Join us as we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America, with a word and history lesson from Pastor Steve!
Philippians 3:12–14 (NIV) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Following Jesus is a Journey, leading you to Taking Ground, one step at a time in your
Discipleship
Relationships
Ministry
Career
Community
Talents/Giftings
Finances
Etc.
This concept is:
Mirrored in Adam’s charge to take dominion over Earth
Mirrored in the Promise/Command to Abraham
Mirrored in the Moses’ Exodus from Egypt
Mirrored in Joshua’s push into Canaan
Mirrored in the building of the Temple and the OT Kingdom
Declared in New Testament in Kingdom of Heaven Teaching:
John 1:43 (ESV) The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
Matthew 13:44 (ESV) “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Philippians 3:12–14 (NIV) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
SOUL (Mind, Will & Emotions) Opposition to Taking Ground
Not an enemy without, but an enemy within
Often difficult to see
Deceptive in nature
Often a deeply rooted enemy in your experience, your relief system, your character, your auto-responses, your identity, the voices in your head,.
Fortunately, we have the Holy Spirit leading us on this journey…
John 16:13 (ESV) When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Mirrored by the Pillar and the Angel that went with Moses
Mirrored by the Angel of the Army that met Joshua
OPPOSITION IN THE SOUL: Grumbling
Complaining that echoes the unthankfulness of the soul
Exodus 16:1–3 (ESV) They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
lun (534a); a prim. root; to murmur:—growl(1), grumble(4), grumbled(7), grumbling(2), making(1).
1 Corinthians 10:9–13 (ESV) We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
There is one to complain to - THE LORD!
Complaining to others poisons you, them, your atmosphere and your future
Psalm 102:title–11 (ESV) A PRAYER OF ONE AFFLICTED, WHEN HE IS FAINT AND POURS OUT HIS COMPLAINT BEFORE THE LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh. I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places; I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse. For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink, because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down. My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
Psalm 120:1 (ESV) In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
Deuteronomy 26:7–8 (ESV) Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders.
OPPOSITION IN THE SOUL: Fear/Anxiety/Unbelief
Fear/Anxiety/Unbelief - allowing the physical to eclipse the promise of God
Deuteronomy 20:1-4 ESV When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.
We overcome by fixing our eyes on Jesus! Hebrews 12:1–2 (NIV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Isaiah 43:1–7 (ESV) But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Philippians 3:12–14 (NIV) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Following Jesus is a Journey, leading you to Taking Ground, one step at a time in your
Discipleship
Relationships
Ministry
Career
Community
Talents/Giftings
Finances
Etc.
This concept is:
Mirrored in Adam’s charge to take dominion over Earth
Mirrored in the Promise/Command to Abraham
Mirrored in the Moses’ Exodus from Egypt
Mirrored in Joshua’s push into Canaan
Mirrored in the building of the Temple and the OT Kingdom
Declared in New Testament in Kingdom of Heaven Teaching:
John 1:43 (ESV) The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
Matthew 13:44 (ESV) “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Philippians 3:12–14 (NIV) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
SOUL (Mind, Will & Emotions) Opposition to Taking Ground
Not an enemy without, but an enemy within
Often difficult to see
Deceptive in nature
Often a deeply rooted enemy in your experience, your relief system, your character, your auto-responses, your identity, the voices in your head,.
Fortunately, we have the Holy Spirit leading us on this journey…
John 16:13 (ESV) When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Mirrored by the Pillar and the Angel that went with Moses
Mirrored by the Angel of the Army that met Joshua
OPPOSITION IN THE SOUL: Grumbling
Complaining that echoes the unthankfulness of the soul
Exodus 16:1–3 (ESV) They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
lun (534a); a prim. root; to murmur:—growl(1), grumble(4), grumbled(7), grumbling(2), making(1).
1 Corinthians 10:9–13 (ESV) We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
There is one to complain to - THE LORD!
Complaining to others poisons you, them, your atmosphere and your future
Psalm 102:title–11 (ESV) A PRAYER OF ONE AFFLICTED, WHEN HE IS FAINT AND POURS OUT HIS COMPLAINT BEFORE THE LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh. I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places; I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse. For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink, because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down. My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
Psalm 120:1 (ESV) In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
Deuteronomy 26:7–8 (ESV) Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders.
OPPOSITION IN THE SOUL: Fear/Anxiety/Unbelief
Fear/Anxiety/Unbelief - allowing the physical to eclipse the promise of God
Deuteronomy 20:1-4 ESV When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.
We overcome by fixing our eyes on Jesus! Hebrews 12:1–2 (NIV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Isaiah 43:1–7 (ESV) But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
SLIDE SERIES: Taking GROUND
TITLE: Opposition In The Flesh
SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 1:8 (ESV) See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.
Deuteronomy 7:1-2 (ESV) When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them.
PRAYER
SLIDE OPPOSITION IN THE FLESH: YOU
Deuteronomy 5:33 (ESV) You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
Knowledge - Isaiah 5:13 (ESV) "Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men are famished, and their multitude is parched with thirst."
Wisdom - Proverbs 14:1 (ESV) The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.
Obedience - Isaiah 1:19–20 (ESV) "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
The Solution: 2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
God’s faithfulness is bigger than you failures.
SLIDE PHYSICAL ENEMIES: The Curse
Genesis 3:17–19 (ESV) And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
The very nature of this world will oppose you as you attempt to take possession of all that is rightfully yours.
