,640
They're worried about future 
wounds. 

550
00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:42,280
And because they're so worried 
about future wounds, they live a

551
00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:44,880
defensive lifestyle. 
So what? 

552
00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:46,560
Happens to the lobsters that win
all the time. 

553
00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:49,000
Well, the lobsters that win all 
the time, they keep those 

554
00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,560
pinchers up, They walk around, 
you want some of this? 

555
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:53,800
And the other lobsters say I 
don't want none of that, right? 

556
00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:57,240
They get bigger and stronger. 
They get the best food because 

557
00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:58,880
the other lobsters get out of 
their way. 

558
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,440
What I'm telling you is you 
should be better than a lobster,

559
00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:06,880
OK? 
You're not what other lobsters 

560
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:12,960
tell you that you are. 
You have to carry yourself in a 

561
00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,280
specific way. 
And let me tell you this, you 

562
00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:17,760
probably have an A on you as 
well. 

563
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:22,120
And maybe it says abandoned. 
Or if you have an A on you, 

564
00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:26,800
maybe it says abused, maybe it 
says addict, maybe it just says 

565
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:30,040
awkward and you don't like it. 
Maybe you're A says always 

566
00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:33,080
second best. 
I want you to know that shame 

567
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,880
will convince you that healing 
is too far gone and wholeness is

568
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:38,920
not for you. 
But Grace tells a better story. 

569
00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:42,720
Grace says that you are not just
welcome at the table, you belong

570
00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,880
at the table with the Lord. 
He wants you there. 

571
00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:47,840
There's not a better reason to 
be there. 

572
00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:50,040
Even if you could have earned 
your seat at the table, it 

573
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:52,600
wouldn't be better than him just
loving you before you were even 

574
00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:56,320
created and having a seat saved 
for you from the beginning of 

575
00:29:56,320 --> 00:30:00,320
eternity. 
How do you change your posture? 

576
00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:03,600
I only got one thing for you. 
Practice showing up like you 

577
00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:07,800
belong, because you do. 
You walk into this church and 

578
00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:10,200
you feel like you don't belong. 
Everybody's got their friends 

579
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:13,800
except for you. 
Just go meet somebody. 

580
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:19,240
Just go be a kid For a second. 
I lament the day that my kids 

581
00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:23,400
stopped doing that. 
Two weeks ago, we spent 2 1/2 

582
00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,400
days in Charlotte at the Great 
Wolf Lodge, just checking it 

583
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:27,680
out. 
And we're on the way back and my

584
00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:29,960
kids are like, we met friends 
and they're telling me all about

585
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:31,160
their friends. 
They went down these water 

586
00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:32,400
slides with them, Lance. 
Really cool. 

587
00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:34,880
What are the name? 
I don't know. 

588
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:39,000
It's not like us. 
It's not like we forgot, we 

589
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:40,600
forget their names. 
We're like, I've met you 5 

590
00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:41,480
times. 
I'm so sorry. 

591
00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:43,560
What's your name? 
No, they just didn't ask. 

592
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:45,800
They just saw another human 
being and knew that they could 

593
00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:48,240
have fun together. 
They felt safe enough to go and 

594
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,400
engage in an activity together. 
They showed up at those water 

595
00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,280
slides like they owned them, 
like they had gone down those 

596
00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:57,600
slides 1000 times. 
They had not because they put on

597
00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:01,520
life jackets before they did it.
I said those are actually. 

598
00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:04,120
Going to make it more dangerous.
You might you might get stuck. 

599
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:09,560
You have to start practice like 
you show up, like you belong. 

600
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:13,360
You belong at this table, you 
belong in this church, you 

601
00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,560
belong in God's Kingdom because 
he's invited you. 

602
00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:19,040
And you said, yes, that's it. 
That's the gospel. 

603
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,080
Now, there's a lot to 
discipleship, there's a lot to 

604
00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:23,800
theology, there's a lot of cool 
stuff to learn as you go deeper 

605
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,040
and deeper in your faith. 
But the gospel at his heart is 

606
00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,480
that there was no way until 
Jesus died on the cross, and now

607
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:34,120
there's a way and you're 
invited. 

608
00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:38,720
Nobody is more special or holy 
when they step into eternity 

609
00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:42,120
with the Lord than any other 
person because you are all wiped

610
00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,560
and washed equally clean. 
God looks at you like He sees 

611
00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,800
His own Son. 
You belong at the table, so walk

612
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:50,920
to the table like it. 
The other thing I want you to 

613
00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,680
know is getting healed will help
you love better. 

614
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,760
If you are able to manage taking
care of your shame, it will help

615
00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,240
you love better. 
Healed people love freely. 

616
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,360
They just do. 
This is why kids are so quick to

617
00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,040
forgive until they get to a 
certain age. 

