WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:04.040 Amen. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:08.039 the book of Genesis. Genesis 41. Genesis 41. 00:00:09.619 --> 00:00:12.160 Be in prayer for Pastor Brian, Sister Erica. 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:16.039 They've taken a little hiatus this weekend, so 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:19.420 let's pray the Lord give them a break. You know, 00:00:19.420 --> 00:00:25.160 we are blessed to have them. I mean, really, 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.800 really blessed. Amen. And I thank the Lord for 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:34.509 them. And everything they do. They pick up a 00:00:34.509 --> 00:00:39.390 lot of slack for me. And I'm grateful for that. 00:00:39.509 --> 00:00:44.009 Amen. And I tell them that as well. I'm getting 00:00:44.009 --> 00:00:49.469 better as I get older at relaying those things. 00:00:49.689 --> 00:00:56.009 Back early in the day, I didn't pat you on the 00:00:56.009 --> 00:01:00.200 back. You just done your job. But I've since 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:04.920 learned better. Amen. Aren't you glad for a pastor 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:11.959 that learns? Amen. You realize why you succeed. 00:01:12.540 --> 00:01:17.480 It's everybody around you. Them big eyes, they 00:01:17.480 --> 00:01:21.420 go away really quick. Amen. When you wake up 00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:24.560 one day and say, oh, now I know. Then you've 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:28.400 got to go back like I have. Tell people, I'm 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:32.540 sorry. I should have did this or that. Amen? 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:37.359 You ever had to do that? Oh, it's a bitter pill, 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:41.180 but it gets better after it goes down. You know, 00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:44.780 that pride thing. You choke on it. You know? 00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:48.519 It'll choke you. Pride will. It'll choke you. 00:01:49.620 --> 00:01:53.099 But if you ever learn the lesson, man, life gets 00:01:53.099 --> 00:01:56.450 good after that. Amen? So I tell you what, when 00:01:56.450 --> 00:01:59.290 they get back in here next week, just go over 00:01:59.290 --> 00:02:02.109 and above. Let them know how much you love them 00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:04.250 and appreciate them. Amen? They're going to say, 00:02:04.390 --> 00:02:07.489 oh, okay, thank you. It's just good to watch. 00:02:07.950 --> 00:02:15.050 Amen? Have you found Genesis 41? Okay, let's 00:02:15.050 --> 00:02:18.569 look. I want to read just a couple passages of 00:02:18.569 --> 00:02:21.930 Scripture, just a couple verses. Then we're going 00:02:21.930 --> 00:02:25.210 to touch on a few more. and to see what the Lord 00:02:25.210 --> 00:02:31.550 has for us today. Amen? Verse 51 reads, And Joseph 00:02:31.550 --> 00:02:35.930 called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. For 00:02:35.930 --> 00:02:40.250 God said, He hath made me forget all my toil 00:02:40.250 --> 00:02:44.590 and all my father's house. And the name of the 00:02:44.590 --> 00:02:48.610 second called he Ephraim. For God hath caused 00:02:48.610 --> 00:02:55.069 me to be fruitful in the land of my... I want 00:02:55.069 --> 00:02:57.210 to preach this morning with the help of the Lord 00:02:57.210 --> 00:03:01.909 on a thought. I preached this 12, 14 years ago. 00:03:02.990 --> 00:03:06.650 And, man, it just leaped in my spirit yesterday. 00:03:07.250 --> 00:03:09.930 And so I want to share it again with the help 00:03:09.930 --> 00:03:11.430 of the Lord. I figure if it's worth preaching 00:03:11.430 --> 00:03:13.490 once, it ought to be at least worth preaching 00:03:13.490 --> 00:03:18.310 twice. Especially, especially if the Spirit of 00:03:18.310 --> 00:03:23.629 the Lord stirs your heart on it. Amen? I want 00:03:23.629 --> 00:03:26.689 to preach on this thought, living the dream in 00:03:26.689 --> 00:03:33.530 spite of the nightmare. Living the dream in spite 00:03:33.530 --> 00:03:38.310 of the nightmare. Amen. It makes me almost want 00:03:38.310 --> 00:03:41.050 to shout right there with just the title. I'll 00:03:41.050 --> 00:03:43.490 pray for you if you pray for me, and we'll pray 00:03:43.490 --> 00:03:46.849 for each other. Father, as we're in the house 00:03:46.849 --> 00:03:51.610 today, truly your presence is here with us. we 00:03:51.610 --> 00:03:54.810 are experiencing and encountering the nearness 00:03:54.810 --> 00:03:58.150 of your presence. So, Father, I pray you speak 00:03:58.150 --> 00:04:00.870 to every heart and every mind today. Lord, and 00:04:00.870 --> 00:04:04.009 truly, as is prayed throughout time, we that 00:04:04.009 --> 00:04:07.210 have ears to hear, may we hear what the Spirit's 00:04:07.210 --> 00:04:10.530 saying to us today. Speak to the church this 00:04:10.530 --> 00:04:13.509 morning. Speak to our hearts today, Father God. 00:04:13.949 --> 00:04:16.170 We'll be quick to praise you for all that we 00:04:16.170 --> 00:04:19.550 hear, for we know, we know that you love us. 00:04:20.269 --> 00:04:22.790 Father, touch me today as I surrender my heart, 00:04:22.829 --> 00:04:27.089 myself to you this morning, that we would speak 00:04:27.089 --> 00:04:30.810 what should be edifying, lifting up, encouraging 00:04:30.810 --> 00:04:34.029 to the body of Christ. But Lord, may we speak 00:04:34.029 --> 00:04:37.629 words that do damage to darkness and we defeat 00:04:37.629 --> 00:04:41.209 the enemy in Christ's name. And the church says, 00:04:41.410 --> 00:04:45.829 ask your neighbor, are you living the dream or 00:04:45.829 --> 00:04:52.240 the nightmare? We use that statement, and it's 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:56.060 kindly been around for a little while. When you 00:04:56.060 --> 00:04:58.560 talk to people, you ask them, say, well, how 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:00.779 you doing? And they'll say, man, just living 00:05:00.779 --> 00:05:05.920 the dream, right? Just living the dream. Or sometimes 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:11.899 you'll get that little sarcastic response. They're 00:05:11.899 --> 00:05:16.060 in a hole somewhere, you know. You come up beside 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:17.939 someone on the side of the road, man, what's 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:21.259 going on? And their car's broke down, and you 00:05:21.259 --> 00:05:23.720 can see frustration on them, and they'll look 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:28.199 at you and say, oh, just living the dream. Same 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:33.209 phrase, different connotation, right? Some folks 00:05:33.209 --> 00:05:36.709 are living the dream. Life is grand. Everything 00:05:36.709 --> 00:05:40.329 is going according to plan. Matter of fact, it's 00:05:40.329 --> 00:05:43.269 going better than the plan. Hello? Have you ever 00:05:43.269 --> 00:05:45.550 had a time in your life when it was going better 00:05:45.550 --> 00:05:48.500 than the plan? And someone asks you, well, how 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:50.620 you doing? And sincerely you say, man, we're 00:05:50.620 --> 00:05:53.800 just living the dream. It couldn't be any better 00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:56.040 than this. And then there's those other times, 00:05:56.139 --> 00:05:58.500 right, when all hell's broke loose, right, when 00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:00.500 everything you've got's broken down. The washer 00:06:00.500 --> 00:06:03.939 won't run. Amen. The dryer's quit. It's on fritz. 