Imagine Part 1 - Scott Mayo

0.000000 5.440000 Today we begin a brand new series called Imagine, imagine.

5.440000 11.720000 And so we want to, as a church body, to just begin to think of things beyond limitation

11.720000 15.240000 and into the world of God's imagination.

15.240000 20.520000 And today's sermon is from dream to destiny, from dream to destiny.

20.520000 24.880000 Now, today in America is a very special day.

24.880000 28.040000 We kind of almost put this up with like a holiday.

28.040000 31.840000 Anybody know what's going on tonight? Anybody familiar with the Super Bowl?

31.840000 35.040000 Anybody ever heard of that? Anybody ever heard of that?

35.040000 38.120000 How many of you have, then you see Hawk fans in the room?

38.120000 40.400000 And okay, no, okay, a couple.

40.400000 42.120000 Any Patreon fans in the room?

42.120000 45.680000 Okay, just remember Tom Brady's not on your team anymore.

45.680000 51.840000 But what are the things that has happened over the course of the,

51.840000 55.000000 maybe last 20 years or so when it comes to the Super Bowl?

55.000000 59.880000 Because it's been this thing of the commercials that take place during the Super Bowl.

59.880000 65.600000 And there's been many years that I thought the commercials actually did better than the game itself.

65.600000 74.360000 And, but, I'm objective of a commercial is to paint you a picture of what could be.

74.360000 79.560000 So whether you're watching a Super Bowl commercial or it's just regular throughout the year,

79.560000 83.560000 you're watching a commercial and it's given you a picture of possibilities.

83.560000 89.080000 Like, you could have just renewed energy and strength if you take a certain medicine.

89.080000 92.760000 And they show older people doing amazing things.

92.760000 98.040000 I'm getting older and so I'm thinking, maybe I need some of that miracle drug they got there.

98.040000 104.760000 Or perhaps you will be a smarter mom if you shop at this place or you buy this brand.

104.760000 106.920000 And so there's always this image.

106.920000 112.040000 You won't be that nerdy dead if you go out and buy the Jeep that they're selling.

112.040000 115.640000 You'll still be nerdy, but at least you'll be kind of cool nerdy, right?

115.640000 119.160000 I don't even know if nerdy is a word anymore, but.

119.160000 122.920000 So there's always this image that is being projected on us,

122.920000 126.040000 or given a picture for us by commercials.

126.040000 132.280000 And one of the ones I always enjoy because it's one of those destination commercials.

132.280000 137.000000 And in particular, I always like, and they come around somewhere about springtime

137.000000 142.040000 is the Disney commercials, right? I've been to Disney, nothing against Disney.

142.040000 146.040000 I've been to Disney, I've taken a family to Disney and done Disney things and all that stuff.

146.040000 152.280000 But it's always enjoyable to me to see the commercial because what it is is they've got a young couple

152.280000 155.960000 that doesn't look like they lived in a hotel room the night before.

155.960000 158.280000 They look like they stepped off a yacht, right?

158.280000 163.400000 Very nicely dressed for casual walking around at Disney.

163.400000 168.040000 And they got the kids and they're, you know, kind of swinging them, you know, hand in hand.

168.040000 173.000000 And it's just great time. And they showed the picture of the kid riding though.

173.000000 177.800000 What is that? Dumbo flying elephants and they're going around and there's big smiles on their face.

177.800000 182.040000 And they show them like going through the tunnel of space mountain and all the lights.

182.040000 184.840000 And it's just amazing and all this stuff.

184.840000 187.800000 And then they show you at the end. It's the end of the day.

187.800000 192.600000 And they're looking at Cinderella's castle and the fireworks are going up and everything.

192.600000 196.280000 And they show you a picture of what can be.

196.280000 200.360000 But let me tell you what they don't show you in that commercial.

200.360000 204.760000 And all the parents and grandparents go, "Yeah, I know. I know. I know."

204.760000 209.880000 They don't show you what it's like to load up a family of four putting luggage in the car

209.880000 215.000000 and you're driving. And you know you got to stop 14 times before you get out of the state of Virginia.

215.000000 220.440000 Right? And then you get on 95, which is like the Indianapolis speedway out there.

220.440000 226.440000 And you're going down there and they don't tell you that it's 95 degrees all week long with 100%

226.440000 234.680000 humidity. And they don't tell you what the ticket prices are when you go to different parks

234.680000 239.640000 and everything. They don't tell you all of those things. They don't show you that your kids going,

239.640000 245.960000 "I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm hot." And you're no longer swinging them like this. You're dragging

245.960000 250.920000 them. You're more like dragging them. You're getting your picture with Mickey Mouse.

250.920000 257.560000 I don't care. You stop that crying right now. You're going to take a picture with that eight foot

257.560000 268.600000 rodent if it's the last thing we do. Right? And so they don't show you that. They show you the

268.600000 275.000000 picture, but they never show you the process. I think that's the way God is sometimes.

