Sermon #S048 - It Doesn't
Matter What You Meant (Part 2)
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Welcome to the
Breath of Life Television
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Ministry broadcast
with Pastor Debleaire Snell.
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In today's episode,
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Pastor Snell will
continue part two of the
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powerful message titled It
Doesn't Matter What You Meant.
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Now let's go deeper
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into the Word of God.
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Second thing this story
teaches us today, friends
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who are like this.
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LEWIS Second
thing Joseph teaches us
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is that God will
bless you so good
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that He'll make
you unrecognizable
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to your enemies.
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Oh, George.
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God will bless you so good
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that your enemies won't even
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recognize you now.
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Church.
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Ain't this a blip
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where life has come
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so full circle for Joseph
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that the very ones
that sold him into slavery
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have to come into Egypt
to buy grain and they somehow
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wind up at his feet, just like
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he told them they would in his.
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Oh, God.
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And it's
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crazy, because I
need you to get that, man.
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God has blessed
Joseph so strong.
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That man.
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He has blessed him to be
such a strong and capable
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and competent man
that his brothers don't
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even recognize
that weak and trembling
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approval needing brother
that they put inside the pit.
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And I just want to
encourage for a moment
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somebody who is
still in process.
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I want to talk to somebody
who is still in development.
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I want to talk to somebody
who's still trying to deal
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with the pain.
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I want to talk to that person
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who still can't sleep
all the way through the night
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because there's
still echoes in your head
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about what
happened in your life.
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I need somebody to know that
it won't always hurt this bad.
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You won't always be this afraid.
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You will always
have this kind of anger.
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You will always have
these type of reactions.
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Because God is gonna
grow you and bless you
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and anoint you to the
point where your perpetrators
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cannot even recognize you
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and see what's
this reason, Malcolm?
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The reason they can't
recognize Joseph is not just
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his physical maturity
and development of the years.
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It's not just that they haven't
seen Joseph in a long time.
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The reason they
can't recognize Joseph
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is because of his placement.
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They just didn't expect
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Joseph to be where he is.
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And because they
couldn't imagine him becoming
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what he became, they couldn't
believe it when he became it.
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Oh, God.
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Oh, let me say it again,
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because I can imagine
him becoming what he became.
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They could even believe it when
they saw that he became head.
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You see, I need somebody
to get this critical truth
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down in your soul.
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See, they made a
prediction about what
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Joseph's life would be based
upon the dirt that they did
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see. They thought that if
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we ever see Joseph again,
he's going to be a beggar.
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He's going to be a squatter.
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That he'll be a slave
or maybe he'll respond
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with such vengeance
because of what was done to him.
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And the reason they
can't recognize Joseph
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is they predicted an
outcome because of their dirt,
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because they hadn't
experienced the goodness of God.
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They can't even recognize
the goodness of God when it's
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applied to the most
violated of our time.
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And the reason he remains
disguised is because Joseph does
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not like what he's been through.
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Oh. Has anybody in this room
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ever been lumped into a
statistic testicle category
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that because your
life took a certain turn?
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There are certain folk
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that could only
anticipate your demise,
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and they're going to be
some that because they didn't
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value you, they'll assume
nobody else would value you.
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They assume because
they couldn't see it in
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you that no one else or God
would be able to see it in you.
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And I need you to know
that Joseph's greatest revenge
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was not acting out in anger.
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His greatest revenge
was just in becoming.
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Who got called him to be?
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No. No doubt. Need to get this.
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His revenge was not
putting a knife to their throat.
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History.
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Revenge was in becoming
who God ordained him to become.
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Oh, God. I need
to hear this today.
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I need you to know your greatest
revenge is just in becoming
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who God called you to become.
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Your victory is not in
berating is in becoming.
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It's not in bullying.
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It's in becoming.
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It's not in clapping back.
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It's in becoming.
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It's not in returning the favor.
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It's in becoming who?
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God or danger to become.
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See, I need some sister to know
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that there's going to come a day
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when that one act
sees who you become.
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Going to have
to look three times
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because he won't even recognize
the woman you've become.
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In other words,
there's going to come a day
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where you become so
strong and so confident
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and so able that
those who bullied you as kid
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won't even
recognize who you have become.
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That's going to come a day
when that guidance counselor
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who said you one college
material is going to choke on
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that words when they
see who you have become.
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There's going to come a day
when the daddy that walked out
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the door is going to
regret leaving you behind
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when he sees
what you have become.
