Amen. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to
the book of Genesis. Genesis 41. Genesis 41.
Be in prayer for Pastor Brian, Sister Erica.
They've taken a little hiatus this weekend, so
let's pray the Lord give them a break. You know,
we are blessed to have them. I mean, really,
really blessed. Amen. And I thank the Lord for
them. And everything they do. They pick up a
lot of slack for me. And I'm grateful for that.
Amen. And I tell them that as well. I'm getting
better as I get older at relaying those things.
Back early in the day, I didn't pat you on the
back. You just done your job. But I've since
learned better. Amen. Aren't you glad for a pastor
that learns? Amen. You realize why you succeed.
It's everybody around you. Them big eyes, they
go away really quick. Amen. When you wake up
one day and say, oh, now I know. Then you've
got to go back like I have. Tell people, I'm
sorry. I should have did this or that. Amen?
You ever had to do that? Oh, it's a bitter pill,
but it gets better after it goes down. You know,
that pride thing. You choke on it. You know?
It'll choke you. Pride will. It'll choke you.
But if you ever learn the lesson, man, life gets
good after that. Amen? So I tell you what, when
they get back in here next week, just go over
and above. Let them know how much you love them
and appreciate them. Amen? They're going to say,
oh, okay, thank you. It's just good to watch.
Amen? Have you found Genesis 41? Okay, let's
look. I want to read just a couple passages of
Scripture, just a couple verses. Then we're going
to touch on a few more. and to see what the Lord
has for us today. Amen? Verse 51 reads, And Joseph
called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. For
God said, He hath made me forget all my toil
and all my father's house. And the name of the
second called he Ephraim. For God hath caused
me to be fruitful in the land of my... I want
to preach this morning with the help of the Lord
on a thought. I preached this 12, 14 years ago.
And, man, it just leaped in my spirit yesterday.
And so I want to share it again with the help
of the Lord. I figure if it's worth preaching
once, it ought to be at least worth preaching
twice. Especially, especially if the Spirit of
the Lord stirs your heart on it. Amen? I want
to preach on this thought, living the dream in
spite of the nightmare. Living the dream in spite
of the nightmare. Amen. It makes me almost want
to shout right there with just the title. I'll
pray for you if you pray for me, and we'll pray
for each other. Father, as we're in the house
today, truly your presence is here with us. we
are experiencing and encountering the nearness
of your presence. So, Father, I pray you speak
to every heart and every mind today. Lord, and
truly, as is prayed throughout time, we that
have ears to hear, may we hear what the Spirit's
saying to us today. Speak to the church this
morning. Speak to our hearts today, Father God.
We'll be quick to praise you for all that we
hear, for we know, we know that you love us.
Father, touch me today as I surrender my heart,
myself to you this morning, that we would speak
what should be edifying, lifting up, encouraging
to the body of Christ. But Lord, may we speak
words that do damage to darkness and we defeat
the enemy in Christ's name. And the church says,
ask your neighbor, are you living the dream or
the nightmare? We use that statement, and it's
kindly been around for a little while. When you
talk to people, you ask them, say, well, how
you doing? And they'll say, man, just living
the dream, right? Just living the dream. Or sometimes
you'll get that little sarcastic response. They're
in a hole somewhere, you know. You come up beside
someone on the side of the road, man, what's
going on? And their car's broke down, and you
can see frustration on them, and they'll look
at you and say, oh, just living the dream. Same
phrase, different connotation, right? Some folks
are living the dream. Life is grand. Everything
is going according to plan. Matter of fact, it's
going better than the plan. Hello? Have you ever
had a time in your life when it was going better
than the plan? And someone asks you, well, how
you doing? And sincerely you say, man, we're
just living the dream. It couldn't be any better
than this. And then there's those other times,
right, when all hell's broke loose, right, when
everything you've got's broken down. The washer
won't run. Amen. The dryer's quit. It's on fritz.
The TV's quit. Amen. The car, it's on its last
leg. And somebody comes up who's living the dream,
and everything's good for them. And they look
at you and say, how's it going? And you look
at them and say, oh, just living the dream. Just
living the dream. Another day, you've heard it
said, another dollar, right? That's the way life
goes from time to time. You're living the dream
or you're living the dream, right? But I think
for a child of God, we can live the dream in
spite of the nightmare. Amen? Life itself is...
It's a series of wins and losses. Win some, lose
some. We say that old cliche, right? I win a
few, lose a few, right? That's the way life goes.
