Full transcript
0:00this. All right. So, here at the Fresh
0:01Church, we teach in series, right? So, a
0:03series is it's just like a Netflix
0:06series. So, if you missed episode one,
0:07that was last week, we started a series
0:09entitled Dreamchasers. So, I want you to
0:12go back and I want you to catch chapter
0:14uh episode number one on YouTube for
0:16Dream Chasers. But here we are, episode
0:18number two, and we are in Genesis
0:2237. Genesis
0:2537, verse number 20.
0:28Genesis 37 verse number 20. It says
0:30this, "Come
0:32now, let us kill him and throw him into
0:36one of the
0:37pits.
0:39Then we will say that a fierce animal
0:42has devoured him and we will see what
0:45will become of his dreams." I want you
0:48to check this out. Come now, let us kill
0:50him and throw him into one of the pits.
0:53Y'all say pits. Pits. Then we will say a
0:56fierce animal has devoured him. We will
0:59see what will become of his dream. Come
1:02now, let us throw him into one of the
1:03pits. I want to put a tag on this text
1:04and teach from this title. Uh on the way
1:06down to your seat, just say this is the
1:08pits. This is the pits. I can't stand
1:11this. This is the pit. You may have your
1:13seat in the house. This is the pits. God
1:18isn't offended by your biggest and
1:21boldest prayers.
1:24He is offended by anything less.
1:28If your prayers aren't impossible to
1:30you, they are insulting to God.
1:35I love that quote by Mark Batterson. If
1:37your prayers aren't impossible to you,
1:40they are insulting to God. Family, this
1:43quote succinctly states the size of our
1:46God versus the size of our prayers. that
1:50that that God is in is not intimidated
1:54by our dreams. He is insulted by us not
1:57having big enough
1:59dreams. Big dreams, watch this, that
2:02require divine
2:04intervention. Big dreams that require
2:08divine intervention are seen as an
2:10invitation of heavenly
2:12assistance. So small dreams are an
2:15indication of that level of faith.
2:17Remember, I told you this, but I think
2:19it's good. Remember, if you're big
2:21enough for your dreams, then your dream
2:22isn't big enough for your God. This is
2:24important. The reason that I believe God
2:27is not offended by us having big dreams
2:30is because, watch this, we can never
2:33outdream God's ability.
2:37As a matter of fact, he is able to do
2:40exceedingly and abundantly above all we
2:44can ask or think according to the power
2:46that works within us. So the point that
2:48I'm making is that our dreams,
2:49regardless of how outlandish or
2:51expansive they may be, are at the
2:53basement of God's
2:55abilities. Y'all with me? I got
2:58somewhere to go today. Our dreams, if
3:01our dreams, watch this, are solely
3:03dependent on our intellectualism, our
3:07finances, our network, and our physical
3:10ability. All I'm saying is that is at
3:12the basement of what God can do. He can
3:15do exceedingly and abundantly above.
3:19Somebody shout above. So, I'm arguing
3:21all throughout this dream chaser series
3:24very simply, watch this. God's dream is
3:27worth choosing and chasing.
3:31Yeah. Why? Because God doesn't download
3:33small dreams.
3:36And and since God doesn't download small
3:38dreams, he never shows us something he
3:41doesn't want to do. Y'all going to catch
3:43that Wednesday. He And a dream chaser
3:46not only chases their personal dreams,
3:49but they choose, watch this, to chase
3:51God's dream over and above their own.
3:57So, so what's a dream chaser? I'm glad
3:58you asked. The dream chaser, the
4:00definition is right here on the screen.
4:01Dream chasers are those who embrace and
4:03actively pursue God's dream for their
4:05lives, especially in the face of
4:06challenges. Watch this. They believe
4:08God's dream is not just right, it's
4:10better.
4:13See, see, see. God's dream is not just
4:16right, it's better. Somebody say better.
4:19And watch this. I'm going somewhere. God
4:22is only required to bring his dream to
4:26pass.
