← The Church of Eleven22
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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You can be seated. I am so honored. What does it feel like to go to the very best church with the very best pastor? I know what it feels like because we're doing it. Amen, Pastor Joby. You know, I came to this church for a year and a half before I ever met Joby. I sat right where you're sitting, way up there. Because I needed. I needed to be discipled. I needed to be taught. I needed a pastor who I could 100% trust that he was getting into God's word and he would help get God's word into me. I could have gone to any church. But I'm so grateful God brought me here. All right. You glad? Thank you, Joby. And thank you, Gretchen. Because we know behind every great man is a really phenomenal woman. There's a lie that the devil would like for you to believe. And the lie is this. That God's word is too difficult to understand and too hard to live out. That's the lie that he wants you to believe. But I'm here to proclaim tonight that as we get into God's word, God is the one that hand fashioned our brain. And so if God hand fashioned our brain, I have to know that he made our brain with the intentionality for us to be able to receive His Word, for us to be able to let His Word seep deep in our soul. And to let His Word affect how we are, who we are, what we say, what we don't say. God's word is crucial. Jesus Christ saved my soul, but I believe it was the word of God that saved my mind. So let's get into God's word. Genesis 50:20. You intended to harm me. But God. Everyone say but God. But God intended it for good. To accomplish what is now being done. The saving of many lives. Do you see how two things can simultaneously be true? You intended to harm me. I love that the Bible doesn't sugarcoat or tidy that statement. Statement up. You know, Joseph is the one who said these words. Joseph has been betrayed in one of the most brutal ways by the very brothers that should have protected him. He's in the process of forgiveness. He is forgiving them for sure. But he also is fully acknowledging reality to his brothers. You intended to harm me. You had an intention. At the same time time, God also had an intention. And between these two simultaneous realities, there's this amazing statement, but God. I'm convinced that God likes really big buts. And I cannot lie. Okay? It's true. In A physical sense, but it is definitely true in a spiritual sense. You see, it's the linchpin. It's the turning place. You intended to harm me, but God also had an intention. God intended it for good. Now notice it doesn't say God intended it for my good right this minute. It doesn't say God intended it to make me feel good right now. No, you see, God also had an intention. And the intention was for good to accomplish something. The pain is not pointless. It's to accomplish something. The saving of many lives. These are hard earned words. These are hard, hard fought for words. And these words don't come until much later in Joseph's life. So let's look at where Joseph's story actually begins. In Genesis chapter 37, verse 2, it says this. Genesis 37, verse 2. This is the account of Jacob's family line. Now, I want to pause here and I just want to acknowledge something. Jacob is a major figure in biblical history. From Jacob's line of sons, we're eventually going to get the twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve tribes of Israel are going to make up so, so much of the Old Testament. So would you agree with me that this is a major biblical family that we are about to account for right here in Scripture? Yes, perfect. This is the account of Jacob's family line. Joseph, a young man of 17, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of hard word and the sons of another hard word. I said God handmade our brain to receive the word of God. I didn't say we would be able to pronounce all these names. Okay, his father's wives. And he brought their father a bad report about them. Now, Israel, same father. Jacob and Israel are used interchangeably. Same person, different names. Okay, so Israel, Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he had been born to him in his old age. And he made an ornate robe for him. And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Can you say family dysfunction? Yeah, you know, family dysfunction. I am so grateful that this major biblical family has family dysfunction up in there, because I think that is real life. Like, I could hand you the microphone right now and you could tell us about your family dysfunction and pass it down. You could tell us about your family dysfunction. You could tell about yours and yours. And if we got to someone, they're like, no, no family dysfunction up in here, honey, you might be the dysfunction. So we, we are not going to do that because we have this in common family, can we just acknowledge it ain't all perfect? It ain't all perfect, right? And if this major biblical family starts off the account of their family line, talking about their dysfunction, it just makes me feel like I have some hope for my people too. You know what I'm saying? All right now, Joseph. Oh, thank you. I also want to point out, it points out here that Joseph is a young