618
00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:10,000
But seriously, I mean we're 
supposed to enter the Kingdom of

619
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:10,720
God. 
Like what? 

620
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:13,920
I was hoping. 
You're going to say lobster, but

621
00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:16,840
yes, a child, yes, you're 
supposed to enter the Kingdom 

622
00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,400
like a child. 
And that means wide open, no 

623
00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,320
expectations, believing what he 
says. 

624
00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:26,920
And they're so quick to forgive.
And we're not because we take it

625
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:28,560
much more personally than kids 
do. 

626
00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,280
But I'm just telling you that 
heal people love freely. 

627
00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:34,880
Go ahead and turn to Luke 17. 
But while you're turning to Luke

628
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:39,040
17, I want to tell you something
that is less than flattering 

629
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:42,560
about your pastor. 
Gratitude does not come 

630
00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:44,320
naturally to me when I'm in a 
hard season. 

631
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:48,400
I know the verses. 
I know how to preach the truth. 

632
00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:50,760
But I'm just telling you that 
when I feel overwhelmed or 

633
00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:54,280
anxious, gratitude is the last 
thing on my brain. 

634
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:56,680
I have to force myself into 
gratitude. 

635
00:32:57,360 --> 00:32:59,120
The same things I was talking to
you about before. 

636
00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:00,880
It's like boys to men all over 
again, right? 

637
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:05,320
When I'm low, I do not want to 
engage in worship. 

638
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:07,200
I do not want to seek the Lord 
in prayer. 

639
00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:09,880
I want to feel validated as the 
victim. 

640
00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,800
I want to feel validated as 
unseen or misunderstood. 

641
00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:16,360
And hopefully, since I'm 
preaching, that I'm not the only

642
00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:19,120
one. 
But I'm telling you that 

643
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:22,720
gratitude goes a long way. 
I hope that we'll all think 

644
00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:24,560
about this as we head into 
Thanksgiving this week. 

645
00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:26,240
Can we go to the next slide 
please? 

646
00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:30,800
There's this one verse that 
really stood out to me and I 

647
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:33,840
mentioned it briefly last week. 
Philippians 46 says this. 

648
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:38,440
Don't worry about anything. 
Instead, pray about everything. 

649
00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:42,120
Tell God what you need and thank
Him for all He has done. 

650
00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:45,120
And when I mentioned this, one 
of the things that just hit me 

651
00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:49,200
about it is you cannot be 
anxious and grateful at the same

652
00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,760
time. 
Your brain can't manage it. 

653
00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:56,520
It cannot multitask that one. 
Now you make waffle back and 

654
00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:00,040
forth between anxiety and 
gratefulness, but at the same 

655
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:02,480
moment you can't hold space for 
both of them. 

656
00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,520
So don't be anxious about 
anything but instead be in 

657
00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:07,880
prayer. 
I have learned to force myself 

658
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:09,960
into prayer. 
It does not count if you just 

659
00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:13,239
hit play on K love or play 
worship music next to you and 

660
00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:14,960
you don't engage in worship. 
You don't think? 

661
00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:17,360
Through the words. 
You don't focus your mind and 

662
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:19,840
fix your eyes on Christ and what
He's done for you. 

663
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:25,000
But I'm telling you that 
gratitude is a huge antidote for

664
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:29,120
the poison that is anxiety, for 
the poison that is these wounds 

665
00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,760
that we carry. 
One of my favorite stories in 

666
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:36,760
the Gospels, Luke 17, starting 
in verse 11, we see this as 

667
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:38,600
Jesus continued on towards 
Jerusalem. 

668
00:34:38,679 --> 00:34:41,000
He reached the border between 
Galilee and Samaria. 

669
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,880
And as he entered the village 
there, 10 men with leprosy stood

670
00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:48,120
at a distance crying out. 
Jesus, have mercy on us. 

671
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:52,159
Now they had to cry out from a 
distance because when you had 

672
00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:54,679
leprosy in those days, you were 
outside of the camp. 

673
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:58,200
So these ten men very likely 
were the only company that they 

674
00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:01,040
really had. 
So they shouted from a distance,

675
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:04,640
Jesus have mercy on us. 
Verse 14, He looked at them and 

676
00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,480
he said, go show yourselves to 
the priests. 

677
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:09,320
And as they went, they were 
cleansed of their leprosy. 

678
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:13,760
One of them, when he saw that he
was healed, came back to Jesus 

679
00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:17,920
shouting praise God, and he fell
to the ground at Jesus's feet. 

680
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:19,320
Thanking him for what he had 
done. 

681
00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,000
And this man, Are you ready? 
Was a Samaritan. 

682
00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:25,520
I know. 
Plot twists. 