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And guess what?
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When you become it, guess what?
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You ain't got to say
how you like me. Now.
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You ain't got to clap back.
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You ain't got to
say I told you so.
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You ain't got to
throw it up in your face.
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Show kindness as you become.
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And it'll be like
throwing hot coals of fire
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all over their head.
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Don't retaliate.
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Just become. Don't bully.
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Just be calm.
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Don't cut back.
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Just be calm.
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Don't out them on social media.
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Just be calm.
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Don't shoot back.
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Just be calm.
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Who God has
ordained you to become.
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Oh, you are?
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Hear me today.
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And this is crazy.
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Cos Joseph's brothers,
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when they see him, they shoot
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like, oh, snap.
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It's just like,
how can it be, Joseph?
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And it's crazy, Anthony.
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Because when he sees their
dismay, he's like, Yo, chill
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it. Don't take all that.
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Right, right, right, right.
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Notice words
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also say he's this cool,
this other side of the bell.
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He's saying, You sold me,
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but God sent me
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none of no goodness.
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He doesn't react
with vitriolic vengeance.
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He says, You sold me.
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But it was God who sent me.
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He says, It don't
matter what you meant.
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I don't care what you meant.
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You meant it for evil.
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But God turned it
around and used it for good.
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It's almost as
if Joseph is saying
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thank you.
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It's like Joseph
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is saying Thank you
for not believing in me.
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Thank you for doubting me.
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Thank you for rejecting me.
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Thank you for not receiving me.
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Thank you for not including me.
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Because in so
doing, God used your evil
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to help me get where I am today.
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And do I have at
least seven or eight felt
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that need to say ain't you
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to some perpetrators today?
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Thank you for not hiring me.
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Thank you for
doubting my potential.
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Thank you for not
going out on a date.
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Thank you for breaking my heart.
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Thank you for
not being my friend.
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Thank you for on
following me on Twitter.
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Thank you for unfriending
me on your Instagram.
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Because when you unfriended
me, I found a friend and
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and Jesus
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dot the one who
sticks closer than a brother.
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It doesn't matter how you
meant it because God tells
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what you made for evil
and recites it for your good
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man its crazy.
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See, sometimes man
don't keep hating on them.
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You got to thank them
for the role that God against
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their will use them to play.
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Because I remember
coming up, man, I was, you know,
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kind of in the
middle in the cousins bunch
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and you know, like most
the serials we see in bodies
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are you eat Frosted
Flakes back in the day.
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Now that's crazy
because like my older cousins,
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whenever some sit down,
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they were kind of pushed
me to the side and bully me.
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And then they would get like,
man, the first fruit from the
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cereal box.
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I remember one Sunday morning,
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Mandy just pushed me to
the side and guess what, man?
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They pushed me.
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Three or four of
them got in front
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and they ate the
cereal before I did.
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But I need to know that
even though they ate before me,
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I didn't get mad.
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You know what I said?
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I said, thank you.
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Now, they looked at me crazy,
but the reason I said thank you
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is how many of us know that even
though you get the big flakes
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on the top end of the box,
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all the sugar
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and all of the sugar,
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which is what I wanted,
was at the bottom of the bag.
00:11:32.62\00:11:36.29
And that day I didn't
just come for the cereal,
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but anybody remember they
used to put a toy in the box.
00:11:40.53\00:11:46.23
And I didn't
really want the cereal.
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I just wanted the
toy at the bottom.
00:11:48.44\00:11:50.57
And all they did was get
what I didn't need out the way
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so I could
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get exactly what I came for.
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And can I suggest that sometimes
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when they push it to
the side, say thank you?
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Because what you
need is sometimes
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not at the top,
but it's at the bottom.
00:12:09.79\00:12:13.93
Third thing this
teaches real quick, quick, quick
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is that there is no secret
00:12:18.73\00:12:21.14
that remains hidden.
00:12:21.14\00:12:23.41
You see, the only thing
00:12:27.51\00:12:28.54
more remarkable
than Joseph's rise
00:12:28.54\00:12:31.95
is how God
00:12:33.15\00:12:35.02
literally brings
everything completely
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full circle in his life.
00:12:38.15\00:12:41.49
I mean,
00:12:42.12\00:12:43.32
it literally looks
like a Hollywood producer,
00:12:44.06\00:12:46.96
a writer wrote it out
just the way it played out.