And there's no simple way to live life without
experiencing some type of loss. There's no way.
for you to go through life without experiencing
some kind of a loss. It may be a goldfish as
a child. You're going to have a loss of some
kind. As an adult, life can slip through our
fingers, as the old soap opera used to say, like
sands through the hourglass. Ladies, where you
at? Wave at me. Come on. And so are the... Days
of our life. You used to have to watch that in
the summer when my sister was home. We was all
home from school. So are the days of our lives.
The sand goes through the hourglass. Right? There's
no way to live victorious and triumphantly without
learning how to handle. loss and dealing with
grief and defeat from time to time. Because that's
the life in which we live. There's highs and
there's lows. Amen? When we think about the life
of Joseph, Joseph's life, as an example, speaks
very profoundly to where many of us may be today.
And where life, it just opens up a sense of relevance
to us. When you understand the life and the times
of Joseph. We think about Joseph as children
in Sunday school class. And we know the story
of the coat of many colors, right? And all that
good stuff. We know the good side of Joseph's
life. But Joseph's life had a lot of downturns
with it as well. It had a lot of low points.
We have him as a man who learned how to deal
with loss. Joseph learned how to deal with loss
at a very, very early age. Somebody said, well,
what did he lose? Well, first of all, he lost
his childhood. He lost his family. He lost his
home. He lost everything that he knew that existed
in his life that was worth having. He lost his
father's love because he was the favorite son.
Amen? He lost dignity. He was in prison. He was
falsely accused. He lost many things in his life.
That childhood was lost and never to be regained
again. So how do we think Joseph would feel?
going through all of this stuff. How do you think
he dealt with the dungeon? How do you think he
dealt with the hole in the ground that his brothers
put him in? How do you think he dealt with overhearing
the conversation of one of his older brothers
wanting to kill him and just tell daddy that
the lions tore him up? How do you think he dealt
with all that as a young man? He dealt with it
like any of us would. He dealt with it very harshly.
But in all that Joseph lost, you've got to understand
something. He never lost his trust and full confidence
in God, in his God. You've got to remember that
the thing the devil couldn't take from him and
cause him to lose was the dream that God had
given him. My, my, my, my. There's a lot of things
in life that came and went in Joseph's life.
But one thing that Joseph never lost hold on
was the dream that God gave him. He knew what
God had spoken into his life. He knew what he
had seen, and he knew what God was going to do.
And then in spite of all of the losses of life
and how things have transpired, Joseph had chosen
not to lose out on God. He understood in Egypt
that he was going to find... I don't know that
he fully understood what was going to transpire
in his life. There's no way that you can fully
understand that God is in control when your brothers
are trying to take your life and they throw you
in a hole in the ground. Then they sell you into
slavery. There's no way that you can just hold
on and have joy, feel every single day on a dream.
I tell you this morning, I think the enemy attacked
his dream. He never lost it, but I know that
doubt had to creep in from time to time. How
low that he was. this pit and then he gets sold
into slavery and then from slavery he gets falsely
accused by Potiphar's wife and he gets ended
up into prison and then in prison as he's there
he thinks he's got a way out and then the man
betrays him because of the answer that he's given
and he thought he had his escape and I'm telling
you how the enemy works in our mind and even
someone probably as positive as Joseph he had
to begin to think that the dream had turned into
a nightmare. There's no way. that life could
get any worse than what it is right now. I'm
talking to somebody this morning. You have lived
the dream, and now it appears as though the nightmare
is raising its ugly head, and you don't know
how to deal with the loss. You don't know how
to deal with the grief, and you can't put it
behind you. But I think there's something that
we can glean from the life of Joseph, some things
that will help us. First thing he understood,
that he was going to meet the God of restoration
in Egypt. God was going to call some restoration
to come in. a chosen life. I don't know about
you, but my dream needs a little bit of restoration.
I don't know about you, but I need God to stir
something up in the depths of my soul and let
me know that he's not forsaken me, that he's
not forgotten me, that God is still on my side.
I'm here to tell you, when life turns into a
nightmare, sometimes the enemy can cause you
to begin to wonder where God is. Well, just let
me reaffirm to you where God is at this morning.
He is the God of restoration. He is a God who
will restore you. David put it this way. He restores
my soul. Hallelujah. I'm here to tell you today
that you can trust God and depend on God. If
life has turned into a nightmare, hold on to
your dream because you can live the dream in
spite of the nightmare that the enemy is bringing
into your life. Holding on to the hope that we
have in God, knowing that God is the one who
restores. Joseph's about to come into contact
and encounter God in a way that he never had.