man of 17. When you're 17, you don't know what you don't know. Can we just acknowledge that? I love 17 year olds. I was once 17. I've raised five children who all passed through the glorious age of 17. But sometimes when you're 17, you do not know what you don't know. For example, you young girls here, you do not know that one day you're gonna get to be my age and one day you're gonna wave. And you have done this so many times throughout your life, hundreds, thousands of times. You used to be waving to people, right? But on this day, you don't know, 17 year old, that when you get to be my age, you're gonna wave and something's gonna flap underneath here. You don't know that that's gonna happen to you. But I'm here to tell you right now that there is hope for you on that day when you wave and something flaps underneath the air. And you ain't going to understand it, but let me give you the hope. You see, when it is all tight down here, it sometimes ain't all right up here. However, one day it stops being all tight down here because it's a little more right up here. Amen. Amen. All right, Joseph, a young man of 17. You see, it's important that we note that he's 17, because we're going to follow Joseph through the course of his life and we're going to watch something amazing happen. So this young man is 17. He has some dreams. Now, we've already established that his brothers hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. And so it says in verse five that Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, oh, listen to this dream I had. We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field, when suddenly my sheaf stood upright while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it. Now imagine saying this to these brothers who already hate you. Like, I'm about to be the boss of all you fools, right? That's basically what this Young man is saying, his brothers said to him, do you intend to rule over us? Will you actually rule us? And they hated him all the more because of the dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream. And don't you just want to say, jojo, please do not share it the second time. Have some self awareness, right? They already hate you. It didn't go well when you shared the first dream. Don't do it again. But he does it again. Listen, I had another dream. And this time the sun and the moon and the 11 stars were bowing down to me. And when he told his father as well as his brothers, the father rebuked him and said, what is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down on the ground before you? His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. I also want to revisit another fact here. So we've already established Joseph is one of his father's favorites. His brothers hate him. He has these dreams that he's going to rule over them. And let's not miss the detail that the father has given Joseph a very ornate robe that Joseph is going to put on. Now, this is more than just a lavish gift given to him by his father. This robe is a symbol of something else. You see, you don't put on an ornate robe and go out into the field and work like the other brothers are going to have to work. So it's not just a lavish gift. It's also a symbol to the brothers of Joseph being the favorite son. Now, how many of you in here are oldest children? Just raise your hand. Okay. How many of you are youngest children? Oh, yes. See how you're waving? That's because you didn't have to work like the oldest children. So you got so much energy left, right? Joseph is one of the youngest ones here, and his brothers indeed hate him for so many reasons. Now the brothers are sent out into the field to work. And oftentimes Joseph is is sent out by his father Jacob to go spy on the brothers and bring a report back to the father to see how they're doing. Now, we already saw at the very beginning here that Joseph had brought back a bad report. But it happens again. You see, the father sends Joseph out wearing his fancy robe. He's going to go check on his brothers. And the brothers see Joseph coming in a distance. They see him coming and they know that he is coming to see what they're doing and possibly bring the father back. Another bad report. So it says in scriptures in Genesis 37, verse 18. But they saw him in the distance. And before he reached them, they plotted to kill his him. See, there's never just a little bit of hate. There's never just a little bit of bitterness. There's never just a little bit of jealousy. You see those feelings like bitterness. Bitterness doesn't just want to be a feeling that you have. Bitterness wants to be the consuming feeling that you have. It and it multiplies and it leaks out. Now the brothers are plotting to kill him. Here comes that dreamer, they said to each other. Verse 19, verse 20. Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams. Well, one of the brothers says, actually, actually, no. Verse 26. Judas said to his brothers, what will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Verse 27. Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood. His brothers agreed. So what happens is the Midianite merchants are coming along. They take Joseph, they've thrown him in a cistern. They pull him up out of the cistern, the cistern with no water, by the way. So this wasn't a gentle landing, this was a brutal act. They get Joseph, they strip him of his robe and they sell him to these merchants going to a foreign place, a foreign land. Imagine that moment. I don't ever want us to strip the humanity out of the text. Joseph is a real man and he has real feelings, right? So here are the brothers having sold him. I wonder what the brothers were doing. Laughing, jeering. Well, I know one of the main things that they did is they took that robe, they ripped it into shreds, they dipped it into animals blood. Now their plan is they're going to go back to the Father and give the Father this robe. And the Father is going to definitely think that Joseph has died. Nobody's going to be looking for Joseph. Now I want to point out this word that is so crucial in our text tonight. Genesis 37, 38, 36. Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of the Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard. If you write in your Bible, and I hope that you do, or if you're taking notes, I want you to make much of that word meanwhile. You see, with God there's always meanwhile. This can be true. The Father Thinks that Joseph is dead and he's not going to be looking for Joseph. And at the same time, Joseph is very much alive. There's a. Meanwhile, it's like a split screen. Two things are happening at the same time. And the same thing is true in our life as well. You see, there is the physical reality of what you're facing right now. I don't know what you're facing. I don't know all of your stories. But every week when I would walk through that door right up there and I go, and I'd sit in that spot right there, right where you're sitting, I carried with me pain, anxiety, fear. Because every week I was facing something. And I would imagine right now you're facing something too. Certainly as a nation, we're all very well aware of what we're facing, but it's also in our personal life. What did you carry in here tonight? What did you carry? Did you carry heartbreak, rejection, fear over the decisions that one of your kids is making? Did you carry uncertainty about a medical diagnosis? Did you carry the awareness that your spouse is being unfaithful? What did you carry in here tonight? Because I know we all carried something, didn't we? We all did. You see, there is the physical reality of what we see. Simultaneously there is the spiritual reality of what God is doing. We do not serve a do nothing God. God is always doing something. He's always doing something. He's always, always doing something. We may not be able to see it. We may not be able to perceive it. We may not understand it. We can't even fathom sometimes how God could ever take this that has broken our heart to pieces and somehow use it for good. That's why it's absolutely crucial that we stand on the truth of who God is. God is good. God is good to you. God is good to me. And God is good at being God. We don't have to understand it, we don't have to like it. We don't have to perceive what he's doing. Look, our job right now, whatever we're facing, our job is to be obedient to God. God's job is everything else. Everything else. Right. Now, back to Joseph. I wonder what Joseph was feeling like when he was walking toward this unknown future. He was just sold as a slave. And you know what's so confusing? I'm sure I wasn't there, but if I was Joseph, you know what I would be so confused about? God had given Joseph a vision to be a leader. And I'm sure Joseph made big assumptions of what his life would now look like. Like, would he go off to Harvard Academy? Would he be going to a leadership school? What would God do? And I'm sure Joseph had all these ideas of what his future would look like, but I bet it never included what's now unfolding. And sometimes it's really hard to walk toward a future that you never saw coming. And quite honestly, you don't want. That's why we have to remember that with God, there's always a meanwhile. So Joseph goes to Egypt and he's sold into the house of Potiphar. The Bible says that the Lord's favor was on Joseph. And Potiphar soon recognized that something was special about Joseph. And he promoted Joseph to be in charge of his whole. Now Joseph is leading. It's not at all the way Joseph thought he was leading, but he's learning leadership skills. He's developing, he's growing. How do I know that he's developing and growing? Well, because something happens that shows us he's developing and growing in this place that he doesn't even want to be. You see, the thing that happens is because of a complication about Joseph. Now, I'm going to read the scripture and I'm going to tell you what the complication is, and you're not even going to believe me. The complication is that Joseph is hot. Okay, I told you, you're not going to believe me, but it says very much in Scripture, Genesis 39, halfway through verse six. Now, Joseph was well built and handsome. What do you think the original means? The original language? It means he was hot. Okay? Verse seven. And after a while, his master's wife, Potiphar's wife, took notice of Joseph and said, come to bed with me. Okay? Whoever thinks that the Bible is boring, it ain't boring. Okay? Now, I don't know if Potiphar's wife is going to be in heaven. I have no idea. But