WEBVTT 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:20.320 The other reason that you might be in Babylon is that it's not an act of anyone's disobedience. 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:22.079 It's nobody's fault. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:27.519 Sometimes the Lord just takes you through things because it's what's best for you. 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:32.079 I mean, go back and look at the Israelites when they were led out of Egypt. 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:35.840 The Bible says that he took them the long way. 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:41.119 Because if he took them the short way, they would have turned around and went back. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:43.439 Sometimes the Lord just knows you. 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:45.759 And he just says, gotta go long way. 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:48.560 This is an important, necessary lesson. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:50.799 So we're gonna go the long way. 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:56.479 At The Road, our vision is to raise up wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ. 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:00.960 For more information on the road, visit theroad.org. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:04.159 We hope you are encouraged by today's message. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:14.719 Now, I was going to teach this morning actually on missions following that video, and on Thursday, I was reading the word. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:23.840 I was actually doing some preparation for youth ministry, and I was reading the word, and I just felt like the Lord said, the church needs to hear this. 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:27.359 And so we kind of did an about face here. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:34.079 If you'll go to Jeremiah chapter 29, Jeremiah chapter 29. 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:39.439 While you're going to Jeremiah 29, I'm going to jump in and pray. 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:42.560 So, Father God, we invite you here. 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:46.879 Lord, I pray that you clear our minds and clear our hearts. 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:49.519 Lord, help me to not get in the way. 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:51.439 Lord, help me to be focused. 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:53.040 Help me to be engaged. 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.640 Father, I believe that this message is for someone here today. 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:04.000 So, Lord, help me to not get off track, but to stay focused and engaged in your word. 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:05.439 In Jesus' name. 00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:06.239 Amen. 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:16.080 So Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 11 says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:20.639 Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope in a future. 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:31.599 Years ago, as I used to be a rapper, and I used to have this shirt that said USMC, and it stood for Unified Standard MCs. 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:35.599 But it looked like a marine shirt. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:43.039 And I didn't think much of it until I went into a convenience store one day and a guy thanked me for my service. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:46.080 And I'm telling you, I was mortified. 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:47.680 I just wanted to get out of there. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:50.560 I didn't have the nerve to tell him I know this is not real. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:51.919 I'm a poser. 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:53.680 I didn't have the nerve to do that. 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:55.919 So I was just like, thank you, sir. 00:02:56.080 --> 00:02:57.280 And I'm putting my head down. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:00.639 I'm mortified and I'm trying to get out of there. 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:06.479 And I realized you should never wear the t-shirt if you haven't worn the boots. 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:13.360 And uh I that was a hard lesson for me that day. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:16.240 Jeremiah 29, 11. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:22.639 You should not wear this t-shirt if you've not worn the boots. 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:25.840 This is not what you think it is. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:31.120 This is not a sweet little refrigerator verse. 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:35.759 This is not a bumper sticker verse, and this is not a Facebook verse. 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:47.439 This is a I am going through it, and I'm going to lose my mind if I don't get some help here verse. 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:51.680 This is for people who have walked the road. 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.719 Now, I've heard pastors say this is not for us. 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:57.280 This is for this was for the Israelites. 00:03:57.439 --> 00:03:59.520 This was a promise made to the Israelites. 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:07.360 Somebody take real quick, and well, you don't have to, but go if you want to, go to Luke chapter 22, verse 20. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:15.840 In Luke chapter 22, verse 20, this is where we get the Lord's Supper, communion from. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:24.399 In fact, right after service, after we get done, Carly will come up, she'll lead worship, and then you're just gonna take communion. 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:30.160 If you're a believer, if you're a follower of Christ, you're gonna take communion with your family and with your friends. 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:38.160 You just come up and we're just, she's just gonna play worship, and then you, when you feel led, you're gonna go and you're gonna take communion. 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:40.560 This is where this comes from. 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:47.519 He says, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which I poured out for you. 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:51.439 When Christ died for you, you became a part of that covenant. 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:57.199 When Christ died for you, his promises are now promises that you can claim. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:05.279 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 20 says, all promises of God are yes in Christ Jesus. 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:11.360 So it's not that you can't claim Jeremiah 29, 11. 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:14.720 It's just know what you're claiming. 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:17.279 This is not an easy verse. 