Bent Knees Break Chains

0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:03.080 How many have evidence in your life that God is 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:06.240 with you despite everything that the devil tells you. To 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:11.719 the contrary, God is with me. Elbow your neighbors say, 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:15.520 God is with me in this moment. Tell him move 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:17.800 over a little. You need to make room for Jesus. 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:21.360 Jesus is with me. Come on, let's make room for 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:26.840 the King of Kings, hand the Lord of lors. It's 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:38.440 freaking time. Let's give our attention now to the scriptures 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:51.400 in Genesis chapter fifty, beginning in verse fourteen. The verse 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.120 that I've heard the most from Genesis is verse twenty, 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:56.880 and I'm going to read that one, but I want 0:00:56.880 --> 0:01:02.160 to give you fresh context around it to help ushered 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:07.000 the principle in this text into the problem that you're 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:09.400 facing in your life. And I believe it's going to 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:16.600 be very, very personal for you today. Wow. Wow. My 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:20.360 friend Rick Biatto does a YouTube channel and he has 0:01:20.360 --> 0:01:22.959 a thing. He's a guitar player, musician, producer, and he 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:26.360 calls it what makes this song great? He takes songs 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:29.840 that you've heard a thousand times by worship leaders like 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:36.440 Pink Floyd led Zeppelin Boston, and he takes those hymns 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:39.639 of the faith, and he breaks it down and shows 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:43.560 you things that you heard but you didn't know you 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:45.760 were hearing them, and it's what makes the song great. 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:50.280 I'm gonna take a page out of his playbook today. 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:53.400 I'm gonna show you what makes this verse great in 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:57.400 verse twenty, where it says that God takes what others 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:00.480 mean for evil and uses it for good. But let 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:03.800 me show you what makes that verse great, all right? 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:06.360 And to do that, I want to get a I 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:08.600 want to get a start and ramp up from verse 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:16.320 fourteen Genesis fifty fourteen, the Bible says, after burying his father, 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:21.079 Joseph returned to Egypt together with his brothers and all 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:24.480 the others who had gone with him to bury his father. 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:29.720 And that's a big contingency because the chariots of Egypt 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:33.200 and all the officials went with Joseph, so it's a 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:39.360 huge traveling party, and seventy plus descendants of Jacob, so 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:43.160 it's a big group. But then it comes to a 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:47.720 personal decision verse fifteen. When Joseph's brothers saw that their 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:53.800 father was dead, they said, what if Joseph holds a 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:57.880 grudge against us and pays us back for all the 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:01.800 wrongs we did to him. Well, now's a fine time 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:05.320 to think about the consequences of your action. Right. I'm 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:07.480 not sorry you did it. You're just sorry you got caught. 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:12.959 Just scared of the consequences. So listen what they did 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:18.079 verse sixteen. They sent word to Joseph saying, your father 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:23.639 left these instructions before he died. Yeah, I'm sure he did. 0:03:25.760 --> 0:03:28.639 When other people tell you what God said to you 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:32.880 as a form of manipulation. The Lord told me that 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:35.600 you're supposed to date me. The Lord has my direct number. 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:40.160 He could tell me. The Lord doesn't play the telephone game, 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:42.880 all right, so he'll tell me. The Lord said we 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:45.240 should go in business together. That's funny because he told 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.440 me you were a crook because I checked your online review. 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:53.400 All right, So read the scripture. Man, This is what 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:57.200 you are to say to Joseph. I ask you to 0:03:57.240 --> 0:03:59.920 forgive your brothers the sins and wrongs they committed in 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:03.920 treating you so badly. Now, please forgive the sins of 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:07.080 the servants of the God of your father. That's what 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:11.320 his brothers said that their dead dad said, which we 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:14.080 know isn't true because he didn't really like them. Joseph 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:16.240 was his favorite, so he would have told Joseph directly, 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:19.720 you understand, and that's why the Bible says when their 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:24.560 message came to him, Joseph wept not because his dad 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:26.799 was dead. His dad has been dead for three months 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:30.680 at this point, forty days of embalming, thirty days of mourning, 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.080 and then a journey that's eleven days on each side, 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:38.279 so he's had time to mourn his father, Jacob. But 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:43.119 he is weeping because they still haven't changed, even after 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:46.479 all the grace that he's given them. That's what he's 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:48.360 crying about. This is the fifth time that he cries 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:54.159 between Genesis thirty seven and fifty. So in verse eighteen, 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:57.799 let's pick it up right here. His brothers then came 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:03.479 threw themselves down before him. We are your slaves, they said. 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:12.280 But Joseph said to them, don't be afraid. Am I 0:05:13.320 --> 0:05:18.000 in the place of God Verse twenty You intended to 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:26.000 harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:31.680 what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:37.640 So then verse twenty one, don't be afraid. I'm not 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:40.840 going to kill you. I could, but I'm not going 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:44.800 to not because of your little fabricated speech from Dad. 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:50.440 But because I see God's purpose in this moment and 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:54.880 in this season, so I will provide for you and 0:05:55.000 --> 0:06:02.239 your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:04.359 Well back up to verse eighteen one more time. His 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:07.360 brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. They 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:11.640 bowed before the one they had betrayed. They bowed before 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:14.880 the one they had betrayed, and said, we're your slaves. 