00:06:03.939 --> 00:06:07.660 The TV's quit. Amen. The car, it's on its last 00:06:07.660 --> 00:06:10.279 leg. And somebody comes up who's living the dream, 00:06:10.420 --> 00:06:12.040 and everything's good for them. And they look 00:06:12.040 --> 00:06:13.920 at you and say, how's it going? And you look 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:18.139 at them and say, oh, just living the dream. Just 00:06:18.139 --> 00:06:20.639 living the dream. Another day, you've heard it 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:24.300 said, another dollar, right? That's the way life 00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:28.000 goes from time to time. You're living the dream 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:33.220 or you're living the dream, right? But I think 00:06:33.220 --> 00:06:36.980 for a child of God, we can live the dream in 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:44.680 spite of the nightmare. Amen? Life itself is... 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:50.939 It's a series of wins and losses. Win some, lose 00:06:50.939 --> 00:06:54.420 some. We say that old cliche, right? I win a 00:06:54.420 --> 00:06:56.899 few, lose a few, right? That's the way life goes. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:02.480 And there's no simple way to live life without 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:07.339 experiencing some type of loss. There's no way. 00:07:08.110 --> 00:07:11.189 for you to go through life without experiencing 00:07:11.189 --> 00:07:15.949 some kind of a loss. It may be a goldfish as 00:07:15.949 --> 00:07:19.589 a child. You're going to have a loss of some 00:07:19.589 --> 00:07:23.050 kind. As an adult, life can slip through our 00:07:23.050 --> 00:07:27.029 fingers, as the old soap opera used to say, like 00:07:27.029 --> 00:07:31.310 sands through the hourglass. Ladies, where you 00:07:31.310 --> 00:07:38.079 at? Wave at me. Come on. And so are the... Days 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:46.079 of our life. You used to have to watch that in 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:48.079 the summer when my sister was home. We was all 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:53.160 home from school. So are the days of our lives. 00:07:55.300 --> 00:08:00.259 The sand goes through the hourglass. Right? There's 00:08:00.259 --> 00:08:04.379 no way to live victorious and triumphantly without 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:09.180 learning how to handle. loss and dealing with 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:12.660 grief and defeat from time to time. Because that's 00:08:12.660 --> 00:08:16.579 the life in which we live. There's highs and 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:21.480 there's lows. Amen? When we think about the life 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:25.500 of Joseph, Joseph's life, as an example, speaks 00:08:25.500 --> 00:08:29.439 very profoundly to where many of us may be today. 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:34.340 And where life, it just opens up a sense of relevance 00:08:34.340 --> 00:08:38.389 to us. When you understand the life and the times 00:08:38.389 --> 00:08:44.230 of Joseph. We think about Joseph as children 00:08:44.230 --> 00:08:47.029 in Sunday school class. And we know the story 00:08:47.029 --> 00:08:49.629 of the coat of many colors, right? And all that 00:08:49.629 --> 00:08:52.129 good stuff. We know the good side of Joseph's 00:08:52.129 --> 00:08:56.250 life. But Joseph's life had a lot of downturns 00:08:56.250 --> 00:08:59.129 with it as well. It had a lot of low points. 00:08:59.289 --> 00:09:03.509 We have him as a man who learned how to deal 00:09:03.509 --> 00:09:08.529 with loss. Joseph learned how to deal with loss 00:09:08.529 --> 00:09:12.210 at a very, very early age. Somebody said, well, 00:09:12.230 --> 00:09:14.009 what did he lose? Well, first of all, he lost 00:09:14.009 --> 00:09:17.509 his childhood. He lost his family. He lost his 00:09:17.509 --> 00:09:21.429 home. He lost everything that he knew that existed 00:09:21.429 --> 00:09:24.350 in his life that was worth having. He lost his 00:09:24.350 --> 00:09:28.029 father's love because he was the favorite son. 00:09:28.169 --> 00:09:31.919 Amen? He lost dignity. He was in prison. He was 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:35.820 falsely accused. He lost many things in his life. 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:39.539 That childhood was lost and never to be regained 00:09:39.539 --> 00:09:43.559 again. So how do we think Joseph would feel? 00:09:44.330 --> 00:09:47.070 going through all of this stuff. How do you think 00:09:47.070 --> 00:09:49.789 he dealt with the dungeon? How do you think he 00:09:49.789 --> 00:09:52.490 dealt with the hole in the ground that his brothers 00:09:52.490 --> 00:09:56.009 put him in? How do you think he dealt with overhearing 00:09:56.009 --> 00:09:58.850 the conversation of one of his older brothers 00:09:58.850 --> 00:10:01.850 wanting to kill him and just tell daddy that 00:10:01.850 --> 00:10:05.090 the lions tore him up? How do you think he dealt 00:10:05.090 --> 00:10:07.690 with all that as a young man? He dealt with it 00:10:07.690 --> 00:10:11.009 like any of us would. He dealt with it very harshly. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:14.139 But in all that Joseph lost, you've got to understand 00:10:14.139 --> 00:10:18.460 something. He never lost his trust and full confidence 00:10:18.460 --> 00:10:22.320 in God, in his God. You've got to remember that 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:25.559 the thing the devil couldn't take from him and 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:29.200 cause him to lose was the dream that God had 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.320 given him. My, my, my, my. There's a lot of things 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:34.840 in life that came and went in Joseph's life. 00:10:34.980 --> 00:10:37.860 But one thing that Joseph never lost hold on 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:41.500 was the dream that God gave him. He knew what 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:44.460 God had spoken into his life. He knew what he 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:47.659 had seen, and he knew what God was going to do. 00:10:47.820 --> 00:10:50.379 And then in spite of all of the losses of life 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:53.639 and how things have transpired, Joseph had chosen 00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:58.759 not to lose out on God. He understood in Egypt 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:01.799 that he was going to find... I don't know that 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:03.879 he fully understood what was going to transpire 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:06.200 in his life. There's no way that you can fully 00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:08.980 understand that God is in control when your brothers 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:11.019 are trying to take your life and they throw you 00:11:11.019 --> 00:11:13.200 in a hole in the ground. Then they sell you into 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:15.879 slavery. There's no way that you can just hold 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:20.159 on and have joy, feel every single day on a dream. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:22.779 I tell you this morning, I think the enemy attacked 00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:25.860 his dream. He never lost it, but I know that 00:11:25.860 --> 00:11:28.659 doubt had to creep in from time to time. How 00:11:28.659 --> 00:11:32.740 low that he was. this pit and then he gets sold 00:11:32.740 --> 00:11:35.399 into slavery and then from slavery he gets falsely 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:38.320 accused by Potiphar's wife and he gets ended 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:41.580 up into prison and then in prison as he's there 00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:44.080 he thinks he's got a way out and then the man 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:47.179 betrays him because of the answer that he's given 00:11:47.179 --> 00:11:49.860 and he thought he had his escape and I'm telling 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:52.279 you how the enemy works in our mind and even 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:55.179 someone probably as positive as Joseph he had 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:57.840 to begin to think that the dream had turned into 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:00.379 a nightmare. There's no way. that life could 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:02.779 get any worse than what it is right now. I'm 00:12:02.779 --> 00:12:05.240 talking to somebody this morning. You have lived 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:08.240 the dream, and now it appears as though the nightmare 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:10.960 is raising its ugly head, and you don't know 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:12.899 how to deal with the loss. You don't know how 00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:14.720 to deal with the grief, and you can't put it 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:17.059 behind you. But I think there's something that 00:12:17.059 --> 00:12:19.840 we can glean from the life of Joseph, some things 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:22.019 that will help us. First thing he understood, 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:24.580 that he was going to meet the God of restoration 00:12:24.580 --> 00:12:27.980 in Egypt. God was going to call some restoration 00:12:27.980 --> 00:12:30.929 to come in. a chosen life. I don't know about 00:12:30.929 --> 00:12:33.690 you, but my dream needs a little bit of restoration. 00:12:34.070 --> 00:12:36.870 I don't know about you, but I need God to stir 00:12:36.870 --> 00:12:40.009 something up in the depths of my soul and let 00:12:40.009 --> 00:12:42.409 me know that he's not forsaken me, that he's 00:12:42.409 --> 00:12:46.049 not forgotten me, that God is still on my side. 00:12:46.169 --> 00:12:48.669 I'm here to tell you, when life turns into a 00:12:48.669 --> 00:12:51.149 nightmare, sometimes the enemy can cause you 00:12:51.149 --> 00:12:53.870 to begin to wonder where God is. Well, just let 00:12:53.870 --> 00:12:56.389 me reaffirm to you where God is at this morning. 00:12:56.509 --> 00:12:59.549 He is the God of restoration. He is a God who 00:12:59.549 --> 00:13:02.470 will restore you. David put it this way. He restores 00:13:02.470 --> 00:13:06.389 my soul. Hallelujah. I'm here to tell you today 00:13:06.389 --> 00:13:09.490 that you can trust God and depend on God. If 00:13:09.490 --> 00:13:12.289 life has turned into a nightmare, hold on to 00:13:12.289 --> 00:13:14.950 your dream because you can live the dream in 00:13:14.950 --> 00:13:17.710 spite of the nightmare that the enemy is bringing 00:13:17.710 --> 00:13:20.129 into your life. Holding on to the hope that we 00:13:20.129 --> 00:13:23.149 have in God, knowing that God is the one who 00:13:23.149 --> 00:13:28.600 restores. Joseph's about to come into contact 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:31.539 and encounter God in a way that he never had. 00:13:31.700 --> 00:13:35.629 He's going to encounter God as he restores. him. 00:13:35.850 --> 00:13:38.570 And to restore means this, to bring something 00:13:38.570 --> 00:13:43.009 back into existence, to bring into effect, to 00:13:43.009 --> 00:13:45.970 bring back to a former or original condition. 00:13:46.190 --> 00:13:48.309 Somebody needs to hear this this morning. Oh, 00:13:48.330 --> 00:13:51.110 the Lord knows where we are. To reinstate or 00:13:51.110 --> 00:13:54.549 to return. Remember David said he restores my 00:13:54.549 --> 00:13:57.490 soul. Understand that God is wanting to bring 00:13:57.490 --> 00:14:01.129 back. He has the power to bring things back into 00:14:01.129 --> 00:14:04.269 existence, into order. That's the reason you 00:14:04.269 --> 00:14:06.710 can live. Live the dream in spite of the nightmare 00:14:06.710 --> 00:14:10.450 because you are encountering a God who is restoring 00:14:10.450 --> 00:14:13.470 everything about you. He leads you beside the 00:14:13.470 --> 00:14:15.970 still waters. He leads you into the green pastures. 