683
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:29,240
Jesus asked, didn't I heal 10 
men? 

684
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:33,280
Where are the other nine? 
Has no one returned to give 

685
00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:35,080
glory to God except this 
foreigner? 

686
00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:38,360
And Jesus said to the man, stand
up and go. 

687
00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:40,920
Your faith has healed you. 
I don't want this to be a dusty 

688
00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:42,560
old Bible story. 
I want you to picture this. 

689
00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:45,600
I want you to imagine the years 
of isolation that these men with

690
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,760
leprosy probably experienced. 
I want you to imagine like their

691
00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:52,480
only company was other people 
with the same detrimental 

692
00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:54,720
condition as them. 
This happens to us a lot of 

693
00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:57,080
times because we want to feel 
validated so we tend to find 

694
00:35:57,080 --> 00:35:59,800
comfort and the people that have
the same struggles but unless 

695
00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:01,840
you're overcoming it will hold 
you down. 

696
00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:04,640
They knew they weren't allowed 
to be close to Jesus. 

697
00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,080
They knew they weren't allowed 
to approach him, but they could 

698
00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:10,960
call out to Him and that's what 
they did. 

699
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:15,240
So they call out to him. 
OK, lesson #1 isn't it 

700
00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:17,280
interesting? 
He doesn't even promise them to 

701
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,440
be healed. 
They cried out, Jesus have mercy

702
00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:23,360
on us. 
And he said, go show yourselves 

703
00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:26,680
to the priests. 
He didn't say, and then you'll 

704
00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:28,680
be cleansed. 
He didn't say, and you'll be 

705
00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:30,320
healed. 
He didn't say I'll heal you on 

706
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:32,480
the way. 
He just gave them instructions. 

707
00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:33,960
Go to the priest, show it to 
them. 

708
00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:38,000
Now, back then, the priest also 
had a job of inspecting people's

709
00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:40,280
skin and making sure it was 
healthy enough to go back into 

710
00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:42,560
the community. 
Leprosy was highly contagious. 

711
00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:44,600
Thankfully, in the New 
Testament, that is not in the 

712
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:49,480
job description for pastors and 
ministers, but that's what they 

713
00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:51,920
had to do. 
He just said go show yourself to

714
00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,000
the priest. 
And so lesson #1 is sometimes 

715
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,840
you just have to be obedient and
start moving if you're going to 

716
00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:03,080
receive your miracle. 
Well, God, I'll go show myself 

717
00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:06,120
to the priest once I'm healed. 
Well, I guess you'll never show 

718
00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:09,200
yourself to the priest then, 
because I told you to move, beat

719
00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:12,960
feet, start moving, start acting
like you really do believe that 

720
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:17,120
Jesus knows what he's doing. 
But then I want you to picture 

721
00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:18,560
this. 
I want you to be amongst these 

722
00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:19,400
guys. 
Think about it. 

723
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:21,080
You've been isolated. 
You have not been at family 

724
00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:22,440
dinners. 
You've not been around family 

725
00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:24,760
members, You've not been in 
community, you've not been in 

726
00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:27,840
church services, You've not been
in society other than the other 

727
00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:30,760
outcasts. 
And as you are going to show 

728
00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:35,320
yourself to the priest, the skin
starts to smooth, it starts 

729
00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:37,040
changing, it starts getting 
healthier. 

730
00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:42,240
Can you imagine the joy? 
Maybe some of them laughed. 

731
00:37:42,240 --> 00:37:46,040
For the first time in years, 
they had something to be joyful 

732
00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:47,800
about. 
They're healed, they're healthy,

733
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:49,760
and Jesus gave them one 
instruction. 

734
00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:53,600
Go show yourself to the priest. 
The other nine weren't even in 

735
00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:56,240
sin. 
They were doing what God asked 

736
00:37:56,240 --> 00:37:59,560
them to do. 
And I'm sure that the other one 

737
00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:01,680
was planning to go to the 
priest, but before he went to 

738
00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:05,040
the priest, he wanted to go back
to the source of his healing and

739
00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:08,080
show gratitude. 
Samaritans were outcasts amongst

740
00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:11,760
the outcasts. 
So this Samaritan, he goes back 

741
00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:15,640
and Jesus says your faith has 
made you, well, your faith has 

742
00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:17,520
healed you. 
Isn't that interesting? 

743
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:20,280
Because the whole point of him 
coming back was he had just been

744
00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:23,040
healed. 
So why is Jesus so repetitive? 

745
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:28,440
Well, I'm glad you asked because
the word that Jesus uses there 

746
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,800
in the Greek is sozo. 
And it does not just mean 

747
00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:37,080
healing, it means saved. 
It means cleansed. 