275.800000 284.120000 God gives us a picture, but He never shows us the process. And I believe that's in the wisdom of God.

284.120000 288.600000 Because if He ever showed us the process, we've been never signed up for the journey.

288.600000 295.080000 And so we're going to talk today about a man who had two commercials in his life.

295.080000 301.160000 The Bible calls him "Dreams." So if you have your Bibles or your smart devices,

301.160000 308.120000 you can turn to Genesis. And the book of Genesis is pretty much everybody's in agreement.

308.120000 314.520000 It was written by a man named Moses. And Moses gives us the background of creation.

314.520000 324.600000 He gives us the origin or the history of early humanity. It also tells us about the Abrahamic

324.600000 332.280000 covenant and the nation of Israel, the origins of the nations of Israel coming into being. He

332.280000 338.120000 gives us all of these things. And it's about 50 chapters long. And out of those 50 chapters,

338.120000 347.560000 Moses devotes about 13 chapters to a guy named Joseph. And so we're going to dip in a little bit

347.560000 352.840000 here. Out of those 13 chapters, there's a lot that can be discussed. But again, we're talking about

352.840000 358.600000 dream to destiny. Now I want you to understand between every dream and every destiny is a process.

358.600000 365.880000 Between every time you have a commercial into the realization of that commercial, there's a process

365.880000 375.960000 to get there. And so in Genesis chapter 37, we're going to pick up in verse 5. And it says this,

Genesis 37 · chapter mention

375.960000 382.120000 Joseph had a dream. And when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. Let me just

382.120000 388.200000 pause right there. That you got family issues if they hate you all the more. That means they already

388.200000 394.120000 hated you at some point, right? But they hated him all the more. And he said to them, and here's his

394.120000 400.840000 first commercial, the dream. Listen to this dream I had. We were binding sheaves of grain out in the

400.840000 407.560000 field when suddenly my sheep rose and stood upright. While your sheaves gathered around mine and

407.560000 414.920000 bowed down to him. Verse 8, "His brothers said to him, 'Do you intend to reign over us? Will you

414.920000 421.640000 actually rule us?' And they hated him all the more because of his dream in what he said."

421.640000 428.440000 Then he had another dream. And he told him his brothers. Here's his second commercial. Listen,

428.440000 435.160000 he said, 'I had another dream and at this time the sun and the moon and the eleven stars were

435.160000 443.080000 bowing down to me.' And when he told his father, as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said,

443.080000 449.880000 'What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down

449.880000 458.360000 to the ground before you? His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.'

458.360000 464.360000 Now at some point in life all of us have had dreams, right? I'm not talking about the weird

464.360000 470.920000 dreams I could have playing Uno with a giraffe on a cruise ship type dreams because you ate

470.920000 475.880000 something weird the night before. But maybe you had a dream of a profession that you wanted to go

475.880000 482.840000 into. Maybe you had a dream of starting your own business. Maybe your dream was just to graduate

482.840000 487.080000 high school, right? Maybe that was a dream. If it wasn't your dream I can guarantee it was your

487.080000 493.240000 parent's dream that you graduate and get your diploma. Maybe it was a dream to just get married,

493.240000 499.880000 start a family, live happily ever after. But we've all had some type of dream like this, but I would say

499.880000 508.280000 there maybe just a handful have ever had a dream like Joseph had. Joseph's dream was a revelation,

508.280000 517.240000 a prophetic dream that was given to him by God for the purpose of saving not only Joseph's life,

517.240000 525.240000 but his family's life that family would ultimately become the nation of Israel. So it was a salvation

525.240000 530.760000 of a nation, but ultimately through Jesus Christ who would come through the nation of Israel,

530.760000 537.880000 the salvation of the world would be offered. So this was a pretty amazing dream that Joseph had

537.880000 544.120000 here. So this is not just like a dream of like you know I just want to be better in business kind of

544.120000 550.280000 dream. Nothing wrong with those things, but this was something very specific that God placed

550.280000 557.800000 inside of Joseph's life. And like I said wherever there's a dream there's a process before you

557.800000 565.320000 get to the destiny. And so Joseph had this dream, this process that he had to go through. And I think

565.320000 573.000000 you and I oftentimes we don't like the process because we get frustrated with the process.

573.000000 581.240000 I get frustrated with the process. If things don't move quickly enough at our favorite coffee shop

581.240000 588.040000 or at our favorite fast food establishment or at our restaurant, if it's not moving quick enough,

588.040000 596.360000 we get frustrated. We get frustrated with the things that the places that God calls us to walk in

596.360000 603.400000 and we don't understand why is this happening? Where is God? We get frustrated with God. Where is he

603.400000 608.920000 at? Why is he not moving quicker? What is he doing in my life? It seems like I've been in a holding

608.920000 614.600000 pattern for years and nothing is happening. We get frustrated with people because it looks like

614.600000 619.480000 they're blessed and highly favored and we're just struggling to survive. Anybody know what I'm talking

619.480000 624.680000 about? We struggle and we're like hey why did they look like that? That nothing ever goes wrong

624.680000 631.240000 for them. Right, you know how it is? Social media scrollers. You know how it is? Well, they're

631.240000 636.600000 they're on another vacation. Look at them. Oh, look at that. They're doing, look, they got a new car.