4:31God is only required to bring his word
4:35to pass. He bounded himself to his word,
4:40not ours. He He stands 10 toes down on
4:44his word, not ours. He stands behind his
4:47word, not ours. You need Bible. I'm glad
4:50you asked for it. Isaiah 55:11 says
4:52this, "My word which comes from my mouth
4:55is like rain and snow." Watch what he
4:57says. Watch what he says. It will not
5:00come
5:01back void or watch this. Without
5:04results, it will accomplish what will it
5:07accomplish? Great question. Whatever I
5:09want and it will achieve whatever I send
5:12it to do. Lord, God Oh, I love this. I
5:16love the amplified version. It says
5:17this. So will my word be rich. uh m my
5:20word be which goes out of my mouth it
5:22will not return to me void watch this
5:24without results without accomplishing
5:27what I desire and without succeeding in
5:30the matter for which I sent it in other
5:32words when you apply God's word to your
5:35life that is when you get ready to see
5:38results and I don't know about you but
5:40all this year I don't just want to work
5:42without results I don't just want to
5:44pray without results I don't just want
5:47to live without results is there anybody
5:48body in here that can declare over your
5:51life that this is going to be the year
5:53that I'm getting ready to see results.
5:55I'm praying to see results. I'm fasting
5:58to see results.
6:02This is God's dream. God God has only
6:06only bonded and binded himself to his
6:10word. Um so so so then I've got to learn
6:14how to release my dream and embrace his.
6:20So results follow released
6:24dreams. Results only follow released
6:28dreams. That That's so good to me.
6:31That's so good to me. Results follow
6:33released dreams. Watch
6:35this. The issue is is when we have a
6:38bigger or the issue is that sometimes we
6:40have a tighter grip on our goals than we
6:42do our God.
6:45Okay? That that's when the issue that's
6:48when the issue comes. The issue comes
6:50when we have a tighter grip on our goals
6:52than we do our God. Why is that
6:55important? Because uh when we have a
6:58tighter grip on our goals than we do our
6:59God, we end up surprised by the
7:00inevitable. Watch this. Here's the
7:02here's the inevitable. The inevitable
7:05about dream chasers is this. Dream
7:07chasers have to deal have to face
7:09difficult choices.
7:11Dream chasers not only have to face
7:12difficult choices, dream chasers have to
7:14face difficult challenges.
7:18Stay with me. I'm I'm I'm walk I'm going
7:20somewhere. What What are the challenges?
7:22If you if you have a dream, you have an
7:24aspiration, you have something that you
7:26believe God has called you uh and
7:28commissioned you to do, you're going to
7:29have to deal with some challenges. I I
7:31I'm not going to paint it to you flowery
7:33like it's just everything is just going
7:34to work out because you said so. I
7:36promise you that something is going
7:37Jesus said in this life you will have
7:42trouble. So what are some of the
7:44challenges that dream chasers have to
7:45face? Well the first challenge is
7:48problems. Secondly we got to face
7:51pride. And then thirdly we got to face
7:55pits problems. Problems problems
7:57problems. When things don't always go
7:59the way that we planned it to go. H how
8:01do we navigate when challenges arises?
8:03um when we are threatened uh something
8:07is going to go wrong. Have you prepared
8:10for a
8:12problem? Have you prepared your business
8:14for a down year? Have you prepared your
8:18home from when things are not going the
8:19way that they probably should? I I found
8:22that a lot of people prepare for
8:24success. Not many people
8:27prepare for the for the problems.
8:30You you need a plan for when problems
8:33arise. What? Watch this. What might
8:36happen? And are you ready for it?
8:39That's quiet. Not only that, but then
8:42pride. How is my soul prepared? Watch
8:45this. Not simply to handle failure, but
8:47to handle
8:53success. How am I going to treat people
8:55when I'm more successful than them?
9:00Is my success to to smear in somebody
9:04else's face
9:06or is it to walk into my own divine
9:08calling?
9:09All right, it's quiet. That's okay. I I
9:12got an amen. There we go. There we go.
9:16And then pits. Pits, dark seasons of
9:18life that are unexpected and unfortunate
9:20yet are priceless. Pits are preparation
9:22disguised as
9:24pain. Pits. Pits. Pits are pictures of
9:27God's grace. Pits are dark seasons of
9:30development. A pit is the place where
9:32they left you. But remember, God loves
9:34you.