748
00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:42,880
It means made whole. 9 men got 
their bodies healed. 

749
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,680
One man got his body healed and 
his identity restored. 

750
00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:50,400
And what got him there? 
Gratitude. 

751
00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:54,280
Gratefulness, Going back and 
thanking the source. 

752
00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,600
Only one man turned back. 
And the power of gratitude is it

753
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,000
leads you not just to receive 
God's blessing, but also to 

754
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:05,000
return the blessings He's given 
you to Him and the love that you

755
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:07,480
pour out for Him. 
It's where real freedom begins 

756
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:10,160
now. 
We're almost done, but I'm going

757
00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:11,880
to need a volunteer. 
Somebody brave. 

758
00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:14,560
I need somebody strong. 
I need somebody named Sarah 

759
00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:18,360
Meadows. 
Come on up here. 

760
00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:28,280
Let's hear for Sarah real quick.
All this month we've played 

761
00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:33,080
games with the staff and this is
no different. 

762
00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:35,720
So we're going to play a game of
Jenga. 

763
00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:37,520
Everybody knows how to play 
Jenga, right? 

764
00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:40,320
What's the goal? 
The goal is you take one piece 

765
00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:42,240
out at a time, but you don't 
want it to fall. 

766
00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:49,280
Should I move this? 
Look how brave I am. 

767
00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:51,920
Look how foolish I am. 
OK, All right. 

768
00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:55,840
So that's the whole goal is to 
make sure that you can take a 

769
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,480
piece out without falling. 
I put it together right here so 

770
00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:00,880
that you'd know it wasn't glued.
I figured you would suspect a 

771
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:02,520
trick. 
That'd be really funny. 

772
00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:03,000
Wouldn't it? 
It's. 

773
00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:07,400
Just one whole piece. 
But I just put it together so it

774
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,960
doesn't matter which one you 
can't take from the top layer. 

775
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:11,520
I believe that is a rule, 
correct? 

776
00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:14,320
But any of them below are 
allowed, yes. 

777
00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:17,840
OK. 
So go ahead. 

778
00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:20,120
Jenga, if I touch it, do I have 
to pull it out? 

779
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:20,760
Is that a? 
Rule. 

780
00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:23,800
Yes, If you put your finger on 
it, that's the piece you chose. 

781
00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:31,240
OK. 
Oh, nice. 

782
00:40:31,240 --> 00:40:37,400
Oh, no. 
Come on. 

783
00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:39,040
What did you do? 
Nothing. 

784
00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:40,240
Nothing. 
It's just wood. 

785
00:40:45,900 --> 00:40:48,620
You can do this. 
Hey, she did it. 

786
00:40:48,620 --> 00:40:50,780
She did it. 
Good job. 

787
00:40:52,260 --> 00:40:52,900
What is that? 
Nothing. 

788
00:40:53,900 --> 00:40:59,180
What does it say on there? 
Oh, it says self hatred. 

789
00:40:59,180 --> 00:41:03,820
Did they all say? 
That I don't know get. 

790
00:41:03,820 --> 00:41:05,580
A picture with this here. 
Self hatred ready? 

791
00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:09,440
That's pretty cool. 
I'm sorry. 

792
00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:16,600
That's a that's that's AI will 
write to them on Amazon and tell

793
00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:18,840
them this is unacceptable. 
Grab another one. 

794
00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:21,080
Sign it, Karen. 
I will sign it, Karen. 

795
00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:21,920
Yes. 
I don't know, guys. 

796
00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:28,600
Oh, that one's not going to come
out OK. 

797
00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:29,400
Choose. 
Choose one up there. 

798
00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:35,760
Yeah, I'm sure. 
All right. 

799
00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:39,000
I'm sure it's better this time. 
Anybody here ever struggle with 

800
00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:39,920
self hatred? 
By the way? 

801
00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:50,000
Why? 
There's Duck. 

802
00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:51,760
It's not gonna come out. 
Jenga. 

803
00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:54,080
I didn't touch it. 
What does that say? 

804
00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:56,760
Emotional neglect. 
Emotional neglect. 

805
00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:01,960
This is heavy. 
I I'm starting to think somebody

806
00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:04,480
did something to these bricks. 
This game isn't fun. 

807
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,680
It's not fun. 
Is it your turn? 

808
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:09,520
Yeah, it's your turn. 
Yeah. 

809
00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:10,600
It's not that hard. 
Look at this. 

810
00:42:11,560 --> 00:42:14,080
Oh, look at this. 
I was unplanned. 

811
00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:18,040
That's funny. 
Is it funny? 

812
00:42:18,720 --> 00:42:25,000
All right, so it's OK. 
So was I I don't know if I want 

813
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:26,920
to do this. 
What does that say, public? 

