Plot Twist

Today we're going to look once again at Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

So if you can join me Romans chapter 8 verse 28

Romans 8:28

and verse 29 familiar verse of scripture.

Amen, but with God's help,

want to impart a simple message

that God has placed in my heart today.

And this very well may be the concluding message

of this series.

So I invite you to continue reading

if you have not already,

which I'm sure you will have already,

but Romans 8 powerful chapter.

The word of the Lord says as follows,

and we know that all things,

someone say all things,

work together for good to those who love God,

to those who are the called according to his purpose.

For whom he foreknew,

he also predestined to be conformed

to the image of his son,

that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Now I'm going to read in the Old Testament,

book of Genesis chapter 50 and verse 20,

Genesis 50 · chapter mention

just this one verse.

With God's help, we can tie these together for you today.

But as for you, Joseph says,

you men evil against me.

Someone say it, but God,

but God meant it for good.

In order to bring it about as it is this day

to save many people alive.

I would like to entitle today's message,

plot twist, plot twist.

Father, we come before you,

would you pray with me?

Father, we come before you today,

we thank you for the very special way

that you have visited us this afternoon.

Thank you for your presence,

a sweet spirit that's in this place.

And I ask God that for these moments now,

as we go into the word that you would speak to us,

life transforming words, God,

that it would get down into the deepest places

of our hearts, our spirits, our lives, God.

It cannot be me, it must be the Holy Ghost, Lord,

that does this work today.

So anoint my lips of clay,

put your word in my mouth, in Jesus' name we pray.

Everyone say amen.

You can be seated.

I wanna begin by telling you something we all know,

life is unpredictable.

Just when you think you have it all figured out,

life will eventually throw you a curve ball.

It's full of unexpected things that can seem to go

off script and in the world of literature,

writers call this moment a plot twist.

Someone say plot twist.

Now some twists come as a pleasant surprise

and as an unexpected blessing.

And we like those types, amen.

And others can feel like a gut punch,

blindside us and leave us perhaps feeling discouraged,

troubled, all kinds of things.

But if we really and genuinely believe

that Jesus is the author and the finisher of our lives,

the author and the finisher of our faith,

then we have to accept, we must accept that all things,

all plot twists are not, hear me today, just random events,

but things that God himself allows

to accomplish his divine purpose.

Enter a man by the name of Joseph,

or as some might say today, Joseph has just entered the chat.

The man who epitomizes Romans 828,

his rise to prominence was anything but a straight line.

Plot twist took him from the pastors of his father

to the pit and then from the pit to Potiphar's penthouse

and the penthouse to the prison,

the prison to the palace and eventually from the palace

to the promised land, his final resting place.

And I know that many of us are familiar

with the story of Joseph,

so I will not go through every detail.

We're gonna skip some stuff along the way.

But what I want to inject into your faith

and to your spirit this afternoon

are some of the highlights from Joseph's life

and how this man comes to exemplify this very verse

that many of us have quoted.

No, maybe you've got a little magnet on your refrigerator

or a bookmark in your Bible or somewhere,

somewhere Romans 828, that all things, amen, somebody.

How many of you ever refer to that verse, amen,

where you just like don't know what God's doing,

but you just need a verse to read to kind of reassure you

that everything's gonna be all right, amen?

Can I get an amen out there, hallelujah?

Amen, this is one of those verses.

And what happens is, is that any verse that we repeat

and quote often can sometimes get lost,

the meaning, the true intent.

But I want you to see that through every painful detour,

every unforeseen turn of event in Joseph's life,

God was weaving a story far greater

than he could have ever imagined.

And I want to repeat something that we were singing

in one of the worship songs a few moments ago.

I wanna repeat this idea that no matter where you are

right now in your life, you need to know this,

that God is not done writing your story.

Someone give God some praise for that right now, hallelujah.

I said, God is not done writing your story.

And as we were singing that this afternoon,

it just registered in my spirit

that God is writing a story, amen.

I said, he's writing a story.