00:12:46.96\00:12:51.07
So, I mean, it's crazy
00:12:51.43\00:12:53.00
because I mean,
literally that God uses the one
00:12:53.00\00:12:56.54
that they sold into slavery
00:12:57.44\00:12:59.71
to help prepare Egypt
during the years of plenty so
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that they can preserve everybody
in the years of famine.
00:13:04.75\00:13:07.95
And it's amazing how
that same famine in Canaan
00:13:08.52\00:13:11.79
is what drives them right
there to the feet of Joseph
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in the same posture that
Joseph saw in his dreams.
00:13:16.29\00:13:20.03
And it's crazy.
00:13:21.63\00:13:22.90
I need you to think about this.
00:13:22.90\00:13:24.50
Like they.
00:13:24.50\00:13:25.60
It was almost a perfect crime
00:13:25.60\00:13:28.94
after they throw
Joseph into the pit.
00:13:30.34\00:13:32.34
What they do
00:13:32.57\00:13:33.11
is they
00:13:33.11\00:13:33.44
collude around their land
00:13:33.74\00:13:35.24
and make sure it
ain't got no holes in it.
00:13:35.24\00:13:37.81
Then on top of that,
they tamper with the evidence
00:13:37.81\00:13:41.08
because they take
Joseph's coat of many colors
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and they dip it in the blood
of a deceased, our dead animal.
00:13:44.49\00:13:48.12
So to show it to Jacob
and I need you to know that
00:13:48.29\00:13:51.19
Jacob is so convinced that
he grieves with such gravity
00:13:51.19\00:13:55.06
that the Bible
says that he refuses
00:13:55.23\00:13:58.67
to be comforted.
00:13:58.73\00:14:01.64
And it's crazy because
they get away with the lie
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for over 20 years.
00:14:05.84\00:14:08.48
For 20 years.
00:14:10.38\00:14:11.75
They've not face
justice for 20 years.
00:14:11.75\00:14:14.78
Is yet to come.
00:14:14.78\00:14:15.95
Come on them.
00:14:15.95\00:14:16.85
For 20 years,
00:14:16.85\00:14:18.29
it looks as if they have gotten
away with a perfect crime.
00:14:18.29\00:14:22.59
But I need somebody to
understand that even though
00:14:22.76\00:14:26.16
they've not gone to an earthly
jail, what it shows is that
00:14:26.16\00:14:29.73
when you avoid human
capture, what happens is God
00:14:29.73\00:14:33.90
says, You've got
to deal with me now.
00:14:33.90\00:14:37.97
See, I need you
to know that they are
00:14:37.97\00:14:40.11
they do something worse
than prison, because in prison
00:14:40.11\00:14:43.18
you do your time
and you'll get released.
00:14:43.28\00:14:45.35
But guess what?
00:14:45.55\00:14:46.15
When you deal with God,
you literally become a prisoner
00:14:46.68\00:14:50.59
in the haunted
house of your brain.
00:14:50.65\00:14:54.69
What do you mean by that?
00:14:55.76\00:14:56.86
So remember when Joseph shows up
00:14:56.86\00:14:58.79
and when Joseph
tests them and says, Man,
00:14:58.79\00:15:02.00
when you all got to stay here,
the rest of you, I'll go back.
00:15:02.00\00:15:03.87
What is their
automatic assumption?
00:15:03.87\00:15:06.13
They automatically assume
00:15:07.64\00:15:09.54
the reason this is happening
00:15:09.54\00:15:13.14
is because of what we
did to our brother Joseph.
00:15:13.81\00:15:16.04
In other words, ain't nothing
bad even happened to them yet,
00:15:17.05\00:15:19.75
but you realize
they've been bracing for it
00:15:20.58\00:15:23.18
for over 20 years.
00:15:25.72\00:15:27.86
And how many of us know
00:15:27.86\00:15:28.76
that sometimes the
anticipating of judgment
00:15:28.76\00:15:31.43
is actually worse
00:15:31.73\00:15:32.89
than if you just go
ahead and get it over with?
00:15:32.89\00:15:34.96
Like I can
remember back in the day
00:15:36.06\00:15:37.33
when like, your parents
are going to punish you,
00:15:37.33\00:15:39.30
but then they
don't do it right away
00:15:39.30\00:15:41.04
and they just let you sit
and think about that choice.
00:15:43.37\00:15:45.61
Sometimes you
just want to be like,
00:15:46.57\00:15:47.61
Dad, just get it
over with because.