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:20.560 This is not a simple Sunday school verse. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:30.720 This is this verse was birthed out of encouragement to a group of people who had greatly rebelled. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:33.519 I mean greatly rebelled. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:46.319 Judah had rebelled so much that they were now, God took his hand and he allowed the Babylonians to completely plunder them, and they went into exile. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:50.639 And they went into exile for a lifetime. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:52.639 70 years. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:55.199 They're in exile. 00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:04.639 And in the middle of that exile, Jeremiah, who wrote this book, said, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:10.879 Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:19.600 But now they were still going to be there for 70 years after he gave them this verse. 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:22.959 So this was no simple verse. 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:34.240 So I felt today like it was, I felt like the Lord was leading me to speak to those of you who are stuck in Babylon. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:42.480 How do you live fully in a place where you don't want to live? 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:49.040 How many of you are in a place where I just don't want to stay here? 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:58.000 I hope my whole life is not here in this season, here in this Babylon. 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:00.240 That's what this is about. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:22.879 People that had rebelled, and the Lord took it to the greatest extremes to allow that greatest extreme to change their hearts and raise them up to be who they are supposed to be, and to stop their idolatry and to turn back to the Lord as the one true God. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:25.600 That's what this is about. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:30.399 And so there's three reasons you might find yourself in Babylon. 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:34.639 One is because of your own disobedience. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:44.079 You've been disobedient, you know you've been disobedient, and it's put you in a season that you don't want to be in, but it's necessary for you. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:55.839 Number two is someone that you are closely connected to has been disobedient, and you are in that season with them. 00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:02.720 I think about those that, those children that got exiled into Babylon. 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:09.439 I think about those unborn that were born in captivity. 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:11.040 They didn't do anything wrong. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:18.079 They didn't rebel, but they were just as much in captivity as those who had rebelled. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:21.839 So when I think about that, I think about sometimes husbands. 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:25.839 I think wives have to deal with their husbands' rebellion. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:30.240 Stubborn husbands really affect the whole house. 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:33.679 I think about obviously also wives. 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:37.679 When your wife is, mama ain't happy, nobody's happy. 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:40.480 Well, it's really bad when mama ain't never happy, right? 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:42.399 That's a hard season for the home. 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:43.600 It's really, really hard. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:59.039 I think about some of you who have been faithful to raise your children well, and they're just in a season, and you're not allowed, you're not willing, you don't feel called to, you don't feel like it's right, you're not willing to just let them go out and suffer on their own. 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:01.519 You suffer when your kids suffer, right? 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:06.240 Especially when your kids get a little older and they're they're just going through it. 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:08.799 Well, it's not like you're void of going through it. 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:10.480 You go through it with them. 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:13.440 So I even think about our country. 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:16.480 Man, you can serve the Lord with all your heart. 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:24.639 Man, when your country is way out there in right field, way out there in left field, it's still your country, right? 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:28.240 I mean, even our country is we're just going through it right now. 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:35.120 And it's a hard time to be in this season of America, but you're here. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:36.320 You're here. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:47.360 The other reason that you might be in Babylon is that it's not an act of anyone's disobedience. 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:49.120 It's nobody's fault. 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:55.279 Sometimes the Lord just takes you through things because it's what's best for you. 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:59.840 I mean, go back and look at the Israelites when they were led out of Egypt. 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:09.600 The Bible says that he took them the long way, because if he took them the short way, they would have turned around and went back. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.080 Sometimes the Lord just knows you. 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:14.480 And he just says, gotta go a long way. 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:19.440 This is an important and necessary lesson, and so we're gonna go the long way. 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:30.240 So I want to look at what do you do when you're in a season, whether by your own doing, by someone else's doing, or you don't even know why, but you're here. 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:33.200 What do you do in that season? 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:43.039 Because I think that Jeremiah 29, 11 is the one of the most misquoted verses in all the Bible. 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:49.840 And we completely miss the power of this verse because we misquote it. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:55.840 So let's go to Jeremiah 29 and start in verse 1 so that we can understand 11. 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:12.720 This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:21.759 This was after King Jeheokum, whatever his name is, and the I wish, man, I just wish they would ease up on those names. 