He's going to encounter God as he restores. him.
And to restore means this, to bring something
back into existence, to bring into effect, to
bring back to a former or original condition.
Somebody needs to hear this this morning. Oh,
the Lord knows where we are. To reinstate or
to return. Remember David said he restores my
soul. Understand that God is wanting to bring
back. He has the power to bring things back into
existence, into order. That's the reason you
can live. Live the dream in spite of the nightmare
because you are encountering a God who is restoring
everything about you. He leads you beside the
still waters. He leads you into the green pastures.
And it is there that he restores. He's a restorer.
Jeremiah 30 and 17 says, but I will restore you
to health and heal your wounds. He is a restorer.
Nahum, the major minor prophet, the Lord will
restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor
of Israel. Though destroyers have laid them waste
and have ruined their vines, he will restore.
Amen? Genesis 20, 14, Sarah. is restored to Abraham.
2 Kings 11, 17, Jehoiada restores worship. to
God. Mark 10 46, Jesus restores sight to Bartimaeus.
Can I get a witness this morning? He is the one
who brings restoration into our life. He is the
one that brings things back into existence. He
is the one who puts things back into order. Amen.
He is the one who causes things that are in distress
to come back into purpose. He is the one who
brings a nightmare into check and causes reality
again. to cause the dream that he has given to
live out in our everyday life. Somebody needs
to know it and hear it in the depth of your soul
this morning. Life has turned into a nightmare,
but I want you to know the God of heaven who
has given you a dream is able to restore your
dream. God gave Joseph. A two -fold restoration.
That he could say, first of all, he's made me
to forget. And he's caused me to be fruitful.
These two blessings are revealed through the
names of his two sons. Joseph, who's now chapter
41, he's out getting out of the prison. Beginning
of the chapter, Pharaoh has his dream. Long story
short, Joseph gives the interpretation. You remember
the dream, right? Seven fat cows, seven skinny
cows. I'm in the middle cow now. Huh. Yeah. Corn
stalks come up with seven ears, seven good ones,
and seven skinny ones. How many of you ever eat
on a big salad buffet and they got them little
bitty ears of corn that's pickled? Yeah, I call
that famine corn. That's what it reminds me of.
Every time I go to a salad bar and I see them
little bitty pickled corns, I think of Joseph.
I think how good God is. I call them little corns
famine corn. That's famine corn. Amen. Let's
get on past famine corn. Get down there to the
peaches and cream. Let's live the dream. He's
come. He's been brought out of the prison because
finally somebody remembered. Right? Oh, there's
an old boy in jail that got me out. Tell Pharaoh
he can tell him his dream. Right? So Joseph gets
brought before Pharaoh and he begins to tell
him, oh, that's an easy one. There's seven good
years coming and here's what you do. You store
up. You prepare. There's a famine on its way.
There's hard times coming. You build grain stores
and you fill them up. And not only are you going
to spare your people, but you're going to get
wealthy in the process. Right? Seven good years,
but then there's seven bad years coming. And
before the seven bad years come, because of Joseph's
faithfulness to Pharaoh, Pharaoh grants him a
wife. And in granting him a wife, Joseph begins
to have a family in the middle of Egypt. Here's
how God works for you, huh? Here's how God works
for you. This firstborn son, Joseph named him
Manasseh. Why? Because it has meaning. It has
purpose. Here is this first blessing in the midst
of what was supposed to be the nightmare of life.
But the dream is about to be restored. Come on,
somebody. Amen. The dream. One of these days,
the sun and the moon are going to bow before
me. And the brothers, you remember, got mad because
mom and dad's not going to bow before you. Who
do you think you are? Oh, I know your dad's favorite,
and you've got that coat. many colors, and I
know who you think you are, but we're not going
to stand for that. And then all of a sudden,
the dream turned into a nightmare, and the saga
of Joseph's life that you and I far remember
more than the dream. We remember the nightmare
more than we ever remember the dream, don't we?
We know that he was sold into slavery. We know
that he was falsely accused at Potiphar's house.
We know that he was cast into prison. We know
that he was falsely used in prison, but finally,
Finally, amen, the dream begins to be reality.
Finally, the God of restoration begins to move,
and we remember that there was a dream that came
back. to life in spite of the nightmare, understanding
that God will cause you to forget. And so when
he gets that firstborn baby son and it's placed
in his arm, we're calling this boy Manasseh.