00:15:47.61\00:15:50.25
Cause sometimes just waiting
for it to happen can be real.
00:15:50.25\00:15:54.35
Hear what I'm saying?
00:15:54.35\00:15:55.62
And see, I need to know.
00:15:56.32\00:15:57.39
This is not the first time
they assume that I need to know
00:15:57.52\00:16:01.12
for 20 years.
00:16:01.12\00:16:02.39
Every time
something bad happens,
00:16:02.39\00:16:05.19
they assume this is
Joseph catching up with us.
00:16:06.09\00:16:09.00
Every time they stop,
they're told they like,
00:16:10.23\00:16:12.17
Oh, snap.
00:16:12.17\00:16:12.60
This is because of
what I did to Joseph.
00:16:13.10\00:16:15.30
Every time they
catch a cold, they're like,
00:16:15.30\00:16:16.97
This is because of
what we did to Joseph.
00:16:16.97\00:16:19.17
Every time they'd
get a flu, this was like
00:16:19.17\00:16:20.88
because of what
we did to Joseph.
00:16:20.88\00:16:22.61
Every time an enemy attacks,
00:16:22.61\00:16:23.98
they think this is because
of what we did to Joseph.
00:16:23.98\00:16:26.11
Every time the money gets
low, they think this is because
00:16:26.35\00:16:28.52
of what we did to Joseph.
00:16:28.52\00:16:29.85
Every time something
doesn't go their way,
00:16:29.85\00:16:31.35
they think this is because
of what we did to Joseph.
00:16:31.35\00:16:33.56
Every time a thunderstorm comes,
they think this is because
00:16:33.56\00:16:36.32
of what we did to Joseph.
00:16:36.32\00:16:37.66
And when the
famine comes on the land,
00:16:37.66\00:16:39.69
they automatically assume
that this is God's judgment.
00:16:39.69\00:16:43.06
Because what we did to Joseph
00:16:43.26\00:16:45.67
and say, I need somebody to
understand this critical truth,
00:16:47.77\00:16:50.31
because what the word is showing
us today, friends of mine,
00:16:50.57\00:16:53.11
that even when there is
no immediate earthly justice,
00:16:53.31\00:16:59.48
that God has
prisons that you can't see.
00:16:59.48\00:17:02.15
And I want to say to
every offended person
00:17:03.18\00:17:06.05
or victim in this
room that there is nothing
00:17:06.19\00:17:09.29
that escapes the
eye sight of God,
00:17:09.46\00:17:12.29
that those that have harmed
you, they will not get away.
00:17:12.56\00:17:16.10
They will not be vindicated.
00:17:16.30\00:17:18.23
They will not be
excused when they escape
00:17:18.23\00:17:21.20
earthly confines.
00:17:21.20\00:17:22.47
They got to sit before him.
00:17:22.47\00:17:25.61
Now, I do need to say
this is the tough part because,
00:17:26.04\00:17:28.88
see, sometimes
justice can be slow
00:17:28.88\00:17:30.91
and at other times
00:17:33.01\00:17:34.25
justice is private, not
on a go really like this.
00:17:34.25\00:17:40.79
But sometimes God keeps the
justice of the offender private
00:17:41.59\00:17:45.99
because if he made it public,
00:17:47.23\00:17:49.76
your desire to be vindicated
may cause you to rejoice
00:17:49.76\00:17:53.13
in their suffering, and you
lose your soul in the process.
00:17:53.13\00:17:57.67
So God says, Let
me keep this from you
00:17:58.47\00:18:00.91
so I can keep hale for
all y'all not hear me today.
00:18:01.34\00:18:05.85
And this is the
other tough part,
00:18:07.15\00:18:09.05
and it's what
makes Grace so offensive.
00:18:09.05\00:18:11.55
Sometimes God makes justice slow
00:18:12.62\00:18:15.46
so that the wicked
have room enough to repent.
00:18:16.56\00:18:21.13
No, no. I knew you weren't
going out with me on this today.
00:18:21.50\00:18:23.57
But understand, if you actually
read Genesis 42 of the 50,
00:18:23.90\00:18:27.17
it becomes clear that
the brothers have changed.