00:14:16.009 --> 00:14:27.950 And it is there that he restores. He's a restorer. 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:35.980 Jeremiah 30 and 17 says, but I will restore you 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:41.039 to health and heal your wounds. He is a restorer. 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:46.200 Nahum, the major minor prophet, the Lord will 00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:48.879 restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:53.480 of Israel. Though destroyers have laid them waste 00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:57.820 and have ruined their vines, he will restore. 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:03.940 Amen? Genesis 20, 14, Sarah. is restored to Abraham. 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:09.389 2 Kings 11, 17, Jehoiada restores worship. to 00:15:09.389 --> 00:15:14.929 God. Mark 10 46, Jesus restores sight to Bartimaeus. 00:15:15.029 --> 00:15:18.269 Can I get a witness this morning? He is the one 00:15:18.269 --> 00:15:21.450 who brings restoration into our life. He is the 00:15:21.450 --> 00:15:24.009 one that brings things back into existence. He 00:15:24.009 --> 00:15:27.730 is the one who puts things back into order. Amen. 00:15:27.789 --> 00:15:30.330 He is the one who causes things that are in distress 00:15:30.330 --> 00:15:34.129 to come back into purpose. He is the one who 00:15:34.129 --> 00:15:37.250 brings a nightmare into check and causes reality 00:15:37.250 --> 00:15:40.789 again. to cause the dream that he has given to 00:15:40.789 --> 00:15:44.409 live out in our everyday life. Somebody needs 00:15:44.409 --> 00:15:46.830 to know it and hear it in the depth of your soul 00:15:46.830 --> 00:15:49.190 this morning. Life has turned into a nightmare, 00:15:49.230 --> 00:15:52.330 but I want you to know the God of heaven who 00:15:52.330 --> 00:15:55.830 has given you a dream is able to restore your 00:15:55.830 --> 00:16:08.429 dream. God gave Joseph. A two -fold restoration. 00:16:13.309 --> 00:16:19.929 That he could say, first of all, he's made me 00:16:19.929 --> 00:16:26.090 to forget. And he's caused me to be fruitful. 00:16:28.950 --> 00:16:33.950 These two blessings are revealed through the 00:16:33.950 --> 00:16:41.220 names of his two sons. Joseph, who's now chapter 00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:46.240 41, he's out getting out of the prison. Beginning 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:54.179 of the chapter, Pharaoh has his dream. Long story 00:16:54.179 --> 00:16:58.139 short, Joseph gives the interpretation. You remember 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:03.879 the dream, right? Seven fat cows, seven skinny 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:15.140 cows. I'm in the middle cow now. Huh. Yeah. Corn 00:17:15.140 --> 00:17:18.000 stalks come up with seven ears, seven good ones, 00:17:18.059 --> 00:17:21.240 and seven skinny ones. How many of you ever eat 00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:25.740 on a big salad buffet and they got them little 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:29.420 bitty ears of corn that's pickled? Yeah, I call 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:34.420 that famine corn. That's what it reminds me of. 00:17:34.420 --> 00:17:36.279 Every time I go to a salad bar and I see them 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:38.619 little bitty pickled corns, I think of Joseph. 00:17:39.630 --> 00:17:43.410 I think how good God is. I call them little corns 00:17:43.410 --> 00:17:46.450 famine corn. That's famine corn. Amen. Let's 00:17:46.450 --> 00:17:48.390 get on past famine corn. Get down there to the 00:17:48.390 --> 00:17:54.930 peaches and cream. Let's live the dream. He's 00:17:54.930 --> 00:17:57.150 come. He's been brought out of the prison because 00:17:57.150 --> 00:18:04.109 finally somebody remembered. Right? Oh, there's 00:18:04.109 --> 00:18:07.569 an old boy in jail that got me out. Tell Pharaoh 00:18:07.569 --> 00:18:14.049 he can tell him his dream. Right? So Joseph gets 00:18:14.049 --> 00:18:17.210 brought before Pharaoh and he begins to tell 00:18:17.210 --> 00:18:20.710 him, oh, that's an easy one. There's seven good 00:18:20.710 --> 00:18:22.990 years coming and here's what you do. You store 00:18:22.990 --> 00:18:26.450 up. You prepare. There's a famine on its way. 00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:30.029 There's hard times coming. You build grain stores 00:18:30.029 --> 00:18:32.890 and you fill them up. And not only are you going 00:18:32.890 --> 00:18:34.410 to spare your people, but you're going to get 00:18:34.410 --> 00:18:38.559 wealthy in the process. Right? Seven good years, 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:40.539 but then there's seven bad years coming. And 00:18:40.539 --> 00:18:45.460 before the seven bad years come, because of Joseph's 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:49.700 faithfulness to Pharaoh, Pharaoh grants him a 00:18:49.700 --> 00:18:53.480 wife. And in granting him a wife, Joseph begins 00:18:53.480 --> 00:19:00.819 to have a family in the middle of Egypt. Here's 00:19:00.819 --> 00:19:03.799 how God works for you, huh? Here's how God works 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:09.039 for you. This firstborn son, Joseph named him 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:12.700 Manasseh. Why? Because it has meaning. It has 00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:17.220 purpose. Here is this first blessing in the midst 00:19:17.220 --> 00:19:20.660 of what was supposed to be the nightmare of life. 00:19:20.920 --> 00:19:24.660 But the dream is about to be restored. Come on, 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:28.319 somebody. Amen. The dream. One of these days, 00:19:28.460 --> 00:19:30.240 the sun and the moon are going to bow before 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:32.819 me. And the brothers, you remember, got mad because 00:19:32.819 --> 00:19:35.259 mom and dad's not going to bow before you. Who 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:38.140 do you think you are? Oh, I know your dad's favorite, 00:19:38.180 --> 00:19:40.500 and you've got that coat. many colors, and I 00:19:40.500 --> 00:19:42.720 know who you think you are, but we're not going 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:44.799 to stand for that. And then all of a sudden, 00:19:44.819 --> 00:19:48.099 the dream turned into a nightmare, and the saga 00:19:48.099 --> 00:19:50.980 of Joseph's life that you and I far remember 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:54.380 more than the dream. We remember the nightmare 00:19:54.380 --> 00:19:57.079 more than we ever remember the dream, don't we? 00:19:57.160 --> 00:20:00.200 We know that he was sold into slavery. We know 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:02.640 that he was falsely accused at Potiphar's house. 