WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.399 Welcome to Gateway Churches Podcast. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:06.959 Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message. 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:13.279 You know, we have a very special pastor with us this weekend. 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:18.800 I consider him to be a father to the body of Christ and definitely a friend to this house. 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:22.960 Would you please give a warm gateway welcome to Pastor Max Luceto? 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:26.399 And his wife, Dina Lynn. 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:03.600 You have welcomed us into your worship service many times over the last decade. 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:15.680 Yet of all the occasions that we have been here, none are we more honored and grateful than we are today. 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:20.000 It is a genuine blessing to be in your presence. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:23.920 I know the last few weeks have been hard. 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:32.000 I know you're walking an uphill path and you're feeling the wind in your face. 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:35.760 But also know that God is still on the throne. 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:40.640 And that he loves you with a deep and abiding affection. 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:50.959 And Jesus is building his church. 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:07.840 Indeed, that's the theme of my message. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:09.840 You'll get through this. 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:15.120 Let's pray, and then we'll get to work. 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:21.199 Church, I want to speak God's word over you. 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:24.080 Have you not seen? 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:33.360 Have you not heard that our God is an everlasting God, creator of the ends of the earth. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:39.360 He does not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:45.199 He gives strength to the weary and power to the weak. 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:51.759 Even youths will stumble and fall, and young men will grow tired and weary. 00:02:52.080 --> 00:03:00.080 But those who wait on the Lord, those who hope in the Lord, shall renew their strength. 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:03.599 They will mount up with wings like the eagles. 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:09.039 They will run and not grow weary, and they will walk and not faint. 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:16.560 Lord Jesus, we bow before you today because you are the authority. 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:19.199 You are sovereign God. 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:26.800 We humble ourselves before you so you can lift us up in due time. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:30.000 Lord, we love this church. 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:32.879 You love this church. 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:44.319 And I want to ask you to pour out your mercy, your grace, your goodness, your care. 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:48.080 You are our caregiver. 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:52.159 You are every heart's caregiver. 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:54.000 And what do you say? 00:03:54.159 --> 00:04:00.240 You say, cast your cares on me, and I will care for you. 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:14.719 So Jesus, we ask you, I ask you for this church, for these people, for every heart, that you admit each one where they have need. 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:22.240 Their sorrow, we admit, can we just admit we're sad. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:25.120 We're sorrowful. 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:27.680 We grieve. 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:33.680 We hear things, we see things that make us sad. 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:56.560 But God, we know that you can take our tears, that you can take our sadness, that you can take our confusion, you can take our anger, our misunderstanding, Lord, and you can turn it into goodness and to joy. 00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:10.000 And it might not be a joy that jumps up and down, and it might just be just a quiet leading into green pastures beside still waters. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:15.199 This is what we want you to do, Jesus, our good shepherd. 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:25.759 Lead this beautiful church into green pastures beside still waters so they can hear you speak. 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:31.120 Help them to know, thoughts to think, words to say. 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:44.800 Remind them of who you are, that you are mighty and that you are in their midst, that you haven't left them, you haven't turned your back on them, that you are for them. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:46.959 You are for us. 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:49.680 You are for your church. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:51.839 You love your church. 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:53.920 We are your bride. 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:56.959 Sometimes you have to do some shaking. 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:05.680 Sometimes you have to do some like exposing or some care, like you have to be tender. 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:08.959 We thank you for your tenderness right now, Lord. 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:13.040 We thank you that you get your bride ready for your return. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:18.240 We are ready for you to come back, Jesus, and you're getting us ready. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:24.000 So I thank you that we can trust you, Jesus, with all our heart. 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:37.920 We don't have to lean on our own understanding or what we think, but we can acknowledge you and invite you into everything, and you will make our path straight. 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:46.079 So we thank you for your word, how it makes us alive, and how it makes us feel. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:54.800 And I ask, Lord, that you would just minister to every feeling, every thought in this precious church. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:57.680 And it's in your name, Jesus, I pray. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:58.639 Amen. 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:10.079 Please be seated. 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:28.639 She had a tremble to her, an inner tremble, the kind that you can sense if you just place a hand lightly on a person's shoulder. 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:31.759 I hadn't seen her in some months. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:36.480 Ran into her of all places in a grocery store. 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:40.079 I asked about her kids. 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:43.279 I asked about her husband. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:48.720 And when I did, her eyes began to water and her chin began to quiver. 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:51.839 And the story spilled out. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:08:00.720 After twenty years of marriage and three kids and a dozen moves, he was gone. 00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:04.240 Traded her in on a younger model. 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:11.199 She did her best to maintain her composure, but she couldn't. 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:17.759 And the grocery store section became a sanctuary of sorts. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:24.800 And right there between the tomatoes and the heads of lettuce, we prayed. 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:26.079 She wept. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:31.920 And then I said, You'll get through this. 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.279 Don't be painless. 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:37.840 Don't be quick. 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:41.840 But God will use this mess for good. 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:46.399 And in the meantime, don't be foolish. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:48.720 Don't be naive. 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:52.240 Don't despair either. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:56.799 Because with God's help, you'll get through this. 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:01.440 Two days later, a friend called. 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:04.240 He'd just been fired. 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:07.440 The dismissal was his fault. 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:12.080 He had said some inappropriate things at work. 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:16.960 Crude, offensive statements. 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:19.279 His boss had no choice. 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:26.960 Now he's a fifty-seven-year-old, unemployed manager in a struggling economy. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.320 His wife is angry, his kids are confused. 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:34.879 He needed some assurance. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:37.279 And so I gave it. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:40.799 I said, you know, you'll get through this. 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:44.320 Won't be painless. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:46.000 Don't be quick. 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:51.360 But I really believe God will use this mess for something good. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:58.960 So in the meantime, don't be foolish, don't be naive, don't do something stupid. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.360 But don't despair either. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:10.559 With God's help, you'll get through this. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:19.039 And then there was the teenager that I saw at a restaurant that I frequent. 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:22.159 She was serving my food. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:24.720 And we struck up a conversation. 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:29.919 She was 18 years of age, and I said, Tell me a bit of your story. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:31.120 And it was a hard story. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:33.919 Her parents were divorced when she was six. 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:39.840 They got back together when she was 15, and then they divorced again just a few months ago. 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:47.840 And now they're demanding that she pick loyalty side with either mom or dad. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:51.440 She got misty-eyed. 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:55.600 And then we didn't get a chance to talk more. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:58.000 I haven't had a chance to see her since. 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:09.039 But if I do, you can bet your sweet September that I'll look her square in the eye and I'll say, now you're gonna get through this. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.159 Won't be painless, probably won't be quick. 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:19.840 But God can use messes like this and He can do it for good. 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:27.840 But in the meantime, it's important that you not be foolish or not be naive or not make quick, rash decisions. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:32.000 But don't despair, don't give up. 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:37.519 Because with God's help, you'll get through this. 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:42.320 Audacious of me, right? 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:47.759 How dare I say words like that to struggling people? 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:53.919 How dare I speak such phrases of promise into such deep problems? 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:58.879 Where did I conjure up such a paragraph? 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:03.120 In a pit, actually. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:12.559 A pit so deep that the boy couldn't get out, so steep that he was stuck. 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:18.399 And had he been able to work his way out, his brothers would have just shoved him back in. 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:21.759 They were the ones who put him there in the first place. 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:26.159 It's the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:36.720 And so it came to pass when Joseph had come to his brothers that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:40.639 And then they took him and cast him into a pit. 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:43.519 And the pit was empty. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:45.519 There was no water in it. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:48.399 And they sat down to eat a meal. 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:51.840 It's an abandoned cistern. 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:57.120 The jagged rocks and roots extend from the side. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:00.399 And this 17-year-old boy lies at the bottom. 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:04.399 His hands are bound, his ankles are tied, he's on his side. 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:09.039 His voice is hoarse from screaming. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:12.960 His eyes are wide with fear. 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:30.879 Twenty years from now, when famine has tamed their swagger and guilt has dampened their pride, they will make this confession. 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:36.080 We saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us. 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:39.200 And we would not hear. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:44.000 These are the great grandsons of Abraham. 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:47.679 These are the sons of Jacob. 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:53.200 These are the couriers of God's covenant to a galaxy worth of people. 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:56.240 Tribes will bear their banners. 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:01.679 The name of Jesus Christ will appear on their family tree. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:08.080 Yet in this moment they are a bronze age version of a dysfunctional family. 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:11.919 They could have their own television show for crime out loud. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.240 Their hearts are as hard as the desert. 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:19.519 Lunch matters more to them than their brother. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:23.200 They despise Joseph. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:25.519 They hated him. 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:29.200 And could not speak peaceably to him. 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:31.279 They hated him even more. 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:32.559 They hated him. 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:34.879 His brothers envied him. 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:37.679 Get the point. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:40.399 Why? 