9:36I'm preaching the text. I'm preaching
9:39the text already. I'm I'm preaching the
9:41text. Um because when we have a tighter
9:43grip on our goals than we do our God,
9:45only one or two things can happen. Or
9:47maybe both. You either burn out or you
9:49crash out.
9:53I got to preach this to this generation
9:55because we're goal driven and we're
9:56entrepreneurial and it's I'm doing my
9:59own thing and I think that's beautiful.
10:00But then watch this. If you don't take
10:02care of God's dream first, somebody say
10:05first. You don't concern yourself with
10:07God dream. God's dream first. You will
10:10end up burnt out or you will crash out.
10:14All right. Okay. I got to get to the
10:15text. Lord have mercy. Burnout. Burnout.
10:18Y'all say burnout. Burnout is what
10:21happens when selfish dreams out outrun
10:23our ability to do, leaving our mind,
10:27body, and soul exhausted and
10:32empty. Crash out. The crash out is when
10:37you hit the wall of
10:38disappointment after chasing a dream
10:40that didn't
10:42deliver. This is when the exhausted
10:44emotion of burnout makes its way out of
10:46your hearts and into your hands. It's
10:49the point where burnout breaks you and
10:51you want to break
10:54something. Some of us are living in a
10:57perpetual state of crash out on the
11:01edge. Nobody can tell you nothing.
11:06Are y'all All right. Is my microphone
11:07still on? It's on. All right. Amen. I
11:11don't have time to deal with that. Yes,
11:13I do. The the reason that some of us are
11:16burned out is not because we're chasing
11:20God's dream.
11:24We're tired because we're too busy
11:25chasing ours. And God never will never
11:29said he will give you energy limitless
11:32for your dream.
11:35[Music]
11:37We live in exhaustion and it has nothing
11:40to do with God.
11:43We we live in exa, y'all. All right.
11:47I'm tired.
11:50You know who gets blamed for the
11:52exhaustion?
11:56God. God gets blamed. Okay, maybe we're
12:00not going to blame God because that
12:01doesn't make sense. It's like, I'm not
12:03going to be mad at God, so I just blame
12:06God's institution on the earth.
12:10So now when life happens, the first
12:13thing that has to get erased.
12:15Oh Jesus Christ. I better preach this
12:19next week. Hold on. I'mma preach better
12:20next week. Y'all come back. Okay. Oh
12:23boy. Somebody say pits.
12:26Speaking of pits, Joseph found himself
12:28in one. We've been journeying through
12:30the life uh of Joseph. And uh there
12:33there's something that's happening in
12:34our text. We we've been journeying
12:35through his life and we we we we
12:37literally see that Joseph is the
12:39favorite son of his father named Jacob.
12:41Jacob. Jacob. Jacob. You know Jacob.
12:43Jacob's name change from Jacob to
12:45Israel. Wrestled with the angel. Angel
12:47touched his hip socket. Uh Jacob said,
12:50"I'm not going to let go until you bless
12:51me." God changed his name in that
12:53moment. This a whole this whole
12:55narrative. And and Jacob had an issue
12:57because Jacob was dysfunctional to the
12:59highest degree. Yeah. Maybe you know
13:01somebody like Jacob. You might be
13:03sitting next to Jacob. Jacob. I'm
13:08just just looking. Are you Jacob?
13:12Jacob. Jacob has four baby mamas. Jacob.
13:16Jacob had and they all lived in the same
13:18house.
13:20Four baby mas. Cool. All right. Living
13:22in the same house.
13:25Whoa. Jake Jacob had Rachel. Rachel.
13:28Rachel was the one he worked for his
13:30uncle Laban for seven years. And Laban
13:32promised him Rachel. But then Laban
13:35tricked him because that's what they do
13:37in that family. They manipulate each
13:39other in that family. So Jake, so so
13:41Laban tricked him and made him work
13:43seven more years in order to get Rachel
13:45only to find out after the first seven
13:47years he got Leah instead of Rachel. Now
13:49the Bible says a lot about Rachel's
13:51beauty. But the Bible says literally
13:53nothing about Leah's beauty. So then
13:55that mean
14:00Yeah. The Bible said that she was she
14:02was hard to look
14:04at. The Bible The Bible say you hard to
14:06look at. You hard to look
14:08at. The The Bible said, "Let me Oh,
14:13Jesus. The Bible said the the Bible."