636.600000 640.600000 Look at it. Look at it. Look at it. Look at it. They got all their family over at Christmas.

640.600000 646.200000 Right? Your real life is in the pictures you don't put on social media. Right? Let's just be

646.200000 651.400000 honest about that. That's the stuff that we don't want people to see. But they're always a

651.400000 659.880000 process. And so we get frustrated with the process of life. We get frustrated between our dream

659.880000 666.920000 and our destiny. And I believe that there's anybody that had the right to become frustrated

666.920000 677.080000 at the process that he had to go through. It's Joseph. Joseph went through a lot to get to a place

677.720000 683.800000 for his dream to become a reality, for his dream to become a destiny. And so you look at the life

683.800000 692.680000 of Joseph over these 13 chapters and you see that Joseph is one of 12 brothers. Right? And

692.680000 699.480000 eventually these 12 brothers become what the tribes of Israel later on as we read through the

699.480000 706.280000 context of it. But the 11 of his brothers, they all hated him. They didn't like him. His brothers

706.280000 710.280000 hated him. In fact, they hated him so much. They decided that they were going to kill him.

710.280000 715.560000 They were going to just do away with him because they didn't like the favor that he had from his father.

715.560000 719.640000 They didn't like the dreams that he was having about them bowing down. So they decided, hey,

719.640000 724.840000 we're just going to take this guy out. But one of the brothers named Rubin says, no, let's

724.840000 730.040000 don't do that. Maybe there's a little too gruesome for Rubin, but whatever reason he said,

730.040000 735.720000 let's don't do that. We'll sell him into slavery. That's what we'll do. So they threw Joseph

735.720000 741.000000 into a pit or a sister and said they put him in there and then they sold him off to some mediums

741.000000 749.320000 as they came by. And so Joseph went off into slavery. Joseph had a dream and the first thing that

749.320000 757.320000 happened in his dream was that he was sent off. The process begins. He was sent away. And so it talks

757.320000 761.560000 about, as he goes through the story of Joseph real quickly, it just says this, that he went on and

761.560000 768.520000 did he ran into a guy named Potterford and Potterford bought him from the traders. And so they

768.520000 775.560000 bought him and brought him into his house. And Joseph seemed to excel in the administration of

775.560000 782.200000 Potterford's house. And so he began to excel. And so he got really good. And so there was a lady

782.200000 789.400000 Mrs. Potterford, Potterford's wife. And she had eyes for Joseph. In fact, the Bible, one translation

789.400000 796.760000 says that Joseph was well built and handsome. And all the single ladies went, "Hmm, a godly man

796.760000 800.760000 well built and handsome." And all the married ladies kept your mind on your husband.

800.760000 811.080000 But Potterford's wife accused Joseph of assault. And so what does Potterford do? He throws

811.080000 818.040000 him into jail. And he spends time in prison, although completely innocent. And he spends time

818.040000 823.960000 there. And the whole time he's going through the process, going through the process, struggling.

823.960000 829.400000 He had a commercial going, "We're going to we're going to swing our kids down at Disney, right?"

829.400000 835.160000 But it didn't, God didn't tell him all the process. So he's in prison. He runs into a couple of

835.160000 845.240000 guys in prison who were Pharaoh's cup bearer and Pharaoh's baker. And so he met them. And when

845.240000 852.360000 they met them and they got out to prison, one died. The cup bearer went back to work. And Joseph

852.360000 861.800000 was still left in prison. He had a reason to be frustrated. He had a reason to give up in the process.

861.800000 867.080000 He had a reason to just say, "You know what? This dream really might not be of God."

867.080000 873.960000 Maybe this thing, maybe I missed it. Maybe my brothers were right. This is never going to

873.960000 880.520000 pan out. Maybe my brothers and dad are right. They'll never bow down to me. It's the process, the

880.520000 885.000000 journey that Joseph had to walk through. And I believe there's some things that we can pick up

885.000000 893.160000 from the life of Joseph, some things that will come along and potentially rob you of what God has

893.160000 899.320000 called you to in the purpose of God on your life. And we can look at it. And I think one of the things

899.320000 905.800000 that we can look at is what we call dream thieves. Dream thieves. And the first dream thief that I

905.800000 912.120000 believe that Joseph probably would have ran into is the jealousy of others. The jealousy of others.