814
00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:29,480
Humiliation. 
Oh, not that one cheated on. 

815
00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:34,800
That one says pornography. 
There's a lot of things in here 

816
00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:36,240
I'm starting to think this isn't
Jenga. 

817
00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:40,360
This is a tower of shame. 
Now, here's the thing. 

818
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:46,480
These bricks, they all happen in
our life, and we build them kind

819
00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:49,520
of one at a time, don't we? 
We start building it. 

820
00:42:50,520 --> 00:42:52,560
We went over this at the 
beginning, but what is the point

821
00:42:52,560 --> 00:42:56,720
of Jenga? 
To not let the tower fall. 

822
00:42:57,080 --> 00:43:01,360
Here's the problem with this. 
To not let the tower fall plays 

823
00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:02,640
right into the devil's 
playground. 

824
00:43:04,240 --> 00:43:07,280
But this is our identity. 
Even if we don't like it, these 

825
00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:08,840
are the things that we've gone 
through. 

826
00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:12,640
And since we've gone through 
this, who am I if I don't have 

827
00:43:12,640 --> 00:43:15,320
this tower? 
And so all of a sudden we start 

828
00:43:15,320 --> 00:43:17,080
thinking these things. 
Well, I don't want people to 

829
00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:18,280
know that I deal with these 
things. 

830
00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:20,760
And so I'll just take one brick 
at a time to Jesus and I'll let 

831
00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:22,840
him heal me. 
But the more that you do that, 

832
00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:25,760
the more unstable this fragile 
ego and identity that we've 

833
00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:28,760
created becomes. 
So what if instead? 

834
00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:36,160
What if instead of playing the 
devil's game, what if we just 

835
00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:44,120
let it fall in fact you? 
Can't leave anything at the 

836
00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:46,400
foundation. 
But here's the problem. 

837
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:50,000
OK, got some anger issues out 
there. 

838
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:54,440
Listen now, this is the 
foundation. 

839
00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:56,680
So let me ask you something, 
Sir. 

840
00:43:56,680 --> 00:44:02,040
What do you want to build? 
A mansion. 

841
00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:05,000
A mansion? 
Now that we've got this open and

842
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:11,520
clear, you have two choices. 
You can pick up these bricks and

843
00:44:11,520 --> 00:44:15,640
you can start rebuilding them. 
And as stupid as that sounds, is

844
00:44:15,640 --> 00:44:17,560
this not what we've done many 
times before? 

845
00:44:18,200 --> 00:44:21,000
Lord, help me with this brick. 
He's like, I got it. 

846
00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:28,040
Thank you so much for doing that
to truly build with something 

847
00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:30,120
new. 
You have to rebuild with an 

848
00:44:30,120 --> 00:44:31,800
exchange, and here's what this 
means. 

849
00:44:32,440 --> 00:44:37,040
What have I got? 
Here betrayal, doubts, regrets. 

850
00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:40,600
Betrayal. 
You start trading in and you say

851
00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:43,280
God, I will make myself trust 
again. 

852
00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:45,360
You have to exchange it. 
Regrets. 

853
00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:47,520
I don't think about the past. 
Anymore I think about the 

854
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:51,400
blessings that are coming ahead,
these doubts I have, are they 

855
00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:52,680
doubts? 
Or are they just the fact that I

856
00:44:52,680 --> 00:44:54,560
don't know everything? 
And I feel more comfortable when

857
00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:57,360
I do know everything, but I'm 
not supposed to know everything.

858
00:44:57,360 --> 00:44:59,920
So you know what? 
Enough with doubts. 

859
00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:10,120
Thank you, Sarah. 
Last night I was at that family 

860
00:45:10,120 --> 00:45:12,320
birthday party and I was riding 
all of these things on the 

861
00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:15,160
bricks and my nieces and nephews
were walking up What are you 

862
00:45:15,160 --> 00:45:16,160
doing? 
And they looked at some of the 

863
00:45:16,160 --> 00:45:18,960
bricks and they went. 
I said it's for. 

864
00:45:19,120 --> 00:45:24,600
God, it's OK. 
You'll actually have to trade 

865
00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:28,360
the shame that you've carried 
for what God says about you, and

866
00:45:28,360 --> 00:45:31,320
it will not be easy. 
So I'm not trying to serve you 

867
00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:34,320
up an easy Christian answer, but
I am trying to serve you up a 

868
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:38,080
Christian answer. 
There is a way out of it, and it

869
00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:41,320
involves an exchange your 
sinfulness for His 

870
00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:44,240
righteousness. 
You are who God says that you 

871
00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:47,880
are whether you believe it or 
not, so you might as well start 

872
00:45:47,880 --> 00:45:51,560
believing it now. 
That being said, if you're going

873
00:45:51,560 --> 00:45:54,720
to be guarding this tower. 
And you're going to be. 