00:18:27.37\00:18:29.67
That time has
done something to them,
00:18:29.84\00:18:32.01
that there is a contrition
now that was not there, as he
00:18:32.21\00:18:35.74
sometimes meant God who
desires to see all men. So
00:18:35.74\00:18:40.75
that does he want
to see all men say
00:18:44.15\00:18:46.79
Now, no,
00:18:47.89\00:18:51.93
the God who wants
to see all men saved
00:18:51.93\00:18:54.56
No. You ought to rejoice that
He wants all men to be saved.
00:18:55.73\00:19:00.07
You ought to shout that
He wants all men to be saved.
00:19:00.07\00:19:03.54
Be careful about lamenting about
00:19:04.47\00:19:07.64
people not
getting what they deserve
00:19:07.64\00:19:09.88
because that same
grace is what's keeping you
00:19:10.95\00:19:14.02
from getting exactly what
00:19:15.08\00:19:17.49
what you deserve.
00:19:18.69\00:19:21.46
And I'm saying this to
the perpetrators of hurt
00:19:21.96\00:19:24.13
and dark and and harm
upon the people of God.
00:19:24.13\00:19:27.66
I need you to know that you are
not going to get away with it.
00:19:27.83\00:19:30.70
Jesus says that
which has been done in
00:19:30.87\00:19:32.77
the darkness is
going to come to the light.
00:19:32.77\00:19:34.97
And Ecclesiastes, God says,
00:19:35.10\00:19:36.91
I'm going to bring
every work into the judgment
00:19:36.91\00:19:39.41
with every secret thing,
00:19:39.51\00:19:41.11
whether it be good
or whether it be evil.
00:19:41.11\00:19:43.75
I need somebody to make
sure that you understand that
00:19:43.88\00:19:47.05
just because
there is slow justice,
00:19:47.05\00:19:49.18
it doesn't mean that
there won't be no justice.
00:19:49.28\00:19:51.82
That sometimes the
God who is slow to anger
00:19:51.99\00:19:55.62
and abundant in mercy
is just leaving enough
00:19:55.76\00:19:59.59
room for you to repent.
00:19:59.59\00:20:03.10
He had a crazy
thing happen with time
00:20:05.40\00:20:08.24
you got up like my dad had
a theme in about his supper.
00:20:08.24\00:20:11.31
He always wanted
socks to be clean and white.
00:20:11.44\00:20:13.48
So even when we borrowed him,
00:20:14.11\00:20:15.51
we would not obey
the rules like we should.
00:20:15.51\00:20:17.75
And so, you know,
sometimes I would go outside
00:20:17.78\00:20:20.42
in his socks in
the bottom of them,
00:20:20.98\00:20:22.92
be as black as the
ground on the outside.
00:20:22.92\00:20:25.15
So one day when I was in
his socks, men go outside,
00:20:25.92\00:20:27.92
you know, play
00:20:28.49\00:20:29.02
one of my
friends and I go outside
00:20:29.32\00:20:30.23
and I walk all over the ground
with socks and they dirty.
00:20:30.49\00:20:33.46
And so because I'm
too lazy to wash this up,
00:20:33.76\00:20:36.23
I say, Well, I
want to throw him away,
00:20:37.97\00:20:40.30
but I had to try to throw away
evidence before, and then they
00:20:41.20\00:20:43.37
found it in the trash.
00:20:43.37\00:20:44.41
So I said, What
I'm going to do is, is
00:20:45.94\00:20:47.58
I'm going to go in the back yard
and I'm going to dig a hole.
00:20:47.58\00:20:52.18
Don't judge me.
00:20:53.08\00:20:54.08
I mean,
00:20:54.08\00:20:54.65
oh, God, I can't believe this.
00:20:55.52\00:20:56.89
This is our pastor. Yes.
00:20:56.89\00:20:58.85
He looks beyond
our faults. Yeah.
00:20:58.85\00:21:01.52
So I buried the
socks in the ground,
00:21:01.52\00:21:03.63
and our little dog, Coco
in the back is watching right.
00:21:03.86\00:21:08.20
So the next day, I
come home from school
00:21:09.06\00:21:11.93
cookout and went and
dug a hole in the ground
00:21:11.93\00:21:14.24
and he got the
socks in his mouth
00:21:15.20\00:21:18.07
and he bring them to me
like he and did something good.
00:21:18.07\00:21:20.41
I'm like, Oh, snap.
00:21:20.41\00:21:22.38
So I take the
socks out of his mouth,
00:21:23.21\00:21:25.25
go to a different part
00:21:25.25\00:21:26.38
of the yard, dig
another hole, and put the socks
00:21:26.38\00:21:28.25
back in the ground.