912.120000 920.200000 And look what it says in Genesis. This says this over in verse 4. We didn't read that. And it says

920.200000 927.880000 this, "They hated him and could not speak a kind word to him." Verse 8 says, "And they hated him

927.880000 933.960000 all the more because of his dream." And what he had said. Verse 11 says, "His brothers were jealous

933.960000 941.000000 of him." Let me tell you, there are things. There is sin of hatred and jealousy will always lead to

941.000000 948.440000 other sins. Hatred and jealousy is a gateway sin, if you will. You get into hatred and you get into

948.440000 957.400000 jealousy, you begin to do other things. And so you and I have to be careful to not let the jealousy

957.400000 963.720000 or the hatred of other people begin to affect our life and what God has called us to. But at the

963.720000 969.800000 same time, we can't allow hatred and jealousy in our own lives begin to affect someone else's dream.

969.800000 975.800000 You see, it's both ways. You can't just simply think about a dream for yourself. You got to

975.800000 982.520000 understand that a dream is always for God's glory and other people's good. And so there's this

982.520000 989.960000 jealousy that his brothers had because Joseph had favor from his father. Joseph had dreams that

989.960000 996.360000 were given to him. And so if we're not careful, we will let the jealousy and the hatred of other people

996.360000 1002.440000 stop us from going forward. It will stop us from moving in the things of God. The things that God

1002.440000 1009.320000 has called us to. The things that God has placed in your heart. And again, I'm not just talking about

1009.320000 1015.400000 trivial things. Come on. Come on. It's not always about a new house. It's not always about a new car.

1015.400000 1021.800000 It's something bigger. Joseph's dream was for something bigger. God gave him a dream that would

1021.800000 1029.080000 totally transform really the world as we know it because there was a nation coming forth. And out

1029.080000 1033.800000 of that nation would be a savior that would come forth. That would totally transform and split the

1033.800000 1041.240000 split the calendar in half before Christ and then after Christ. This is amazing dream that Joseph

1041.240000 1047.400000 had. And so there's this jealousy that I think could have stepped in, but not only jealousy, but there's

1047.400000 1055.320000 false accusations that can sometimes rob us. Rob us of our dreams because we don't like it when

1055.320000 1061.480000 people talk about us, right? We feel like we have to defend ourselves. And so Joseph was in a

1061.480000 1071.480000 situation where where Potapher, his wife, was after Joseph and Joseph refused her advances,

1071.480000 1077.800000 but then he was falsely accused for assault and thrown into prison. And look what it says in verse

1077.800000 1086.440000 chapter 39, verse 19. So this is a couple of chapters later. And it says this when his master

1086.440000 1092.440000 talked about Joseph's master referring to Potapher heard the story of his wife told him saying this is

1092.440000 1099.480000 how your slave treated me. He referring to Potapher burned with anger. In verse 20, Joseph's master took

1099.480000 1107.080000 him and put him in prison. The place where the King's prisoners were confined. Somebody say King's

1107.080000 1115.000000 prisoners. Listen, Joseph was innocent, but God allowed him to go through something and to be

1115.000000 1122.680000 processed. And suddenly that accusation is hard as it was for Joseph to deal with, put him in a

1122.680000 1131.320000 place being closer to his destiny. Sometimes the accusations against you and I will push us closer

1131.320000 1138.200000 to the destiny that God has for us, but we don't like the process. We don't want to have to go to

1138.200000 1143.720000 prison. We don't want to have to go through the struggle and the pain and the frustration that we

1143.720000 1148.920000 experience. But let me tell you, you've got to get to a place where people and understand that people

1148.920000 1157.560000 will talk about you because of the dream on your life. When you got saved, remember how they used to

1157.560000 1162.920000 talk. Hey man, you want to go out to the bar? You want to go out party tonight? You want to go out

1162.920000 1169.080000 and do whatever? And you'd be like, hey, I've kind of changed. I don't really do that. You remember

1169.080000 1175.960000 how they, oh, so you're better than us now? You're suddenly all righteous, high and mighty,

1175.960000 1182.120000 but we're no good for you. You think you're better than us? Right? You know, because those accusations,

1182.120000 1186.280000 and so if you're not careful, if you're not strong enough, you're just like the accusations just

1186.280000 1193.160000 begin to sway you and to move you out of that place of dream, out of that place of destiny

1193.160000 1197.720000 that God has called you to, but you've got to be willing to stand firm. You've got to be willing to

1197.720000 1204.680000 to hold tight and know that, hey, you know what? This is the call of God on my life. I will move forward

1204.680000 1212.360000 in that call and I will not be swayed or persuaded to move off that call for some accusations that

1212.360000 1219.560000 are against me. I will not move off that call because of some desire from somebody else for me.

1221.400000 1227.800000 People will desire things for you. They will desire things. So, you know,

1227.800000 1236.280000 just of what and willing to give out the dream for some fleshly desire that a lady had for him.