874
00:45:55,240 --> 00:45:57,520
Taking care of it and keeping it
the way that it is. 

875
00:45:57,560 --> 00:46:00,640
I got nothing for you, but if 
you want something new, the 

876
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:01,240
three. 
Things you got. 

877
00:46:01,240 --> 00:46:04,160
To do is to identify the bricks.
You cannot heal what you don't 

878
00:46:04,160 --> 00:46:06,520
see. 
Don't act like it's not there. 

879
00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:08,240
A lot of people already see it 
anyway. 

880
00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:12,960
Most of the time you have to 
identify it, you have to call it

881
00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:14,520
out, and you have to get nasty 
with it. 

882
00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:17,400
That's why I'm proud to tell you
that next year we've got another

883
00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:20,720
round of the Conquer Series 
happening for the men in this 

884
00:46:20,720 --> 00:46:23,160
church. 
It helps them in their battle 

885
00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:25,480
against not just pornography 
lust, but to build better and 

886
00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:27,520
healthier relationships. 
And if you're interested in 

887
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:30,280
that, at the end of the service,
you can meet up with, I believe,

888
00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:32,080
Dennis and Daniel. 
I have them right? 

889
00:46:32,080 --> 00:46:34,720
Back there in that corner and 
they'll get you signed up so you

890
00:46:34,720 --> 00:46:37,080
can go through that. 
And one of the scariest things 

891
00:46:37,080 --> 00:46:39,760
about this, as you talk about 
these issues that you've got 

892
00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:41,800
with other guys, it's the last 
thing you want to do. 

893
00:46:41,800 --> 00:46:45,160
But let me tell you something, 
it's the first thing you want to

894
00:46:45,160 --> 00:46:47,840
do. 
You bring it to Jesus. 

895
00:46:48,040 --> 00:46:49,960
We used to make fun of our 
teenagers when we were youth 

896
00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:52,400
pastors because we had one teen 
that would say you should give 

897
00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:54,440
it to Jesus. 
And finally we said stop saying 

898
00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:56,240
that. 
What does it mean? 

899
00:46:56,920 --> 00:46:58,480
Because we just say give it to 
Jesus. 

900
00:46:59,200 --> 00:47:01,160
Now what? 
Here's what it means. 

901
00:47:01,240 --> 00:47:04,680
You actually get an exchange 
when you give it to Him. 

902
00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:06,680
You stop denying that there are 
problems. 

903
00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:10,920
You bring Him your shame. 
He gives you His grace when you 

904
00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:13,440
have a spirit of heaviness. 
You put on a garment of praise. 

905
00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:17,960
And the same way that I told you
that you cannot be anxious and 

906
00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:21,200
grateful in the same time, 
There's a lot of cases like 

907
00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:22,440
that. 
And you'll have to do your own 

908
00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:24,440
math for your own shame. 
But there's a lot of things that

909
00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:26,840
can't coexist. 
And you'll have to pick out 

910
00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:29,120
something that is going to 
replace that of which you're 

911
00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:31,720
familiar with. 
But you're familiar with it. 

912
00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:33,640
You've guarded that tower a long
time, so. 

913
00:47:34,760 --> 00:47:37,560
It's going to be hard and the 
last thing you do is you start 

914
00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:41,640
laying new bricks and just like 
those 10 lepers, you're going to

915
00:47:41,640 --> 00:47:43,800
have to commit to it before you 
can see the results. 

916
00:47:44,920 --> 00:47:47,360
So when somebody says why are 
you walking that out? 

917
00:47:47,360 --> 00:47:50,000
Why are you living that way? 
I haven't seen a difference in 

918
00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:51,200
your life. 
You can turn and look at them 

919
00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:52,880
and say, you know what? 
Me neither. 

920
00:47:54,680 --> 00:47:57,560
But I know it's coming and I'm 
going to walk it out because 

921
00:47:57,560 --> 00:48:01,640
it's the right thing to do. 
Guys, as we wrap this up and we 

922
00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:04,440
head into Thanksgiving this 
week, when we come back, we're 

923
00:48:04,440 --> 00:48:06,720
coming home for the holidays. 
And what I mean by that is we're

924
00:48:06,720 --> 00:48:08,960
talking about what it means to 
really come home to the Lord. 

925
00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:11,920
Here's what it means to come 
home and know His Word, to know 

926
00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:14,560
His Spirit, to know His 
presence, to know His people. 

927
00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:17,120
The best thing that you could 
give the Lord in this holiday 

928
00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:19,480
season is to come home for the 
holidays. 