0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:17.640 But Joseph said to them, don't be afraid. Am I 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:21.800 in the place of God. I got up here this 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:31.000 morning to tell you bent knees, break chains. That's the 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:34.600 title of this message. Say it out loud, bent knees, 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:38.919 break chains. And the truth that I want to communicate 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:43.159 to you is all in those four words that bent knees, 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:48.279 break chains. And Father, I thank you that the chain 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:53.000 breaking power of your spirit is standing up inside of 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:56.520 me right now to preach deliverance to every captive. Do 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:59.040 it God in Jesus' name, I give you thanks. Samen, 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:05.400 you may be seated, and I want you to start 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:14.320 by considering this premise that the position that we're in 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:19.840 influences the decisions that we make. I probably should have 0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:21.320 put it on the screen so you could write it 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:23.320 down as a point. Let me just repeat it a 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:27.480 couple times while you fish for your pen or you 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:31.360 fire up your notes. App get this wisdom. Make sure 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:33.320 it doesn't just run off into the streets, but you 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:39.520 can capture it. Okay, that the position that you're in 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:46.320 really influences the decisions that you make. It sounds obvious, 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:53.120 but it's illustrated all throughout the Book of Genesis. God said, 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:56.840 let there be light. He was in a position to 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:00.400 make a decision to do something about the darkness. But 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:02.480 you could run around shouting let there be light all 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:05.400 you wanted to, And unless you have a flip to 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.760 switch and are current on the power bill, no lights 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:13.720 are coming on. The position that you're in determines the 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:16.360 decisions you make. And the sub point that this is 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:21.679 you are not God. You are not God. Your neighbor 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:23.600 doesn't look convinced, so you tell them for me, say 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:28.240 you're not God. No, I really want you to tell 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:34.800 them you're not God. So sometimes if you get confused, 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:38.080 just to remember the position. Put this on the comment 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:42.960 feed right now. The position I'm in influences the decisions 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:46.240 that I make. The easiest way to explain it is parenting. 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:51.480 When you start doing stuff as a parent that you 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:57.640 hated as a kid, and you turn around and every 0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:00.920 parent in this room has had this thought. I sound 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:05.680 just like my mom, I sound just like my dad. 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:10.880 And you know it's because you now are in a 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:14.640 position that not only you have to provide, but protect 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:19.240 these lives that you treasure so much. So you're doing 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:22.040 things that the kids don't understand. You can't go there, 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:23.560 don't talk to them, and they think you don't want 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:25.280 me to have any friends. I do want you to 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:26.720 have friends, like I want to hang out with you 0:09:26.760 --> 0:09:28.440 all the time. I'd love for you to have somebody 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:31.120 else to hang out with. I just don't know about 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:35.760 these kids, and the position that I'm in is affecting 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:39.640 the decisions that I made. But see, empathy is tricky 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:41.959 for the kid to have for the parent, because although 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:43.680 the parent has been a kid, the kid has never 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:46.880 been a parent. So that's why teaching your kids to 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:50.880 drive is like the scourging whip that they laid on 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:53.320 our Savior's back when they hung them on the cross. 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:57.800 It's because it is the punishment of their inability to 0:09:57.800 --> 0:10:02.120 feel empathy because the position that you are in determines 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:09.040 the decisions that you make. That's true in parenting, that's 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:15.240 true with money. Yeah, and a lot of times sweet 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:21.200 say little cliches like money isn't everything. It is if 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:26.080 you don't have any it is if you don't have any. 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:30.000 How many of you have ever not had any money 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:32.360 and had to do things, And that's I'm not talking 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:35.560 about rob anybody. I'm not talking about anything crazy. I'm 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:39.200 just saying when you didn't have it, you didn't walk 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:43.480 around saying stuff like money isn't everything. You went around 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:46.520 saying stuff like can I cut your grass? Can I 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:48.840 wax your bald head? Can I do it? Can I 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:55.640 clip your fingernails? Because money isn't everything once you have money, Right, 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:58.920 So we get in a position where maybe we've come 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:01.320 to a place where we're in our life and then 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:04.520 we're like, well, money isn't everything. I don't do it 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:08.200 for the money. That's because you have some. But if 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:09.679 you don't have any, you gotta do what you gotta 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:13.439 do to catch the crumbs that fall from somebody's table. 0:11:14.600 --> 0:11:20.079 And sometimes stop judging people for things they are doing 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:25.920 in desperation for situations that you haven't been in or 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:31.600 that you haven't been in lately. Amen. Amen, I'm gonna 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:35.360 get my church back today. I'm gonna find my church today. 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.520 Personal confession. I was a staff member at a church 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:45.000 before I started this church, and I would always keep 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:48.680 this mental list of dumb stuff that the pastor was 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:54.200 doing that I would never do. And one day, when 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:56.440 I get a spare minute, I'm gonna write him a 0:11:56.600 --> 0:12:01.080 whole card. It's gonna be a seventeen page card of 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:03.880 all the things I judged him for in his position 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:06.680 as a pastor, from my position as a staff member 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:14.400 that I now just want to say I'm sorry, especially 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:16.400 because I met him when he was into his tenth 0:12:16.559 --> 0:12:20.040 year of pastoring that church, and I didn't know how 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:23.240 tired ten years can make you. You see all it 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:27.200 is Gray y'all put on me in these last sixteen years. 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:31.440 So now I feel different because the position that you're in. 