Expect it to be hard.
It’s not God.
It’s not the Devil.
It’s gravity.
Do not be surprised.
SLIDE PHYSICAL ENEMIES: People
Numbers 20:14–21 (ESV) Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. And when we cried to the LORD, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.
One of the enemy's best distractions is for us to engage with the fleshly opponent before us.
If you do anything for God, you will have enemies. Beware the enemies that are the closest.
Exodus 14:14 (ESV) The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
SLIDE PHYSICAL ENEMIES: Distractions
Nehemiah 6:1–3 (ESV) Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”
Keep your eyes on your land, not those that would oppose you.
Let God deal with them
Deuteronomy 5:32–33 (ESV) You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
SLIDE PHYSICAL ENEMIES: YOUR HEALTH
Luke 5:17–19 (ESV) On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.
Afflictions will come against your body!
Take care of it.
Bring it to Jesus
Steward it!
Isaiah 54:17 (ESV) no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”
TITLE: A Father’s Role
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 12:1–5 (ESV) Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan.
Platforming of Joseph
Vision
Trial = Preparation/Positioning
Moment of Platforming
Taking Ground - The PLAN to save a nation from famine
As a Church:
God has platformed us - opportunity to own ground
Taking Ground
Secure it $
Make it ours - hard work and $ (99th St Edition)
Last Sunday of this month
3 weeks in and amazing results
Bigger work will be the next three years
Discover T-shirts in the connex
SLIDE A Man/Father KNOWS* God
Genesis 12:1 (ESV) Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
Galatians 4:8–9 (ESV) Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God...
More than factual - experiential
Revelation
Waliking it out, making mistakes, growing
Abram was a man who knew God
A consistent growing relationship that impacted him
It also impacted his family.
As a man, this needs to be you.
Consistent in your posture toward God
Consistent in your spiritual disciplines
Consistent in your engagement in church life
Consistent in serving
Consistent in your pursuit of the resources to do all of that.
This is important for you, but more important for your family
Imperfect but they know there is always a reset
They know you are anchored to the ONE
They know you have access to supernatural help
The know you have a divine favor
SLIDE A Man/Father Is Responsible To See His Ground
Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV) Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
It’s the responsibility of Adam/Abram/Men to see and hear what ground is to be taken and to lead the journey well. Without God, you're not taking ground. You’re camping.
QUESTION - A wife/children can get a vision of their own but it’s the husband's responsibility to confirm it (complimentary) and take responsibility for it.
Great leaders see what could/should be - on earth as it already is in heaven!
Illus: struggling to see the future of the church - now seeing
SLIDE A Man/Father Leads His Family To Take Ground. He needs to determine how to get there.
Right person, right seat
Trial and error
Hearing from God every time
Exodus 13:21–22 (ESV) And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
Joshua 6:2–3 (ESV) And the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. You will start off thinking you are taking your ground as your family comes with you, but you will discover you are taking them to their ground so they can take it.
Philippians 3:12 (NIV) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
John 9:1-11 TPT: Afterward, as Jesus walked down the street, he noticed a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Teacher, whose sin caused this guy’s blindness, his own, or the sin of his parents?” Jesus answered, “Neither. It happened to him so that you could watch him experience God’s miracle. While I am with you, it is daytime and we must do the works of God who sent me while the light shines. For there is coming a dark night when no one will be able to work. As long as I am with you my life is the light that pierces the world’s darkness.” Then Jesus spat on the ground and made some clay with his saliva. Then he anointed the blind man’s eyes with the clay. And he said to the blind man, “Now go and wash the clay from your eyes in the ritual pool of Siloam.” So he went and washed his face and as he came back, he could see for the first time in his life! This caused quite a stir among the people of the neighborhood, for they noticed the blind beggar was now seeing! They began to say to one another, “Isn’t this the blind man who once sat and begged?” Some said, “No, it can’t be him!” Others said, “But it looks just like him—it has to be him!” All the while the man kept insisting, “I’m the man who was blind!” Finally, they asked him, “What has happened to you?” He replied, “I met the man named Jesus! He rubbed clay on my eyes and said, ‘Go to the pool named Siloam and wash.’ So I went and while I was washing the clay from my eyes I began to see for the very first time ever!”
1) JESUS SEES AND CARES FOR HIS CREATION
John 9:1 TPT: Afterward, as Jesus walked down the street, he noticed a man blind from birth.
Jeremiah 1:5 TPT: “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew you intimately. I had divine plans for you before I gave you life, and I set you apart and chose you to be mine. You are my prophetic gift to the nations.”
Psalm 23:5 TPT: You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit; you give me all I can drink of you until my cup overflows.
Matthew 10:29-31 TPT: You can buy two sparrows for only a copper coin, yet not even one sparrow falls from its nest without the knowledge of your Father. Aren’t you worth much more to God than many sparrows? So don’t worry. For your Father cares deeply about even the smallest detail of your life.
2) GROSS/HARD = PROGRESS
John 9:3 TPT: Jesus answered, “Neither. It happened to him so that you could watch him experience God’s miracle.
James 1:2-4 TPT: My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up in you the power of endurance. And then as your endurance grows even stronger, it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
2 Timothy 3:12 TPT: For all who choose to live godly as worshipers of Jesus, the Anointed One, will also experience persecution.
Psalm 118:13 TPT: They pushed me right up to the edge, and I was ready to fall, but you helped me to triumph, and together we overcame them all.