And you're not the hero of the story, just so you know that.

Jesus is.

But you're a character in the story that God is writing.

And you need to know that no matter what

or where you are right now in that story,

that until Jesus calls you home,

the story is not done being written.

God's still writing the story.

Regardless of how you feel,

regardless of what circumstances are in your life,

regardless of what circumstances are happening in your life.

However, and this is a big however,

this is like a capital all caps however,

the story, how the story ends also depends on you and I

learning the right lessons and then growing from it.

So to understand, let me provide for you a basis

before we jump into these highlights from Joseph's life

to understand the plot twist in his life and your own,

my friend, there are two basic truths

that you must understand about God.

If we just jump into these applications and they're good,

without this foundational truth,

you're gonna miss what God wants you to understand today.

Amen, so there's two.

Number one is that God is sovereign.

You must understand even if you don't comprehend how,

you must at least accept on face value today

that God is ultimately sovereign.

This means that God is in complete control,

which means that all things happen for a reason.

Now, even the devil knows this

and even the devil himself must ask God.

Do you know the devil must ask God for permission

before he messes with you?

If you don't believe me, just read the book of Job.

He doesn't have authorization to ask God

for permission to just storm into your life

and do whatever he wants,

even though it feels like that sometimes.

Do you believe that nothing happens

outside the knowledge of God?

Someone say everything.

He's either in control of everything

or he's not in control at all.

So God is sovereign and nothing happens

outside of his knowledge.

I can preach on this all day long,

but this is the next thing you need to get

into your heart today and that is that God is good.

Someone give God a hand of praise right there, amen.

I said, he's good.

Somebody shout, he's good.

Somebody shout, he's good.

And you must understand that not only is he sovereign,

but he's good.

His intentions are always for good and for his glory.

So you can trust that his character is unchanging

even when your situation suggests otherwise,

even when the outcome is not what you wanted,

God is sovereign and God is good all the time.

And all the time, God is good.

He's good whether you feel he's good or not.

God, he's still good.

Why?

Because he's still God.

And as long as God is God, God is good.

I know it's not that deep, but it touches my spirit.

Now, if you can digest these truths today,

you can understand at least partially, if not completely,

then you can grasp the unconventional ways

that God works in our lives.

Let's review these ways that God works

through the lens of Joseph's life.

I want to, if I can, and if I have enough time,

point out at least three plot twists we see in his life

and how it might relate to where you're at in your faith

and your walk with the Lord today.

And the first plot twist is that your breaking point

is God's starting point.

Amen.

Genesis 37, 24, then they took him, Joseph,

and cast him into a pit.

And the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

Joseph's true starting point,

what truly set off the chain of events in his life,

which would ultimately lead to his destiny of being

in that position of prominence in Egypt,

all the way back, it starts right here.

Joseph's true starting point was not so much

when his father adorned him with a coat of many colors.

If anything, all that did was paint a big red target

on his back.

That's all that coat did.

All that coat did was make him public enemy number one

among his brethren.

All that coat did was get him betrayed.

Everybody wants a coat of many colors,

but no one really wants to go through.

But no one really wants to go through the process

of having that coat stripped or having life

take you through things where you might feel

what Joseph felt, sold by his brethren.

See, here's the thing about the favor of God

that we have to correct in our line of thought today,

that some people think the favor of the Lord

is just good fortune.

I heard someone once say that they were favored of God.

You know why?

Because they got a parking spot right up close to Starbucks.

I said, brother, that's not the favor.

You just lucked out.

The favor of the Lord is when the freeway is open.

There's nobody there to test your spirit.

That's not the favor of God.

Because the real favor of the Lord

will find you in hot water sometimes.

The real favor, real favor is the grace.

This is what favor is, the grace to survive

what others could not.

Real favor is when you're broken, but still standing.

Real favor is not when everything is going right

in your life, it's when everything could be going wrong

in your life, and yet you still got a praise in your heart.

And yet you still, hallelujah somebody,

you're still believing that God is working on your behalf.

You're still standing, amen somebody.