00:20:02.740 --> 00:20:05.779 We know that he was cast into prison. We know 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:08.799 that he was falsely used in prison, but finally, 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:11.640 Finally, amen, the dream begins to be reality. 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:15.420 Finally, the God of restoration begins to move, 00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:18.240 and we remember that there was a dream that came 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:21.549 back. to life in spite of the nightmare, understanding 00:20:21.549 --> 00:20:25.190 that God will cause you to forget. And so when 00:20:25.190 --> 00:20:28.109 he gets that firstborn baby son and it's placed 00:20:28.109 --> 00:20:30.809 in his arm, we're calling this boy Manasseh. 00:20:30.890 --> 00:20:34.670 Why? Because God has caused me to forget my father's 00:20:34.670 --> 00:20:37.509 house and everything that caused me bitterness. 00:20:37.650 --> 00:20:40.670 He has caused me to remember the nightmare no 00:20:40.670 --> 00:20:43.690 more. Come on, somebody. You need to know that 00:20:43.690 --> 00:20:47.450 God is able to restore your dream. He'll cause 00:20:47.450 --> 00:20:50.089 you to forget. Forget all of the past and all 00:20:50.089 --> 00:20:52.369 of the former things. And it won't matter because 00:20:52.369 --> 00:20:55.650 you know that you can live the dream in spite 00:20:55.650 --> 00:21:04.069 of the nightmare. I don't even think about that 00:21:04.069 --> 00:21:11.509 stuff anymore. It's what he's saying. I've forgotten 00:21:11.509 --> 00:21:17.160 about the dysfunction. Hello, some of you. Raised 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:24.559 in very dysfunctional situations. Hello? This 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:27.200 dysfunctional family. Brothers who couldn't stand 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.980 him. A father whom he thought loved him more 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:35.980 than the rest until it got down to it. And even 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:39.220 Isaac didn't fully support him in the giving 00:21:39.220 --> 00:21:44.980 of the dream before his brothers. So can you 00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:48.579 imagine this young man, how he's feeling and 00:21:48.579 --> 00:21:52.500 the defunction that's going on around him? And 00:21:52.500 --> 00:21:57.339 how that God could just, we begin to think, God, 00:21:57.420 --> 00:22:02.460 how can you do this to me? Right? How can you 00:22:02.460 --> 00:22:09.720 allow this to happen to me? Hmm? Isn't that the 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:12.730 trick the enemy begins to play in our mind? If 00:22:12.730 --> 00:22:14.730 God loves you, he would not have allowed that 00:22:14.730 --> 00:22:18.210 to happen to you. God loves you in spite of what 00:22:18.210 --> 00:22:22.480 happened to you. Oh, come on, somebody. Life's 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:26.539 not always joy -filled. Sometimes life is a nightmare. 00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:30.140 Are you hearing me? Sometimes life is a nightmare, 00:22:30.180 --> 00:22:33.259 and it's despicable, and the devil calls his 00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:38.740 people to do despicable things to each other. 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:41.900 It's the enemy. It's not God. It's God who has 00:22:41.900 --> 00:22:44.700 spared you to bring you back to restore your 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:48.140 dream. Oh, it's God who delivers you. It's God. 00:22:48.269 --> 00:22:51.170 who will love you. It's God who delivered Joseph 00:22:51.170 --> 00:22:57.529 from all of that dysfunction. Crisis. A young 00:22:57.529 --> 00:23:04.309 man in crisis. A teenage boy in crisis. You know 00:23:04.309 --> 00:23:06.829 what? I'm discovering that some of the crisis 00:23:06.829 --> 00:23:09.450 today that our young people go through are actually 00:23:09.450 --> 00:23:11.230 worse than some of the things that we've dealt 00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:19.009 with. Yeah. The enemy has intensified. The mental 00:23:19.009 --> 00:23:23.109 warfare game. Oh, it's always been bad, right? 00:23:23.529 --> 00:23:32.170 The nightmare gets more real. We never was allowed 00:23:32.170 --> 00:23:41.190 to watch horror movies at our house. Never was 00:23:41.190 --> 00:23:46.410 allowed to watch that stuff. I remember one of 00:23:46.410 --> 00:23:49.750 the first ones that I watched, and it happened 00:23:49.750 --> 00:23:56.150 to be Nightmare on Elm Street with old Freddy. 00:24:00.569 --> 00:24:03.430 Kathy's mother and stepdad so happened to live 00:24:03.430 --> 00:24:13.609 on Elm Street. I saw my dream turn into a nightmare. 00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:34.559 But back to a dream again. Moving on. I remember 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:42.119 how scared I got watching that. That made me 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:46.779 feel, right? And then I saw a documentary on 00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:55.940 it. And now I'm no longer afraid of Freddy. Hello? 00:24:56.900 --> 00:25:00.940 The reality of how all that's made. Now it's 00:25:00.940 --> 00:25:04.759 kind of comical. You know, you watch it and you 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:07.859 actually see how all that works. I can't believe 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:10.700 I was afraid of that. Like he was going to come 00:25:10.700 --> 00:25:14.200 do something anyway. But isn't that the way the 00:25:14.200 --> 00:25:19.519 enemy does us? He causes real fright over things 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.640 that he cannot bring into pass in our lives. 00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:27.559 And we become frozen by the nightmare that he 00:25:27.559 --> 00:25:30.869 presents to us. When we should be released because 00:25:30.869 --> 00:25:34.430 God is about to cause us to forget some things. 00:25:34.569 --> 00:25:37.490 It wasn't that he could no longer recall the 00:25:37.490 --> 00:25:40.630 past. It was the fact that the past that he recalled 00:25:40.630 --> 00:25:44.230 no longer caused him pain. Because he's realized 00:25:44.230 --> 00:25:47.470 that the nightmare was simply the journey to 00:25:47.470 --> 00:25:50.690 get to the fulfillment of the dream. Hallelujah! 