if I. If I ever meet her in heaven, she's going to introduce herself. Like, hi. You know, I'm like, hi, I'm Lisa. Hi, I'm Potiphar's wife. Be like, whoa, girl, you had five words in the Bible. If I had five words in the Bible, I sure don't want it to be, come to bed with me. No, right. Whoa, girl. Okay, but here's how I know that Joseph. That Joseph is. He's being developed. God is developing his character to match his calling. Because Joseph says, no, no, he will not dishonor her and he will not dishonor Potiphar in this way. And he continues to tell her no over and over. And one day she gets so frightened, frustrated, that she literally throws herself on Joseph. And Joseph turns and runs from her. And she grabs his cloak and then takes it to Potiphar and says that Joseph has been making advances toward her. Now, who is Potiphar going to believe? His wife. That's right. So Joseph is about to get a promotion. It's not going to feel like a promotion. He's going to get promoted to prison. That doesn't feel like a promotion at all. But you see, when Joseph goes to prison, the Lord's hand is on Joseph. The Lord's favor is on Joseph. And soon the warden takes notice. And now Joseph is going to be leading in a much bigger way. He's going to be leading more people. Actually, the warden puts him in charge of the entire prison. Now Joseph is developing systems and strategies and he's leading people. Do you see how with God there's always a meanwhile? God took the rejection of the brothers and used it as a protection of Joseph's calling. Do you really think that at that age of 17 that Joseph could have possibly started leading his brothers in the situation they were in where the brothers had hated him so much? No. Now God did not cause this. But God allowed Joseph to get in a place where he could lead. Now he's gotten in another place. And God took the false accusation of Potiphar's wife and used it to give Joseph a promotion to lead in an even bigger way. Do you see how with God there's always a meanwhile? There's always something else going on. Now make no mistake, Joseph doesn't see that at this point in his story. But that's why the Bible is so awesome, because we can read in quick time Joseph's story from beginning to end. And we can see and trace the hand of God's faithfulness moving so that when we get to one of the places in our story where we're like, God, what are you doing? We can go and trace God's hand of faithfulness in Joseph's story. And it will build our courage and it will remind us there is a physical reality of what we see, all the hardships, and at the same time, our God is absolutely still on the throne. He is still moving. He is still helping us, protecting us, loving us. With God, there's always a meanwhile. So while Joseph was in prison, he meets two other people that have been thrown in prison. The cupbearer and the Baker. Now, the cupbearer and the baker, they have dreams, and Joseph can interpret dreams. So Joseph has a conversation with the cupbearer and the baker, and he interprets their dreams. Things don't go so well for the baker. It's like the meaning of his dream is like his head winds up impaled on a pole. I mean, it's just a whole situation. Okay, so I'll let you read that pot on your own. But with the cupbearer, his dream means that he is going to be released from prison. And Joseph asks the cupbearer to please remember him when he is released from prison. Genesis 4, 40, 14. Joseph says to the cupbearer, but when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness, mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews. And even here, I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon. Yes, Joseph is leading. Yes, Joseph is having his character developed to match his calling, but he's still going to bed in a dungeon every night. And I love that we get to read the honest humanity of Joseph because so many of us are right here. It ain't fair. How could I be in this place? I don't deserve this. I don't deserve being in here. And so at this point, Joseph does exactly what I have done before. And it's one of the greatest mistakes that I've ever made. And that is, I started thinking of all the good a good God should surely do. I know God is good. And so in my circumstance, during one of the lowest, hardest seasons of my life, I started to dream up the plan, the good plan that a good God should surely do. And I attached my hope to outcomes of my very own making. It's like I gathered up all the circumstances of my life. I gathered them all up and I came up with my own plan. And I looked at God and I said, now, God, here's exactly what should happen. It'll make you look good. It'll be good. I'm just telling you. So God bless this. Don't mess with the plan that I've come up with. Just bless it, right? And when we attach our hope to outcomes of our own making, and we start assuming that we know the plan that God should surely do, we. We will chase that with all of our heart. We will chase it, and then we will try to hold God accountable to the plan that we have made. And when he doesn't follow our plan, we get incredibly disillusioned I'm not saying you've ever done that. I'm humbly acknowledging that I have done that. So Joseph, I don't know. Cause I wasn't there. But what I see in scripture