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:33.280 I want to nail this down. And if I lay 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.400 this foundation right, then we can really really celebrate the 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:39.480 truth in the text that Mennis break chains. But first 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.839 of all, acknowledge that the position that you're in influences 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:46.720 the decisions you make. Now, let's flip that because the 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:52.560 decisions that you make influences the position that you're in, 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:03.280 you are very timid celebrating that truth. I have never 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:07.719 seen such a half hearted clap. I think he's probably right, 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:09.760 but I don't like it because I want to say 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:14.720 the devil did it. I don't really want to clap 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:17.800 for that. That it could be possible that not everything 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:21.360 that happened to me was caused by decisions I make, 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:26.560 but some of it, a little of it, ten percent 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:29.880 of it. When's the last time somebody lost their job 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:32.040 and told you, you know what, I just really sucked 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:37.400 at it. I was lazy, I talked bad about everybody, 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:43.120 I chewed gum with my feet up, played words seven hours, 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:48.600 and worked one Nobody says that. And then in church, 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:52.559 now this is dangerous. In church, will slap a spiritual 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:57.880 justification and a summary on something that happened through a 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:03.559 series of decisions that you actually made, thereby enabling your dysfunction, 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:13.000 by over spiritualizing your decisions. Goodbye, everybody. I've said enough 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:18.840 so I don't mean to be Yoda on you, but 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:22.160 those two things really go hand in hand. That the 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:25.520 position I'm in determine the decisions I make. Sometimes I 0:14:25.600 --> 0:14:30.240 did something because I'm depressed, and the depression may not 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:34.120 be my fault. I believe there's a genetic element to depression. 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:39.840 But in the process of me complying with the habits 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:43.080 that brought me to that place, I may prolong my 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:49.600 stay in depression by my decisions. And when we talk 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.000 about the devil attack me, the devil attack me? The 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:54.080 devil attacked me, Well, the Lord gave me a word 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:56.160 on that a few weeks ago. He said, it is 0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:59.680 not the attack that matters the most, it is what 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:04.960 you do after the attack. Because watch this New Testament verse. 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:06.960 I hope I get back to Genesis fifty, but I'm 0:15:06.960 --> 0:15:09.760 annointed for this right now. The Bible says the devil 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:12.680 is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:15.840 It does not say he can devour whoever he wants, 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:20.160 but he can attack whoever he wants. And the difference 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:23.440 between him attacking you and devouring you will be the 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:28.640 decisions that you make in the attack. So, when you 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:32.240 feel anxious, what do you do with that anxiety? When 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:35.359 you feel sad, who do you speak to about your sadness? 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:40.840 When you feel overlooked, do you retaliate or do you 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:43.840 bring it to God and allow him to help you 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:49.480 process it. We could describe Joseph's life in terms of 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:52.880 a chain of events. Write that phrase down a chain 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:59.080 of events. In reviewing all of those scriptures this week, 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:03.200 I feel myself wishing that we had three days to 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:07.640 do this, because everything in Joseph's life, oh, is so 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:10.280 rich with detail, and just to boil it down to 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.360 what the enemy means for evil, God means for good. 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:16.480 And Rick Biatto, my YouTube guy friend, my friend Rick 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:18.440 byatdo he would break it down and show you the 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:20.640 isolated tracks. He'd be like, this is what makes the 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:23.640 song great. And I want to show you how the 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:29.560 events in Joseph's life that God did not prevent that 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:35.880 were painful, positioned him for the purpose of Joseph's life 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:43.560 that he could have never imagined. So let me do 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:45.920 a typical sermon about Joseph in two minutes. You got 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:48.120 to walk through everything that happened to him. Right, he 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:50.680 had a dream, he told his brothers. That's an event. 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.040 His brothers got mad about it and didn't like his 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:58.280 Gucci coat that his father, Jacob gave him. Now understand 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:01.240 when they threw him into a pit. They saw him 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:02.960 as a snitch because he came out to check on 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:05.280 them and see if they were doing their job. So 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.760 you can understand then that from their vantage point, the 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:13.480 position that they were in influenced the decisions that they made. 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:18.080 And it's easy in this passage to feel like you're Joseph, 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:22.159 But have you ever been his brothers? To have you 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:25.760 ever been jealous? Because you do things when you're in 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.160 a position comparing yourself to others. That's why the Bible says, 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:31.040 when you compare yourself to somebody else, you're not wise. 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:34.600 That's what is that. It doesn't say it's evil, it 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:37.959 says it's not wise because you were gonna do dumb 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:41.920 stuff trying to be like somebody who does not have 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:45.919 your same bone structure background or the same blessing on 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:50.800 their life. Rubin saved his life because he said, well, 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:54.840 let's don't kill him, let's sell him, probably get twenty 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:58.240 shekels for him, and they sold him to the Midianite Cara. 0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:00.719 Event these are the events of Joseph. So if I'm 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:03.520 walking you through it, I'm saying, by the time you 0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:07.520 get to Genesis fifty, verse twenty he's fifty six years old. 0:18:08.560 --> 0:18:11.600 You didn't know that, did you. You thought he was 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.880 standing there saying what the enemy means for evil, God 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:19.879 means for good while he's going through his testing. But 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:24.280 he went through forty years to get to the point 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:28.520 that he understood that the events of his life, all 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:30.919 of them, the dream that he had, the coat that 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:34.399 he wore, the good things, the pit that they pushed 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:40.400 him into. Y'all. He even ended up in prison because 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:44.560 he did such a good job serving this man named Potiphar. 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:53.200 And Potiphar's wife, Hottipher I named her, said, hey, big boy, 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:56.960 come to bed with me. I like your coat, I 0:18:57.119 --> 0:18:59.880 like your character. I like the way you clean windows. 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:02.760 Because remember he has a menial job, but he has 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:05.919 a great sense of responsibility. So everything he did in 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:09.200 Potiphar's house drew attention because God's favor was still on him. 