John 9:16 TPT: Then an argument broke out among the Pharisees over the healing of the blind man on the Sabbath. Some said, “This man who performed this healing is clearly not from God! He doesn’t even observe the Sabbath!” Others said, “If Jesus is just an ordinary sinner, how could he perform a miracle like that?”
3) OUR OBEDIENCE COMPLETES THE MIRACLE
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 ESV: “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
John 3:21-22 TPT: But those who love the truth will come into the Light, for the Light will reveal that it was God who produced their fruitful works.” Then Jesus and his disciples left for a length of time into the Judean countryside where they baptized the people.
Psalm 119:4-8 TPT: God has prescribed the right way to live: obeying his laws with all our hearts. How I long for my life to bring you glory as I follow each and every one of your holy precepts! Then I’ll never be ashamed, for I take strength from all your commandments. I will give my thanks to you from a heart of love and truth. And every time I learn more of your righteous judgments, I will be faithful to all that your Word reveals— so don’t ever give up on me!
~ Have a Blessed Week! ~
SLIDE SERIES: Taking GROUND
TITLE: It’s All Part Of The Plan
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 1:26–28 (ESV) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Consider: ADAM
Everything is topography/geography
Creation, universe, earth
Genesis 1:2 (NIV) Now the earth WAS (became) formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
God does not create formless, empty or darkness
Satan thrown to earth - destruction ensued
Revelation 12:7–13 (NIV) Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
Luke 10:17–20 (ESV) The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
His Spirit hovers over situations incongruent with His will
rachaph (934b); a prim. root; to grow soft, relax:—tremble
God was about to take ground back
Genesis 1:26–28 (ESV) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Eden was a small part of ground that God had taken and established for Adam to expand.
And God has been using man to take ground one step at a time.
Consider: ABRAM/ABRAHAM
Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV) Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Consider: JACOB/ISRAEL
Genesis 46:1–4 (ESV) So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”
Consider: MOSES
Numbers 27:12 (ESV) The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel.
Consider: PSALMS
Psalm 139:13–17 (ESV) For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
Consider: JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 29:11–14 (ESV) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Consider: JESUS
John 1:43 (ESV) The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
Mark 1:16–18 (ESV) Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Luke 18:22 (ESV) When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Psalm 139:13–17 (ESV) Philippians 3:12 (NIV) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Genesis 41:14 (ESV) Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.
2026 WORD - You are transitioning into a Josephetic platforming during this next season. The previous seasons have included calling, obedience, a shoulder to the plow with a reliance on effort and savvy to fulfill that call. This required extra effort and produced small gains. You have navigated a series of deserts both internal and external, some self imposed. You have navigated in seclusion while in plain sight, but it’s in this time you have been prepared for the season ahead. You could have easily walked away from the specific future I have for you, one of impact, abundance and generosity, but instead, you leaned in and embraced the grind. In fact, you became a people who found joy in the grind, creating an aromatic outpouring, like the crushing of grapes, a superior blend of fragrant wine chosen for presentation to a specific audience, who are also being chosen on purpose, for a purpose… in this region. This platforming is not just within the church. This platforming will ripple through the church into various spheres of influence. You have been hidden but I am beginning the strategic process of platforming you. Where you once produced by means of addition, you will begin to produce by means of multiplication. The season behind you has been the crucible of preparation for the next season. In your platforming, as Joseph, you are to lean heavily into glorifying my Name as the source of your platforming and story. My platform for you becomes your platform for me to initiate similar stories and platforms in them, for them and through them. Believe me for the above and beyond all that you could ask or imagine. You will be the instrument of salvation, redemption and transformation of many.
It was 13 years from the time Joseph had his dream and was sold into slavery by his brothers to the moment he was released from prison. He was 17 at the start, and 30 in this chapter.
He could:
Have could become an adulterer
He could have remained a prisoner for life
He could have become bitter
He could have become revengeful
He could have become a victim
He could have given up on a God-given dream
Genesis 41:14 (ESV) Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.
FINAL PREP: SHAVE The hard parts of your story and their impact on you.
Long beard
Deprived
Limitations
Hardship
Circumstances that could have cut away have instead shaped you into the better version of yourself. The story instead must be told because it cannot be seen in you.
You can’t enter the king’s presence without being shaved.
You can’t step onto your platform without being shaved.
Your story should be something you have to tell because they can’t see it in you.
You can’t be a victim
You can’t villainize people, situations… or God
Isaiah 54:17 (ESV) no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”
Genesis 50:20 (ESV) As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Luke 23:34 (ESV) And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
The story you tell becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Get it right!
Tell the story of God’s promise, His perfecting and His faithfulness
FINAL PREP: PUT ON CLEAN CLOTHES,What You Wear - Identity (great identity, high calling)
Clothes, unkept & dirty
Prison clothes
Circumstances that could have defined who you are instead helped bring about God’s best in you. You refuse to remain in prison, live in prison clothes or banish others to prison because HE HAS FULFILLED HIS PROMISE IN YOU AND THROUGH YOU.
You can’t enter the king’s presence with your dirty clothes
You can’t step onto your platform with the clothes dirtied with your past.
Genesis 42:8–9 (ESV) And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them.
People should not recognize you, nor what you’ve been through.
Genesis 45:4–5 (ESV) So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Psalm 23:5 (ESV) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
2 Kings 6:1-7 (ESV) Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See, the place where we dwell under your charge is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan and each of us get there a log, and let us make a place for us to dwell there.” And he answered, “Go.” 3 Then one of them said, “Be pleased to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.” 4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, “Alas, my master! It was borrowed.” 6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. 7 And he said, Take it up.” So he reached out his hand and took it.