14:15Y'all go back here. The Bible said The
14:17Bible said it. The Bible said, "Let's
14:19look at Rachel, though. Rachel. Rachel,
14:21I know where we at this Mother's Day.
14:23Let's look at Rachel. Rachel. Rachel was
14:25beautiful, but Rachel had an issue.
14:27Rachel was barren.
14:30Rachel was beautiful but barren. So
14:32people applauded Rachel but they didn't
14:34know that Rachel had an issue that they
14:35couldn't see.
14:38She was beautiful but she I don't have
14:40time. She was beautiful but she was
14:41barren. And uh she had the situation cuz
14:43Leo was was was fertile. So Leo would
14:46have so many kids. So now she has to be
14:50in close connection with the person that
14:52has everything that she wants and the
14:53person is letting her know she don't
14:55have it.
14:57So, what kind of competition environment
14:59is she living in? And then you got Jacob
15:03because he's dysfunctional. What he
15:05decides to do is he he takes and and him
15:08and Rachel come up with this plan to
15:10where they get the ma the the the
15:11handervant or the maid. And then Rachel
15:14I mean I'm sorry. Then Jacob has a baby
15:15with Rachel's maid. Then he has a baby
15:19with Leah's maid. So it's four baby
15:22mamas, one roof, all of these different
15:24kids. Somebody say dysfunction.
15:29Look at Rachel and you see a beautiful
15:31story of barrenness and
15:34brokenness. It it's it's interesting
15:36because Rachel's reality is this. It's
15:40possible to be a mother and have
15:43something going on that other people
15:45can't see. It's po. Do you know the pain
15:50that was on your mama?
15:55Do you understand what your mama had to
15:58go
15:59through? Do you know the hurt that was
16:03on your mama? I know I'm saying mama.
16:05I'm saying mama on purpose. Do you do
16:07you understand the pressure that that
16:09mama had to live with? Do you do you
16:12understand that she had to make ends
16:15meet? Do you understand that there were
16:17times when she went up there and y'all
16:18had spaghetti for four straight days?
16:20Amen.
16:23Do you know she made a meal out of
16:26nothing? Do you know? Do you know the
16:28stress and the strain that was on my
16:33mama? This is Rachel's reality. Rachel's
16:36reality is that she had to figure out a
16:38way in a dysfunctional environment. I'm
16:40going somewhere. She had to figure out a
16:42way in a dysfunctional environment in
16:43order to get the Bose. And watch this.
16:47She ended up
16:49dying giving birth to one of her
16:55children. So Benjamin, the youngest son,
16:58she ended up Is this too much for y'all?
17:00Y'all right. She ended up giving birth
17:02to Benjamin, naming him
17:06Beni, which means son of my sorrow
17:11because of the pain she was in having to
17:13give birth. I'm talking to the mothers
17:16for a moment about the pain of child
17:19birth. Now, I've never been a mother and
17:24uh but I've been around them. I've been
17:28in the hospital room and I've been
17:31around the whole situation and there's
17:33pain that's
17:36associated. She named the child son of
17:38my sorrow. Jacob comes in, names the
17:41child son of my right hand, son of
17:45favor. Because it doesn't matter what
17:47somebody named you, but when the father
17:49comes in,
17:52he'll change your name. I got to get to
17:55the text. Fast forward. J Rachel is
17:58Joseph's mother. She's passed now.
18:02Joseph has a dream. He goes to his
18:03brother, tells his brother, "I have a
18:05dream." Martin Luther King, he says, "I
18:07have a dream." And um
18:09And he begins to tell them his
18:13dream. Genesis 37:5 says this. Then
18:16Joseph had a dream. And when he told it
18:17to his brothers, they hated him all the
18:19more. He said to them, "Listen to this
18:21dream I had." Watch what he says. Verse
18:23number six and seven. We were binding
18:25sheets of grain out of the field when
18:26suddenly a sheath my sheath rose and
18:30stood upright while yours gathered
18:32around mine and bowed down to it. Okay.