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:12.200 God's favor is still on you. God's favor is still 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:15.159 on you. God's favor is still on you. God's favor 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:17.960 is still on you. Pushing a mop, God's favor is 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:21.200 on you, washing dishes. God's favor is on you. Quarter 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:22.639 of a tank of gas and don't know how to 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:25.560 fell it. God's favor is on you. Oh, by the way, 0:19:25.720 --> 0:19:27.840 when you get a promotion that puts you in a 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:31.080 tax bracket, you never imagine that's God's favor too. It 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:33.080 was your father that put the favor on you to 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:37.160 bring you into the position. And when you understand that 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:45.879 that God raised me up, it makes you two things. 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:52.280 It makes you humble in high circumstances and hopeful in 0:19:52.320 --> 0:20:01.000 low circumstances. When I see that my father favored me, 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:05.119 and Joseph knew that early in his life, and he 0:20:05.160 --> 0:20:08.120 saw this vision that his brothers were one day going 0:20:08.160 --> 0:20:11.440 to bow down to him, but he didn't see everything 0:20:11.440 --> 0:20:15.119 that would come before that. And this chain of events. 0:20:16.280 --> 0:20:20.240 Let me say that again, this chain of events, things 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:24.440 that happened to Joseph that he largely could not control. 0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:27.720 Some people say that he shouldn't have told his brothers 0:20:27.720 --> 0:20:30.480 his dream and they wouldn't have pushed him in the pit. 0:20:31.080 --> 0:20:33.040 I say, if he didn't go in the pit, how 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:34.920 could he have gotten to Egypt? So there was food 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:38.520 waiting for them when they came through the famine. Makes 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:46.560 me think that even my mistakes can become miraculous if 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:51.680 I give them to God and be humble about them, 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:54.359 but a lot more happened to Joseph, and although we 0:20:54.400 --> 0:20:56.479 won't explore all of it today, I just want you to. 0:20:57.160 --> 0:20:59.040 I just want you to hear some of the other 0:20:59.560 --> 0:21:02.520 things that come before this, so you can put yourself 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:07.439 in this story in a way to try to figure 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:13.520 out in this season of my life, what decision is 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:19.760 God leading me to make, and the events that led 0:21:19.800 --> 0:21:21.920 you to this point in your life, however painful they were. 0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:25.400 I forgot to tell you this part. When he got 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:29.600 to prison, he started interpreting dreams for the other prisoners. 0:21:31.280 --> 0:21:32.800 Now I wouldn't have done that because I would have 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:35.640 been pouting that I don't belong here, because Potiphar's wife 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:37.560 accused me of raping her and I was actually running 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:39.000 from her and she accused me of rape, and I 0:21:39.000 --> 0:21:40.840 probably wouldn't have been able to get past my own 0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:45.399 pity party. Pitt he was in a pity party. Okay, 0:21:45.480 --> 0:21:48.359 So I'm just checking to see if I still have 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:50.560 your attention. There's a lot of background, so there's a 0:21:50.600 --> 0:21:55.440 lot of things that happen. And eventually, when he interpreted 0:21:55.480 --> 0:21:57.640 the cupbearer had this dream, He's like, yo, I saw 0:21:57.680 --> 0:22:00.520 these three vines coming off of one branch grapes on it, 0:22:00.520 --> 0:22:02.679 and I squeezed grapes. It was in a dream, and 0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:04.560 then the cups were filled in. Joseph's like, oh, in 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:06.360 three days, you're going to get your position back. It's 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:08.880 going to be great. On Pharaoh's birthday, He's going to 0:22:09.080 --> 0:22:11.639 put you back in the position. And the baker was like, oh, yeah, me, 0:22:11.720 --> 0:22:12.680 to me, to me, to me too. I had a 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:14.680 dream too. There was baskets on my head and bread 0:22:14.680 --> 0:22:16.320 and the baskets and the birds came and ate it. 0:22:16.359 --> 0:22:18.000 And he's like, oh, yeah, that's because your head's going 0:22:18.040 --> 0:22:19.959 to be cut off in three days. That's why it's 0:22:20.000 --> 0:22:23.280 three baskets. And the birds will eat your flesh, all right. 0:22:23.320 --> 0:22:28.640 So all of that happens just as Joseph's folking and 0:22:29.119 --> 0:22:32.640 cut Parat gets out of prison completely forgets to mention Pharaoh. Oops. 0:22:32.680 --> 0:22:37.960 For two years, he stays chained in a dungeon, not 0:22:38.440 --> 0:22:43.320 because of his decision, but because of an event. But 0:22:43.400 --> 0:22:46.560 here's what I want to show you. Within every event 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:53.359 is a decision. You got it. I'm not even asking 0:22:53.400 --> 0:22:55.680 you to understand it yet, Just did you hear it? 0:22:56.560 --> 0:23:01.240 Within the event, there's always a decision illustrate this illustration 0:23:01.320 --> 0:23:06.080 of this. Today we are having a worship service. It's 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:10.399 an event. The service is an event. We sang about 0:23:10.480 --> 0:23:15.320 four songs that was part of the event. Hopefully somebody 0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:17.919 offered you a breath mint and a pen when you 0:23:17.960 --> 0:23:19.440 came in the door, if you came in the door, 0:23:19.359 --> 0:23:22.720 or you logged online. And here I am now standing 0:23:22.800 --> 0:23:27.760 behind my pulpit with my Bible open, ready to preach 0:23:27.800 --> 0:23:30.320 to you. Been praying about it all week. This is 0:23:30.359 --> 0:23:35.879 the event. This is the service. But worship is a 0:23:36.000 --> 0:23:46.440 decision that you have to make in the event. The 0:23:46.480 --> 0:23:53.040 service is the event. Worship is the decision. Worship isn't offering. 0:23:54.000 --> 0:23:57.400 Some of y'all didn't sing a note. You watched this 0:23:58.119 --> 0:24:00.880 like it was some what's the show? Do they still 0:24:00.880 --> 0:24:03.679 have American idol? You were watching this like it like 0:24:03.720 --> 0:24:06.240 you're gonna vote whether they stay on the stage or not. 0:24:06.680 --> 0:24:08.840 Like I don't know that you are not what was 0:24:08.880 --> 0:24:12.960 the guy's name, Simon Cowell? You are not Simon. Why 0:24:12.960 --> 0:24:16.600 weren't you singing? God is the star of this, God 0:24:16.680 --> 0:24:23.600 is the audience of this. Why didn't you sing? Well, well, no, no, no, no. 0:24:24.840 --> 0:24:28.919 Pastor Steve Pester, Steve pastor, Steve Paster, Steve Pachter, Steve Pastor, Steve, 0:24:29.800 --> 0:24:32.120 you know I didn't sing because I can't sing that good. 0:24:33.320 --> 0:24:37.720 That doesn't stop you in the shower. That doesn't stop 0:24:37.760 --> 0:24:40.159 you on the shower. And then and another thing is 0:24:41.040 --> 0:24:43.119 if the person next to you doesn't like you're singing, 0:24:43.200 --> 0:24:45.560 you just told them ten minutes ago they're not God. 0:24:48.240 --> 0:24:52.000 So they don't like how it sounds, is good news 0:24:53.160 --> 0:24:57.080 because they're not the audience that you were singing to anyway. 0:24:58.080 --> 0:25:03.440 So get this, get this, when we were singing at 0:25:03.440 --> 0:25:06.600 the campus I'm at, I'm gonna see a victory. If 0:25:06.600 --> 0:25:10.440 that song went by and you didn't sing it, I mean, 0:25:10.520 --> 0:25:12.880 sing it out of tune, sing it loud, sing it bad, 0:25:12.960 --> 0:25:16.119 sing it good, singing falsetto, sing it bass, sing it 0:25:16.160 --> 0:25:18.560 ten or sing it out there. If you didn't sing it, 0:25:19.040 --> 0:25:21.840 and if you didn't believe it and put your heart 0:25:21.880 --> 0:25:23.560 in faith and say, you know, I don't feel that 0:25:23.640 --> 0:25:26.120 right now, but I believe it in Jesus's name. I'm 0:25:26.160 --> 0:25:28.679 gonna see it with my kids. I'm gonna see it 0:25:28.720 --> 0:25:31.359 on my job. I'm gonna see it in my body, 0:25:31.560 --> 0:25:33.879 I'm gonna see it in my mind. There is a 0:25:34.040 --> 0:25:37.320 breakthrough with my name on it, and I don't know when, 0:25:37.720 --> 0:25:42.119 but I have faith for it. I'm gonna see a victory. 0:25:45.440 --> 0:25:49.840 If you didn't sing it, how can you expect to 0:25:49.880 --> 0:25:56.560 see it? Because the song was the event, but your 0:25:56.600 --> 0:26:06.000 worship was a decision, and I forgive you. Hearing the 0:26:06.040 --> 0:26:08.800 sermon is an event. Sharing it with somebody who needs 0:26:08.800 --> 0:26:13.960 it is a decision. What if they're about to give 0:26:14.040 --> 0:26:16.600 up and you could send them a link. I'm talking 0:26:16.640 --> 0:26:21.159 to you. I'm talking to you logging on watching a sermon. 0:26:21.480 --> 0:26:23.680 This is an event. Wow, you can watch a lot 0:26:23.680 --> 0:26:26.639 of things on YouTube. But what if God prompts you 0:26:26.680 --> 0:26:28.440 to send it to somebody else? Hey man, thought about 0:26:28.480 --> 0:26:32.119 you today. Preachers up there talking about decisions and stuff, 0:26:32.160 --> 0:26:34.560 and I'm just thinking, how you got to make this 0:26:34.640 --> 0:26:39.359 decision right now? And so here it is. I love you, 0:26:39.400 --> 0:26:43.240 I see you Tuesday. You know whatever. That's a decision. 