is that Joseph hangs his hope on the cupbearer being released. And the cupbearer going to Pharaoh and the cupbearer saying, hey, there's a Hebrew man in prison that should not be there. Will you release him? So that's what Joseph is hanging his hope on. So guess what? The cup bearer gets out. And Joseph knows that he gets out because Joseph is in charge of everything. So day one, I'm sure Joseph is like, okay, the cupbearer's out, he's gonna go mention me to Pharaoh, but he still goes to bed in the dungeon that night. Day two, day three, day four, day five, day six, day seven, day eight, day nine, day 10, day 40. Maybe the paperwork is taking a while. But surely the cupbearer's gonna remember. The cupbearer's gonna remember. The cupbearer's gonna remember, mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of the spirit Prison. Day 100, day 200, day 300, day 400, day 500. What do you think is happening in Joseph's heart when the plan that he came up with is not being followed by God? Hope deferred makes the heart sick. Whew. Been there in that heartsick place. Why, God? Why aren't you doing this? God, I see it so clearly. God, you've answered other people's prayers in this way. God, you're good. And my plans seem so good. Do you see how dangerous it can be when we hang our hope on anything else but who God is? So the scriptures say that when two full years had passed, look at Genesis 40, verse 23. The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph. He Forgot him. Genesis 41, verse 1. When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream. Do you know how long two years is? You know when I was going through discovering what my ex husband was doing, so many times in the middle of the night, I would wake up and I would just beg God with all of my heart, God, I want. I want a redemption story. God, please. You are a God of redemption. Please. And what I was hanging my hope on is that my redemption story had to be a reconciliation story. The problem is I could want it. I could want it with all my heart. I could pursue it, I could chase it. But I cannot control what another person willing or not willing to do, can't do that. And so I didn't get that reconciliation. I didn't get it. But you know what God gave me? He gave me a story of redemption. He gave me a story of redemption because my redemption was. Was not dependent on another person being fixed or changed. My story of redemption, sometimes it is a reconciliation. Mine was not. Mine was a rescue. And God said, precious girl, you have fought long and you have fought hard, and it is time for this rescue. And he took me out when two full years had passed. Two full years. Pharaoh has a dream. And if you're as old as me, you might remember the V8 commercial. Like, should have had a V8. That's kind of what the cup bearer was doing. Like, man. Actually, Pharaoh, you had a dream. Nobody can interpret the dream. There was one is this Hebrew man who was in prison who can interpret dreams. Now look at what the scripture says in Genesis 41, verse 14. So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought up from the dungeon. Because when it is God's time, it's the right time, and it becomes quick time like no other time. Amen, Joseph. Joseph was quickly brought up from that dungeon and he stood in front of Pharaoh. Now Pharaoh is his ticket to get out. Joseph wants to get out of that prison. And so Pharaoh says, joseph, can you interpret my dream? And this is where we really get to see how different Joseph is. He's no longer that braggadocious boy of 17. God has developed his character to match his calling. Because when Pharaoh says, joseph, can you interpret the dream? Joseph says, I cannot, but my God can. I cannot, but my God can. And so Joseph goes on and he interprets the dream. The dream that Pharaoh had means that there's going to be seven years of plenty. And Joseph explains that during the seven years of plenty, you need to store up all the extra food that you can. Because behind the seven years of plenty, there's going to be seven years of famine. And if you do not properly set up the systems and the ways to store the food during the seven years of plenty, during the seven years of famine, your people will starve. But if you will follow the plan and you save up during the seven years of plenty, your people will be saved. And Joseph stood in front of Pharaoh. And using the wisdom that Joseph got when he was leading in Potiphar's house and when he was leading in the prison, Joseph had no idea. Joseph just thinks he's a prisoner. Meanwhile, God is moving and arranging and changing and making sure that Joseph in This moment where God is going to use him, that he is so well prepared. And when Joseph finishes interpreting the dream, do you know what Pharaoh says? Pharaoh says, verse 39 of Genesis 41, Pharaoh says to Joseph, since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only respect to the throne. Will I be greater than you. Do you see what our God can do? Joseph went from being a forgotten prisoner in a forgotten dungeon to suddenly becoming the second most powerful man in Egypt, probably the second most powerful man in the world. God did that. Because with God, there is always a meanwhile. Yes, there's the hardship. And at the same time, there's