1) Work - towards what God’s calling you to
God’s Purpose and his promises in this present world Verses 1-3
Message Version: “You can see that this place where we’re living under your leadership is getting cramped—we have no elbow room. Give us permission to go down to the Jordan where each of us will get a log. We’ll build a roomier place.”
The prophets first Demonstrated Initiative – in this example it’s initiated tied to “ministry growth / expansion”; but what do we know about Ministry?! As followers of Christ it happens all around us.
Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Ministry in….
In our relationships
In our workplace
In our schools
Serving our students / serving our clients
Our lives are to reflect Christ and Christ’s ministry
As a parent, moments of challenge are moments of ministry – investing God’s
God’s word says, “I know the plans I have for you…” “I will give you the desires of your heart”.
Those PLANS those DESIRES are not our selfish wish lists, they are ordained by God and revealed to us by His spirit – our free will accepts them, embraces them
Work is ministry - as a follower of Christ
Signing your employees checks
Approving your teams time cards
Managing your department budget
Developing a strategic plan to balance sustainability and growth
For our plans, for our job, for our family - they take work – they take initiative - and since they are from God, only God can truly do what he has called to be done.
There is going to have to be a miracle because things are not always going to go as planned.
2) Speak Out - the Need for the Miracle
Verse 5 But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, “Alas, my master! It was borrowed.”
I cannot imagine this was quiet – the need for a miracle had to be declared
Can you hear it?! - “Oh, no, no, no, no, no!”
The “son (figuratively) of the prophet” had to make his need for a miracle known to the prophet – a leader in his community
When we need a miracle, speak it out.
To God - His heart is for relationship with us. That we can come to Him with our every need, failure, and fault.
Psalms 142:1-2 (ESV) With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for
mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.
To fellow believers - Humans are made for relationship and community.
Paul recognizes this in the book of Galatians.
He writes, encouraging believers to “call each other up” from sin AND to “Help each other out” - be there, share in the need, the vulnerability, and then when the miracle happens the rejoicing and celebration of what God has done.
Galatians 6:2 (NIV) Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ.
3) Testimony After The Miracle
1 and 2 Kings, is about, yes, you guessed it, THE KINGS - and it is about the people of Israel going down-hill due to their decisions. But Kings is also a narrative about THE PROPHETS and their calling God’s people back to Him.
There are miracles of God leading into this story,
… and then the Miracles continue to happen after the story. In this chapter alone.
Listen to this list!
The army under siege, so God provides a miraculous victory through an abundance of horses and chariots of fire that caused blindness in the enemy - remember that ax head that floated?
Famine that caused inflation (I’m telling you, this is what happens when you ask the econ major to speak, I get going on inflation) that turned into canabalism out of desperation - but remember, the ax head floated
That same famine then turned into a bounty on Elisha's head, But God brought a radical end to the famine - and remember, that ax head floated.
It seems insignificant - the ax head - in the context of miracles that preceded and followed. But it’s a marker in time. A testimony of what God did. And what God has done, he will continue to do.
Our take away from this miracle is the confidence to know that if we can identify one of our ax head moments, we can approach our next situation knowing - and looking forward to - and claiming in advance - the Miracle that only God and do!
I look at my life, I see the miracles God has done - in relationship, in provision○ In this room, my friends, same thing. Just last week the lobby team praying for another miracle for a friend taking the next step into where God is calling his family - But I see so clearly all the miracles God has already done in their world, the impact of those answered prayers on so many others, and it only builds my faith to know that God is going to show up big again.
Best miracle of all – God calling us into radical life changing relationship with him
Ephesians 2: 1-7 (NLT) Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
The ax head wasn’t just a miracle for a book and a flanelgraph story – it was a miracle in a line/chronology of miracles – testament to God’s sovereign grace and provision.
The ultimate miracle in our story as a Christian is that of Salvation – For He (GOD) Raised US from the dead along with Christ! That is the miracle that puts other miracles in my life into motion.
Alana McClintock: Rahab
Scripture:
John 15:4-7 (CSB) - “Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.”
Bethany Schermerhorn: Mary
Scripture:
Luke 1:31-33 (TPT) - “You will become pregnant with a baby boy, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be supreme and will be known as the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will enthrone him as King on the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign as King of Israel forever, and his reign will have no limit.”
Luke 1:38 (TPT) - “Then Mary responded, saying, ‘Yes! I will be a mother for the Lord! As his servant, I accept whatever he has for me. May everything you have told me come to pass.’ And the angel left her.”
Luke 2:6 (TPT) - “When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, and there she gave birth to her firstborn son.”
Valerie Wiese: Don’t Be Afraid
Scripture:
1 Kings 17:15-16 (NLT) - “So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.”
1 Kings 17:22-23 (NLT) - “The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”
Scripture:
Genesis 1:26 (ESV) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Proverbs 18:21 (ESV) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Joseph delivered LIFE/DEATH with his words: Genesis 40:1–23 (ESV) Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody. And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.” When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.” On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Infusing Life With Your Words
Sing Out Loud
The Command To Sing: Psalm 105:1-2 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
The Power Of Song In Battle: Psalm 149:6–8 (ESV) Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron,
The Effects Of Singing Over Circumstance: Acts 16:25-26 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.