0:26:44.640 --> 0:26:50.080 The more we separate the event from the decision, the 0:26:50.080 --> 0:26:53.480 more room it gives God to move in our situation. 0:26:57.240 --> 0:26:59.280 I'll go a little deeper. Can I go a little deeper? 0:27:00.480 --> 0:27:02.359 I don't know why I'm asking your permission. I'm gonna 0:27:02.359 --> 0:27:04.040 do what I want to do anyway. What God leads 0:27:04.040 --> 0:27:08.120 me to do is here's one, here's one. I thought 0:27:08.119 --> 0:27:09.520 of a bunch of them, but I won't give them 0:27:09.520 --> 0:27:14.720 all to you today. Y'all won't like this. Traffic is 0:27:14.760 --> 0:27:27.240 an event. What time you leave the house? Got him? 0:27:27.760 --> 0:27:33.560 Got him like traffic was the Red Sea, like you 0:27:33.600 --> 0:27:36.560 didn't know was there, Like get in there every morning. 0:27:37.760 --> 0:27:40.760 I'm sorry the traffic was bad. The traffic's always bad. 0:27:40.960 --> 0:27:43.320 It is for eighty five. They're gonna be building it 0:27:43.400 --> 0:27:49.479 for the next four hundred and eighty five years. And 0:27:49.560 --> 0:27:51.679 you knew that when you pushed it to the last 0:27:51.720 --> 0:27:57.200 minute and hit snooze for the third time. And leaving 0:27:57.240 --> 0:28:00.159 early is a decision, and the decision to lead a 0:28:00.200 --> 0:28:08.639 little early might affect your decision to road rage. See, 0:28:08.800 --> 0:28:12.240 we got to stop blaming so much stuff in our life. 0:28:12.520 --> 0:28:15.439 Joseph is a model. We got to stop blaming the 0:28:15.520 --> 0:28:20.600 events and start making the decisions that God is calling 0:28:20.680 --> 0:28:24.080 us to make within the events that can empower us 0:28:24.520 --> 0:28:29.119 to move forward, or else you will always be a 0:28:29.240 --> 0:28:38.600 slave to what happened. Joseph has a decision to make now, 0:28:38.920 --> 0:28:41.000 and I think is such an emotional moment for him 0:28:41.040 --> 0:28:47.160 because his father loved him a little too much because 0:28:47.160 --> 0:28:50.880 he was born of Rachel, who was the wife that 0:28:51.000 --> 0:28:55.120 Jacob really wanted, not Leah, And because he was the 0:28:55.160 --> 0:28:58.600 firstborn son of Rachel, Jacob's favorite wife, Holly, you're my 0:28:58.640 --> 0:29:03.360 favorite wife, by the way, and that gave him a 0:29:03.400 --> 0:29:06.160 little extra status. Right. But he's going through this shift. 0:29:06.360 --> 0:29:08.280 A lot of people will tell you Joseph's life is 0:29:09.120 --> 0:29:13.120 about going from the pit to the palace. I don't 0:29:13.160 --> 0:29:16.960 see it that way at all. Although that geographically describes 0:29:17.000 --> 0:29:20.280 his position, because he ended up being promoted when he 0:29:20.360 --> 0:29:23.840 interpreted Pharaoh's dream about the famine to a position of 0:29:23.880 --> 0:29:26.960 responsibility where he could prepare the people for the famine, 0:29:26.960 --> 0:29:31.400 even his own family. Although that's true, it's really not 0:29:31.440 --> 0:29:38.200 the heart. He's really going from status to service, and 0:29:38.240 --> 0:29:41.920 God brings him from a place of great status to 0:29:42.000 --> 0:29:46.200 a place of great service. Or you could say see 0:29:46.240 --> 0:29:50.080 it this way too. He's going from a place where 0:29:50.080 --> 0:29:55.360 he's got to get from pain to purpose. And the 0:29:55.400 --> 0:29:59.480 position that you're in determines a lot of the decisions 0:29:59.560 --> 0:30:01.400 that you make, and a lot of the decisions that 0:30:01.400 --> 0:30:03.160 you make will determine the position you're in, because if 0:30:03.160 --> 0:30:06.560 at any point in Joseph's life, he would have decided, 0:30:08.320 --> 0:30:13.280 this isn't fair, forget it God. If he hadn't served 0:30:13.320 --> 0:30:17.760 with excellence in small positions, he could not have been 0:30:17.800 --> 0:30:23.400 trusted in a bigger one. All along the way, there 0:30:23.400 --> 0:30:25.880 were little decisions that he was making, that you're making 0:30:27.120 --> 0:30:30.120 to do it with your whole heart or to only 0:30:30.160 --> 0:30:36.400 do it when someone else is looking. Little decisions that 0:30:36.440 --> 0:30:41.800 you make, corners that you cut or you don't, words 0:30:42.640 --> 0:30:45.880 that you speak, and times you bite your tongue because 0:30:46.480 --> 0:30:50.720 it's not going to help anything anyway, little decisions. Where 0:30:50.720 --> 0:30:54.560 would you be financially if you had made little decisions 0:30:54.840 --> 0:30:59.040 along the way differently? Where would you be? Well, now, 0:30:59.040 --> 0:31:01.120 I don't have any money and I'm doing like what 0:31:01.160 --> 0:31:03.600 Pastor said, I'm in a bad position, so I'm taking 0:31:03.640 --> 0:31:06.800 desperate measures. But would you have to take desperate measures 0:31:08.080 --> 0:31:11.800 if you made some different decisions? And could it change 0:31:11.840 --> 0:31:16.440 from this point forward that your future is not chained 0:31:16.440 --> 0:31:21.480 to your past. We talked a lot about the chain 0:31:21.520 --> 0:31:26.600 of events that led to Joseph's moment of decision, But 0:31:26.680 --> 0:31:30.880 how about the chain of decisions that put him in 0:31:30.880 --> 0:31:36.600 this place? The chain of decisions? Think about that. It's 0:31:36.600 --> 0:31:39.280 a lot more interesting than giving me a list of 0:31:39.320 --> 0:31:43.160 everything that life did to you. I told somebody went done. 0:31:43.520 --> 0:31:46.520 I said, when I first got married, I got fat, 0:31:46.880 --> 0:31:51.760 and I did. I was turning into a big old boy. 0:31:52.680 --> 0:31:56.200 And the way I explained it was like how Adam 0:31:56.240 --> 0:31:58.840 explained why he ate the apple in the garden. This 0:31:58.920 --> 0:32:03.000 woman you gave me, Lord, she's a wonderful cook. I 0:32:03.160 --> 0:32:06.320 was actually like perverting the gift that God had given 0:32:06.360 --> 0:32:10.320 her as a cook. To explain the situation of my cellulite. 0:32:10.880 --> 0:32:14.760 You'll know, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Cellulites. Well, 0:32:14.760 --> 0:32:18.160 they were all coming against me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they 0:32:18.200 --> 0:32:21.280 were all coming against me. And somewhere in that I 0:32:21.360 --> 0:32:24.280 had to own the fact that I ate what she 0:32:24.440 --> 0:32:27.000 put on the plate and then went and filled the 0:32:27.040 --> 0:32:29.960 plate three more times to get this way. So it's 0:32:30.000 --> 0:32:34.160 not exactly true to say I got fat, like it's 0:32:34.160 --> 0:32:37.120 something that just crashed into the earth, like it was 0:32:37.160 --> 0:32:48.480 a meteor shower, like it was a snow day. I 0:32:48.680 --> 0:32:59.680 ate food, I didn't exercise. I got fat. That's the event. 0:33:00.560 --> 0:33:07.680 The number on the scale screamed at me. I rebuked it. 0:33:07.680 --> 0:33:11.960 It didn't change. I prayed about it. It didn't change. 0:33:12.560 --> 0:33:16.200 I quoted Genesis fifty twenty. What you mean for evil 0:33:16.440 --> 0:33:21.920 God means for God, I reverse the curse. It didn't change, 0:33:22.680 --> 0:33:33.560 all right? And then I decided. I decided. I didn't 0:33:33.600 --> 0:33:39.040 get to decide once. I got to decide daily. I 0:33:39.080 --> 0:33:45.360 got to decide daily. Now, now, is this good to you? 0:33:49.360 --> 0:33:52.000 Joseph has a decision to make in this moment because 0:33:52.040 --> 0:33:55.239 now his dad is dead, and the only thing that 0:33:55.280 --> 0:33:59.040 can keep him being kind to his brothers is how 0:33:59.080 --> 0:34:04.160 he views his relationship with God, because his relationship with 0:34:04.400 --> 0:34:09.680 them is obviously never going to change. They lied about 0:34:09.719 --> 0:34:12.880 him when he was seventeen, and they are lying about 0:34:12.960 --> 0:34:17.239 him as he's fifty six. He's been playing with it. 0:34:18.840 --> 0:34:20.960 He's been playing with whether or not he wants to 0:34:20.960 --> 0:34:24.000 pay them back. He's been doing it for decades. You know. 0:34:24.040 --> 0:34:26.600 When they first came to him, he was thirty nine. 0:34:27.200 --> 0:34:30.160 The famine had only been going on two years. And 0:34:30.200 --> 0:34:32.080 when they came to him, he pretended like he didn't 0:34:32.160 --> 0:34:34.840 know who they were, because I think he was trying 0:34:34.880 --> 0:34:37.239 to decide, how am I going to move forward? He 0:34:37.280 --> 0:34:39.960 was already in a position of power, He was already 0:34:39.960 --> 0:34:42.279 in a position of authority. He was already in a 0:34:42.280 --> 0:34:47.080 position of influence, and the position that you're in influences 0:34:47.160 --> 0:34:52.879 the decisions that you may So he didn't tell him 0:34:54.160 --> 0:34:56.640 for a little while. He'd go cry in private, and 0:34:56.640 --> 0:35:01.560 then he'd come back out and be strong in public. Yeah, 0:35:01.600 --> 0:35:05.480 he even stuffed their bags with silver and then send 0:35:05.520 --> 0:35:09.520 his own men to arrest them and throw Simeon in prison. 0:35:11.320 --> 0:35:15.799 That's how bad it felt to him. So I want 0:35:15.840 --> 0:35:18.640 you to think about when something bad happens to you, 0:35:19.560 --> 0:35:23.160 the event. I wish I could draw this. I am 0:35:23.160 --> 0:35:26.360 not a good artist. Let's just you can draw it 0:35:26.360 --> 0:35:30.200 and post it online later. Okay, something bad happens. When 0:35:30.239 --> 0:35:32.520 Joseph says God meant it for good, he does not 0:35:32.600 --> 0:35:38.680 call their abuse, neglect, and betrayal good. He's moving past that. 0:35:39.640 --> 0:35:42.680 But so something bad happens, Right, many bad things happen 0:35:42.719 --> 0:35:47.880 to Joseph, And that's almost that's almost a disservice to 0:35:47.960 --> 0:35:50.400 what he's been through to call it something bad happened. 