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:23.919 Just hard for me. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:34.559 And the Queen Mother, the court officials, and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artesians had gone into exile from Jerusalem. 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:58.480 He entered, he entrusted the letter of Elisha, son of Shaphan, and to Gemariah, son of Helica, whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, it said, This is what the Lord Almighty says, the God of Israel, says to those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:04.320 Build houses, settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce. 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:13.360 Marry and have sons and daughters, find wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:17.440 Increase in number and do not decrease. 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:25.360 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:30.480 Pray for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:32.159 Here's what you need to know. 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:36.320 If you're stuck in Babylon, settle down. 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:43.440 Wanting to not be in Babylon doesn't make you not in Babylon. 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:47.679 What he's saying here is settle in. 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:49.840 This is not going to be easy. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:55.200 Fully grasp the fact that you are in Babylon. 00:12:55.679 --> 00:12:57.039 Have children. 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:00.399 Your children will have grandchildren. 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:02.320 Plant crops. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:06.080 Make the best of it because you're here. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:12.159 And then he said, pray for the prosperity of Babylon. 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:13.919 Don't rebel against it. 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:16.080 Don't fight against it. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:19.039 Pray for the prosperity of it. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.080 Because you will benefit if it prospers. 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:25.360 You will suffer if it doesn't prosper. 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:40.080 Those of you, myself, if you're in Babylon, if you're in some season that you don't want to be in, not wanting to be in it is not going to get you out of it. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:47.679 You have to engage that season and be present. 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:51.279 Maybe you're in a season where your husband is out in the left field. 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:52.799 Man, he's not serving the Lord anymore. 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:54.639 He doesn't seem to love the Lord anymore. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:56.799 He's not leading the family well anymore. 00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:01.840 Well, none of us would want to be in that season, but you're there. 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:08.960 So wanting to be somewhere else is not productive. 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:16.480 Ask the Lord, how do I live fully where I currently am? 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:18.080 This is where I am right now. 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:22.399 I know where I want to be, but this is where I am right now. 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:32.240 So how can who I am change the situation for the better? 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:35.200 So for some of you it may just be prayer. 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:37.519 Becoming a woman of prayer. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:39.759 Becoming a man of prayer. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:46.559 Some of you it may be digging in and finding, finding what the Lord would say in this season. 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:57.600 I remember a buddy of mine was going through some marriage problems because of his job, and him and his wife were really kind of fighting and going after it. 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:01.360 And I said, brother, this is a this is a good season for you. 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:05.759 He's like, how could this possibly be a good season for me? 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:07.440 It's almost offensive to say that. 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:13.200 I said, Well, your wife can see who you are in adversity if you allow it. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:18.240 You could show her who you can be in the toughest of situations. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:23.919 You could win even more of your wife's heart if you can do this season well. 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:26.639 I've been there. 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:28.399 I've been in this season. 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:31.679 I've been in a season that was because of my own disobedience. 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:34.000 It was a season of my own doing. 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:35.679 And I didn't want to be there. 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:43.200 When my wife and I first got married, I don't know what happened with us, but selfishness arises quickly. 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:46.480 When you're young and married, it takes a while, man. 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:51.120 I mean, it takes some real, at least for us, we're both hard-headed. 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:57.679 So we had to crash the car multiple times before we realized it's better if we just keep the car on the road. 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:02.960 And I remember I was doing music. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:06.960 We lived in Nashville, and um, I loved my life. 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:08.320 Like I liked my life. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:10.559 I didn't want anything about my life to change. 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:15.679 So I don't know why I got married if I didn't want anything about my life to change. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:21.600 I just thought she was super hot and she loved the Lord, and I really wanted to be with her all the time. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:27.039 But I didn't realize it was gonna have to change who I was, that I was gonna have to grow up a little bit. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:43.039 And um and then she had some of her own selfishness, but the Lord, he wasn't the first for me, he wasn't like top priority for me at that time, even though I was what I was doing was for the Lord. 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:45.519 I liked my life. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:49.679 And my wife didn't like our life because it was all about me. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:51.360 And so she didn't like that. 00:16:51.519 --> 00:17:03.919 And so she was fighting to go here, and I was fighting to stay here, and we landed somewhere in Weirdland, which was we decided to leave that life and go back to college. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:10.240 And so I wound up going to um seminary in Louisville. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:21.359 We didn't pray about it, we didn't fast about it, we didn't seek the Lord about it, we just did the next logical, godly thing, which was get smarter. 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:30.559 And so we started doing that, and I just I was not flourishing in that environment, man. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:35.680 I just did not like that environment because I didn't have any money. 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:37.279 I left my job. 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:57.680 So I'm trying to go to school, I'm trying to pay for school, and I left who I was, and I stopped seeking the Lord, and I started working at a restaurant, which is a terrible idea if you're trying to feed your family as the main breadwinner to be a server at a restaurant. 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:01.519 But that was, I had to focus on school, so I did I did that. 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:04.720 And then after a couple of semesters, we were dying, man. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:06.079 We were like starving. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:09.279 There was no money, there was no provisions. 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:12.720 My wife was upset because I wasn't providing well. 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:15.200 I was upset because I didn't want to be here. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:16.640 I'm doing school. 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:21.680 I can't, I'm now down to just a couple of classes because I can't afford any more than that. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:25.839 And I think to myself, man, I'm I'm going back home. 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:27.039 I'm going home. 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:29.440 And I told my wife, I said, I'm going back to Nashville. 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:30.400 I'm going home. 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:32.240 I'm going to get my life back. 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:36.079 And I felt like the Lord was like, no, it doesn't work that way. 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:40.720 You can't just decide you're done with this and you're going to go get your life back. 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:42.079 And I said, Yes, I can. 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:42.960 I'm doing it. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:44.079 I'm going back. 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:54.720 And I remember packing up our car, her car, my car, and I sent her to her parents, supposed to be just for a week or two, while I went back home and looked for a job. 00:18:55.440 --> 00:19:00.640 And I felt like when I got in the car, the Lord was like, This is not going to end well. 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:02.640 And I was like, I don't care. 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:03.680 I'm going home. 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:04.799 I hate this. 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:06.480 I'm going back to my life. 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:10.240 And so I get in the car, I go down 65, and I'm not lying to you. 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:11.599 I do not kid you. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:18.079 I crossed over on 65, there's a sign that says, Welcome to Nashville, Tennessee. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:26.240 And as soon as the bumper of my car crossed that line, my car broke down. 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.640 I'm not lying. 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:30.079 I'm not lying. 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:36.559 And I had to walk my rear end to a payphone and call somebody to come help me. 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:40.319 And then I wound up sleeping on someone's couch. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:43.680 I wound up looking for jobs, not being able to find one. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:55.599 I wound up finally getting a job selling books at a book fair, and I slept on their couch in their warehouse because I didn't have any money. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:59.759 And that's what it felt like to kind of be on my own. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:06.720 To kind of make my own way, to kind of do my own thing, to be determined to get out of Babylon. 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:14.640 When what I should have done is sat down and said, God, where did I go wrong? 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:17.920 And who do you want me to be today? 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:21.519 Because that's all I have any control over. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:24.319 Is who I'm supposed to be today. 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:31.680 And what Jeremiah was saying is, you can rebel if you want to, but it's going to hurt you. 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:38.319 You can get to Babylon and show yourself if you want to, but you're going to be here for 70 years. 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:42.720 This whole season is about shaping who you are. 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:52.559 So the best thing you can do is begin to turn back to God now, and Babylon will benefit, and there'll be food for everyone to eat. 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:58.000 Or you can just rebel against this season and not want to be in this season, and guess what? 00:20:58.079 --> 00:20:59.839 You're still going to be in the season. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:05.359 And it's going to be as worse as it could possibly be because you're still in rebellion. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.799 God is trying to get a hold of your heart. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:16.319 One of the best stories of the right way to do this is Joseph. 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:31.119 You remember in Genesis chapter 40, Joseph has now found himself sold into slavery, accused of being a rapist, thrown into prison. 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:34.720 You want to talk about being in a season you don't want to be in. 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:36.720 He's in prison. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:47.279 And Pharaoh has his baker and his cupbearer also thrown into prison. 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:51.599 Joseph is now in charge of prison. 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:54.559 He's in prison and he's running the thing. 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:59.759 And the baker and the cupbearer wake up one morning. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:01.920 And they had a bad dream. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:04.640 And it was a really bad dream. 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:07.279 And they wake up and their face is dejected. 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:09.119 And I love what Joseph said. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:12.960 He said, Why is your face so downcast? 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:15.440 Why are you sad today? 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:17.920 Bro, why do you think I'm sad? 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:18.880 I'm in prison. 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:21.519 I had a job, then I lost my job. 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:22.880 Now I'm in prison. 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:26.000 And I might die, and that's kind of why I'm sad. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:30.559 The question is, why are you not sad? 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:33.200 You were here before we got here. 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:37.519 Why are you not dejected? 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:44.960 Joseph had learned to be content in whatever situation he was in. 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:48.960 He also learned to be fully engaged. 00:22:50.480 --> 00:23:00.480 He served Potiphar the same way that he served in prison, the same way that he served when he became second-in-command. 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:02.240 He never changed. 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:08.480 He stayed consistent in the season he didn't want to be in and the season he did want to be in. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:12.720 He didn't become somebody else when he got in a bad season. 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:15.440 And actually, that was his gateway. 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:21.200 If you read that scripture, that was his gateway to leadership. 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:25.519 When he asked them, why are you so downcast? 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:31.200 It actually opened doors that eventually got him out of prison. 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:35.839 That's how you handle a season that you don't want to be in. 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:38.960 Embrace it, engage it. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:45.200 The only thing that you can affect when you're in a season that you don't want to be in is who you are. 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:48.559 That's the only thing you have any control over. 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:55.680 So say, God, starting today, if you're trying to get my attention, I'm here. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:56.960 I'm ready. 00:23:57.119 --> 00:24:04.640 And I'm going to be who I am supposed to be and who I can be, even though I do not want to be in this season. 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:14.720 Now, if you'll go to eight and nine of that chapter, say, yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says. 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:20.160 Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:21.920 Do not listen to the dreams. 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:22.960 This is important. 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:25.279 You encourage them to have. 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:28.640 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:31.200 I have not sent them, declares the Lord. 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:34.000 Listen, I can't stress this enough. 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:41.839 When you are in a season like this, don't listen to every word that someone has. 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:44.640 Now I'm all about having a word for the Lord. 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:50.640 But I'm telling you, people have come to me with a word for the Lord that was not a word from the Lord. 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:59.119 I remember on a first date one time, this girl told me she had a word from the Lord that I was her husband. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:05.920 I said, Well, you get out of my car and you tell God to call me, and I'll call you back for a second date. 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:09.759 I did not call that girl back. 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:12.480 Because she freaked me out. 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:19.599 Because she tried to completely control my whole life with one word. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:23.039 God said you're supposed to marry me. 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:24.480 No, he didn't. 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:26.160 He's gonna have to come talk to me. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:28.319 This is a big decision. 00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:33.839 So some people will come to you with a well-meaning word for the Lord, from the Lord. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:41.440 Some people will want so badly for you to get out of this season. 00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:46.240 I hate to say it, but they can imagine that they heard a word from the Lord. 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:47.680 They didn't. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:49.359 They didn't hear that. 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:51.839 Some people can have a word from the Lord. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:53.519 The Lord actually gave them a word. 00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:55.279 And it should resonate with your soul. 00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:56.559 It should resonate with your heart. 00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:00.480 You should know, wow, that was something God was already doing in me. 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:04.559 And that agrees with what the Lord has been showing me all along. 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:08.240 It's more affirmation than it is new information. 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:09.519 Does that make sense? 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:16.960 So here's where you should get your words when you're in a season that you don't want to be in. 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:27.039 Number one, have a hunger for God's word and seek what God wants you to do in his word. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:32.480 I had someone come to me, a young person come to me this week and ask about God's will. 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:34.160 I said, I don't know what God's will is for your life. 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:34.880 I mean, who am I? 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:35.519 I don't know. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:38.480 I said, but I do know what God's written will is. 00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:41.279 And that's a will for all of us. 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:44.079 So are you doing the written will? 