1236.280000 1241.000000 Come on, don't forfeit the call of God on your life or cheap thrill.

1241.000000 1249.400000 Don't forfeit the call of God for just some experience or thinking that, well, you know what,

1249.400000 1255.080000 the dream, I mean, Joseph had been around. I don't know how long he's in this process at this point,

1255.080000 1260.280000 but Joseph had been going through, well, maybe he said, well, you know what? I'll just go a different

1260.280000 1265.960000 way. God's not around. He doesn't seem like he's really doing anything. He doesn't seem like much has

1265.960000 1273.000000 happened. So, I'm just going to hang out and I'll just do whatever. But you've got to stay faithful.

1273.880000 1282.520000 Joseph was not about to allow the character of God that he was raised and new from an early age

1282.520000 1289.720000 to be simply done away with because of a fleshly desire.

1289.720000 1295.800000 Come on, you cannot allow the image of God that is being conformed. Paul says in Romans, I believe

1295.800000 1302.920000 is Romans 8, to be conformed into the image of God. You can't let that image that is you're being

1302.920000 1310.920000 conformed into. You can't give that up for cheap thrill. Whatever that happens to be, you keep walking

1310.920000 1318.520000 through the process. Don't let the accusations mess you up. Don't let the accusations cause you to

1318.520000 1327.320000 stumble and trip up. And so, you had to keep walking. I think another thief that came along potentially

1327.320000 1340.600000 to rob Joseph was this right here, misplaced hope. Misplaced hope. After a while, you start going,

1340.600000 1351.640000 where's God? Where is He in this process? I'm lonely. I've been praying. I've been fasting. I've

1351.640000 1360.680000 been seeking the Lord. I've been pursuing Him and I don't see Him. I don't feel Him. Where is He at?

1362.200000 1370.840000 The Bible is full of people who had misplaced hope. And look what Joseph, if you read over in

1370.840000 1378.200000 chapter 40, Joseph, I've mentioned this a minute ago, he has an experience where he's in prison now.

1378.200000 1387.720000 And he comes up to the chief cup bearer and the chief baker for Pharaoh, the king. And he's

1387.720000 1395.960000 around them. And they're in the same prison with them. And so they each have a dream. They have a

1395.960000 1404.440000 dream. And they're perplexed by the dream. And Joseph says, well, dreams are interpreted by God.

1404.440000 1410.040000 Tell me your dream. And let me see if the Lord will give you an interpretation. And so the cup bearer

1410.040000 1417.720000 tells of a dream. And so Joseph says, oh, well, that means in three days, you will be restored

1417.720000 1426.360000 back to your position in Pharaoh's kingdom. And you'll still be serving him his cup. And so the

1426.360000 1432.280000 baker, you know, he's like, well, he got a favorable interpretation. Let me see if I can get one too,

1432.280000 1438.280000 right? And let me see if I can get hooked up with like a little freebie there. And so he tells Joseph

1438.280000 1445.480000 the dream and the dream that he had, Joseph goes, oh, and as well in three days, you're going to die.

1445.480000 1452.760000 This is what Joseph tells him. In fact, it's kind of gross, but in some translation, it says,

1452.760000 1458.680000 you will be impaled by a pull. So I don't know, but that is a rough way to know that in three days,

1458.680000 1464.920000 that's going to happen, right? But what Joseph says to the cup bearer as he's going out,

1464.920000 1473.560000 and we read over in chapter 40, verse 14. And he says this, but when it all goes well with you,

1473.560000 1481.320000 this is Joseph talking to the cup bearer. But when it all goes well with you, remember me and show

1481.320000 1491.640000 me kindness. Mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. Now, I don't know if Joseph

1491.640000 1496.440000 said it exactly like this, or this is the way Moses kind of wrote it, but he puts a period at the end of

1496.440000 1504.120000 prison. For me, it would have been some exclamation points, right? A lot of them like, get me out of this

1504.120000 1512.920000 prison. Now, ain't nobody remembering me. That's why I would have said it. Like, get me out of here.

1513.720000 1523.080000 And so Joseph was putting his trust in his hope and a guy who was a cup bearer before the king,

1523.080000 1527.800000 so that he could eventually get out of here. But you know what it says at the beginning of chapter 41,

1527.800000 1534.040000 it says it was two years later. And the cup bearer did not remember Joseph.

1534.040000 1542.440000 Now, it's bad enough, you know, just to be in prison for a little bit. But then another whole two

1542.440000 1547.880000 years after you did a guy a favor, I feel like, Lord, why'd you let me interpret that guy's dream?

1547.880000 1550.680000 I should have told him what I told the baker.

1550.680000 1562.840000 Right? It's just, it's the process. And so the Bible is full of people who tried to figure it out

1562.840000 1569.720000 themselves. Where's the shortcut to the process? Abraham and Sarah, where's the shortcut to the

1569.720000 1575.000000 process? We've been waiting on the promised child, but where's the shortcut? Let me find the

1575.000000 1584.200000 shortcut because always between dream and destiny is process. Between dream and destiny is process.