18:34Verse number eight. His his brothers
18:36said to him, "Do you intend to reign
18:39over us? Will you actually rule over
18:42us?" They hated him all the more because
18:45of his dream and he had and what he had
18:50said. I told you last week that they saw
18:55Joseph coming and they hated him. They
18:57knew how the father loved Joseph and
19:00favored him and they hated him. They
19:02seen Joseph with his robe on and they
19:04hated him. They hated Joseph before he
19:06had a
19:08dream. Now he told them a dream and the
19:12Bible says they hate him even more.
19:15Why is that important? Because dreams
19:18don't create hate. They just reveal it.
19:25Dreams, the dream that you have don't
19:28create hate. It just reveals it. Watch
19:30this. This is extremely important. They
19:32they already hated Joseph. Joseph was
19:35hated before he had a dream. Somebody
19:36say before. Dreamchasers, here's your
19:39news flash. There are some people who
19:41have made up in their minds that
19:43regardless of what you do, they already
19:46don't like you.
19:48Let me free
19:50you. I don't care how many closure
19:52conversations you have.
19:55I don't care how many party invites you
19:57respond
19:58to. You try to invite them to stuff.
20:02You're trying to have conversations and
20:04you're exhausting yourself trying to
20:05gain their
20:08approval. Are y'all all
20:11right? It's possible that some of the
20:14people that's the closest to you, you
20:16know, don't don't say anything and just
20:18look straight at me. It's possible to
20:20have people in your family that don't
20:22like you and you don't know why. Just
20:24look straight at me. I don't want no I
20:26want no
20:28smoke. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It's possible.
20:31Some Some people love drama. They they
20:34they should be on Broadway. Some Some
20:36people love drama. They They love it.
20:38Watch this. This is extremely important.
20:40Dream chasers face difficult challenges.
20:42And in the face of Hey, here's what I
20:43want you to do. I want you to tag, text,
20:45or tell somebody this. This is an
20:47encouragement to you. Watch this. You
20:48can't chase dreams and drama at the same
20:52time.
20:56You gonna have to choose one.
20:59You you you can't chase dreams and drama
21:02at the same time. You're going to have
21:03to choose one. You you you dreams are
21:05what God wants you to do. Drama is what
21:06they think of you. You can't chase both
21:08of them at the same time. Dreams are
21:10what God says in his word. Drama is what
21:12they say out of their mouths. You can't
21:14chase both of them.
21:17It's quiet in here. So, Joseph was hated
21:20before he had a dream. Or maybe Joseph
21:24was hated because he had a dream.
21:30Maybe it was Joseph understanding and
21:32acknowledging his own dream that made
21:34the brothers feel some type of way that
21:36they don't have one.
21:40I'm trying to free the dream chasers in
21:42here. Maybe it's the fact that Joseph
21:45understood that. You know what? I know I
21:48come out of a family that is this way,
21:50but I have a different dream from my
21:52life. And it was Joseph's realization of
21:56what God has maybe called him to do that
21:58cause other people who was lacking that
22:01realization to come against him in hate.
22:04Some people are not hating you
22:06personally. They're hating the fact that
22:08when they see you, you remind them of
22:10what they don't know about themselves.
22:14It's quiet in here.
22:16Somebody say, "I'm a dream chaser."
22:19Maybe it's because he had a dream or a
22:22vision. M maybe maybe if you got a
22:25problem, watch this. Maybe the problem
22:28that people have is because you have a
22:30dream and you see something further than
22:32where you are now. Maybe my vision is
22:34what's what's bothering you. I If my
22:37vision is not to live check to check,
22:40I'm sorry if you mad. I'm not causing an
22:43indictment on you. It's just my dream.