We strive to sing declarative songs that often repeat the main point so that we declare to our situations the powerful truth to God.
2 Kings 13:18–19 (ESV) And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
Read/Declare Scripture Out Loud
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Revelation 1:3 (ESV) Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
Pray Out Loud
Luke 11:1-2 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “...
You need to vocally declare/commit
You need to inform yourself
You need to inform others
You need to inform your situation
You need to inform the enemy
Bless Others Out Loud
Numbers 6:22-27 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
James 3:3-12 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.
Proverbs 18:21 (ESV) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Scripture:
Joel 2:28-29 - And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
1 Corinthians 14:31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,
Genesis 40:1–23 (ESV) Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody. And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.” When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.” On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Joseph had the impact because he spoke things from God OUT LOUD!
INTENTIONALLY SHIFTING INTO THE “OUT LOUD” YOU
Launch The “OUT LOUD” You
Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion…
Matthew 17:19-20 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Sing Out Loud
Psalm 105:1-2 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
Acts 16:25-26 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.
Read/Declare Scripture Out Loud
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Pray Out Loud
Luke 11:1-2 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “...
Bless Others Out Loud
Numbers 6:22-27 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
James 3:3-12 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.
The Platforming of Joseph
Scripture:
Natural Gifts: 1 Peter 4:10-11 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Supernatural Gifts: 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Title: 9 Unlocking Your Supernatural Gifts
Genesis 40:1–23 (ESV) Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody. And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.” When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.” On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Joel 2:28-29 - And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:1 - Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
1 Corinthians 14:31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,.
5 WAYS TO UNLOCK YOUR PROPHETIC GIFT
LAUNCH THE “OUT LOUD” YOU
Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion…
Matthew 17:19-20 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Sing Out Loud
Psalm 105:1-2 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
Acts 16:25-26 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.
Read/Declare Scripture Out Loud
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
SLIDE Pray Out Loud
Luke 11:1-2 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “...
Bless Others Out Loud
Numbers 6:22-27 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
James 3:3-12 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.
Genesis 39:20 (ESV) And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.
13 years from being sold into slavery until he steps out onto the platform of leading a notation
2 years of prison
You will experience seasons of the unexpected, where you are wronged, where things feel unfair, where you cry out to God, “WHY?”
These seasons are “outside the will of God,” outside the will of God, and yet God redeems these seasons and prepares us during them for our platform.
Run To GOD, Not From GOD
Bitterness:
Blame the devil, not God or people
Unforgiveness for others drives people from God
Unforgiveness toward God drives people from God
2 Samuel 22:2–4 (ESV) He said, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
Be Confident God Is With You & Working For You
Philippians 1:6 (ESV) And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 43:1–3 (ESV) But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Get A Word From GOD
Ezekiel 11:14 (ESV) And the word of the LORD came to me:
Ezekiel 12:21 (ESV) And the word of the LORD came to me:
Ezekiel 12:26 (ESV) And the word of the LORD came to me:
Ezekiel 16:1 (ESV) Again the word of the LORD came to me:
Work To Escape, But Do Not Bail
James 1:2–4 (ESV) Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Serve Others, Accumulate People
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
1 Samuel 22:1–2 (ESV) David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.
Bloom In Prison
1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV) So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Lean Into Supernatural Giftings
Because there is a burn, it’s like fasting
Great opportunity to connect with the Spirit
1 Corinthians 13:13–14:1 (ESV) So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
Don’t Complicate Your Situation With Sin
Big picture focus
No culdesacs
Israelites in desert - tents
1 Corinthians 10:1–6 (ESV) For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
Only Joshua/Caleb experienced the promised land
RESURRECTION SUNDAY 2026
Scripture: Romans 8:11 ESV IF the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Title: The IF Advantage
If he dwells in you You have an advantage
Not over others, over the non-IF version of you
Jesus don’t raise himself, the Spirit raised him
If that same spirit dwells in you… LIFE
Biblical Resurrections Before Jesus’
The Widow of Zarephath's Son: 1 Kings 17:17-24
The Shunammite Woman's Son: 2 Kings 4:32-37
The Man Placed In Elisha's Grave: 2 Kings 13:20-21
Lazarus: John 11:1-44
After Jesus' Death: In Matthew 27:52-53
The Truth About Death
Death Was/Is Not The Will Of God - Genesis 2:17 (ESV) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Death Is The Work Of Satan - John 10:10 (ESV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
We Invited Death’s Into Our Lives VIA Sin - Romans 5:12 (ESV) Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Jesus Came To Destroy Death - 1 John 3:8 (ESV) The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Death Will Be Destroyed in The Future 1 Corinthians 15:26 (ESV) The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
The IF Factor…
Romans 8:11 ESV IF the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
The SPIRIT Will Give You FREEDOM
2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV) - the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
The SPIRIT Will Give You POWER
Romans 8:26 (ESV) Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Ephesians 3:16 (ESV) that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
The SPIRIT Will Give You Fullness
Acts 1:8 (ESV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Replicating Redemption: No Substitutions Allowed
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
Full Passage John 4:4-42
He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”
27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
Wells, Cisterns, and Our Need for (Living) Water:
Wells:
Flowing water - stays fresh
Naturally occurring - are revealed by search or discovery
A continual source
Cisterns:
Stagnant - can become stale and unsafe
Manmade - Must be created and maintained
Temporary without being refilled
Wells, Cisterns, and Our Need for (Living) Water
Aside from some extreme exceptions, the human body can generally survive about three days without water. In an arid climate like the Middle East at the time of Jesus a well accessing fresh ground water or a natural spring would have been critical for survival. The only alternative to a well was a cistern. These were effectively large holes in the ground, dug into the clay or hewn into the rock that would serve as storage tanks for water. Cisterns, however, have a couple of downsides when compared to wells.