1584.200000 1595.240000 Don't lose hope. Continue to stay steadfast in what God has called you to. If you don't know what to do,

1595.240000 1603.720000 continue to do the things that honor the Lord. Until something else changes, continue to honor

1603.720000 1611.400000 the Lord. Love mercy. Do justly. Walk humbly with your God. That's what we've been called to do.

1611.400000 1619.080000 Until God changes something, we continue to stay steadfast, honoring Him. And so we don't, we don't

1619.080000 1624.520000 shift our hope. We keep our hope fixed on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith.

1624.520000 1630.280000 The last dream thief that I think Joseph would have probably struggled with, I know that I would

1630.280000 1642.920000 have, is this thing called elapsed time. Elapsed time. It was 22 years. From the time of the dream,

1642.920000 1649.000000 when Joseph was put in the pit, somewhere right around there was the starting point. But 22 years

1649.000000 1659.800000 over two decades later of process. A process. A process. 22 years of Joseph, and I don't know about

1659.800000 1663.320000 you, but I would have forgotten about the dream. I don't even know at that point if I would have

1663.320000 1669.240000 remembered that the dream was even real. Did I have that dream? Did I write that? I don't know if Joseph

1669.240000 1673.560000 had a journal, right? If Joseph had a journal, he could go back, you know, 22 years, but oh yeah,

1673.560000 1676.840000 I remember what the Lord did there, right? You know, how we talk about it, right? He needs the

1676.840000 1683.000000 journal something. Well, I don't know that Joseph had a journal, right? Joseph just had a memory of

1683.000000 1693.160000 something that God had given him 22 years later, and he finds himself in a position that his brothers

1693.160000 1698.840000 are standing before him. And here's what happened. This is how it all kind of comes together. Is that

1698.840000 1705.080000 Pharaoh does have a dream. If Pharaoh has this dream of seven cows that look really fat and plump,

1705.720000 1711.080000 and then he's got seven cows that look real skinny and scrawny. And he's like, "Hey, what does this

1711.080000 1721.640000 mean?" And nobody can interpret what this dream is for Pharaoh. In the cup bearer, aha. Yeah,

1721.640000 1729.800000 there is a guy in prison. Pharaoh, I know a guy, right? There's a guy in prison who interpreted a dream

1729.800000 1738.280000 for me. So they bring Joseph up. Joseph interprets the dream and says, "Hey, the seven cows

1738.280000 1746.600000 that are big and have well fed, it's seven years of plenty, that we're going to go through a season

1746.600000 1753.240000 of seven years of plenty. There's going to be a ton of harvest." But the seven scrawny cows are

1753.240000 1759.560000 the cows that are, represent that we're going to go through seven years of famine. Seven years of

1759.560000 1765.480000 famine. So we're going to be struggling. Egypt is going to be struggling during this time of famine.

1765.480000 1772.600000 And Pharaoh says, "Hey, since you had the dream of interpretation, I'm putting you second in command,

1772.600000 1778.600000 and you're in charge of making sure that there's plenty of grain and food that when we go through

1778.600000 1787.240000 those seven years of famine, that there is food for the nation of Egypt." And so Joseph gets

1787.240000 1794.920000 promoted, and so here it is. Seven years of plenty go by, and now we're in the midst of seven years of

1794.920000 1807.400000 famine. And someone comes knocking at Joseph's door. His brothers, because they're in a famine too.

1807.400000 1815.880000 There's no food in the land, nowhere around. And they come knocking at Joseph's door and Joseph

1815.880000 1821.320000 knows who they are. But they don't recognize Joseph, because Joseph's second in command, and they

1821.320000 1827.080000 sold Joseph off in the slavery. So surely he would not be sitting in second in command over Egypt.

1827.080000 1836.280000 So they have no idea who this is, and so they come and they bow down before Joseph. Just as his dream,

1836.280000 1845.240000 suddenly that dream, the process, all of it ends at a place of destiny. And it comes to this point,

1845.240000 1849.720000 and I love what Joseph says, and again we're skipping ahead to chapter 50,

1849.720000 1857.320000 and I love this passage of scripture. I love what Joseph says to them, because now he reveals

1857.320000 1862.120000 themself to them. They think that, oh man, this is it, Joseph's getting ready to take us out.

1862.120000 1868.360000 Right? And I might have been tempted to do that. I might have been tempted to do that. I don't

1868.360000 1876.120000 know that I would have been as godly as Joseph was. Right? But this is what Joseph says in chapter 50

1876.120000 1885.960000 versus 19 through 21. And he says this, but Joseph said to them, don't be afraid, am I in the place

1885.960000 1895.400000 of God? You intended to harm me. Note that word harm, harm me, but God intended for good to accomplish

1895.400000 1904.440000 what he is now, what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will

1904.440000 1911.960000 provide for you and your children, and he assured them and spoke kindly to them. Let me tell you,

1911.960000 1917.400000 when you get to your place of destiny, you better have the character to know how to handle that moment.