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:46.960 Are you honoring the Lord with your body? 00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:49.680 Are you honoring your father and mother? 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:52.480 Do you, are you a man of your word? 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:56.799 Are you doing the things that the word is telling you to do? 00:26:56.960 --> 00:26:58.640 Do you seek the Lord? 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:03.519 If not, forget the great individual will. 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:04.640 Forget that thing. 00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:09.200 Don't even think about it, because this is the gateway to that. 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:11.920 Be hungry for his word. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:16.559 Isaiah 55, 11 says, God's word will not return void. 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:20.240 You claim what his Bible says. 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:32.720 Secondly, get counsel from spiritually mature, spirit-led disciples who are grounded in his word, and here's this does not have fear of man. 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:34.880 That's the one. 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:37.039 You've got to get someone who's mature enough. 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:40.799 They're not saying anything that you want to hear. 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:43.519 They're saying what you need to hear. 00:27:43.759 --> 00:28:04.079 At the men's conference this last weekend, someone stood up and gave a testimony about their struggle with pornography, how it was messing with their family, how it was ruining their family, and how one brother in this church grabbed a hold of him and said things to him that actually made him mad. 00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:06.960 He did not want to hear that. 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:12.480 But he said it made me just angry that he would talk to me like that. 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:20.640 But here I am two years, a year, two years later, with a restored marriage because somebody was willing to say, what you're doing is not right. 00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:23.599 And God is not going to let you get away with this. 00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:26.640 You've got to have those people in your life. 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:29.920 There's plenty of people that will say, Oh, better days are coming. 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:31.759 Oh, you know, it was hard on you. 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:33.119 Oh, you had this in your life. 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:34.720 No, no. 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:38.640 Find someone that's mature enough, that has a track record. 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:44.400 What I mean is look around this room and say, who is where I wish I were? 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:56.160 Who, not just from a career perspective, not from a just stuff perspective, but spiritually, that's who I'm striving after. 00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:57.359 That's who I'm trying to be. 00:28:57.519 --> 00:29:00.319 You go find them and you say, hey, I'm in a season. 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:03.200 I need someone to be really honest with me. 00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:05.759 And then here's the last one I want to say. 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:09.279 Sometimes you don't need a word from the Lord. 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:11.200 Sometimes you don't need that. 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:13.039 It's not that season yet. 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:15.119 What you need is prayer. 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:20.720 Sometimes it's you ever have it like trying to talk with your kids, and you ain't getting nowhere. 00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:22.000 And so you're like, you know what? 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:22.799 Just forget it. 00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:23.759 Just forget it. 00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:28.079 You go and you do your thing, and when you're ready to listen, you'll come back. 00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:29.519 You know what I'm talking about? 00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:30.720 You've been there? 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:33.039 Sometimes that's where we are. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:36.160 And it is not time to get a word from the Lord yet. 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:37.680 The Lord knows you're not ready for it. 00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:40.319 So what it is, it's a time for prayer. 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:42.319 Look at Jeremiah 29, 7. 00:29:42.400 --> 00:29:43.279 Look at what he says. 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:50.880 He says, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:53.359 Pray to the Lord for it. 00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:55.920 Pray for it. 00:29:56.799 --> 00:29:58.640 Now that sounds like obvious. 00:29:58.720 --> 00:29:59.839 Yeah, yeah, you should pray for it. 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:03.200 But he's telling people to pray that had turned to idolatry. 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:07.039 He's telling people you need to turn back to prayer. 00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:09.200 You need to start seeking the Lord again. 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:14.400 Man, I know that you think this is a God and this is a God and this is God, but they are not gods. 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:17.200 This, this is God. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:19.119 Pray to him. 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:24.079 Rekindle your relationship with the Lord and be a person of prayer. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:26.720 James chapter 5, verse 16 says this. 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:35.039 Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed. 00:30:36.079 --> 00:30:39.200 The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:49.519 So if you're in a season, rather than just seeking a word from the Lord, seek someone that you know will actually pray for you. 00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:56.880 Seek a person that you know grasp prayer and go to them and say, look, this is what I did, man. 00:30:57.039 --> 00:30:58.079 This is what I did. 00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:03.359 Cheated on my wife, got myself in this situation, I'm broken. 00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:06.079 I don't want to be in this situation, but this is where I am. 00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:08.000 Could you pray for me? 00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:16.799 Confess your sin to a prayer warrior and let them pray you through Babylon. 00:31:17.440 --> 00:31:18.799