00:25:50.789 --> 00:25:54.490 Joseph had no idea that God was going to use 00:25:54.490 --> 00:26:00.470 him to spare a whole nation. Realize that the 00:26:00.470 --> 00:26:02.450 nightmare and the journey that he was walking 00:26:02.450 --> 00:26:04.710 out was going to be the fulfillment of the dream 00:26:04.710 --> 00:26:08.529 for countless millions of people who are still 00:26:08.529 --> 00:26:18.309 living that. They're still living the dream because 00:26:18.309 --> 00:26:22.829 he walked out the nightmare. How many folks around 00:26:22.829 --> 00:26:26.289 you are going to live the dream because you walk 00:26:26.289 --> 00:26:32.250 out the nightmare? Why? Because God has started 00:26:32.250 --> 00:26:35.069 something in you. He set you on a journey. Can 00:26:35.069 --> 00:26:38.430 I tell you the steps of a good man are ordered 00:26:38.430 --> 00:26:42.579 of the Lord. Can I tell you those steps may take 00:26:42.579 --> 00:26:45.599 you through a nightmare or two in the journey 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:47.980 of life? Can I tell you that there's going to 00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:50.779 be hard days, but there's going to be more good 00:26:50.779 --> 00:26:53.559 days coming to you? Can I tell you just hang 00:26:53.559 --> 00:26:57.279 in there during the nightmare because the reality 00:26:57.279 --> 00:27:00.160 of the fact is that God has brought you into 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:02.519 it and God is going to bring you out. Well, I 00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:05.099 really wish he wouldn't take me to these places. 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:11.220 I've said that. I felt like old brother Job. 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:13.059 I thought, God, I wish you didn't love me so 00:27:13.059 --> 00:27:18.319 much. Hello, I wish you didn't trust me so much. 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:25.500 Huh? Could you trust somebody else a while? Huh? 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:30.559 The Lord knows I love him. He knew Joseph's heart, 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:33.799 and he knew that the nightmare would not keep 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:36.259 him from the restorative work that he was going 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:38.940 to do. And so in the middle of his night, can 00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:40.720 I tell you, he didn't take him out of the nightmare. 00:27:40.859 --> 00:27:45.000 He was still in Egypt, but God blessed him in 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:48.579 the middle of it in spite of it. My God, you're 00:27:48.579 --> 00:27:51.099 going to live the dream in spite of the nightmare. 00:27:51.400 --> 00:27:53.799 He don't have to get you out to bless you. He 00:27:53.799 --> 00:27:57.000 can bless you right in the middle of it. And 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:59.940 where do I need a blessing? I need the blessing 00:27:59.940 --> 00:28:03.259 right in the middle of my nightmare. I need the 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:06.359 dawn of the day to come up. I need the sun to 00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:10.140 shine. I need the light to move into my darkness. 00:28:19.500 --> 00:28:27.329 He didn't erase his memory. He erased his pain. 00:28:28.869 --> 00:28:35.009 Well, we need the memory. We just don't need 00:28:35.009 --> 00:28:39.869 the pain. My Lord, somebody about took a lap 00:28:39.869 --> 00:28:45.809 right there. I just don't need the pain. I don't 00:28:45.809 --> 00:28:49.410 need the hurt. I don't need the wounds that it 00:28:49.410 --> 00:28:52.650 leaves behind. Hello? I don't need to close my 00:28:52.650 --> 00:28:54.750 eyes and see Freddie's little fingers and that 00:28:54.750 --> 00:28:59.869 little grin and his little hat. Hello? But what 00:28:59.869 --> 00:29:04.650 happened is this. When he restores you and he 00:29:04.650 --> 00:29:08.009 blesses you in the midst of the mess and of the 00:29:08.009 --> 00:29:11.269 nightmare, you will close your eyes and chuckle 00:29:11.269 --> 00:29:18.650 at Freddie. Because you'll realize Freddie ain't 00:29:18.650 --> 00:29:23.200 got nothing on you. Hello, or Jason, or any of 00:29:23.200 --> 00:29:28.680 the others. Huh? Any of that other garbage. There's 00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:30.680 a real spook in this world, and he's trying to 00:29:30.680 --> 00:29:33.579 steal, to kill, and to destroy. But what I'm 00:29:33.579 --> 00:29:35.740 here to tell you is if God has given you a dream 00:29:35.740 --> 00:29:37.480 and you feel like you're in the middle of a nightmare, 00:29:37.779 --> 00:29:40.019 he's going to restore your dream. You may have 00:29:40.019 --> 00:29:42.720 to live out another saga or two. You may have 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:44.740 to make your way through another image. But what 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:47.440 he will do is bless you in the middle of your 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:50.299 mess. And he can cause you to forget the pain 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:52.500 of it all. He didn't need to forget that his 00:29:52.500 --> 00:29:54.500 brothers done that. Why? Because there was a 00:29:54.500 --> 00:29:57.079 day coming when his brothers would be bowed down 00:29:57.079 --> 00:30:00.200 before him. And all of that hate and all that 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:03.089 anger that he had bottled up for you, When the 00:30:03.089 --> 00:30:06.549 time come for him to take his reproof on them, 00:30:06.670 --> 00:30:10.130 he had to turn his back and cry because he remembered 00:30:10.130 --> 00:30:14.509 the dream. Oh, my God. He remembered. You'll 00:30:14.509 --> 00:30:25.690 never forget the dream. He didn't forget it. 00:30:26.410 --> 00:30:30.130 He just forgot the pain of it because God caused 00:30:30.130 --> 00:30:33.460 him to forget. All that happened at daddy's house. 