0:35:50.440 --> 0:35:53.640 But let's just call it that this thing happens and 0:35:53.840 --> 0:35:58.759 is bad and is bad. But now the decision that 0:35:58.840 --> 0:36:02.200 Joseph has to make, because from remember, the event, is 0:36:02.200 --> 0:36:06.760 not the decision. So now he says that was bad. 0:36:07.000 --> 0:36:09.880 What you did to me, that was bad. How you 0:36:09.920 --> 0:36:13.200 sold me that was bad, what I went through. I'm 0:36:13.200 --> 0:36:17.640 not sugarcoating anything or spiritualizing your decisions. It was bad. 0:36:18.760 --> 0:36:21.640 It was bad. Sometimes the first step to getting to 0:36:21.960 --> 0:36:26.520 God is good is to say it was bad. It 0:36:26.600 --> 0:36:30.840 was bad. It was bad, and it hurt and it harmed, 0:36:30.960 --> 0:36:33.280 and it set me back, and I wish it hadn't happened. 0:36:33.360 --> 0:36:35.080 And if I got to write the script, I wouldn't 0:36:35.120 --> 0:36:38.200 have put that in it. It was bad, you know, 0:36:38.239 --> 0:36:40.560 we do. God is good all the time, all the time. 0:36:40.640 --> 0:36:43.719 God is good, but it is bad a lot of 0:36:43.760 --> 0:36:47.600 the times, and a lot of the times it is bad. 0:36:48.400 --> 0:36:52.080 But God is good all the time and all the time. 0:36:52.120 --> 0:36:55.040 God is good, but it is bad. A lot of 0:36:55.040 --> 0:36:58.560 the that's bad. Read the news. That's bad, that's horrible, 0:36:58.719 --> 0:37:02.200 that's unthinkable. That's you and a lot of us, a 0:37:02.200 --> 0:37:06.200 lot of us in this room. We know somebody like Joseph. 0:37:06.520 --> 0:37:09.600 Everybody in this room knows that Joseph. You watched what 0:37:09.719 --> 0:37:12.399 happened to them, and you could not believe how they 0:37:12.440 --> 0:37:15.759 responded to it. My Joseph, that I think about all 0:37:15.800 --> 0:37:20.120 the time is my buddy Levi Lusco. He's a pastor 0:37:20.160 --> 0:37:27.280 in Montana, foreign country. He's an international missionary to the 0:37:27.320 --> 0:37:31.680 state of Montana. And I love him for many reasons. 0:37:32.000 --> 0:37:36.279 But y'all, I put my hand on his chest to 0:37:36.280 --> 0:37:38.320 pray for him the other night because he turned forty 0:37:39.719 --> 0:37:41.680 and I was praying and God annoying me, and I 0:37:41.760 --> 0:37:44.480 was speaking stuff over his life that I couldn't even 0:37:44.560 --> 0:37:48.640 understand where it was coming from. But when Graham was 0:37:48.719 --> 0:37:52.719 five and his daughter was five, and his daughter died 0:37:52.760 --> 0:37:54.719 of an asthma attack while he was out of the house, 0:37:54.760 --> 0:37:57.279 and he stood over her and prayed that God would 0:37:57.280 --> 0:38:00.080 make the sun stand still and save his daughter's life 0:38:00.400 --> 0:38:07.920 and she died, that would have broken me. And I 0:38:07.920 --> 0:38:09.399 had a context for it because I had a boy 0:38:09.440 --> 0:38:12.520 who was five, and I thought if I was in 0:38:12.520 --> 0:38:17.040 that position, I think I would be tempted to stand 0:38:17.120 --> 0:38:20.200 up and tell y'all, I quit, because how can I 0:38:20.239 --> 0:38:26.000 speak this faith over you? How can I trust a 0:38:26.080 --> 0:38:32.439 God who would let me go through that. So now 0:38:32.520 --> 0:38:36.720 standing on ten years later and watching him turn forty 0:38:36.760 --> 0:38:40.319 and seeing I hope he watches this message, Text him 0:38:40.320 --> 0:38:42.759 and tell him to watch it. He can watch it 0:38:42.840 --> 0:38:44.640 right now. He's on a different time zone out there 0:38:44.640 --> 0:38:49.440 in Montana. I think it's like eighteen forty three in Montana. 0:38:49.480 --> 0:38:56.480 It's like a different year zone in Montana. But I 0:38:56.560 --> 0:39:01.120 prayed over him, and he's a powerful man. He wrote 0:39:01.160 --> 0:39:04.560 a book. He wrote a book. It was bad. He 0:39:04.600 --> 0:39:08.319 wrote a book to let the devil know that my 0:39:08.440 --> 0:39:13.200 daughter Lenya will live on even if there's no breath 0:39:13.280 --> 0:39:18.120 in her lungs. You follow me, This is my Joseph. 0:39:18.160 --> 0:39:20.560 I think about him all the time when I go 0:39:20.640 --> 0:39:24.799 into a pity party, because I think about if he 0:39:24.840 --> 0:39:31.480 can decide that to keep preaching in the middle of 0:39:31.520 --> 0:39:36.040 what he if he can decide that. That's why I 0:39:36.080 --> 0:39:39.480 love lifting these Bible characters up to you on Sunday, right, 0:39:39.600 --> 0:39:41.600 because even if you don't know somebody like that personally, 0:39:42.000 --> 0:39:44.280 you get to be with Joseph for a little while, 0:39:44.560 --> 0:39:46.799 and you get to think about the fact that at 0:39:46.800 --> 0:39:49.160 the moment, I mean most of us would have been 0:39:49.320 --> 0:39:53.439 waiting for this moment to pay our brothers that, oh, 0:39:53.520 --> 0:39:57.480 I'm just waiting till Jacob dies. When Jacob dies, I'm 0:39:57.520 --> 0:40:01.160 about to let y'all have it. And to be over 0:40:01.280 --> 0:40:05.120 one hundred and forty do you know how long Jacob 0:40:05.400 --> 0:40:08.480 held on until he had put a blessing on all 0:40:08.600 --> 0:40:11.640 the kids, and then he dies, and they walk, they walk, 0:40:11.760 --> 0:40:14.359 they walk, they walk, They walk for eleven days to 0:40:14.400 --> 0:40:17.279 bury him. They walk eleven days back and then his 0:40:17.400 --> 0:40:21.120 brother sends some weak message talking about before he died, 0:40:21.280 --> 0:40:24.560 Dad said, trying to relay a message, showing him the 0:40:24.600 --> 0:40:27.120 evidence that there has been no change in their heart. 0:40:28.360 --> 0:40:31.640 And they bow before him, and he has to decide 0:40:31.640 --> 0:40:34.680 what he's going to do because he can't control what 0:40:34.719 --> 0:40:49.840 they do. You can't change them. Stop trying. They're on 0:40:49.960 --> 0:40:52.840 their knees before Joseph, but not for the right reasons. 0:40:54.320 --> 0:40:58.000 Forgive us, forgive us, forgive us. We are your slaves. 0:40:58.480 --> 0:41:01.920 We'll do whatever you say. We're sorry, You're not sorry. 0:41:01.960 --> 0:41:06.480 You're still lying. And he wept, and he came out 0:41:06.520 --> 0:41:09.600 and showed us something that right after he got done weeping, 0:41:10.560 --> 0:41:15.560 he still made the right decision, because your emotions don't 0:41:15.560 --> 0:41:20.600 determine your decisions, not when you've seen the goodness of God. 0:41:23.120 --> 0:41:29.120 These brothers, what they did was evil, But I'm not 0:41:29.320 --> 0:41:34.200 going to let what they did be the final word 0:41:34.680 --> 0:41:38.840 on what I do, because I still had life to live. 0:41:41.320 --> 0:41:45.960 So if I look at them and I say Reuben, Simeon, 0:41:46.320 --> 0:41:49.160 Judah and start calling them by name. And I say, 0:41:49.239 --> 0:41:51.520 this is the moment I've been waiting for. Y'all want 0:41:51.520 --> 0:41:53.200 to throw me in a pit, Let me show you. 0:41:53.320 --> 0:41:56.520 I'm in the palace now. If I use this moment 0:41:56.600 --> 0:42:00.239 of my power to put you in your place, than 0:42:00.280 --> 0:42:08.439 I am putting myself in God's place. That's what he said. 0:42:08.480 --> 0:42:10.319 He said, He said, no, no, no no, no, no, no, no. 0:42:10.520 --> 0:42:12.359 They're on their knees. He says, wait, wait wait, wait, wait, 0:42:12.360 --> 0:42:17.360 wait wait, I'm not God. Am I in the place 0:42:17.400 --> 0:42:21.080 of God? Verse nineteen? You've got to go through verse 0:42:21.160 --> 0:42:24.360 nineteen to get to verse twenty. All things work together 0:42:24.360 --> 0:42:26.960 for the good. For the good, all things work together. 0:42:27.120 --> 0:42:29.360 God uses what the enemy meant for evil. You know, 0:42:29.480 --> 0:42:31.200 we kind of skip to that verse. No, no no, no, 0:42:31.360 --> 0:42:34.640 get to this verse first. Am I put verse nineteen? 0:42:34.960 --> 0:42:42.759 Am I in the place of God? Not only are 0:42:42.800 --> 0:42:49.280 they on their knees, but Joseph, after everything he's been through, 0:42:50.640 --> 0:42:53.160 in the moment of decision, you are at the moment 0:42:53.200 --> 0:42:57.520 of decision right now. Am I gonna stay chained to 0:42:57.640 --> 0:43:00.960 my past? Am I going to live in this resentment 0:43:01.600 --> 0:43:05.360 toward others and this regret? Toward myself. Some of you 0:43:05.440 --> 0:43:08.879 are angry at yourself. You think you're God. You think 0:43:08.880 --> 0:43:11.120 you can make a big enough mess that God can't 0:43:11.200 --> 0:43:14.680 clean you up. But it's not true. You're not God. 0:43:14.880 --> 0:43:17.680 If he died for you, and if he calls you, 0:43:18.040 --> 0:43:21.040 and if he comes for you, and if he raises you, 0:43:21.680 --> 0:43:27.360 even you yourself can't change his mind, because the gifts 0:43:27.400 --> 0:43:37.719 of God are without retentance. And Joseph has a decision 0:43:37.760 --> 0:43:42.960 to make, and he does it like this, I'm not God. 0:43:45.040 --> 0:43:48.640 And in the moment of decision, he takes a posture 0:43:49.640 --> 0:43:54.239 as the second most powerful man in the land. He 0:43:54.320 --> 0:44:02.120 takes his posture to say, God, and what it looked 0:44:02.160 --> 0:44:05.440 like for you to have this mentality, to say, God 0:44:05.480 --> 0:44:09.320 put me here for a purpose, and I'm submitting everything 0:44:09.360 --> 0:44:15.760 that's happened to me to God. I'm gonna do. I'm gonna, 0:44:16.600 --> 0:44:20.399 I'm gonna I'm gonna put myself in a position on 0:44:20.440 --> 0:44:24.520 my knees before God. I've never come to preach to you. 0:44:24.560 --> 0:44:26.279 If I can help it that I don't do this, 0:44:27.480 --> 0:44:30.880 even if it's for ten seconds before I round the corner, 0:44:31.120 --> 0:44:33.840 because a lot of times the way that I'll preach 0:44:34.480 --> 0:44:36.080 stuff will be just be coming to me to the 0:44:36.120 --> 0:44:41.279 last minute, and I'm literally like, but I try. I 0:44:41.360 --> 0:44:44.040 try every time to take one minute by myself. I 0:44:44.040 --> 0:44:48.719 say God, when I get out there today and there's 0:44:49.120 --> 0:44:52.440 there's people out there whose parents abandoned them. There's people 0:44:52.480 --> 0:44:55.440 out there who were molested. There's people out there who 0:44:55.520 --> 0:44:58.839 are going through the most scary medical situation in their 0:44:58.880 --> 0:45:01.279 life or their kids are There's people out there who 0:45:01.360 --> 0:45:03.560 have no