Why? Because God has caused me to forget my father's
house and everything that caused me bitterness.
He has caused me to remember the nightmare no
more. Come on, somebody. You need to know that
God is able to restore your dream. He'll cause
you to forget. Forget all of the past and all
of the former things. And it won't matter because
you know that you can live the dream in spite
of the nightmare. I don't even think about that
stuff anymore. It's what he's saying. I've forgotten
about the dysfunction. Hello, some of you. Raised
in very dysfunctional situations. Hello? This
dysfunctional family. Brothers who couldn't stand
him. A father whom he thought loved him more
than the rest until it got down to it. And even
Isaac didn't fully support him in the giving
of the dream before his brothers. So can you
imagine this young man, how he's feeling and
the defunction that's going on around him? And
how that God could just, we begin to think, God,
how can you do this to me? Right? How can you
allow this to happen to me? Hmm? Isn't that the
trick the enemy begins to play in our mind? If
God loves you, he would not have allowed that
to happen to you. God loves you in spite of what
happened to you. Oh, come on, somebody. Life's
not always joy -filled. Sometimes life is a nightmare.
Are you hearing me? Sometimes life is a nightmare,
and it's despicable, and the devil calls his
people to do despicable things to each other.
It's the enemy. It's not God. It's God who has
spared you to bring you back to restore your
dream. Oh, it's God who delivers you. It's God.
who will love you. It's God who delivered Joseph
from all of that dysfunction. Crisis. A young
man in crisis. A teenage boy in crisis. You know
what? I'm discovering that some of the crisis
today that our young people go through are actually
worse than some of the things that we've dealt
with. Yeah. The enemy has intensified. The mental
warfare game. Oh, it's always been bad, right?
The nightmare gets more real. We never was allowed
to watch horror movies at our house. Never was
allowed to watch that stuff. I remember one of
the first ones that I watched, and it happened
to be Nightmare on Elm Street with old Freddy.
Kathy's mother and stepdad so happened to live
on Elm Street. I saw my dream turn into a nightmare.
But back to a dream again. Moving on. I remember
how scared I got watching that. That made me
feel, right? And then I saw a documentary on
it. And now I'm no longer afraid of Freddy. Hello?
The reality of how all that's made. Now it's
kind of comical. You know, you watch it and you
actually see how all that works. I can't believe
I was afraid of that. Like he was going to come
do something anyway. But isn't that the way the
enemy does us? He causes real fright over things
that he cannot bring into pass in our lives.
And we become frozen by the nightmare that he
presents to us. When we should be released because
God is about to cause us to forget some things.
It wasn't that he could no longer recall the
past. It was the fact that the past that he recalled
no longer caused him pain. Because he's realized
that the nightmare was simply the journey to
get to the fulfillment of the dream. Hallelujah!
Joseph had no idea that God was going to use
him to spare a whole nation. Realize that the
nightmare and the journey that he was walking
out was going to be the fulfillment of the dream
for countless millions of people who are still
living that. They're still living the dream because
he walked out the nightmare. How many folks around
you are going to live the dream because you walk
out the nightmare? Why? Because God has started
something in you. He set you on a journey. Can
I tell you the steps of a good man are ordered
of the Lord. Can I tell you those steps may take
you through a nightmare or two in the journey
of life? Can I tell you that there's going to
be hard days, but there's going to be more good
days coming to you? Can I tell you just hang
in there during the nightmare because the reality
of the fact is that God has brought you into
it and God is going to bring you out. Well, I
really wish he wouldn't take me to these places.
I've said that. I felt like old brother Job.
I thought, God, I wish you didn't love me so
much. Hello, I wish you didn't trust me so much.
Huh? Could you trust somebody else a while? Huh?
The Lord knows I love him. He knew Joseph's heart,
and he knew that the nightmare would not keep
him from the restorative work that he was going
to do. And so in the middle of his night, can
I tell you, he didn't take him out of the nightmare.
He was still in Egypt, but God blessed him in
the middle of it in spite of it. My God, you're
going to live the dream in spite of the nightmare.
He don't have to get you out to bless you. He
can bless you right in the middle of it. And
where do I need a blessing? I need the blessing
right in the middle of my nightmare. I need the
dawn of the day to come up. I need the sun to
shine. I need the light to move into my darkness.
He didn't erase his memory. He erased his pain.