00:21:28.25\00:21:29.68
About three days later, Koko
comes to the back door again,
00:21:29.92\00:21:33.72
wagging their little tail with
the socks all over her mouth.
00:21:34.26\00:21:37.93
And it happens on one to add
one more case enough to that.
00:21:37.93\00:21:41.56
And after that time, I
just got to confess. Why?
00:21:41.73\00:21:44.63
Because what I learned
is that the truth will never
00:21:44.67\00:21:48.14
stay buried.
00:21:48.14\00:21:51.37
It doesn't matter how
long it's been in the ground.
00:21:52.97\00:21:56.21
It doesn't matter how much
dirt you throw on the truth.
00:21:56.41\00:21:59.88
It doesn't matter if
you're Bill Cosby or Kelly
00:22:00.18\00:22:03.99
or Donald Trump or
have you Harvey Weinstein.
00:22:04.15\00:22:07.19
It doesn't matter how
long you get away with it.
00:22:07.36\00:22:10.83
At some point, you're
going to have to deal with God.
00:22:13.70\00:22:15.73
You are? Hear me today
00:22:15.86\00:22:17.43
asking real quick
what this teaches us
00:22:17.97\00:22:20.44
is that
forgiveness is more powerful
00:22:21.10\00:22:23.67
than hate.
00:22:23.67\00:22:25.91
Now, if you read the
story, it's clear Joseph Angle,
00:22:28.88\00:22:31.35
like he has a little fun
with his brothers for a minute.
00:22:31.38\00:22:34.42
He gives them the business,
00:22:34.42\00:22:36.82
but a part of what he's
doing is he kind of creates
00:22:37.49\00:22:39.99
some difficult scenario,
00:22:39.99\00:22:41.16
some acts of intimidation, one,
00:22:41.16\00:22:43.06
because he's trying to figure
out the condition of his father
00:22:43.06\00:22:45.53
and his brother.
00:22:45.53\00:22:46.39
And he is also testing the heart
to see what's inside of them.
00:22:46.80\00:22:50.17
But what becomes clear is that
00:22:50.27\00:22:51.43
Joseph does not respond to them
in a way that they treated him.
00:22:51.53\00:22:55.14
I hear me today
00:22:55.34\00:22:56.10
because why is this?
00:22:57.67\00:22:59.34
The only way the brothers
could have won against Joseph
00:22:59.34\00:23:02.64
is if he held anger toward them.
00:23:03.65\00:23:05.98
The only way
they could have really
00:23:07.65\00:23:09.48
triumphed over Joseph in
light of all that God was doing,
00:23:09.48\00:23:12.39
is if he holds his
anger, if he stores his vitriol
00:23:12.52\00:23:17.59
and he responds in
them to them in the same way
00:23:17.73\00:23:21.33
that they acted toward him.
00:23:21.50\00:23:23.16
And what I need
00:23:23.16\00:23:23.70
somebody to know about
this, about anger, is this is
00:23:24.27\00:23:27.04
that anger is not a solution.
00:23:27.04\00:23:29.40
No, no, let me say it again.
00:23:31.31\00:23:32.67
Anger is not a solution.
00:23:32.67\00:23:35.44
All anger does is
make you vulnerable.
00:23:35.44\00:23:38.38
And see how many of us know that
00:23:39.25\00:23:40.42
no matter how much
you store your anger,
00:23:40.42\00:23:42.28
it doesn't make you strong.
00:23:42.28\00:23:43.52
It does not make
you more powerful.
00:23:43.52\00:23:45.39
And the truth is that most
of us will never get the chance
00:23:45.39\00:23:48.29
to lash out at those
that have done us harm.
00:23:48.29\00:23:51.36
And because we can't let it
out as our enemies, most times
00:23:51.53\00:23:55.13
we wind up lashing out
against our support system.
00:23:55.13\00:23:57.77
We wound up lashing out
against the very ones that are
00:23:59.37\00:24:02.27
our advocates for ourselves
or we lash out against ourselves
00:24:02.34\00:24:06.14
and see, this is the thing.
00:24:07.74\00:24:09.91
It's not a shouting message.
00:24:09.91\00:24:11.71
See,  Joseph knew
this day was going to come.
00:24:11.71\00:24:14.22
The reason we know Joseph
knew that day was going to come
00:24:16.75\00:24:18.95
is because he
already saw it in his dream.
00:24:19.22\00:24:21.46
He had already saw that
this day was going to arrive.