idea how they're going to catch up on 0:45:03.600 --> 0:45:05.920 four months worth of mortgage. There are people out there 0:45:05.960 --> 0:45:10.200 today who need you, and I can only meet that 0:45:10.360 --> 0:45:19.399 need on my knees. And it reminds me that if 0:45:19.400 --> 0:45:29.759 I do this, I can do this because see, the 0:45:29.840 --> 0:45:34.560 power that you need is not in me. But if 0:45:34.560 --> 0:45:38.880 I go to the one who has all power and 0:45:39.040 --> 0:45:44.040 all authority, and I get down low and I say God, 0:45:44.640 --> 0:45:47.840 I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my 0:45:48.000 --> 0:45:52.600 help come from. My help comes from you. I know 0:45:52.840 --> 0:45:58.200 big knees can break things. I know one word from 0:45:58.280 --> 0:46:03.399 Almighty Dom, one breath from the spirit of Hot. Feel 0:46:03.560 --> 0:46:08.160 chase breaking right now, Hot, feel burden flifting right now, 0:46:08.680 --> 0:46:14.400 Hot feel shackle second, my prison floors, prison doors flying 0:46:14.480 --> 0:46:24.120 open right now. Because when you do this. God does 0:46:24.239 --> 0:46:34.439 that way. Pray. What you did to me was bad. 0:46:34.480 --> 0:46:36.160 What happened to me is bad. What I'm going through 0:46:36.239 --> 0:46:40.560 is bad. But if I blame you, then my blame 0:46:40.600 --> 0:46:47.680 will become bitterness, and my bitterness will become bondage. Not 0:46:47.840 --> 0:46:52.680 your bondage, it will be my bondage. So I either 0:46:52.719 --> 0:46:57.080 get to stay chained to the events or I get 0:46:57.120 --> 0:47:00.000 to make a decision. This is where God brought you to. 0:47:00.520 --> 0:47:02.880 This is why you logged on. This is why they 0:47:02.920 --> 0:47:05.319 sent you the link. This is why you came to church. 0:47:05.600 --> 0:47:08.480 You thought you decided to come to church. You're crazy. 0:47:08.719 --> 0:47:12.560 God sovereignly brought you to church. You had ten excuses 0:47:12.640 --> 0:47:15.280 not to come. What didn't fit and I have nothing 0:47:15.320 --> 0:47:18.320 to wear. But here you are. It's a size too small, 0:47:18.360 --> 0:47:22.120 but you can't why for this moment. God wanted you 0:47:22.200 --> 0:47:27.440 to know. You are in an important moment of your life. 0:47:29.080 --> 0:47:33.960 And if you do this, come on. Every athlete knows 0:47:34.239 --> 0:47:36.000 you can't hit a golf ball good if you don't 0:47:36.000 --> 0:47:39.799 bend your knees. That's where your power comes from. You 0:47:39.840 --> 0:47:42.680 can't shoot a basketball right if you don't bend your knees. 0:47:43.120 --> 0:47:46.520 That's where your accuracy comes from You can't do a 0:47:46.600 --> 0:47:50.640 takedown standing up straight. There's no Division one wrestling champions 0:47:50.760 --> 0:47:54.800 that stand up straight talking about why are you fighting 0:47:54.880 --> 0:47:58.440 your battles like this? When God gave you this? This 0:47:58.680 --> 0:48:02.360 is how I fight my devil. Watch me surrendered to 0:48:02.520 --> 0:48:10.719 God cause been knees breaks. You can't do it in 0:48:10.760 --> 0:48:13.799 your own strength. If you could, you would have by now. 0:48:14.280 --> 0:48:18.280 But God brought you to your knees. God, he's breaking. 0:48:19.080 --> 0:48:26.160 Subsiderational change up to the Holy Ghost. Come Lord, come Lord, 0:48:26.760 --> 0:48:29.839 break those changes. Break it, break it, break it, break it, 0:48:30.000 --> 0:48:32.799 break it, break it, break it. Breaking the past has 0:48:32.840 --> 0:48:36.000 no power over you. The blood of Jesus makes up better. 0:48:36.320 --> 0:48:47.359 I'm breaking in the name of Jesus, Ah, cause you 0:48:47.520 --> 0:48:55.200 still have so much life to live. Joseph lived to 0:48:55.320 --> 0:49:03.799 be one hundred and ten. He was fifty six. It's 0:49:03.840 --> 0:49:15.080 only halftime. It's a huck, It's it's it's high five. 0:49:15.160 --> 0:49:17.440 Somebody say this is your halftime speech. This is your 0:49:17.440 --> 0:49:20.479 halftime speech. Come on, let's turn this into a locker room. 0:49:20.800 --> 0:49:24.000 I'm down by twenty, but I got time on. Watch 0:49:24.080 --> 0:49:27.719 me ben my knees, watch me hit this song, watch me, 0:49:27.960 --> 0:49:32.400 watch me, watch me, watch me worship watch me trust God, 0:49:34.920 --> 0:49:39.680 cause I have a decision to make what to do 0:49:40.040 --> 0:49:44.600 with the time and the life I have left. And 0:49:44.719 --> 0:49:53.080 so ben these great chains. Long as you rehearse what happened, 0:49:53.120 --> 0:50:01.839 you can never reverse what happened. Uh huh. Will y'all 0:50:01.880 --> 0:50:03.400 drive nice? If I keep you a little long and 0:50:03.400 --> 0:50:04.920 you run into the other people that are coming in 0:50:04.920 --> 0:50:08.719 the surface, I won't do too much. What makes us 0:50:08.800 --> 0:50:11.880 verse great? Genesis fifty twenty, What makes us verse grade? 0:50:12.440 --> 0:50:15.239 If Rick the otto over here, he will tell you this, 0:50:16.280 --> 0:50:20.239 It's not what you think. Verse twenty of Genesis could 0:50:20.239 --> 0:50:22.799 be the worst verse in the Bible. It could be 0:50:23.360 --> 0:50:26.560 when it says you got it, you intended to harm me. 0:50:32.200 --> 0:50:41.600 It's what comes after the comma. God brought you here 0:50:41.640 --> 0:50:44.800 so you can make a decision. What comes after your comma. 0:50:47.040 --> 0:50:51.280 It's just halftime. This is just a comma, not a coma. 0:50:51.480 --> 0:50:58.120 A comma a comma. Put it back up. How could 0:50:58.120 --> 0:51:01.880 one comma make such a big difference? Because that's where 0:51:02.000 --> 0:51:10.040 Joseph went from the event to the decision. And I'm 0:51:10.120 --> 0:51:16.560 choosing to do this on my knees, because if I 0:51:16.640 --> 0:51:19.080 let this whole power over me, I stay a slave, 0:51:21.360 --> 0:51:22.800 and I won't be chained to what you did, and 0:51:22.800 --> 0:51:24.120 I won't be chained to what I did when I 0:51:24.160 --> 0:51:28.480 remember what God has done. He set this up in 0:51:28.520 --> 0:51:32.200 your life. You don't have to believe that, but you can. 0:51:34.560 --> 0:51:38.840 I can decide. I can decide. Is this the moment 0:51:38.880 --> 0:51:43.359 that you decide to own your story, the bad and 0:51:43.440 --> 0:51:46.319 the good, and put something after the calm? I hear 0:51:46.360 --> 0:51:54.719 the spirit of God saying, finish the sentence, finish the sentence, 0:51:57.239 --> 0:51:59.839 And in the spirit of Kanye West, I'm gonna let 0:51:59.840 --> 0:52:04.000 you finish. Come on, come on, come on, stay with me, 0:52:04.040 --> 0:52:07.759 Stay with me. You tried to hurt me. It hurt me. 0:52:08.800 --> 0:52:12.560 But my hope is what happens after the comma. But 0:52:12.760 --> 0:52:17.040 God give me the scripture. But God intended it for 0:52:17.040 --> 0:52:18.680 good to accomplish what is now being done to saving 0:52:18.680 --> 0:52:22.680 of many lives. Decision decision Verse twenty one. Decision, decision, decision, decision. 0:52:22.880 --> 0:52:27.360 So then don't be afraid. I will decision provide. He 0:52:27.440 --> 0:52:33.359 makes this decision. If I don't feed you, it will 0:52:33.400 --> 0:52:38.560 eat me. So I'm gonna use this as food. And 0:52:38.640 --> 0:52:46.080 he fed that family, the same family that failed him 0:52:46.239 --> 0:52:51.280 by a decision. You have a decision to make today 0:52:51.880 --> 0:52:53.640 Are you gonna stand up and try to be so 0:52:53.840 --> 0:52:58.240 strong in your own strength? Are you gonna bend your knees? 0:53:00.040 --> 0:53:02.880 I'm talking physically. This week. I want some of y'all 0:53:03.040 --> 0:53:05.640 to pray on your knees for at least a minute 0:53:05.680 --> 0:53:07.560 a day this week. It doesn't have to be long, 0:53:07.880 --> 0:53:10.799 but you drop on your knees just to remind yourself, Well, 0:53:10.880 --> 0:53:12.880 God doesn't need me to kneel. No, you need to 0:53:12.960 --> 0:53:18.800 kneel because the position that you're in determines the decision 0:53:18.800 --> 0:53:20.640 that you make. So when you get up, maybe you 0:53:20.680 --> 0:53:22.879 walk different, maybe you talk different. Maybe you remember, I'm 0:53:22.880 --> 0:53:25.279 favored by God and He has a purpose in a 0:53:25.320 --> 0:53:32.520 plan for my life that needs and when you submit 0:53:32.600 --> 0:53:34.400 it to God. How do I know when I've submitted 0:53:34.440 --> 0:53:36.960 it to God? Other than physically? Okay, a couple things. 0:53:37.320 --> 0:53:40.719 When you stop waiting for others to change for you 0:53:40.800 --> 0:53:46.720 to obey, you're on your knees. The way they treat 0:53:46.760 --> 0:53:51.480 me is not going to make me toxic. That's one sign. 0:53:51.640 --> 0:53:55.840 Another sign is you start becoming absorbed in the process 0:53:56.520 --> 0:53:59.359 of what God tells you to do and stop being 0:53:59.400 --> 0:54:04.239 attached to the outcome. That's when you know you're on 0:54:04.280 --> 0:54:07.239 your knees. This is how I fight my battles. I 0:54:07.280 --> 0:54:09.360 got to do what God gave me to do today. 0:54:09.400 --> 0:54:11.680 That's all I can do. You know how I know 0:54:11.760 --> 0:54:14.520 what I'm really annointed to preach. When I don't care 0:54:14.560 --> 0:54:17.480 how you look at me while I'm doing it, that's 0:54:17.520 --> 0:54:22.880 when I'm like, oh oh, that's when I got my 0:54:22.960 --> 0:54:26.200 power up, my invincibility, mushroom. You know, remember super Mario, 0:54:26.440 --> 0:54:30.160 all right, the star, The star was the invinciment. Look 0:54:30.200 --> 0:54:36.919 at me, you'll quit playing. This is so important when 0:54:37.000 --> 0:54:40.640 you have given up the illusion of control, but you 0:54:40.680 --> 0:54:44.080 have committed yourself to the process of obedience of what 0:54:44.160 --> 0:54:46.960 God spoke. Now you're on your knees and look. The 0:54:47.000 --> 0:54:49.840 Bible says in Philippians two, verse five that this is 0:54:49.880 --> 0:54:53.400 what Jesus did. He considered it not robbery to be 0:54:53.480 --> 0:54:56.360 equal with God. And he was God in beginning words 0:54:56.360 --> 0:54:58.160 with God, and the word was God. And he did this. 0:54:59.600 --> 0:55:03.799 He became sinful man and humble himself to the point 0:55:03.800 --> 0:55:06.800 of death on a cross. We're not talking about Joseph. 