Well, we need the memory. We just don't need
the pain. My Lord, somebody about took a lap
right there. I just don't need the pain. I don't
need the hurt. I don't need the wounds that it
leaves behind. Hello? I don't need to close my
eyes and see Freddie's little fingers and that
little grin and his little hat. Hello? But what
happened is this. When he restores you and he
blesses you in the midst of the mess and of the
nightmare, you will close your eyes and chuckle
at Freddie. Because you'll realize Freddie ain't
got nothing on you. Hello, or Jason, or any of
the others. Huh? Any of that other garbage. There's
a real spook in this world, and he's trying to
steal, to kill, and to destroy. But what I'm
here to tell you is if God has given you a dream
and you feel like you're in the middle of a nightmare,
he's going to restore your dream. You may have
to live out another saga or two. You may have
to make your way through another image. But what
he will do is bless you in the middle of your
mess. And he can cause you to forget the pain
of it all. He didn't need to forget that his
brothers done that. Why? Because there was a
day coming when his brothers would be bowed down
before him. And all of that hate and all that
anger that he had bottled up for you, When the
time come for him to take his reproof on them,
he had to turn his back and cry because he remembered
the dream. Oh, my God. He remembered. You'll
never forget the dream. He didn't forget it.
He just forgot the pain of it because God caused
him to forget. All that happened at daddy's house.
Some of you need to forget it. Huh? Some of you
need the pain of it all to be removed. And he
can do that right in the middle of it. What was
it Paul said? He said, brethren, I have not yet
apprehended that which has apprehended me. I
haven't got a good grip on what's got a good
grip on me just yet. And he said, but I am endeavoring
to acquire that. And he said, and this one thing
I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
I press toward the mark. for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Somebody
needs to start pressing forward and leaving behind,
behind. Somebody needs to forget the nightmare
that keeps dragging you down in the reality of
your today and keeping you from living the dream,
honey. You can live the dream in spite of the
nightmare because God will bless you in the middle
of your mess, in the middle of the saga. He will
come in right where you are, and he will cause
you to be blessed. Where do I need a blessing?
I need a blessing in the middle of my mess. I
need him to show up in the dark and let me know
and cause me to forget. So now his brothers are
there. He has opportunity. He can do whatever
he wills over their life. They're before him
begging. They're starving. Isaac can send them
in. With money. Go buy us grain. I hear there's
grain. I hear there's corn. I hear there's food
in Egypt. Go that we be sustained. Now, Joseph
got just a little bit spiteful. Didn't he? He
messed with him a little bit. As brothers would.
But eventually, he said, I can't do you harm.
Because I know that you meant evil toward me.
But I can't return evil toward you. Because the
dream. The dream was for me to be here because
God knew the famine was on its way. God knew
that he was going to need. Dad and all y 'all
spared. God knew it. And so he's positioned me.
And by virtue of being positioned, he has this
second son. After he's caused the pain to go
away, he has this second son whose name is Ephraim,
which means doubly fruitful. I've been blessed
twice. It's what Joseph said, I am double fruitful.
Can I tell you in the midst of the dark places,
God can give you a double portion blessing. Can
I tell you not to give up? Don't abandon just
yet in the midst of a nightmare because God can
show up. Amen. And he'll cause you to forget.
And then after he causes you to forget the pain
of it, he'll bless you one more time. Just to
double up and let you know that he understands
your plight and he understands your situation.
After all is restored and all is well. Dad and
everybody's in the land of Goshen. Joseph tells
them, says, the dream, one of these days, God's
going to get us out of here. And when he does,
please take my bones with you. 430 odd years
later. The dream goes on. The nightmarish saga
of life goes on. The taskmaster's whip becomes
more severe as the decades and the centuries
roll by. But the dream was still going on. The
dream. was still in play. Oh, the nightmare still
circles. The cycle was still playing out. 400
years we make our way and here's old Moses. Here's
old Moses coming on the scene. The deliverer
had been born in the middle of the nightmare.
Oh, there's a Pharaoh who's come up many now
who forgot who Joseph was. Who forgot who these
Israelites are. Far removed, but who hasn't forgotten?
God hasn't forgotten. Oh, you may have forgotten,
but he's not forgotten. He remembers you. He
remembers a promise he made to your great, great,
great, great granny concerning you. If he made
them one, he's mindful of it. So here's old Moses,
comes on the scene in the middle of the nightmare.