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:47.360 Well, his father Jacob pampered him like a prized calf. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:55.200 Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah, but he really just had one love. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:57.840 And that was Rachel. 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:07.840 And when Rachel died, he kept her memory alive by fawning over their son, Joseph. 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:14.480 Joseph played favorites. 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:17.679 Consequently, they hated him. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:22.000 And they could not speak peaceably to him. 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:25.600 And finally, their opportunity came. 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:32.320 They caught Joseph fifty miles away from Daddy's protection and they went nuclear on him. 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:36.960 They stripped Joseph of his tunic. 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:41.039 They took him and they cast him into a pit. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:43.519 Defiant verbs. 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:48.000 They wanted not only to kill Joseph, but they intended to hide the body. 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:51.200 It was a murderous cover-up from the get-go. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:55.360 We shall say some wild beast has devoured him. 00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:09.840 And had their greed for money not been just a feather heavier than their lust for blood, Joseph would have perished. 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:16.080 But they had the opportunity to sell him into slavery, and so they did. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:20.639 Joseph didn't see this coming, did he? 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:29.120 He didn't wake up that morning and think, well, this is the day I get thrown into a pit, so I better wear some padded clothing. 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:32.879 The attack caught him off guard. 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:35.679 And so did yours. 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.519 Joseph's pit came in the form of a cistern. 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:43.759 Yours came in the form of what? 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:45.360 A diagnosis? 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:48.639 A foster home? 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:53.120 Betrayed loyalty. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:17:00.000 Joseph was thrown into a pit and despised. 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:08.799 And you thrown into an unemployment life and forgotten? 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:15.440 A divorce court and betrayed into a bed and abused. 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:17.599 The pit. 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:23.440 Some people never get out. 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:29.920 It's not easy to get out of a pit. 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:32.319 There's no easy exit. 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:38.000 Joseph's story, if you know it, got worse before it got better, didn't it? 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:43.920 Abandonment led to enslavement, that led to entrapment, that led to imprisonment. 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:49.039 The guy was sucker-punched, he was lied about, he was sold out, he was mistreated. 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:54.319 People made promise after promise only to break them, offered gifts only to take them. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:18:03.759 If hurt is a swampland, then Joseph was sentenced to life without parole in the Everglades. 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:07.119 But he never gave up. 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:10.160 He never gave up. 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:13.680 Bitterness never staked its claim. 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:18.240 Anger never metastasized into hatred. 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:21.279 His resolve never vanished. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:25.039 He not only survived, he thrived. 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:28.960 He ascended like a helium balloon. 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:33.279 An Egyptian official promoted him to chief servant. 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:38.559 The chief warden in the prison promoted him and placed him over the other inmates. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:47.839 And Pharaoh, the then highest ruler on the planet, shoulder tapped Joseph to serve as his prime minister. 00:18:48.400 --> 00:19:02.319 And by the end of his life, Joseph, the boy in the pit, became the prime minister in the palace, the second most powerful man in his generation. 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:12.640 It's not hyperbole to state that his plan to weather the famine saved society from disaster. 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:14.240 How? 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:17.359 How? 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:20.880 How did he flourish? 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:25.759 Not just survive, but how did he flourish during a tough time? 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:35.119 During a hard season, during an uphill walk, during stiff headwinds. 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:36.319 How did he do it? 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:38.559 Well, we don't have to speculate. 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:42.960 We have an insight into the heart of Joseph. 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:47.200 Some years later, the roles were reversed, weren't they? 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:56.880 And Joseph, who had been the weak one, is now Joseph, the strong one, and the brothers who had been the strong ones are now the weak ones. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:06.480 And when they realize that they have come to Egypt in search of help and see, oh, that's our brother? 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:07.839 That's Joseph. 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:16.799 They assume they're about to get thrown into a pit of their own, of his making, but he doesn't settle the score. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:27.119 And by Joseph's explanation, we find amazing inspiration to help us weather tough times. 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:30.079 He said this to his brothers. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:47.200 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive. 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:51.119 You meant evil against me. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:58.480 This word for mint is a Hebrew word that traces its origin back to weave or plait. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:03.359 In other words, you came weaving evil against me. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:11.519 You came embroidering, weaving in and out the threads of hatred and betrayal and jealousy. 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:20.400 But God, and he flips this verb into a different tense and says, but God rewove it. 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:22.000 God meant it for good. 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:38.400 God took the very threads that had been intended to serve as a tapestry of disaster, and God rewove them into something good that actually resulted in the salvation of many people. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:40.000 Joseph got it. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:43.440 He saw that it was God who brought him to Egypt. 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:46.000 It was God who got him through the tough times. 