That is what real favor looks like.

Real favor doesn't just say good things.

It says all things.

And the pit, someone say the pit.

You see, you wonder what is the pit?

Man, I could just preach on that.

The pit, the Bible says was really like a cistern.

It used to hold water.

God has some of you in places that used to be filled,

but that are now empty.

I said that in the Holy Ghost

because it wasn't in my notes.

God has you in a place like,

we think a pit like it was a ditch somewhere

where they would just throw garbage.

No, it was a cistern that held water in it,

and it was empty.

Pit is not some lonely, dark, desolate place.

That's not a pit.

A pit is a place that was once full and is now empty.

That is your true starting point.

That is your true breaking point.

It's not when everything is overflowing.

It's when you kind of go back and you dig somewhere

that used to have and used to feed you

and used to provide and used to supply,

and that source has dried up,

and that is the place that God often waits for us to get to

so that we can eventually come to our knees in humility

and put our pride aside and say,

God, here I am.

All that is in me, God,

and I need you to rescue me out of this place.

I've come to preach to somebody this afternoon

that maybe you find yourself in a pit, my friend,

but don't despise your pit

because if that's where God has you,

then you ought to do what a pit ought to do.

When you're at the bottom of the pit,

the only direction that you can look is up,

and maybe that's what God is wanting you to do

this afternoon.

Yeah!

That's the blessing of a pit,

is that the only direction you can look is up.

I look to the hills for with cometh my help, my help.

Someone say my help.

My help comes from the Lord.

And so Joseph's in a pit.

He's in a pit.

And he's broken.

And he said, why did my dad give me this coat?

I'm starting to feel like that coat was more of a curse

than a blessing.

Because all I am is finding myself here

and I don't know what kind of prayers he prayed in that pit.

Can I tell you something right now?

That it doesn't matter how spiritually,

how spiritual you normally are,

you may be very, very spiritual,

but I guarantee you pray different in a pit.

Yeah!

Yeah!

You pray different in a pit.

You pray different in a pit.

It's just a different kind of prayer.

If you don't believe in God,

you pray different in a pit.

It's a different kind of prayer.

If you don't believe me, read the prayers

and the Psalms of David.

I mean, you know, there was some good mountain top prayer.

And then there were some other prayers like,

my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

No matter how close you are to God,

you pray different in a pit.

And no wonder David could write these words.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

a broken and a contrite heart.

These, oh God, you will not despise.

There's something different that happens.

And the breaking point is your true starting point.

And because it's so important,

if you are resisting God breaking you,

then what you are really resisting is a starting point.

Because God's not gonna hit the start button

on what he wants to do in your life

until you let the pit have its full effect.

And you say, okay, God, enough of trying to do things my way,

enough of trying to figure you out, God,

enough of trying to pin whatever it is that I can

on someone or something.

God, I am at your total mercy now.

And if you don't help me out of this situation, God,

I'm gonna lose my mind.

And if you don't rep God, I don't know what I'm gonna do.

And that is a place that God says, now we are talking.

Now I can begin to work in you,

the things that I've been desiring to work in you.

Now I can begin to take you to the places

that I've been calling you to go.

I've come to encourage somebody here today

that God's not done writing your story.

And that it's not over just because you're in a pit

and it feels like it's over.

I've come to tell you like Paul wrote in 828 of Romans,

I know that all things work together.

Even this pit is gonna give God glory, even this pit.

And so from the pit, Joseph landed from there,

skipping over some of the details, the juicy details.

He ends up in the house of a man named Potiphar,

a rich man who lived in,

what if he lived in downtown San Francisco or in Manhattan

would be like a penthouse, the whole floor belonged to him.

He probably had two levels.

And just, he was a blessed man.

And Joseph found himself there.

He was bought and sold and now he is in Potiphar's house.

And there he served.

This is how I know that the pit did not destroy Joseph,

but it actually built character in him

because his attitude was of such

that even when he was a slave doing dirty work,

they do, I mean, just doing the work

that probably no one else would wanna do,

he still found a way to rise to the top.