W: Flowing - Water in underground aquifers or from springs is constantly moving, keeping it fresh.
C: Stagnant - No water movement allows bacteria, viruses, and parasites to grow, making it no longer safe to drink (and just gross).
W: Revealed - Naturally occurring. Only access must be maintained.
C: Manufactured - Must be created and regularly maintained.
W: Continual - So long as the water table is high enough or the well deep enough, it’s a continual source.
C: Temporary - Left to its own water will eventually evaporate or in many cases simply leak out.
While the Samaritan woman understood the importance of having access to the well to meet her physical needs, her spirit had remained disconnected from the source of spiritual life that Jesus was offering.
Just like every human is designed to be physically sustained with fresh water, spiritually every human is designed to interact with our creator; to receive the living water that only he can offer. Our spirit thirsts for this (Ps 42:1-2 ESV). But this world offers, and sometimes we create, our own alternatives that prevent our spirit from engaging in with the Spirit of God. We carve out spiritual cisterns and attempt to sustain ourselves, seek fulfillment, quench that spiritual thirst with things that are less than best less than God has for us less than Himself.
Jer 2:13 (ESV) for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Ultimately, every cistern leaks out, evaporates away, or becomes stagnant. Every attempt to satisfy spiritual longing with something other than a direct and active relationship with Jesus will eventually end with us finding ourselves standing in the mud at the bottom of a pit.
Cisterns Become Dungeons:
Joseph (The one with the coat) - Gen. 37:24
The Prophet Jeremiah - Jer. 38:6
King David - Ps. 40:2
The Nation of Israel - Zech. 9:11
Cisterns as Prisons or Traps
Joseph - Gen. 37:24
Jeremiah - Jer. 38:6
David - Ps. 40:2
Nation of Israel - Zech 9:11
For the woman at the well, from what we know of her, she had been married 5 times before and was currently living with a guy that wasn’t her husband. She was chasing fulfillment outside of her creator and had found herself at the bottom of a pit. We don’t know the details or the history but it’s clear this isn’t the only cistern she’s trapped in.
Social Structure - Woman - Ref: Jewish morning blessing
Ethnic Bigotry - Samaritan - Worse than gentiles - Ref: Intermarige, corrupted the faith (700-900 remaining)
Religious Regulation - Specific requirements and rituals - Ref: Torah (Pentateuch) only, Mt. Gerizim vs. Jerusalem
These were all systems she found herself impacted by, though they were man-made substitutes for God’s divine order, values, and purposes.
The miracle here is not that Jesus supernaturally knew her relational situation and her history. It’s that through the revelation of who he was. This woman who would have been considered socially and religiously unredeemable, declares her faith in the Promises of God and responds to the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah.
This was possible because Jesus refused to climb down into the cisterns she was trapped in but instead called her to rise above the pits she’d dug or been forced into. He did this simply by introducing her to who He was and inviting her to function exactly how He’d designed her… as one who would worship in spirit and in truth.
Relying on Spiritual Cisterns:
In Our Own Lives
Leans on our own values and judgement in pursuit of our personal desires.
Leaves us looking for the “next” replacement when the current one inevitably drys up.
Offered to Others
Presents our own opinions, ideals, expectations, or solutions branded as God’s.
Misrepresents the gospel and inhibits the powerful work of God through our lives to expand His kingdom
Relying on Spiritual Cisterns:
One of the biggest inhibitors to experiencing the powerful move of God in our lives is when we replace him knowingly or otherwise with systems, experiences, or pursuits that appear to meet our needs but ultimately become traps.
Relies on our own values and judgement in pursuit of our personal desires.
Leaves us looking for the “next” replacement when the current one inevitably drys up.
Attempting to interact with others on the Lord’s behalf in a manner that isn’t aligned with His character or mission.
Presents our own opinions, ideals, expectations, or solutions branded as God’s.
Misrepresents the gospel and inhibits the powerful work of God through our lives to expand His kingdom.
Offering Living Water From the Source:
Action not Anticipation - John 4:35
Jesus is intentionally proactive in reaching out.
Identity over Ideology - John 14:6
Jesus presents Himself, not a platform.
Sincerity without Ceremony - Isa 58:2-8
Jesus wants our worship, not our performance.
Decisions before Discipleship - 2 Cor. 5:18-20a
Jesus invites us to follow before He tells us where to go.
__________________________________________________________
Offering Living Water From the Source:
John 7:38 (ESV) Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
Christians have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit who is with us at all times, but if we are to effectively lead others to discover the source of life that’s available to them, we must submit to His way. Not simply a set of actions that miraculously reveals the truth to those we engage with but an all encompassing way of life.
Action not Anticipation - Jesus went intentionality out of his way into this town, sacrificed his personal needs (he was hungry and tired), and made a point of engaging with this woman
There’s a time and place to let your life bear witness but we can’t just stand back and wait for God to do our part for us. He has empowered us with His Holy Spirit and commissioned us to make disciples.
John 4:35
Relationship over Ideology - Jesus didn’t lead by addressing the sinful social, cultural, or religious pollution that had led this woman to where she was. He functions outside of these missional distractions, to meet her where she was at and give her the opportunity to respond to Him directly.