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:53.279 It was God who took the evil that was intended to destroy him and used it for something good. 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:55.920 Satan's plan was simple. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:59.680 If he could destroy the family of Abraham, he could destroy the descendants. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:02.720 Of Abraham Jesus Christ. 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:10.400 All of hell, it seemed, was intent on destroying Jacob's boys, but watch the master weaver at work. 00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:24.720 Joseph's situation was a perfect mess, but in God's hand, it was the perfect chance to train and teach and prepare the future prime minister of Egypt. 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:29.680 The famine seemed to be disaster, not for God. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:35.440 He was using the famine to relocate his lineage to Egypt. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:38.240 Everybody else called it Egypt, not God. 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:40.480 He called it protective custody. 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:51.599 A place where the children, the descendants of Abraham could grow protected from the Canaanite giants and enemies. 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:58.960 And there they could for 400 years turn into the nation that they would become. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:03.519 Satan wove, but God rewove. 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:08.480 Can he re-weave your story? 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:11.920 This story as well? 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:13.759 Can't he? 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:17.519 Let Joseph instruct you. 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:22.079 You know what Joseph did that's worthy of our imitation? 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:25.839 He kept God at the center of his story. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:27.200 Again, look at the words. 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:29.599 This is Joseph speaking to his brothers. 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:32.880 You meant evil against me, but God. 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:35.200 But God. 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:39.200 Raise your hand if you have a but God story in your life. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:41.359 That was heading off the deep end. 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:42.319 But God. 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:44.480 The doctor said there was no hope. 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:45.359 But God. 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:47.200 We were about to split up. 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:48.000 But God. 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:52.319 Everything looked bleak. 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:53.680 But God. 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:55.119 But God. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:56.880 Look what Joseph is doing. 00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:00.480 He's keeping God right in the center of the story. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:04.960 First came evil, but then came God, and the result was good. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:08.079 Evil, God, good. 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:14.000 Take God out of the story, evil stays evil. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:18.640 Believe God in the story, and evil becomes good. 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:22.400 God reweaves it into something good. 00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:28.880 Now we see pictures of this all throughout Scripture, don't we? 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:51.920 But in the most famous passage of God's sovereignty, Romans 8.28, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:25:01.759 God promises to render beauty out of all things, not the individual thing, but all things. 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:04.160 We see examples of this in our own lives. 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:07.279 How many of you enjoy a cup of coffee when you wake up in the morning? 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:08.079 Boy, I do. 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:11.519 Dillon and I, that's our favorite thing to do in the morning. 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:15.839 I can hardly when I wake up, the first thing I think is, oh boy, coffee. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:25.440 And I stumble into the room where we have the coffee machine, and there's all the ingredients. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:31.440 And when I take a drink of that first cup of coffee, I say, oh, that is that's what? 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:33.039 Oh, that's good. 00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:34.960 That's good stuff right there. 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:37.839 Now what am I saying? 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:43.039 Am I saying that the coffee filters are good? 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:47.359 That I'm just gonna eat a coffee filter and call that good? 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:56.720 That I might have some coffee beans and just chew on them for a little bit and say, hmm, boy, that's good stuff right there. 00:25:56.880 --> 00:25:57.200 No. 00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:03.759 What about that the pot in which the coffee is served? 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:04.720 Is it good? 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:06.640 No, not necessarily. 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:21.759 It's not the individual things, it's the it's them mixed together at the right temperature, according to the right ingredients level, in the right way. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:30.079 It's bringing them all together in the collective cooperation that creates the good. 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:33.440 This is the promise of scripture. 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:39.279 Nothing in scripture would ever suggest that a famine is good. 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:48.640 Nothing in scripture would ever suggest that a heart attack is good or a terrorist attack is good. 00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:54.319 These are all manifestations of a fallen nature of humanity. 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:56.720 They're terrible calamities. 00:26:57.119 --> 00:27:09.359 Yet the promise of Scripture, every message of the Bible, especially the story of Joseph, compels us to believe that God will mix all these things together. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:22.559 He'll mix them together in the right way, in the right way, until someday, believe it or not, you'll say, you know, it's good. 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:24.720 It's good. 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:29.039 So can I urge you? 00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:33.039 Just do what Joseph did. 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.319 Keep God in the center of your struggle. 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:37.519 How do we do so? 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:41.200 I've got just a few brief suggestions. 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:44.480 First, lay claim to the nearness of God. 00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:46.960 Just lay claim to the nearness of God. 00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:49.759 He said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. 00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:52.480 In the Greek, this passage has five negatives. 