00:24:23.29\00:24:25.89
He saw it with
crystal clear clarity.
00:24:26.16\00:24:28.13
And the only way that Joseph
could keep from acting out
00:24:28.40\00:24:32.27
toward them in violence
00:24:32.27\00:24:34.10
is if he had
forgiven them preemptively.
00:24:34.10\00:24:37.31
See, the thing you
got to get about Joseph
00:24:37.57\00:24:39.67
is that Joseph had a
forgiving ahead of the apology.
00:24:39.81\00:24:44.41
He had forgiven
ahead of the contrition.
00:24:44.41\00:24:47.12
He had forgiven in
advance of that remorse.
00:24:47.35\00:24:50.12
He didn't wait for them to
come and fall before his feet
00:24:50.29\00:24:53.56
to release the
anger and the bitterness.
00:24:53.72\00:24:56.46
I need you to know,
in order to be healed,
00:24:56.59\00:24:58.86
you can't sit around and
wait for them to acknowledge
00:24:59.03\00:25:01.66
what they have done because
some are already in their grave.
00:25:01.80\00:25:05.63
But sometimes the key to
your victory is a preemptive
00:25:05.87\00:25:10.54
act of forgiveness.
00:25:12.44\00:25:13.71
You are hearing me today,
00:25:13.71\00:25:15.41
just like when one gets
a stain or a grape juice
00:25:15.68\00:25:18.38
stain in the shirt.
00:25:18.38\00:25:20.02
You can't wait two
weeks to wash that shirt.
00:25:20.02\00:25:22.25
You got to put it in
immediately in some water
00:25:22.38\00:25:24.72
and let it soak.
00:25:25.82\00:25:27.86
Because the longer
you let the stain set,
00:25:27.86\00:25:30.83
the harder it's
going to be to get it out.
00:25:32.29\00:25:34.66
Why am I saying this?
00:25:35.56\00:25:37.37
Because how many of us know
00:25:37.37\00:25:38.40
that forgiving
doesn't get easier with time.
00:25:38.40\00:25:41.30
It gets harder the
longer you let it settle.
00:25:42.60\00:25:45.51
And what I'm saying is,
man, that you all almost got it.
00:25:46.31\00:25:49.51
Got a half man, some
00:25:49.51\00:25:51.98
Teflon on your soul
00:25:51.98\00:25:54.48
so that you don't let the stain
of bitterness stick and corrupt
00:25:54.48\00:25:58.29
everything that God is
trying to grow inside of you.
00:25:58.29\00:26:02.59
You cannot keep the root
of bitterness from being.
00:26:02.59\00:26:04.36
You got to keep the root of
00:26:04.36\00:26:05.43
bitterness from
being entrenched.
00:26:05.43\00:26:07.10
So you got to do
it without apology.
00:26:07.10\00:26:09.03
There are going to be
times you got to do it, whether
00:26:09.03\00:26:10.77
they acknowledge it or not.
00:26:10.77\00:26:12.27
And so I need
somebody to understand
00:26:12.27\00:26:14.00
that
forgiveness, friends of mine,
00:26:14.00\00:26:15.77
is not about the
worthiness or the deserving this
00:26:15.77\00:26:18.84
of the offender.
00:26:18.84\00:26:20.14
It's about the peace and
the wholeness of the offended.
00:26:20.14\00:26:23.08
In other words, I don't
do this for your absolution.
00:26:23.68\00:26:26.65
I do it for my personal peace.
00:26:26.78\00:26:28.92
And the thing I need somebody
to get about forgiveness
00:26:29.22\00:26:31.89
is that forgiveness
00:26:32.09\00:26:33.49
is not the opioid
that makes it feel better.
00:26:33.49\00:26:36.49
Forgiveness is
the surgery itself.
00:26:36.62\00:26:39.23
That forgiveness is the
cutting away of the cancer
00:26:40.40\00:26:44.10
so that it cannot
metastasize and ruin everything
00:26:44.30\00:26:48.34
on the inside and be clear
00:26:48.34\00:26:52.14
to never confuse
forgiveness with healing.
00:26:52.14\00:26:56.54
They are not the same thing.
00:26:57.28\00:26:59.61
Forgiveness is the decision
of the mind, but lifetime.
00:26:59.61\00:27:09.46
Breath Of Life Music
00:28:05.91\00:28:29.04
[END]
00:28:29.04\00:28:32.07