1917.400000 1924.200000 Joseph could have easily taken out those that had done him wrong. And I'm telling you,

1924.200000 1929.880000 there may be a time in your life that you come to a place that you have the ability just as David

1929.880000 1935.160000 did to execute judgment on Saul when he was placed right there in his hands. And David could have

1935.160000 1940.840000 easily killed him. But you've got to step away like David did. You got to step away like Joseph did.

1940.840000 1947.160000 And you've got to say, there's something bigger here. And I forgive you. And I hold no bitterness

1947.160000 1956.040000 towards you. And I love you. And I will take care of you. I know many people who had to go back and

1956.040000 1961.720000 take care of their parents who are not very kind to them. But they did it out of love.

1961.720000 1967.880000 They did it out of honor your father and your mother that your days may be long, even though their

1967.880000 1975.960000 parents weren't the most godly parents to them. There are times in your life that when on all comes

1975.960000 1982.040000 together and you step into that destiny that you've got to have the character, the wisdom of God,

1982.040000 1988.520000 the grace of God, the mercy of God, to extend it to others. God has not leading you to a place of

1988.520000 1996.440000 destiny to lord and over people with rulership. He's leading you to a place of destiny for servant

1996.440000 2009.720000 ship to serve one another. And so Joseph has this moment. He could have been better. But I'm reminded

2009.720000 2017.800000 of what God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah. The nation of Israel was getting ready to go into

2017.800000 2023.880000 70 years of captivity. And God was speaking to it. It was going to be 70 years of process.

2024.520000 2028.600000 God's giving him up front. At least the nation of Israel knew what they were getting into.

2028.600000 2037.480000 70 years. And God says to Jeremiah, tell the people this, this is a very familiar passage of scripture.

2037.480000 2046.440000 And he says this. And I want to read it to you because you might be in a process. And he says,

2046.440000 2057.800000 for I know the plans, I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you. Here's this word again,

2057.800000 2067.720000 not to harm you. Not to harm you. Not to harm you. Joseph's brother intended to harm him.

2067.720000 2075.320000 God's intent for your life and my life is never to harm us. Most psychologists will tell you that

2075.320000 2084.200000 there's a difference between hurt and harm. Hurt is a short-term pain we experience for a long-term

2084.200000 2091.320000 good growth. You go to the dentist and you feel pain. But right, you know, hey, they're not doing this

2091.320000 2097.720000 just to do it. It's for a short-term pain for a long-term good. You go to a doctor. It's a short-term

2097.720000 2105.160000 pain for a long-term good, right? It's uncomfortable. You might have a coach or mentor, someone who speaks

2105.160000 2111.080000 the truth and love to you and it might hurt you. But what they're trying to do is help you for long-term

2111.080000 2116.920000 growth or long-term improvement. The word of God when you read it, Holy Spirit will illuminate

2116.920000 2122.600000 things to you. And it's there to, it might hurt you, but it's there to help you grow and mature you.

2122.600000 2129.080000 Where harm is considered long-term pain that creates trauma and negative growth.

2129.080000 2139.560000 Creates long-term pain, trauma and negative growth. Harm. God's intent for your life in the

2139.560000 2146.760000 processes to never harm you. Some of you are blaming God and frustrated with God and acting like

2146.760000 2152.520000 God has somehow dealt you a bad-handed life. But I want you to know you've got to refuse

2152.520000 2158.680000 to be a victim of your circumstances and act like God doesn't love you, God doesn't care for you.

2158.680000 2169.400000 So we have to walk in this place of forgiveness. I'm not going to have bitterness. I'm going to walk

2169.400000 2176.440000 in this place of humility because I know that God's plans for me are not to harm me.

2179.240000 2188.680000 God loves you. If he loves you, it says while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. If he loved

2188.680000 2195.480000 me that much as a sinner, he's not going to love me any less as a child of his.

2195.480000 2205.320000 And you have to understand and walk in that that God loves you. Refuse to be a victim. Remember that

2205.320000 2213.800000 God has not left you. God doesn't leave you nor forsake you. The Psalmist said where can I go from

2213.800000 2220.360000 your spirit? Where can I go from your presence? You're always there. You're always with God will not

2220.360000 2227.880000 leave you. He will not leave you. The Bible says that in him we live and move and have our

2227.880000 2236.760000 being. That means that as I go through life, God is there and I'm in God. It's this union that we have

2236.760000 2245.800000 with Jesus. It's the John 15 abiding. If you abide in me, I'll abide in you. It's like Jesus saying,

2245.800000 2252.280000 come live in me and I'll come live in you. And it's this fellowship. So don't ever think that God

2252.280000 2258.120000 left you. The guy just puts you on the on the back burner somewhere and he doesn't care about you.