929
00:48:20,320 --> 00:48:23,440
But you're going to have to get 
yourself out of your way if 

930
00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:25,360
you're going to ever step 
forward into what He has for 

931
00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:27,600
you. 
I have one last scripture that I

932
00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:30,360
want to share with you. 
And as I share this with you, I 

933
00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:32,480
want you to also picture this. 
I want you to imagine you're 

934
00:48:32,480 --> 00:48:35,240
walking through town, you're 
walking through Havelock, maybe 

935
00:48:35,240 --> 00:48:38,880
Newport, maybe even Oriental, 
wherever you're from. 

936
00:48:40,160 --> 00:48:42,680
And there's somebody who has 
always been asking for help. 

937
00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:44,880
He's crippled or he's blind and 
he's just sitting there. 

938
00:48:44,880 --> 00:48:48,640
He's asking for help. 
A lot of times we don't even 

939
00:48:48,640 --> 00:48:51,480
know their name. 
We see them. 

940
00:48:51,640 --> 00:48:53,600
We know where they sit. 
We know where they frequent. 

941
00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:56,040
And what are the thoughts that 
we think about them? 

942
00:48:57,000 --> 00:48:58,320
This is not a place to be 
perfect. 

943
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:00,880
A lot of times the thoughts we 
think is, man, I wonder what 

944
00:49:00,880 --> 00:49:02,320
they did to get themselves in 
that spot. 

945
00:49:02,320 --> 00:49:06,720
A lot of times that's true. 
Sometimes we think, well, their 

946
00:49:06,720 --> 00:49:08,200
parents must not have raised 
them the right way. 

947
00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:10,000
A lot of. 
Times that's true. 

948
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:13,280
A lot of times we have these 
thoughts that we wouldn't really

949
00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:18,600
say outside of our car because 
people would rightly judge us. 

950
00:49:18,600 --> 00:49:22,560
But have you ever noticed that 
if it's not that sometimes we 

951
00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:26,200
try to trivialize the things 
that happened to people when 

952
00:49:26,200 --> 00:49:28,800
they lose somebody that they 
love, we start to say, well, you

953
00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:32,000
know what, maybe God allowed 
this so that you would be able 

954
00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:33,720
to enjoy your other 
relationships. 

955
00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:36,920
Maybe it's so that you would 
have the value of relationships 

956
00:49:36,920 --> 00:49:39,800
enhanced. 
Or, you know, maybe maybe God 

957
00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:42,560
did this because fill in the 
blank and we're trying to 

958
00:49:42,560 --> 00:49:44,600
comfort people. 
But really what we're doing is 

959
00:49:44,600 --> 00:49:47,720
we're just guessing and we're 
lacing it with Christianese. 

960
00:49:50,120 --> 00:49:53,120
We look at these people and 
sure, maybe we help them, but we

961
00:49:53,120 --> 00:49:54,880
have these thoughts. 
And I want to take you to John 

962
00:49:54,880 --> 00:49:57,640
Chapter 9. 
It's the last scripture of the 

963
00:49:57,640 --> 00:49:59,720
morning. 
John Chapter 9. 

964
00:50:00,800 --> 00:50:04,080
Jesus is amazing. 
Jesus is walking along and he 

965
00:50:04,080 --> 00:50:05,920
sees a man that had been blind 
from birth. 

966
00:50:08,120 --> 00:50:12,240
So his disciples say, Rabbi, why
was this man born blind? 

967
00:50:13,120 --> 00:50:16,880
Was it because of his own sins 
or his parents sins? 

968
00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:22,920
Those are my options, he says. 
It was not because of his sins 

969
00:50:22,920 --> 00:50:26,120
or his parents sins. 
This happened so that the power 

970
00:50:26,120 --> 00:50:30,280
of God could be seen in him. 
We must quickly carry out the 

971
00:50:30,280 --> 00:50:32,400
tasks assigned us by the one who
sent us. 

972
00:50:32,640 --> 00:50:35,000
The night is coming, and then no
one can work. 

973
00:50:35,360 --> 00:50:37,640
But while I am here in the 
world, I am the light of the 

974
00:50:37,640 --> 00:50:40,000
world. 
And then he spit on the ground, 

975
00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:43,840
made mud with the saliva, spread
mud over the blind man's eyes, 

976
00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:46,080
And he told him, Go wash 
yourself in the pool of Siloam. 

977
00:50:46,080 --> 00:50:49,240
And the man went and washed and 
came back seeing. 

978
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:52,040
Now, you've probably heard that 
preached before, but the mud and

979
00:50:52,040 --> 00:50:54,280
the spit, that's what gets the 
attention most of the time in 

980
00:50:54,280 --> 00:50:56,240
that story. 
And we want to know how that 

981
00:50:56,240 --> 00:50:58,120
worked. 
That's a different sermon. 