Like they say, the cream rises to the top, right?

So Joseph is there serving and God begins to bless him

and he is promoted in Potiphar's house.

And then as things are going good for him,

he is made in charge of all the affairs of the house.

He was falsely accused.

Man, just as things were going good,

here comes another, someone say plot twist.

Up and down.

And that's the plot twist that number two,

that ups and downs are training grounds.

Up, someone say ups and down.

Ups and downs.

You're supposed to say it, ups and down.

Those are training grounds.

The middle part of Joseph's story

shows us the power of contrasting pictures.

It's really the story of, for those of you who may have read

at least the opening paragraph

of Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities,

which is a great book by the way,

it was the best of times.

It was the worst of times.

That's kind of like Joseph's life in this middle part.

It was both the best of times

because his stock was still rising.

Because it doesn't matter what man does to you

when you're anointed, you're anointed.

And when the favor of God's on you, it's on you.

So his stock is still rising,

but yet he's also dealing with these adversities,

falsely accused, right?

Then he's thrown into prison.

So he's got these contrasting pictures in his life.

The penthouse on one side and the prison on the other.

And they're so close to each other.

You know, from one day to the next,

he went from the penthouse to the prison.

And there he is.

But even as he sat in prison,

his gift kept functioning.

And even as he sat in prison,

how do I know that Joseph was learning the right lessons

and growing as a result of all of this stuff

that was happening against him?

Because even in there,

the anointing that was on his life was still flowing.

Hmm, my God, hallelujah, Jesus.

And the same could be said

when you're experiencing polar opposites in your life.

What do these look like, pastor?

Well, I'm glad you asked

because one part of your life could be free,

but another part is in prison.

One week you're up and the next week you're down.

Today they're shouting, Hosanna.

But tomorrow those same people are shouting, crucify.

How could this be?

How could these polar opposites be so close

or happening parallel to each other in my life?

But when you consider, my friend today,

that all things work together for good,

this is what you won't do.

You won't spend your days shaking your fist at God,

at man, or at anything else in your life.

Instead, you will see like Joseph

that your season of fluctuation

is nothing but preparation for what's next

on God's timetable in your life.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah, in your life.

Joseph had every reason to shake his fist at man,

at God, at others, at everything, but instead,

ooh, hallelujah, Jesus.

He saw what he needed to see was that someone say,

all things, all things.

So if you're in the penthouse season

and you feel free, blessed be the name of the Lord.

But don't get too comfortable

because penthouse seasons don't last forever.

And you're like, but I like the penthouse.

This is my destiny.

No, it ain't.

I serve a palace, God.

If all you want is the penthouse of life, God bless you.

But there's another level,

and I'm not talking about worldly wealth and all that.

I'm talking about spiritual wealth.

I'm talking about my treasures are laid up in heaven.

I'm talking about the blessings and the revival

and the promises that God wants to do in my life.

So if you're in the penthouse, I don't hate,

I don't wanna rain on your parade today.

I don't wanna be the bearer of bad news,

but just know that that's not your final stop.

It's only one step in the process.

But likewise, if you're in the prison season of life,

amen, and you feel stuck,

well, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Hester, have you lost your mind?

Why are you telling me the blessed to be the name

of the Lord when I'm in prison?

There's a part of my life that's in prison.

Why?

I'll tell you why, because all things.

Come on, someone say all things.

So whatever you do, don't get depressed,

don't get bitter, don't get mad,

don't let those things corrupt and pollute your spirits

because that's not your final destination.

I wish I had a witness in the house of God today.

That prison is only a stepping stone to where God is.

I don't know if there's anybody

that needs to hear this message today,

but the Lord sent me here this afternoon

to encourage somebody and let you know

that all things, somebody shout all things.

All things are working together for His divine purpose.

Come on, give God some glory this afternoon.

Give Him some praise today.

I've come to encourage you this afternoon.

I've come to tell you that whether the Lord gives

or takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.