something that God is doing and moving and arranging. It's true in Joseph's life and it's absolutely true in your life as well. Now, let me pose something to you. Imagine. Imagine if God would have followed Joseph's plan. Imagine that. And Joseph got out of prison. The cup bearer remembered him, mentioned him to Pharaoh. Joseph got out. Yeah, yeah. Joseph would have liked that for sure. But he would have never had an audience with Pharaoh. He would have never had an audience with Pharaoh. Two full years had to pass until Pharaoh had that dream. And because Joseph could interpret the dream, this timing was crucial. God loves to answer our prayers. He loves to answer our prayers. But he will not do it in wrong timing. God will answer our prayers according to his timing and in his way, because that is the good God that we serve. And so what happens in the land, indeed everything that Joseph said would happen, happens. There is seven years aplenty. And who is in charge of the food storage? Joseph. And Joseph stores up the food properly. So by the time that the seven years of famine came, the people are well provided for. Now, this famine didn't just affect Egypt. No, it spread all the way back into Joseph's homeland, where his father and his brothers were. And the father said, hey, I've heard that Egypt has food. So some of you brothers, you need to go to Egypt and get food. So here come the brothers, all the way from Joseph's homeland. Who's in charge of the food storage? Joseph. The brothers don't recognize Joseph. How could they possibly recognize Joseph? But Joseph eventually recognizes them. And Joseph has to make the excruciating decision. These brothers that betrayed him, these brothers that changed the course of his life. You know, sometimes the unchangeable can feel so very unforgivable. And Joseph eventually Does the hard work to forgive these brothers. My friends, that is where we get Genesis 50:20. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Wow. Now, I read that story and I'm so inspired, and I think, yay, Joseph. That's amazing. But I'm no Joseph. I'm never gonna rise through the ranks and become a leader of a country. I'm never gonna save a whole nation from famine. And I imagine maybe you're like me. And you're sitting there like, that's awesome. That's awesome. You intended to harm me, but God intended for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Is that really true for me? Like, will I really be a conduit to save many lives? Can I just speak to your heart real tenderly? It's because we don't have a right understanding of what really matters that we would feel that small. You see, when we get to heaven, we get to heaven. Things in heaven are going to be kind of upside down from the way that they are here on earth. The things that look so big here on earth, I think are going to be pretty small in heaven. And the things that seem so small here are going to be pretty big in heaven. You see, when I get to heaven, the thing that I want to hear most of all is, well done, good and faithful servant. Well done. That's what I want to hear so much. I don't think it's going to be because I held a microphone and I stood on the stage and I preached to thousands of people. I don't think it's going to be because I wrote a bunch of books. No, I don't think that. I think it's going to be more like, hey, Lisa, remember that day that you sat on a plane and a man came and sat beside you and you were tired and you didn't even want to talk to him, but then he started asking you questions and you witnessed to him, well done, good and faithful servant. Well done. You see, Joby stands on this stage every weekend and he tirelessly preaches to us about how important it is to bring our one more. I hope we don't ever underestimate how crucial it is. It's crucial. You have no idea. You have no idea what God can do with your one more. Let me close with a story about that. 24 years ago, indeed, I'd been speaking. I was tired, I got on a plane and I prayed such a selfish prayer. I said, God, you know, I've been serving you, like, pouring it out all weekend. And so if there's any way I could just have an empty seat beside me, I mean, I will really. I'll praise you from the depth if you will do this for me. Okay? So I prayed that selfish prayer. I got on the plane, the plane was packed. There was an empty seat beside me. I mean, hallelujah, right? But then, of course, right before they shut the plane door, they let one last person on the plane. It was a man. And I saw him coming, sure enough, right in the seat beside me. And I really wasn't in the mood to talk. And so I just decided I'd pull out my Bible, because sometimes that deters people from wanting to have a conversation. Look, I'm not proud of this, but I wasn't going to Church 1122 at the time that this happened, okay? So I didn't know about Joby's teaching, about the one more. So 24 years ago, sitting on a plane, man comes, sits beside me. I opened up my Bible, and the man leans over, he goes, huh? You just gonna, like, sit there, like, read the Bible? And I said, yes. What do you know about the Bible? He started fumbling with his answer, letting me know he knew facts about God, But I could tell he didn't know God. And so after he fumbled with his answer a