22:45My vision is is to have an 800 credit
22:48score. My vision is to pray, fast, and
22:51study more. My vision is to have a real
22:53marriage that we are in real love. My
22:57vision has nothing to do with being
23:00against you. Maybe Joseph was hated
23:03before he had a dream. Maybe Joseph was
23:07hated because he have a dream. Or maybe
23:11Joseph was hated because of where his
23:13brothers belonged in the
23:18dream. Verse number 39 says this. Then
23:20he had another dream and he told it to
23:21his brothers. Listen, he said, I had
23:23another dream. He went back to him and
23:25talked to him again. Some of y'all
23:27didn't catch the hint. All right. Uh and
23:29this time the sun and the moon and the
23:3111 stars were bowing down to me. When he
23:33told this to his father as as well as
23:35his brothers, his father rebuked him and
23:37said, "What is this dream you had? Will
23:39your mother and I and brothers actually
23:41come and bow down to the ground before
23:43you? His brothers were jealous. Wait. I
23:46thought y'all just hated
23:48me. So the hate morphed into
23:52jealousy. All right. They were jealous
23:54of him. But the father kept these things
23:56in mind. Some people are not upset that
23:57you have a dream. They're upset about
23:59the role that they're playing in it.
24:03Maybe they thought that they were going
24:04to be main characters in the script of
24:06your life and they're actually just an
24:08extra.
24:13Maybe they thought y'all was going to
24:14make it last forever like Keith Sweat.
24:17When in actuality, y'all were gone in 60
24:22seconds. It's quiet. Y'all come back
24:25next week,
24:26please. The Father, Y'all. All right. So
24:30then the father sends Joseph to check in
24:33on his brothers at Sheckchum. I don't
24:35have time to deal with that. Um and the
24:38brother and Joseph goes and uh the the
24:42brothers see Joseph coming from a far
24:45off because he had on this colorful
24:48robe. Go back last week and I'll tell
24:50you what the robe looks like. But he had
24:51on this colorful robe. And um the thing
24:55about the robe that made the brother so
24:56upset is because of what the robe
24:59represented. The robe represented his
25:03favorite. It represented the father's
25:05favorite. Now, now the robe, they didn't
25:08hate the robe. Watch this. They didn't
25:11hate the robe because it was simply
25:14colorful. They hated the robe because it
25:17was customized.
25:22They Oh, God. You knew how good that
25:24was. You would have pushed your neighbor
25:25right out of their seat. They hated the
25:28robe. Not simply because it was
25:30colorful, but because it was customized.
25:33It was made specifically for Joseph. It
25:37wouldn't fit them. And some people are
25:42mad because God has customized a
25:45blessing just for you.
25:48Touch somebody and say, "It's mine."
25:50That's a
25:54They hated it not just because it was
25:55colorful, but because it was customized.
25:58And they said, "Um um let's kill him.
26:03Let's tear this robe up. Let's tear tear
26:05the robe off of him. Let's kill him and
26:08then uh and then we'll see what happens
26:12to his
26:13dream." They said, "Let's kill him and
26:17uh and then we'll see what happens to
26:19his dreams." They don't even understand.
26:21They messed up already because you
26:24thought that my coat had something to do
26:27with my dream.
26:29You thought that what was on me has
26:31something to do what God was doing in
26:33me. But the reality is the dream is
26:36going to live whether or not I die.
26:39Because the dream is about legacy. It's
26:42about generational changing.
26:47So they said, "Let's see what happens to
26:49his dream." But he don't he don't
26:51understand that not only is the dream
26:54going to live beyond me, a real dream is
26:57going to live beyond me. Watch this. A
26:59real dream, watch this. This going to
27:01mess you up to show you how misguided
27:03the brothers were. They didn't
27:05understand that it wasn't even Joseph's
27:07dream.
27:13I'm trying to make a loop all the way
27:14back to the title here. It wasn't even
27:17Joseph's dream. It was God's dream.
27:21So what they were trying to say is that
27:24they are going to try to stop God's word
27:27from coming to pass.
27:29But his word won't return void. It won't
27:32come back empty. You will get results.
27:35So it doesn't matter who said anything
27:37against me. If God be I'm sorry. If God
27:40be for me.
27:43So they take him, they tear his clothes,
27:45they throw him in the pit. I got to
27:46hurry up. They take him. They tear his
27:47clothes. They throw him in the pit. Um,
27:49they throw him in the pit. They throw
27:50him in the pit. Um, this is the pits.