Some things appear to be life-giving, problem answering, or even Godly or at least “God-adjacent” but can end up becoming barriers to the miracles God wants to do if either they don’t align with scripture or they eclipse our efforts toward the great commission.
Cultural warfare
Political, social, or religious engagement
Good works
John 14:6
Sincerity without Ceremony - Jesus rejected the complex symbolism of where to worship and what rules to follow in favor of a clear simple truth… “I AM the Messiah.” True worship will draw all eyes to Him as His kingdom expands through our actions.
Jesus explains that the Father is seeking true worshipers; those who worship in spirit and truth. True worship is defined by God as honoring Him with actions and attitudes that reflect His character.
Is 58:2-8
Decisions before Discipleship - Jesus didn’t shy away from acknowledging some aspects of the woman’s life that were misaligned with Heaven but he didn’t prioritize aligning anything except her understanding of who He was and the choice she had to believe.
Jesus begins his good work of sanctification in us after we acknowledge him as our Savior-King. Our message is first and foremost the good news of redemption by grace with the call for repentance as the response.
2 Cor. 5:18-20a
Genesis 39:11–20 (ESV) But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.” As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.
The Ninth Commandment - Exodus 20:16 (ESV) “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
This Is The Core Of Who The Devil Is - Revelation 12:10 (ESV) …for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
He Lied About God In The Garden - Genesis 3:4–5 (ESV) But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
He Lied About Jesus Repeatedly
Accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Beelzebub/prince of demons): Pharisees and scribes falsely claimed Jesus’ exorcisms were empowered by demonic forces rather than the Holy Spirit (a lie that Jesus called the unforgivable blasphemy against the Holy Spirit). Matthew 9:34; Matthew 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15.
Accused of blasphemy for forgiving sins: Scribes and Pharisees charged Jesus with blasphemy when He declared a paralytic’s sins forgiven, saying only God can do that (ignoring His divine authority). Matthew 9:2-3; Mark 2:6-7; Luke 5:20-21.
Accused of being a glutton, drunkard, and friend of sinners: Critics lied that Jesus was indulgent and immoral because He ate and drank with tax collectors and outcasts (contrasting Him with John the Baptist). Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34.
Accused of having a demon or being insane/mad: Many Jews claimed Jesus was demon-possessed or delusional, dismissing His teachings. John 7:20; John 8:48-52; John 10:20-21.
Accused of deceiving or misleading the people: Some in the crowd falsely labeled Jesus a deceiver who was stirring up trouble or leading people astray. John 7:12; also echoed in broader charges like John 7:47.
Accused of breaking the Sabbath (and related blasphemy): Pharisees repeatedly accused Jesus (and His disciples) of unlawful Sabbath work (e.g., healing or plucking grain), plotting to accuse Him formally; this escalated to claims of making Himself equal with God. Matthew 12:1-14 (disciples’ grain and withered hand healing); John 5:16-18 (healing at Bethesda pool).
False testimony at the Sanhedrin trial about destroying the temple: Multiple false witnesses lied that Jesus claimed He would destroy the temple made with hands and rebuild it in three days (a distortion of John 2:19, where He spoke of His body). Their testimonies didn’t even agree. Matthew 26:59-61; Mark 14:55-59.
Accused of blasphemy for claiming to be the Christ/Son of God: After Jesus affirmed He was the Messiah (and referenced Daniel 7/Psalm 110), the high priest tore his robes and declared it blasphemy, leading the council to condemn Him to death. Matthew 26:63-66; Mark 14:61-64; Luke 22:66-71.
Accused before Pilate and Roman authorities of perverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar, and claiming kingship (treason/sedition): Jewish leaders twisted Jesus’ teachings into political crimes (e.g., He actually taught “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s” in Matthew 22:21); they also called Him an evildoer/malefactor and stirred up the people. Pilate found no guilt, but the false charges led to crucifixion (with the inscription “King of the Jews”). Luke 23:1-5 (main charges); John 18:30 (“malefactor”); John 19:12; Mark 15:2-3; Matthew 27:11-14.
He Will Lie About You (Through Others)
WHEN FALSELY ACCUSED…
Give It To God, Let Him Handle It - FOLLOW Jesus!
Proverbs 19:5 (ESV) A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.
Isaiah 54:17 (ESV) no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”
Release Through Forgiveness… To The Lord’s Justice
Romans 12:19–21 (ESV) Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Your reactions will complicate the picture
Your wrong actions will have their own consequences
Luke 23:34 (ESV) And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
Suffer Well, _______________________ Is Watching.
The Devil And His Demons
Your Enemy - Proverbs 25:21–22 (ESV) If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.
Unbelievers You Are Trying to Win - Matthew 5:16 (ESV) In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Your Friends
Your Family, Your Children
The Host Of Heaven - Hebrews 12:1–5 (ESV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
Closing
Galatians 6:9 (ESV) And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Hebrews 10:36 (ESV) For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
(Genesis 39:1-21) Genesis 39:6–8 (ESV) So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused.
Joseph Was Distinctive: The Favor/Purpose Of The Father Was Tangible
His Coat (Favor): Genesis 37:3–4 (ESV) Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
His Dream (Purpose): Genesis 37:10–11 (ESV) But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
Joseph is in prison because of his coat and his dream
Joseph is in prison because of the touch of the father, and the calling of the father.