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:39.140 Some of you need to forget it. Huh? Some of you 00:30:39.140 --> 00:30:44.140 need the pain of it all to be removed. And he 00:30:44.140 --> 00:30:50.019 can do that right in the middle of it. What was 00:30:50.019 --> 00:30:55.839 it Paul said? He said, brethren, I have not yet 00:30:55.839 --> 00:30:59.210 apprehended that which has apprehended me. I 00:30:59.210 --> 00:31:00.730 haven't got a good grip on what's got a good 00:31:00.730 --> 00:31:07.410 grip on me just yet. And he said, but I am endeavoring 00:31:07.410 --> 00:31:11.410 to acquire that. And he said, and this one thing 00:31:11.410 --> 00:31:16.170 I do, forgetting those things which are behind, 00:31:16.250 --> 00:31:22.960 I press toward the mark. for the prize of the 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:25.960 high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Somebody 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:29.680 needs to start pressing forward and leaving behind, 00:31:29.880 --> 00:31:32.599 behind. Somebody needs to forget the nightmare 00:31:32.599 --> 00:31:35.019 that keeps dragging you down in the reality of 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:37.640 your today and keeping you from living the dream, 00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:40.259 honey. You can live the dream in spite of the 00:31:40.259 --> 00:31:43.019 nightmare because God will bless you in the middle 00:31:43.019 --> 00:31:46.059 of your mess, in the middle of the saga. He will 00:31:46.059 --> 00:31:48.319 come in right where you are, and he will cause 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:50.500 you to be blessed. Where do I need a blessing? 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:53.160 I need a blessing in the middle of my mess. I 00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:56.000 need him to show up in the dark and let me know 00:31:56.000 --> 00:32:02.960 and cause me to forget. So now his brothers are 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:06.640 there. He has opportunity. He can do whatever 00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:10.960 he wills over their life. They're before him 00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:18.019 begging. They're starving. Isaac can send them 00:32:18.019 --> 00:32:24.680 in. With money. Go buy us grain. I hear there's 00:32:24.680 --> 00:32:26.980 grain. I hear there's corn. I hear there's food 00:32:26.980 --> 00:32:34.619 in Egypt. Go that we be sustained. Now, Joseph 00:32:34.619 --> 00:32:40.559 got just a little bit spiteful. Didn't he? He 00:32:40.559 --> 00:32:44.319 messed with him a little bit. As brothers would. 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:59.160 But eventually, he said, I can't do you harm. 00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:04.839 Because I know that you meant evil toward me. 00:33:05.660 --> 00:33:11.319 But I can't return evil toward you. Because the 00:33:11.319 --> 00:33:15.519 dream. The dream was for me to be here because 00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:19.299 God knew the famine was on its way. God knew 00:33:19.299 --> 00:33:22.529 that he was going to need. Dad and all y 'all 00:33:22.529 --> 00:33:28.130 spared. God knew it. And so he's positioned me. 00:33:29.009 --> 00:33:32.849 And by virtue of being positioned, he has this 00:33:32.849 --> 00:33:37.450 second son. After he's caused the pain to go 00:33:37.450 --> 00:33:41.690 away, he has this second son whose name is Ephraim, 00:33:41.869 --> 00:33:48.930 which means doubly fruitful. I've been blessed 00:33:48.930 --> 00:33:53.819 twice. It's what Joseph said, I am double fruitful. 00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:57.619 Can I tell you in the midst of the dark places, 00:33:57.640 --> 00:34:02.059 God can give you a double portion blessing. Can 00:34:02.059 --> 00:34:04.480 I tell you not to give up? Don't abandon just 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:08.119 yet in the midst of a nightmare because God can 00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:11.420 show up. Amen. And he'll cause you to forget. 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:13.480 And then after he causes you to forget the pain 00:34:13.480 --> 00:34:16.260 of it, he'll bless you one more time. Just to 00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:19.280 double up and let you know that he understands 00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:23.239 your plight and he understands your situation. 00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:29.800 After all is restored and all is well. Dad and 00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:34.039 everybody's in the land of Goshen. Joseph tells 00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:42.219 them, says, the dream, one of these days, God's 00:34:42.219 --> 00:34:46.159 going to get us out of here. And when he does, 00:34:46.320 --> 00:34:56.760 please take my bones with you. 430 odd years 00:34:56.760 --> 00:35:05.480 later. The dream goes on. The nightmarish saga 00:35:05.480 --> 00:35:11.460 of life goes on. The taskmaster's whip becomes 00:35:11.460 --> 00:35:16.280 more severe as the decades and the centuries 00:35:16.280 --> 00:35:25.940 roll by. But the dream was still going on. The 00:35:25.940 --> 00:35:31.710 dream. was still in play. Oh, the nightmare still 00:35:31.710 --> 00:35:36.030 circles. The cycle was still playing out. 400 00:35:36.030 --> 00:35:40.510 years we make our way and here's old Moses. Here's 00:35:40.510 --> 00:35:44.630 old Moses coming on the scene. The deliverer 00:35:44.630 --> 00:35:49.309 had been born in the middle of the nightmare. 00:35:50.989 --> 00:35:54.030 Oh, there's a Pharaoh who's come up many now 00:35:54.030 --> 00:35:58.929 who forgot who Joseph was. Who forgot who these 00:35:58.929 --> 00:36:04.309 Israelites are. Far removed, but who hasn't forgotten? 00:36:05.349 --> 00:36:10.989 God hasn't forgotten. Oh, you may have forgotten, 00:36:11.050 --> 00:36:15.130 but he's not forgotten. He remembers you. He 00:36:15.130 --> 00:36:17.489 remembers a promise he made to your great, great, 00:36:17.530 --> 00:36:22.369 great, great granny concerning you. If he made 00:36:22.369 --> 00:36:28.010 them one, he's mindful of it. So here's old Moses, 00:36:28.130 --> 00:36:31.789 comes on the scene in the middle of the nightmare. 00:36:31.849 --> 00:36:34.329 And it hadn't gotten any better. It had gotten 00:36:34.329 --> 00:36:38.769 worse. Don't give up just because it's getting 00:36:38.769 --> 00:36:45.809 worse before it gets better. You can live it 00:36:45.809 --> 00:36:50.570 out. And the fruitfulness and the blessing of 00:36:50.570 --> 00:37:02.119 God. And he will cause you to forget but be doubly 00:37:02.119 --> 00:37:08.739 blessed. The pain goes. The recollection is there 00:37:08.739 --> 00:37:12.480 because we don't need to forget. The Israelites 00:37:12.480 --> 00:37:22.099 hadn't forgotten. God sent Moses to lead them 00:37:22.099 --> 00:37:28.699 out. Stand with me today. You'll be blessed in 00:37:28.699 --> 00:37:33.300 the middle of your mess. Twice fruitful in the 00:37:33.300 --> 00:37:39.059 land of my suffering is what the name Ephraim 00:37:39.059 --> 00:37:47.880 means. Twice fruitful in the land of my suffering. 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:57.550 You may be suffering. Life. isn't always grand. 00:38:02.230 --> 00:38:05.650 Sometimes the reality of a nightmare raises its 00:38:05.650 --> 00:38:10.570 ugly head. Other days we feel like we're living 00:38:10.570 --> 00:38:16.070 the dream. But the reality is God hasn't forgotten 00:38:16.070 --> 00:38:21.190 you whether you're in the dream or the nightmare. 