2258.120000 2264.360000 Because it's never to harm you. He's always with you. And you got to remember that your dream

2264.360000 2271.880000 is not for you, but it's for the glory of God and for the good of other people.

2271.880000 2281.640000 When you make the dream about you, it becomes very self-centered. It's always about the glory of

2281.640000 2291.640000 God. And this is what I love and I'll wrap this up. Joseph's words. He said, but God intended it for good

2291.640000 2301.640000 to accomplish what is now being done. The saving of many lives. The saving of many lives.

2303.080000 2311.640000 I'm asking you and I ask me this question. Am I willing to be processed so that other people's lives

2311.640000 2324.040000 can be saved? Am I willing to die, not physically, but to my flesh, to my own desires so that

2324.040000 2331.080000 someone else might live? See, when we go into a grocery store and we have to wait or we wait in the

2331.080000 2339.240000 line of traffic or, you know, the kids, you know, hack us off or whatever and whatever life circumstances

2339.240000 2344.920000 throw our way. These people are killing me. Anybody ever say that these people are killing me. Do I

2344.920000 2350.600000 need to get back there and work? You know how we talk? Like we can do it better. I need to get back

2350.600000 2356.120000 down and go back there and make my own chicken. I mean, what do they do? Have to go out there and get

2356.120000 2364.840000 the chicken, bring it back and then do. We say all of these things, right? But are we willing to die

2364.840000 2375.960000 our own desires when we could easily snap off at the waiter waitress? We could easily snap off

2375.960000 2381.880000 as somebody who cuts us off. We could easily snap off at our children or our spouse. We could easily

2381.880000 2388.120000 snap off to our balls or coworker. We could easily go off and all of these things. Are we willing to

2388.120000 2399.560000 die in the process so that many lives might be saved? So that many lives could be saved. Jesus said it

2399.560000 2410.680000 this way. He said, no man takes my life. I lay it down freely. Are you and I willing to lay down

2410.680000 2420.520000 our lives freely so that God can process us for His glory and the good of other people and bring us

2420.520000 2424.920000 into a destiny that we can't even imagine. Would you stand with me today?

2424.920000 2437.080000 Father, I worship you. I worship you. When you just lift your hands with me right now,

2437.080000 2444.520000 God, I just bless you in this place. God, I thank you for your amazing grace. God, Lord, it is

2444.520000 2453.320000 hard to be on the potter's wheel and feel the pressure and the process. And so God, right now, we just

2453.320000 2461.400000 ask that you would come and begin to speak to us. Speak to us in this moment. Speak to us in this place.

2462.360000 2468.840000 God, we invite you in, we invite the Holy Spirit to begin to take the words and just begin to pin

2468.840000 2476.360000 point places in our life that we need you to move in. Maybe you're in here today and you're experiencing

2476.360000 2484.760000 maybe bitterness in the process. Maybe you felt like somebody has harmed you and you're bitter

2484.760000 2492.760000 towards that. But like Joseph said to his brothers, they minute for harm. But God intended it for good.

2492.760000 2498.440000 I'm telling you, if you release that, don't walk around with that bitterness. Don't walk around with

2498.440000 2506.360000 that frustration any longer. Don't walk around with those things that are heavy weights and burdens

2509.080000 2518.440000 that hold you back. God, right now, we release. We release them. We release them. I just, right now,

2518.440000 2523.720000 under your breath, if you don't want to say it out loud because people around, I just just release that

2523.720000 2532.520000 person, release that incident, release that situation. God, we release them. Lord, they falsely

2532.520000 2539.320000 accused us, but we release them. God, they've meant to do harm to us, but we release them. And we ask

2539.320000 2545.560000 that you come by your Holy Spirit. Lord, illuminate our hearts, illuminate our spirit, illuminate our

2545.560000 2553.320000 minds and our emotion and we'll to see the joy of the Lord. Even in the process, Lord, that we count

2553.320000 2564.040000 it all joy when we face various trials. Come Holy Spirit. Right now, we just pray that you would

2564.040000 2570.840000 move in the hearts and labs of people. God, we thank you for great grace, great grace that you

2570.840000 2579.080000 extend us. Lord, we're willing to lay ourselves on the altar as living sacrifices so that others might

2579.080000 2585.720000 come to you through us, that the character of Christ might shine through us, that the character of

2585.720000 2593.640000 Christ might be seen by others. And so Father, I just pray in the name of Jesus that you would move.

2593.640000 2603.000000 We give it all to you, Lord, we give our dream to you. We give the process to you. We give the

2603.000000 2612.760000 destiny to you. And we say it, Lord, you be glorified. You be exalted. You be magnified. You be lifted up.

2612.760000 2618.200000 Father, we bless you in this place today.