bit, he said, what do you know about the Bible? Well, suddenly, I was not tired at all anymore. I'm like, let's go. And so I start telling him about different passages in scripture and about Jesus and about how Jesus can save, you know? And it's not about following the rules. It's about having a relationship. And then he starts asking me questions. And when he starts getting real deep into his questions, I start lifting up emergency prayers to God because I don't know where to find the verses that I know I need to give him, you know? And so I just. I would just, like, open up to the psalms. The psalms are awesome because you can just get all kinds of just stuff that'll work in the Psalms. And then I was opening up the Proverbs, because you can get all kinds of stuff that'll just kind of work in the Proverbs and then the gospels. And right in the middle of me witnessing to this man, I feel this enormous pressure on my heart. And I feel like God is speaking to me, and God is saying, lisa, give this man your Bible. And so while I'm witnessing to this man, I start having an argument with God. I'M like, I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, God. You see, this is like my Bible. Bible. This is like my. All my notes are in here. Tear stained, highlighted, written in. Like, my kids have drawn pictures in this. Like, this is my Bible. Bible, Bible, God. But that is a great suggestion. I will go home, I will buy this man a Bible, I will highlight it, and I will package it up and send to him. Go, God. And I go back to witnessing to this man. But you know, God can be very bossy sometimes. God was like, nope, give this man your Bible. Give this man your Bible. So I took my Bible and I closed it and I put it in this man's lap. And I said, sir, I think you're supposed to have my Bible. And he looked at me so stunned. He said, why would you give what is obviously such a treasured possession to a complete stranger? Why would you do that? I said, well, I have to be honest. I don't really want you to have my Bible. But something that God taught me a long time ago is that sometimes God pauses in the midst of all of his creation to touch the heart of one person. And I believe God has paused for you today. And you are supposed to have my Bible. That man, he looked at me. He looked at me and he said, okay, I'll read this Bible. And then the plane landed. He handed me his business card. I handed him mine. He got off the plane, and I'll be honest, I said a real quick prayer. I was like, hey, God, is it okay if I just follow him through the airport? Because he might throw it away. God, like, I'm totally trusting you. Totally trusting you. But also, I won't stalk him. I just need to know God. God was so sweet to me. God said, absolutely not. You see, anything that we place in the hands of our good God is never truly lost. Is never truly lost, ever. So two weeks later, I'm in my office and suddenly one of the gals that works for me, she runs back there and she goes, lisa, you're not going to believe it. The Bible man is on the phone. I'm like, hand me the phone right now. So I pick up and he's like, hey, this is Ron, the man you gave the Bible to. And I was like, hey, Ron. Like, it's amazing to hear from you. He was like, well, I just want to let you know, when I got home, I took a week off from work to read that Bible. What I was thinking in my head. I don't even know if I've Ever taken a week off from work to read the Bible? But I played it off real good. I'm like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what we all do. Sure thing. And then Ron said, and Lisa, after I was reading the Bible, I figured out I needed to go to church. And so he said, I got in my car one Sunday and I was driving to this church, and I got to the church, but it's like my car wouldn't turn in. It's like something came over me, and I literally could not turn in to that parking lot. I said, ron, that was probably the whole Holy Spirit. And he said, what was the holy something? Because I was directed to this other church. I walk in the back doors of this other church, and Lisa, though we live in completely different states, I yelled out loud at church. When I got in my seat, I said, why did you yell? He said, there was a little pocket in the chair in front of me, and there was a paper in it. And I picked up the paper, and your picture was on that paper. He said, I yelled, that's the woman who gave him a Bible. I was like, yeah. So you see, like, I sort of travel around and teach the Bible and stuff. Yeah. And so he said, lisa, remember when you told me that sometimes the God of the universe pauses in the midst of all of his creation to touch the heart of one? I know God has paused for me. We said a few other things and then hung up the phone. That was 24 years ago, and I never heard from Ron again until this year. You see, I was in San Antonio, and I was speaking, and my assistant was in the lobby. I was back on the tour bus. I was getting ready, and she came bouncing on the tour bus, and she's like, hey, Lisa, there's three women here you've got to meet. I said, sure thing. Go get them. So she brings them on the bus. It was Ron's daughter, Ron's sister, and one of their family friends. And his daughter looked at me and she said, lisa, thank you so