And it hadn't gotten any better. It had gotten
worse. Don't give up just because it's getting
worse before it gets better. You can live it
out. And the fruitfulness and the blessing of
God. And he will cause you to forget but be doubly
blessed. The pain goes. The recollection is there
because we don't need to forget. The Israelites
hadn't forgotten. God sent Moses to lead them
out. Stand with me today. You'll be blessed in
the middle of your mess. Twice fruitful in the
land of my suffering is what the name Ephraim
means. Twice fruitful in the land of my suffering.
You may be suffering. Life. isn't always grand.
Sometimes the reality of a nightmare raises its
ugly head. Other days we feel like we're living
the dream. But the reality is God hasn't forgotten
you whether you're in the dream or the nightmare.
He's faithful. Isaac was blessed because he's
sown in the time of famine. And he was blessed
a hundredfold. Job was blessed after he prayed
for his friends. Blessings can come into our
way. Blessings can make their way into our lives.
Naomi says, call me no more pleasant. Call me
Mara, for I'm bitter. Life has dealt bitterly
with me. The nightmare is real. So don't call
me Naomi, call me Mara. But God remembered her
in the middle of the nightmare. He blessed her
in Moab. He didn't wait until she got back to
Jerusalem. He blessed her in Moab. Well, how
is that? He blessed her with Ruth. Remember Ruth
who said, your God's going to be my God. I'm
not going home. Your God will be my God. Your
home will be my home. Where you goes, where I'm
going. Where you lives, where I'm going to live.
Where you dies, where I'm going to die and be
buried. I am not. Forsaking you. That was Naomi's
blessing in the middle of the nightmare. Boaz
was just the second blessing. That double portion.
God's not going to forsake you in the midst of
your nightmare. Heads bowed all over the house.
If you feel like you're living in the nightmare
and the dream has escaped you, the Lord sent
you a word today. He can cause you to forget
the pain of it and bless you in spite of it right
where you are. He can bring you a double portion
in the land of your suffering. He can bless you
abundantly in the place where the suffering is
going on. Are you living the dream? Or are you?
Just live in the dream. You can live the dream
in the middle of the nightmare. Simple invitation
today. If you feel like you're in the nightmare
and you're looking for the blessing and you need
the Lord to touch you, come on down. I'm going
to pray over you. I want to pray for you. Not
going to take a lot of time. I'm not going to
beg you. I'm not going to plead you. You know
where you're living. You know if you feel like
it's the nightmare. You know if you need to forget
some stuff. If there's some pain that needs to
be rooted out. Loss. Loss comes in a lot of different
ways. It comes in things. Amen. Comes in peace,
peace of mind. We lose that. Grief. When we lose
loved ones, the weight of that loss really gets
overwhelming. And a lot of times we won't ask
God to help us because we don't want to forget.
We don't want to forget them. That's not what's
going to happen. You're not going to forget them.
You're going to forget the pain of losing them.
That sting of death. He's able to take that away.
And what am I left with? The joy of the dream?
Absent the pain of the suffering? Some of us
need the absence of the suffering. Anybody else?
We're about to go to the Lord in prayer. Are
you living in the nightmare? If you are, come
on. No shame in it. It happens to all of us.
I've been in my own little slice of a nightmare.
Hello? But God's blessing in spite of it, right
in the middle of it. He's doing miraculous things.
It's not that I won't recollect. But just knowing
that he's in it with me makes it hurt just a
little bit less. Because he's got a plan. I don't
know what it is. He's got a plan. Stretch your
hand this way. Let's pray over these that are
here today. Father God, in the name of Jesus.
Oh, Lord. Here we stand today. Here we stand
today, Lord. And the nightmare of life, the saga
of life is circling. But, Lord, I have that dream.
The dream of goodness, the dream of grace, the
dream of happiness, Lord. The joy -filled thoughts
that you have given. Lord, I know what you have
spoken. Lord, I know what you have declared.
I know what you have declared, Lord. I may be
going through the journey of the nightmare, but
it's going to pass. It's going to pass. It's
going to be over. Oh, Lord, help me forget the
pain of the pit. Help me forget the pain of the
false accusations, Lord. Help me forget the hurt
of disgrace and distress. Help me, Lord. Help
me get over it. Help me, Father God, in the name
of Jesus. Help me, Lord. I come to you, Lord.
Restore my dream. You are the restorer of my
soul. You are the restorer of my life and my
heart and the joy of my being, Lord. You are
the one who restores all. of my joy, all of my
hope, and all of my peace. You're the one who
restores today, Father.