27:52They throw him uh inside the pit. They
27:54take him. They tear his clothes. They
27:55throw him in the pit. And they devis a
27:56plan. They say, "I got a plot. The plot
27:58is I'll make it seem. We'll make it seem
27:59like a wild animal has killed them in
28:02the pit." They take him, they tear his
28:04clothes, they throw him in the pit. They
28:05thought that they put him in the pit to
28:07die. God put them in the pit to develop.
28:11Some people thought they left you to
28:13die, but God left you to develop. The
28:17heartbreak you thought you were going to
28:19die, but God says I was leaving you to
28:21develop.
28:23The betrayal you thought was going to
28:25end you, God was saying, "I'm going to
28:27elevate you."
28:29So, there's purposes of the
28:31pit. Because God sometimes orchestrates
28:34and other times allows pit seasons to
28:36propel us.
28:39He will allow a pit to propel us. God is
28:44the only one that will place you in a
28:46pit without your permission.
28:49He doesn't need your endorsement and he
28:52doesn't need our agreement. He will
28:54place us in a pit without our
28:57permission. But there's some purposes of
28:59the pit. Hurry up. I got to get out of
29:00here. I got three minutes. Oh Lord, give
29:02me five. I got five minutes. Watch this.
29:04Uh, one of the purposes of the pit is
29:07protection. Y'all say protection. They
29:09they they plotted and said, "Let's throw
29:10him in the pit." um tear his clothes and
29:14then we'll make it seem like uh a wild
29:16animal has devoured him. Uh that's what
29:20we'll tell daddy. But they don't
29:21understand that they thought that
29:24putting him in the pit was going to be
29:26something harmful when actuality putting
29:28him in the pit actually did help him
29:31because there were wild animals and
29:33people would often get devoured. But
29:35they thought what they meant for evil.
29:39God turned it around. So God hid Joseph.
29:44Lord, I'm preaching better than y'all
29:45saying amen. God hid Joseph from those
29:49who were trying to harm him
29:51by those who were trying to harm him.
29:57Y'all going to have to run this back on
29:58YouTube or
30:00something. So protection in the pit.
30:02There's preservation in the pit.
30:05Joseph was forced to sit in a dark and
30:06lonely pit of
30:08despair because of what other people had
30:11did to him.
30:13God preserved him until the right time.
30:16And if you keep reading, the brothers
30:18while they were out having lunch, they
30:21noticed a group of IshRaelites
30:24coming. Jacob, Isaac, Ishmael. You
30:28remember Ishmael was the first son but
30:31wasn't the promised seed. Oh God, if I
30:33had time, I'd tell you how the Ishelites
30:36were coming. Joseph, a descendant, in
30:39the
30:40pit and uh and uh they said, "Let's sell
30:43him off to the Egyptians and let the
30:46Egyptians take him." He could have died
30:49in the pit. But he didn't. God preserved
30:51him until the right time and then he got
30:55out. Not only is there preservation in
30:57the pit, there's positioning in the pit.
30:59God used the pit time to get Joseph in
31:01position for the Israelites. Lord have
31:03mercy. Not only is there positioning in
31:05the pit, that's purging in the pit. God
31:07God used that dark season of Joseph's
31:09life. I'm talking about Joseph, but I'm
31:10talking about you. Use that dark season
31:12of Joseph's life to bring him to an
31:13awareness of what was inside of him
31:16so that he can get himself prepared for
31:18what God has for him. Not only is there
31:21protection in the pit, not only is there
31:22preservation in the pit, not only is
31:24there positioning in the pit, not only
31:25is there purging in the pit, there had
31:27to be prayer in the pit. In other words,
31:30Joseph had to realize that when he was
31:32in the darkest season of his life, he
31:34couldn't wait on somebody else to do
31:36something. He had to look towards the
31:38heels from with cometh my help. All of
31:42my help comes from the Lord. So, here it
31:44is. I realize something. I'm about to
31:46hear. I realize that God picks from
31:49pits.
31:52I realize that God will pick from pits.
31:56He has a thing about picking people who
31:59are in dark seasons of their life. If I
32:01had time if I had time, I'll tell you
32:03about I I'll tell you about Elijah. If I
32:06had time, I'll tell you about Abraham.