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:58.720 It could literally be translated, I will not not leave you, neither will I not not forsake you. 00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:02.960 And so grip this promise like the parachute it is. 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:04.880 Hang on to it. 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:14.960 Repeat it to yourself over and over, and let it silence the voices of fear and angst. 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:17.440 The Lord thy God is with you. 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:20.000 He is mighty to save. 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:21.839 He delights over you. 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:23.920 He will quiet you with his love. 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:26.559 He delights over you with singing. 00:28:27.359 --> 00:28:32.480 Now be careful and don't ever equate the presence of God with a good mood. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:36.960 We may be in a bad mood, but God is ever present. 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:42.880 In fact, the truth is sometimes you got to take your moods outdoors and give them a good talking to, don't you? 00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:48.480 And then number two, cling to his character. 00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:50.799 Just cling to his character. 00:28:51.119 --> 00:28:56.640 Quarry from your Bible a list of qualities of God that matter much to you. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:05.359 A good exercise during a tough time would be just to make a list of what doesn't change while everything else seems to be changing. 00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:08.160 My list reads like this: He's still sovereign. 00:29:08.400 --> 00:29:09.599 He still knows my name. 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:11.680 Angels still respond to his call. 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:14.400 The hearts of rulers still bend at his bidding. 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:16.720 The death of Jesus still saves souls. 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:19.119 The Spirit of God still indwells saints. 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:21.519 Heaven is still only heartbeats away. 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:23.920 The grave is still temporary housing. 00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:25.359 God is still faithful. 00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:26.960 He's not caught off guard. 00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:30.160 He uses everything for his glory and the ultimate good. 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:32.960 He uses tragedy to accomplish his will. 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:36.160 And his will is right, is perfect and holy. 00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:41.200 Sorrow may come with the night, but joy always comes in the morning. 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:47.839 Create your lift. 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:52.720 Let truth defy mistruth. 00:29:53.359 --> 00:29:58.079 And let the word of God speak over your heart in changing times. 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:01.519 Lay hold to the unchanging character of God. 00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:03.759 Also lift up your eyes. 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:05.200 Jeremiah did. 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:09.119 He was a prophet to Judah during her darkest period of rebellion. 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:11.519 Did you know they called him the weeping prophet? 00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:12.640 You want to know why? 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:14.400 Because he was one. 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:19.599 He wrote a book so full of complaints they called it Lamentations. 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:24.640 In that book, he said, My soul has been rejected from peace. 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:25.519 Look at this. 00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:27.759 I have forgotten happiness. 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:32.799 And so I say, My strength has perished, and so has my hope from the Lord. 00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:33.920 He wept. 00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:38.079 He wept at the condition of his people and the depravity of their faith. 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:39.920 But then, look what he did. 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:41.599 He lifted his eyes. 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:44.799 Please take note of the intentionality of his words. 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:47.680 This I recall to my mind. 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:50.960 I recall to my mind. 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:52.720 Therefore, I have hope. 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:55.759 The Lord's loving kindness, indeed. 00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:58.480 And kindnesses indeed never cease. 00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:00.400 For his compassions never fail. 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:01.759 They are new every morning. 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:03.839 Great is your faithfulness. 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:07.839 Dear church, lift up your eyes. 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:09.920 Just lift up your eyes. 00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:13.359 Don't get lost in your troubles. 00:31:13.920 --> 00:31:15.839 Don't let them weigh you down. 00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:19.920 Don't get sucked into the quick sand of sadness. 00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:21.680 Lift up your eyes. 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:24.079 Dare to believe that good things will happen. 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:31.200 Dare to believe that God was speaking to you when he said, All things work together for the good of those who love him. 00:31:31.519 --> 00:31:38.240 Please know the mind cannot be at once full of faith and full of fear. 00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:40.480 Something's got to go. 00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:46.079 So when you feel fear moving in, set your eyes on God. 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:54.960 Because the promise of Scripture is He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord. 00:31:55.119 --> 00:31:56.400 Are you troubled? 00:31:56.640 --> 00:31:57.839 Are you restless? 00:31:58.799 --> 00:31:59.920 Sleepless? 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:02.160 Then I dare you. 00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:04.319 I double dog dare you. 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:08.720 Expose your worries to an hour of heartfelt worship. 00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:11.759 Let God flex his muscles. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:16.079 And your concerns will melt like ice on a July sidewalk. 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:17.440 And then one more. 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:20.240 Lean on God's people. 00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:22.799 Lean on God's people. 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:25.759 Cancel your escape to the Himalayas. 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:31.279 Forget fleeing to a deserted island. 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:34.000 This is no time to be alone. 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:36.000 It's no time to be a hermit. 00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:41.519 I know you want to be, but this is no time to isolate yourself. 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:46.079 Be a barnacle on the boat of God's church. 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:52.960