00:38:23.349 --> 00:38:32.400 He's faithful. Isaac was blessed because he's 00:38:32.400 --> 00:38:36.639 sown in the time of famine. And he was blessed 00:38:36.639 --> 00:38:41.260 a hundredfold. Job was blessed after he prayed 00:38:41.260 --> 00:38:46.800 for his friends. Blessings can come into our 00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:51.260 way. Blessings can make their way into our lives. 00:38:57.119 --> 00:39:02.199 Naomi says, call me no more pleasant. Call me 00:39:02.199 --> 00:39:06.039 Mara, for I'm bitter. Life has dealt bitterly 00:39:06.039 --> 00:39:09.900 with me. The nightmare is real. So don't call 00:39:09.900 --> 00:39:15.900 me Naomi, call me Mara. But God remembered her 00:39:15.900 --> 00:39:20.760 in the middle of the nightmare. He blessed her 00:39:20.760 --> 00:39:26.420 in Moab. He didn't wait until she got back to 00:39:26.420 --> 00:39:28.760 Jerusalem. He blessed her in Moab. Well, how 00:39:28.760 --> 00:39:38.280 is that? He blessed her with Ruth. Remember Ruth 00:39:38.280 --> 00:39:40.739 who said, your God's going to be my God. I'm 00:39:40.739 --> 00:39:44.199 not going home. Your God will be my God. Your 00:39:44.199 --> 00:39:47.360 home will be my home. Where you goes, where I'm 00:39:47.360 --> 00:39:48.960 going. Where you lives, where I'm going to live. 00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:51.139 Where you dies, where I'm going to die and be 00:39:51.139 --> 00:39:56.670 buried. I am not. Forsaking you. That was Naomi's 00:39:56.670 --> 00:40:01.809 blessing in the middle of the nightmare. Boaz 00:40:01.809 --> 00:40:08.510 was just the second blessing. That double portion. 00:40:11.949 --> 00:40:16.769 God's not going to forsake you in the midst of 00:40:16.769 --> 00:40:18.730 your nightmare. Heads bowed all over the house. 00:40:25.159 --> 00:40:26.920 If you feel like you're living in the nightmare 00:40:26.920 --> 00:40:36.039 and the dream has escaped you, the Lord sent 00:40:36.039 --> 00:40:41.579 you a word today. He can cause you to forget 00:40:41.579 --> 00:40:51.019 the pain of it and bless you in spite of it right 00:40:51.019 --> 00:40:57.130 where you are. He can bring you a double portion 00:40:57.130 --> 00:41:05.530 in the land of your suffering. He can bless you 00:41:05.530 --> 00:41:10.530 abundantly in the place where the suffering is 00:41:10.530 --> 00:41:22.829 going on. Are you living the dream? Or are you? 00:41:23.869 --> 00:41:32.809 Just live in the dream. You can live the dream 00:41:32.809 --> 00:41:39.130 in the middle of the nightmare. Simple invitation 00:41:39.130 --> 00:41:42.550 today. If you feel like you're in the nightmare 00:41:42.550 --> 00:41:45.550 and you're looking for the blessing and you need 00:41:45.550 --> 00:41:48.590 the Lord to touch you, come on down. I'm going 00:41:48.590 --> 00:41:51.809 to pray over you. I want to pray for you. Not 00:41:51.809 --> 00:41:53.550 going to take a lot of time. I'm not going to 00:41:53.550 --> 00:41:55.090 beg you. I'm not going to plead you. You know 00:41:55.090 --> 00:41:59.289 where you're living. You know if you feel like 00:41:59.289 --> 00:42:05.329 it's the nightmare. You know if you need to forget 00:42:05.329 --> 00:42:11.010 some stuff. If there's some pain that needs to 00:42:11.010 --> 00:42:17.010 be rooted out. Loss. Loss comes in a lot of different 00:42:17.010 --> 00:42:22.440 ways. It comes in things. Amen. Comes in peace, 00:42:22.639 --> 00:42:28.300 peace of mind. We lose that. Grief. When we lose 00:42:28.300 --> 00:42:33.880 loved ones, the weight of that loss really gets 00:42:33.880 --> 00:42:38.980 overwhelming. And a lot of times we won't ask 00:42:38.980 --> 00:42:41.659 God to help us because we don't want to forget. 00:42:43.079 --> 00:42:46.219 We don't want to forget them. That's not what's 00:42:46.219 --> 00:42:49.360 going to happen. You're not going to forget them. 00:42:50.480 --> 00:42:53.219 You're going to forget the pain of losing them. 00:42:57.059 --> 00:43:01.900 That sting of death. He's able to take that away. 00:43:03.679 --> 00:43:08.280 And what am I left with? The joy of the dream? 00:43:11.860 --> 00:43:18.190 Absent the pain of the suffering? Some of us 00:43:18.190 --> 00:43:22.389 need the absence of the suffering. Anybody else? 00:43:22.429 --> 00:43:25.429 We're about to go to the Lord in prayer. Are 00:43:25.429 --> 00:43:27.110 you living in the nightmare? If you are, come 00:43:27.110 --> 00:43:30.969 on. No shame in it. It happens to all of us. 00:43:34.690 --> 00:43:37.230 I've been in my own little slice of a nightmare. 00:43:37.369 --> 00:43:44.150 Hello? But God's blessing in spite of it, right 00:43:44.150 --> 00:43:48.969 in the middle of it. He's doing miraculous things. 00:43:53.389 --> 00:43:57.989 It's not that I won't recollect. But just knowing 00:43:57.989 --> 00:44:01.130 that he's in it with me makes it hurt just a 00:44:01.130 --> 00:44:05.489 little bit less. Because he's got a plan. I don't 00:44:05.489 --> 00:44:09.690 know what it is. He's got a plan. Stretch your 00:44:09.690 --> 00:44:12.210 hand this way. Let's pray over these that are 00:44:12.210 --> 00:44:14.110 here today. Father God, in the name of Jesus. 00:44:15.170 --> 00:44:20.969 Oh, Lord. Here we stand today. Here we stand 00:44:20.969 --> 00:44:26.250 today, Lord. And the nightmare of life, the saga 00:44:26.250 --> 00:44:31.170 of life is circling. But, Lord, I have that dream. 00:44:31.849 --> 00:44:35.110 The dream of goodness, the dream of grace, the 00:44:35.110 --> 00:44:38.789 dream of happiness, Lord. The joy -filled thoughts 00:44:38.789 --> 00:44:41.349 that you have given. Lord, I know what you have 00:44:41.349 --> 00:44:43.889 spoken. Lord, I know what you have declared. 00:44:44.230 --> 00:44:47.190 I know what you have declared, Lord. I may be 00:44:47.190 --> 00:44:49.050 going through the journey of the nightmare, but 00:44:49.050 --> 00:44:51.409 it's going to pass. It's going to pass. It's 00:44:51.409 --> 00:44:53.829 going to be over. Oh, Lord, help me forget the 00:44:53.829 --> 00:44:57.719 pain of the pit. Help me forget the pain of the 00:44:57.719 --> 00:45:00.639 false accusations, Lord. Help me forget the hurt 00:45:00.639 --> 00:45:03.679 of disgrace and distress. Help me, Lord. Help 00:45:03.679 --> 00:45:06.219 me get over it. Help me, Father God, in the name 00:45:06.219 --> 00:45:09.420 of Jesus. Help me, Lord. I come to you, Lord. 00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:13.119 Restore my dream. You are the restorer of my 00:45:13.119 --> 00:45:16.059 soul. You are the restorer of my life and my 00:45:16.059 --> 00:45:19.159 heart and the joy of my being, Lord. You are 00:45:19.159 --> 00:45:22.639 the one who restores all. of my joy, all of my 00:45:22.639 --> 00:45:25.059 hope, and all of my peace. You're the one who 00:45:25.059 --> 00:45:26.280 restores today, Father.