0:55:06.800 --> 0:55:11.200 We're talking about Jesus, and he lives in you. So 0:55:11.320 --> 0:55:14.880 he said, when Jesus humbled himself, God has given him 0:55:14.920 --> 0:55:17.239 God will lift you up. God will lift you up. 0:55:17.440 --> 0:55:19.879 You gotta trust God to lift you up. You gotta 0:55:19.920 --> 0:55:22.520 trust God to position you and bring you where he 0:55:22.600 --> 0:55:29.759 wants you. Because the scripture says in Philippians too, that 0:55:29.880 --> 0:55:37.760 one day every knee will bow, everybody will be brought 0:55:37.760 --> 0:55:40.760 to their knees. If life hasn't humbled you yet enough, 0:55:42.040 --> 0:55:45.800 if you're still in the dream state, that's okay. Life 0:55:45.840 --> 0:55:50.040 will eventually bring you to this point. So why not 0:55:50.200 --> 0:55:55.680 bow now? Why not bow now? Why not do it 0:55:55.680 --> 0:55:59.920 God's way now? If you do it his way now, 0:56:01.520 --> 0:56:10.520 you'll be ready for whatever he has next. Joseph didn't 0:56:10.520 --> 0:56:13.840 die in the pit. He didn't quit in the prison. 0:56:15.680 --> 0:56:20.080 You didn't either give God praise that you didn't quit 0:56:20.680 --> 0:56:23.239 give God praise. It was his mercy that got you 0:56:23.320 --> 0:56:27.000 through it. Quit trying to look so strong. It was 0:56:27.160 --> 0:56:35.520 his mercy. I don't understand being a self made man, 0:56:35.600 --> 0:56:37.440 because if I'm self made, that means I can be 0:56:37.560 --> 0:56:44.160 enemy broken. I'm a God made man. Yeah, yeah, he 0:56:44.200 --> 0:56:47.520 did it for me. He was with me, and I'm 0:56:47.520 --> 0:56:48.920 bowb befo him to give him the glory. And that's 0:56:48.960 --> 0:56:54.920 not weakness. Bit knees aren't weak. That's where your strength 0:56:55.000 --> 0:57:03.200 comes from. So Joseph goes on to raise these two kids. 0:57:05.120 --> 0:57:08.880 You know their names. JJ. Come on, tell me you 0:57:08.920 --> 0:57:16.280 remember in Manassa and Manassa, they both got a Joseph 0:57:16.320 --> 0:57:20.120 got an extra ridge in the allotment of the promised land, 0:57:20.480 --> 0:57:23.280 and Manassa, the half tribe of Manassa, got property to 0:57:23.760 --> 0:57:29.000 his kids, got blessed because of what he did. Because 0:57:29.040 --> 0:57:32.000 of what he did. Wow, there's a lot on the 0:57:32.040 --> 0:57:35.520 line right now. Some of you are breaking generational chains 0:57:35.800 --> 0:57:37.880 and you don't even know it, but you need God's 0:57:37.880 --> 0:57:46.040 help to do it, not by power, but by his spirit. 0:57:46.240 --> 0:57:51.160 Bent knee say it, dent knees, break chains? Yeah? Not 0:57:51.320 --> 0:57:54.120 you proven you're right? Not you refusing to admit when 0:57:54.120 --> 0:57:59.480 you're wrong. And I love what the Bible says. Not 0:57:59.680 --> 0:58:02.600 leave you with this thought today for what God has next. 0:58:03.280 --> 0:58:05.520 If you will bend your knees now I don't mean 0:58:05.520 --> 0:58:08.160 physically in this room. I mean if you will submit 0:58:08.440 --> 0:58:12.200 and surrender these events, this situation to God and ask 0:58:12.240 --> 0:58:14.120 him for his wisdom and act on what he shows you. 0:58:14.360 --> 0:58:16.600 Ask him for his wisdom, act on what he shows you, 0:58:16.840 --> 0:58:22.040 make the decision to turn pain into purpose. Look what 0:58:22.160 --> 0:58:25.680 happened to Joseph. You won't believe it. Verse twenty two. 0:58:28.240 --> 0:58:33.800 Please that Joseph stayed in Egypt along with all his 0:58:33.880 --> 0:58:39.800 father's family. The death of Jacob was an event. Staying 0:58:39.840 --> 0:58:46.200 in Egypt was a decision. Yeah, and he lived one 0:58:46.280 --> 0:58:49.120 hundred and ten years. Now. I told you that already, 0:58:49.120 --> 0:58:52.760 but I didn't tell you this next verse and saw 0:58:53.400 --> 0:59:02.640 the third generation of Ephraim's children, y'all, that's great grandchildren, 0:59:04.080 --> 0:59:06.880 great grandchildren. God's not through with you yet. God is 0:59:06.920 --> 0:59:09.680 not through with you yet. God is not through. It 0:59:09.760 --> 0:59:14.040 is too early and too soon for you to plan. 0:59:15.600 --> 0:59:18.080 And also the children of mckure. It means in Hebrew 0:59:18.240 --> 0:59:21.240 sold that's what happened to him. That was the event. 0:59:21.280 --> 0:59:24.080 But the children of mckure, the son of Manassa, you 0:59:24.120 --> 0:59:29.760 got it. The children of his child were placed at 0:59:29.800 --> 0:59:41.200 birth where on Joseph's knees. When you bow your knees 0:59:41.280 --> 0:59:47.640 to God and surrender your situation to him, it makes 0:59:47.800 --> 0:59:54.360 room on your knees for the future that He has 0:59:54.440 --> 1:00:06.240 in store for you. So I close with this thought 1:00:06.320 --> 1:00:09.640 for everybody who has been brought to your knees by 1:00:09.640 --> 1:00:14.320 a situation in your life, expect God to bring to 1:00:14.480 --> 1:00:20.480 your knees a new beginning. God wants you free and 1:00:20.600 --> 1:00:24.480 clear from all of the junk, all of the bondage, 1:00:24.760 --> 1:00:27.360 all of the bitterness, all of the blame. And you 1:00:27.480 --> 1:00:29.440 gotta do what you gotta do to get on your 1:00:29.480 --> 1:00:33.160 knees so you can get your knees ready for what 1:00:33.320 --> 1:00:37.120 God wants to bring you next. And he is able. 1:00:37.800 --> 1:00:40.760 I preach this to every nation right now to do 1:00:41.000 --> 1:00:50.800 exceedingly abundantly above and beyond what you ask or imagine. 1:00:51.000 --> 1:00:55.680 And God wants to bring you what's next when you 1:00:55.720 --> 1:00:59.960 get on your knees. Joseph said, I've been in prison 1:01:00.160 --> 1:01:03.160 and before I didn't like it. I want to be 1:01:03.200 --> 1:01:10.960 free now. So God, I'm on my knees. Lord, today 1:01:11.760 --> 1:01:13.919 we lift our hands. Go ahead, lift them up right now, 1:01:15.280 --> 1:01:18.240 just as a sign of our prayer and our eager 1:01:18.280 --> 1:01:21.600 hope for the freedom that Jesus died to bring us 1:01:21.680 --> 1:01:25.000 to be made a reality in our lives. I thank 1:01:25.040 --> 1:01:27.520 you today, Lord, that this week is going to be different. 1:01:29.040 --> 1:01:30.840 It's going to be different because we're not going to 1:01:30.880 --> 1:01:34.280 spend it chained to bitterness. We're not going to spend 1:01:34.320 --> 1:01:38.160 it looking for something or someone to blame. But this 1:01:38.200 --> 1:01:43.000 week We're starting this week right here, right now, bowing 1:01:43.120 --> 1:01:47.640 before you, saying that Jesus Christ is Lord, and what 1:01:47.760 --> 1:01:51.960 God has planned for my life, no man can stop it. 1:01:52.800 --> 1:01:56.840 No curse can stop it, no betrayal can stop it, 1:01:57.400 --> 1:02:01.560 No sickness can stop it. No reason session can stop it. 1:02:02.160 --> 1:02:06.360 No virus can stuff it, no pandemic can stuff it. 1:02:06.760 --> 1:02:10.360 When God gets ready to bless me, when God gets 1:02:10.400 --> 1:02:14.280 ready to raise me, when God has a purpose, it 1:02:14.440 --> 1:02:19.640 will come to pass. Let's give him sixty seconds a praise. 1:02:21.120 --> 1:02:27.080 That bit needs break change. Come. Throw off those chains, 1:02:27.800 --> 1:02:32.120 throw off that attitude, throw off that shame, throw off 1:02:32.240 --> 1:02:35.640 that kill, throw it off this. Praise him, Praise him, 1:02:36.000 --> 1:02:39.640 praise him. That's not enough, that's not enough. Who the 1:02:39.840 --> 1:02:50.600 Son says free is free. Indeed, bow your head, Bow 1:02:50.680 --> 1:02:53.400 your head. The scripture says that if you confess with 1:02:53.440 --> 1:02:55.560 your mouth Jesus's Lord, and believe in your heart God 1:02:55.640 --> 1:02:58.680 raised him from the death, you will be saved. This 1:02:58.840 --> 1:03:03.600 is a salvation moment of decision for somebody, a salvation moment. 1:03:03.960 --> 1:03:07.320 You are making the decision right now to place your 1:03:07.320 --> 1:03:11.080 faith in Jesus Christ, to place your faith in his death, 1:03:11.240 --> 1:03:14.240 to place your faith in his resurrection. He died for 1:03:14.280 --> 1:03:17.160 your forgiveness. He rose again to give you life. He 1:03:17.280 --> 1:03:20.400 invites you to follow him. He has promised you his spirit. 1:03:20.640 --> 1:03:23.280 All you've got to do is receive it, and the 1:03:23.440 --> 1:03:28.240 moment you hit your knees, his forgiveness will hit your life. 1:03:28.440 --> 1:03:30.320 And I want to lead you in a prayer right now. 1:03:31.280 --> 1:03:33.360 We're going to pray this across all of our campuses 1:03:33.400 --> 1:03:36.600 and our epaum around the world for the benefit of 1:03:36.600 --> 1:03:39.800 those who are making the decision right now to place 1:03:39.840 --> 1:03:43.240 your faith in Christ, because He has already made the 1:03:43.280 --> 1:03:46.520 decision to save you. It's God who calls you, It's 1:03:46.560 --> 1:03:49.000 God who's drawing you. It's God that works in you, 1:03:49.560 --> 1:03:52.760 and He brought you to this moment. So for those 1:03:52.760 --> 1:03:54.040 of you who need to come to Him for the 1:03:54.080 --> 1:03:55.480 first time or come back to Him, I want you 1:03:55.520 --> 1:03:58.320 to repeat this prayer after me as you bow your 1:03:58.320 --> 1:04:04.560 heart before God, Heavenly Father. I am a sinner in 1:04:04.640 --> 1:04:10.320 need of a savior, and today I bow my heart 1:04:11.080 --> 1:04:15.200 to you. I give you my life, make me new. 1:04:16.320 --> 1:04:22.040 I believe you die that I could be forgiven and 1:04:22.160 --> 1:04:27.800 rose again that I could live. Jesus, I receive you 1:04:28.960 --> 1:04:33.680 as my Lord and Savior. I bow my life to you. 1:04:34.440 --> 1:04:38.720 I belong to you. This is my new beginning. Well, 1:04:38.760 --> 1:04:41.200 if you enjoy today's podcast, there are a couple things 1:04:41.240 --> 1:04:44.520 I'd love for you to do. Make sure to subscribe, rate, 1:04:44.840 --> 1:04:47.840 and review this podcast. You can also help us reach 1:04:47.880 --> 1:04:51.400 others by investing today at Elevation Church dot org, slash 1:04:51.520 --> 1:04:54.960 give and thanks again for joining us on the Elevation Podcast.