32:08If I had time, I'll tell you about the
32:10similarities between Joseph and Jesus. I
32:13don't have time. But if I did, I would
32:14tell you that Joseph in the Bible and
32:17Jesus had a bunch of similarities. They
32:19stripped Joseph of his robe. They
32:22stripped my savior Jesus. They Joseph
32:25was loved by his father. So was my Jesus
32:29loved by his father. They put Joseph in
32:31a pit and they put my savior on the
32:34cross. He stay Joseph stayed there for a
32:37little while and then he got up and
32:39Jesus went to the grave, stayed there
32:42for a little while and then is there
32:45anybody in here that can say the this
32:52is the pitch.
32:56They took Joseph's garments.
32:59They took Jesus's garments
33:01and they gambled for them.
33:05at the foot of the cross
33:08and they thought just like the brothers,
33:10if I take his garments, I got him.
33:13But they took his garments, but they
33:15couldn't take his glory.
33:21They took Joseph's coat, but they
33:23couldn't take his conviction
33:25because something happened in the pit to
33:28prepare him for where he was going next.
33:33because where he was going next. He was
33:35going to need every lesson from that
33:39pit. He wasn't going from the pit to the
33:43palace.
33:44You know, now that's not the text. The
33:46text tells us that he was going from the
33:50pit to prison.
33:55So, here it is. a person who just got
33:58out of solitary confinement,
34:02getting ready to go back in.
34:08I could
34:09imagine Joseph going into a similar
34:12season like the prison. He would have a
34:15different disposition because he just
34:17came out of a pit. And when you've been
34:19through some stuff and then you end up
34:21going through some stuff, your
34:23disposition is different.
34:25you know how to handle some pits. You
34:28can find yourself in a financial pit and
34:29say, you know, I've been here before.
34:32You can find yourself in a relational
34:34pit and you say, I've been here before.
34:36I can handle this. You can find yourself
34:39in in a pit of despair, a pit of grief.
34:43You say, "I I recognize this. I've been
34:45here before." This pit is not
34:48punishment. The pit that you may find
34:51yourself in is not punishment. is
34:54preparation. It's proof that God has
34:57something in store for you. What you're
34:59going through is proof that God has
35:02something greater. He says, "I got to
35:04get you ready for what I'm getting ready
35:07for
35:08you. I've got to get you ready for
35:13it."
35:15This is the
35:19piss. If you will stand to your
35:22[Music]
35:30feet, I don't
35:33know what pit you might be
35:37in or coming out
35:40of, but here's what I do know. We serve
35:43a
35:44God that will pull you out. I I didn't
35:48have time to talk about it and
35:52But one of the brothers,
35:54Ruben, says, "Let's not kill him. After
35:57all, he is my brother. He is our
35:59brother." He says, "Let's not kill him.
36:02After all, he is our
36:04brother." Because Ruben had a plan to go
36:07and pull him out later when the brothers
36:08weren't looking.
36:13Then story goes on and one of his other
36:17brothers named
36:18Judah. Judah came to the
36:22pit reached down and pulled him
36:26out. Reason that's
36:28significant is because
36:30Judah means praise.
36:34And if you ever find yourself in a pit,
36:38I dare you to put a praise on your lips.
36:42If you ever find yourself in a pit, put
36:45a praise on your If you ever find
36:48yourself in a pit, put a praise on. Let
36:54everything that has
36:56breath praise the Lord.
36:58[Music]
37:02With every eye closed, every head
37:05bowed. Maybe you're here and God sent
37:08this word for you. You feel like you're
37:11in a
37:12season where it feels like the walls are
37:15closing in around you. You're in a
37:19pit. Maybe maybe you're like Joseph and
37:22and you don't even understand why this
37:25is
37:25happening. Maybe you feel like I ain't
37:28do anything. Come on, man.
37:30Maybe you have more tears than you do
37:33language. Maybe you're in a pit of
37:38grief. Maybe you're in a pit of sorrow.
37:40Maybe you're in the pit of
37:44confusion. But I want to pray for
37:47you. The altar is open for those who
37:50say, "I don't know what's going on, but
37:53I feel like I'm in a
37:55space and God