much for what you did for my dad. You see, not only did my dad receive Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, but he led our entire family to know Jesus. Ron passed away three years ago, very suddenly, and his daughter said, but you know what? My dad left me. He left me your Bible. And she reached in her bag and she pulled out the Bible. And I said, that's amazing. Can I hold it? Can I look at it? I want you to see something. I have a picture of Ron that I want you to see. This is Ron, so long ago. The next picture I want you to see is his daughter holding the Bible together. And you know what's really amazing? She wasn't even born when I gave Ron that Bible. Wasn't even born. So I asked her if I could look through the Bible, and she said, of course. So we start flipping through the Bible. I saw all of my notes, and then I saw all of Ron's notes, and then I saw all of his daughter's notes throughout this Bible. There's one other picture, a couple other pictures I want you to see. There's a picture of a receipt of something that I purchased. And I want you to look at the date October 25, 2001. And you know it was 20, 24 years ago, because you are not buying anything at an airport store for $2.86, not today. That was a receipt of something I purchased right before I got on that plane with Ron. And if you can see through the receipt, I took that receipt out of my purse, and on the back I wrote all kinds of Bible verses. And then I told Ron, start with these verses. I closed the receipt, tucked it in the Bible, and it was still in there 24 years later. And I want to show you one last picture. This picture. These are Ron's notes, and they are dated 2006. Ron was writing those notes. That was five years into his journey. He's the one that added all of the tabs for the books of the Bible. And that's his handwriting five years after he met me. And he's talking about the spirit of stewardship. That's what our God can do. That right there is what our God can do. The story of Joseph is absolutely incredible, but so is your story, and so is the story of each of the one mores that you bring to hear the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ Tonight. Tonight, the worship team is going to come back up and I want to invite you to come forward. And there's three reasons that I want you to come and do business with God tonight. I want you to get on your knees and I want you to pray for your one more. Number two. I want you to surrender some plan that you've told God. I will only be okay if the rest of my story goes this way. I am only willing to accept the outcome that I think is best. I think some of us need to do business with God and we need to get on our knees and we need to say, I will trust you. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And lean not on your own understanding in all your ways and acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight. And the third reason I want you to come forward tonight is because some of you, your heart's been pretty cold toward God lately. Boy, do I know what that feels like. It's like you know him. You still read your Bible, you still come to church, but you've just felt so distant because you've been so disillusioned by what's been happening in your life. Tonight, when everybody else is coming forward for their own reasons, I want you to come forward. I want you to get on your knees and I want you to tell God, give me relief from my unbelief. God, I love you. God, you are good. God, you are good to me and God, you're good at being God. So in a minute, the praise band's gonna sing, and I want you to come. But before we do that, if you're physically able, will you please stand? Stand. I want to read you something I wrote that I know, I know is for you tonight. It's called being brave. Being brave is not always something you feel. Being brave is something you do. You do it in the face of fear and unknown outcomes and risk you really don't want to take. You do it when your enemy is staring you down with taunting statements of defeat. You do it not to prove there's something great inside of you. You do brave because if you don't, something will die inside of you. You do brave things because it's time to rise up and speak up and let truth find its freedom with your voice. The hurt you've had to overcome is hard. It's really hard. What happened was wrong. Acknowledge it stopped. Speak it. Cry over it. But don't you dare die over it. You've been hurt, but you don't have to live hurt. You do brave things because you are a man or a woman who can kneel humbly and rise intentionally. You'll find good people, and good people will find you. And you will do brave until you become brave. You'll know love again. You'll know laughter again. And you'll know deep in your bones that you will not waste all that you've learned. Those spilled tears, every one of them was you letting go of the pain to make room for possibility. Your life is not a tragedy. It's a testimony that God is your rock and your redeemer. And if your hands are shaking, let it be only because you're pointing at the devil who picked the wrong person to mess with this time. Don't wait. Don't wait until you feel brave, Church. Go. Be brave. And if God is for you, then nothing, nothing can stand against you.