They were jealous - the same touch/favor were available to them as well.
His brothers destroyed the coat to remove the father’s touch and sold him to remove the father’s calling
Genesis 37:10–11 (ESV) But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
The Father’s Favor And Purpose Remained - Genesis 39:2–5 (ESV) The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field.
Favor Attacked By A SUBSTITUTE For God’s Gift Of SEX
Genesis 39:7–8 (ESV) And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife,
This is an iconic crossroads in life, desiring to pull you out of alignment with God’s favor.
At first glance, it’s just sex.
Physical
Natural desires
Companionship - I’m all alone (hard to marry-slave)
Physical escape from difficulty circumstances
Emotional
Being wanted by someone attractive/powerful
Reward for the unfair trial
Entitlement - deserved for accomplishments
Gateway to life goals.
For all these reasons, the average person gives in.
He’s already a physical slave, but an emotional/spiritual slavery is attempting to take over.
From 30,000 ft up, this is a bigger attack on favor/calling than his brothers.
No issue will ever challenge favor like your sexuality.
Sexuality is the #1 test you will every face
Unavoidable experiences in childhood
Poor decisions during youth
Unknown doors opened in the spiritual realm
1 Corinthians 6:15–19 (ESV) Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
It’s why so many children are attacked at a young age.
Pollute a person’s sexuality, and the impact is massive.
No Issue Will Challenge Favor Like Your Sexuality
It will take an and pollute a mile.
Adultery (Sexual relations with a married person)
Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 20:10; Matthew 5:27–28; Proverbs 6:32.
Fornication / Sexual Immorality (A broad term—Greek porneia—covering sex outside of marriage)
1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Galatians 5:19; Hebrews 13:4.
Incest (Sexual relations with close relatives)
Leviticus 18:6–18; Leviticus 20:11–12, 14, 17, 19–21; 1 Corinthians 5:1.
Homosexual Acts (Same-sex sexual activity)
Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10.
Bestiality (Sexual relations with animals)
Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 18:23; Leviticus 20:15–16; Deuteronomy 27:21.
Prostitution (Engaging in or soliciting sexual services for hire)
Leviticus 19:29; Deuteronomy 23:17–18; 1 Corinthians 6:15–16.
Rape / Sexual Assault
Deuteronomy 22:25–27; Genesis 34:1–7.
Effeminacy / Cross-Dressing (Cultural expressions of gender subversion in a sexual/moral context)
Deuteronomy 22:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9 (specifically the term malakoi in some translations).
Lust (Cultivating sexual desire for someone not one's spouse)
Matthew 5:28; Job 31:1; 1 John 2:16.
Sensuality / Lasciviousness (Lack of restraint; promoting lewdness)
Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 4:19; Jude 1:4.
Impurity / Uncleanness (Moral or ritual defilement related to sexual conduct)
Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 5:3; Romans 1:24.
Seduction of a Virgin (Sex with an unbetrothed woman)
Exodus 22:16–17; Deuteronomy 22:28–29.
Cult Prostitution (Sexual acts as part of pagan worship)
1 Kings 14:24; 2 Kings 23:7; Hosea 4:14.
The Beauty Of Sex - (8) We believe that Christian marriage was established by God, confirmed by Jesus, and is between a man and a woman. We believe that sex is a gift from God designed for intimacy and procreation within marriage.
Created by God - Matthew 19:4–6 (ESV) He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
For Companionship/Unity/Intamacy
Genesis 2:24: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
Matthew 19:5–6: "...and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
For Pleasure/Protection
1 Corinthians 7:5: "Do not deprive one another... so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."
1 Corinthians 7:2: "But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband."
For Pro-Creation (no more reflective of God than when you have kids)
Genesis 1:28: "And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it...'"
Psalm 127:3–5 (ESV) Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Between
Recapture Your Sexuality. Recapture Your Alignment For Favor/Purpose
Ephesians 5:3 (NIV) But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.
1 John 1:9 (ESV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
CONFESS - homologeō
Homos - same
Logos - word or speak
To speak the same thing. To agree with Scripture/GOD
CLEANSE - katharos
To be made pure, clean, or unstained
Scripture: Genesis 37:28, 36 ESV Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt… sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.
How did this happen to Joseph? Why do bad things happen?
If God is all powerful and loving, why would he allow this?
Why The Will Of God Does Not Happen:
Free Will: Adam Genesis 3:17–19 (ESV) And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Free Will: Mankind - Genesis 4:8 (ESV) Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
Free Will: YOU
Deuteronomy 30:19–20 (ESV) I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Joshua 24:14–15 (ESV) “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV) No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Free Will: Enemy King That Goes Unrestrained
Ephesians 2:1–2 (ESV) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV) In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Luke 22:31–32 (ESV) “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
1 Peter 5:8–9 (ESV) Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
Not everything that happens is the will of God.
God doesn’t want anyone to sin, but they do
God didn’t want Adam to die, but he did
Jesus wanted to heal everyone in his hometown, but he couldn’t because of their unbelief
Jesus didn’t want you to go through the things you did, but you did.
You were outside the perfect will of God…
Navigating The “Outside The Will Of God”
Function In Your Authority In The Spirit - Ephesians 6:10–13 (ESV) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Fellowship With Him While Suffering - Philippians 3:10-11 (ESV) that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Suffer Well To Experience Transformation
Romans 5:3–5 (ESV) Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
James 1:2–4 (ESV) Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
1 Peter 5:10 (ESV) And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.