982
00:50:59,760 --> 00:51:02,280
Those disciples couldn't wrap 
their head around the fact that 

983
00:51:02,280 --> 00:51:05,040
it couldn't have been anything 
other than his sin or his 

984
00:51:05,040 --> 00:51:07,720
parents sin. 
But it was because of sin. 

985
00:51:07,720 --> 00:51:13,280
You know whose sin it was, mine 
and yours. 

986
00:51:13,960 --> 00:51:17,040
And the fact that sin exists at 
all in this world is why these 

987
00:51:17,040 --> 00:51:19,840
things happen. 
A lot of times we look at it and

988
00:51:19,840 --> 00:51:22,280
we'll say, why could a good God 
let these things happen? 

989
00:51:23,200 --> 00:51:25,800
We're the ones that let sin in. 
We're the ones that put down our

990
00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:27,160
guard. 
We're the ones who let down our 

991
00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:29,120
defense. 
We're the one that ushered in 

992
00:51:29,120 --> 00:51:32,960
the enemy for fellowship. 
And we still do it now, but we 

993
00:51:32,960 --> 00:51:37,280
don't have to continue it. 
But here's the thing. 

994
00:51:37,640 --> 00:51:42,880
Romans 828 often quoted out of 
context, but Romans 828 says 

995
00:51:42,880 --> 00:51:45,640
that God causes all things to 
work together for the good of 

996
00:51:45,640 --> 00:51:48,640
those who love Him, those that 
are called according to His 

997
00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:52,760
purpose. 
So what does that mean? 

998
00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:56,760
When something bad happens to 
you and somebody says everything

999
00:51:56,760 --> 00:51:59,640
happens for a reason, you can 
gently tell them no, it doesn't.

1000
00:52:01,240 --> 00:52:02,960
What happened to you was 
senseless. 

1001
00:52:03,280 --> 00:52:04,920
What happened to you shouldn't 
have happened. 

1002
00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:08,320
It was not right. 
People hurt people a lot of 

1003
00:52:08,320 --> 00:52:11,320
times the enemy works through 
them to make sure that that 

1004
00:52:11,320 --> 00:52:16,000
happens. 
But only God can cause all 

1005
00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:19,080
things to work together for the 
good of those that love him. 

1006
00:52:19,720 --> 00:52:22,440
God doesn't necessarily 'cause 
every negative thing that 

1007
00:52:22,440 --> 00:52:25,880
happens in your life, but He is 
also the only one that can 

1008
00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:29,680
assign value and meaning and 
purpose to it retroactively 

1009
00:52:29,680 --> 00:52:31,480
after the fact. 
He can say. 

1010
00:52:31,480 --> 00:52:32,920
Yeah, that was a knucklehead 
thing. 

1011
00:52:32,920 --> 00:52:35,240
You shouldn't have done it, but 
since you did. 

1012
00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:39,680
How about we use this and we put
it into my plan for the Kingdom.

1013
00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:46,560
How kind is our Lord? 
He's amazing, and that's what 

1014
00:52:46,560 --> 00:52:48,840
He'll do with the things that 
you hold is your greatest shame.

1015
00:52:49,280 --> 00:52:51,120
If you release Him, would you 
stand up and worship with me 

1016
00:52:51,120 --> 00:52:55,480
this morning, This week, as you 
head into Thanksgiving, I have a

1017
00:52:55,480 --> 00:52:59,880
simple challenge for you. 
I want you to actually head into

1018
00:52:59,880 --> 00:53:05,440
it. 
Grateful, but in specific, I 

1019
00:53:05,440 --> 00:53:08,600
want you to head into it. 
Grateful for the things not that

1020
00:53:08,600 --> 00:53:10,880
he's healed, not that he's 
provided. 

1021
00:53:11,560 --> 00:53:13,640
I want you to head into 
Thanksgiving grateful for the 

1022
00:53:13,640 --> 00:53:17,240
things that he has not healed 
yet because you already know 

1023
00:53:17,240 --> 00:53:20,080
there will be purpose in it. 
I want you to head into it 

1024
00:53:20,080 --> 00:53:23,000
grateful for the things that 
he's actively freeing you from. 

1025
00:53:23,440 --> 00:53:25,800
Because you know on the other 
side, that's the story you'll 

1026
00:53:25,800 --> 00:53:26,520
tell. 
Amen. 

1027
00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:30,120
Head into Thanksgiving not just 
thanking him for your family and

1028
00:53:30,120 --> 00:53:31,360
your. 
Blessings and the food. 

1029
00:53:31,800 --> 00:53:34,800
Go into it thanking him with 
Great Expectations for what 

1030
00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:36,160
comes next and then.