Please stay with us
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3ABN presents
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this closed captioned program
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Hello Friends.
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I am Michael Contes
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and I'd like to welcome you
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to Faith Chapel.
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Today we're going to
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talk about Integrity.
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Let us pray.
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Father we come to thee now
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and we thank thee for the
opportunity of being able to
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break open the Bread of Life.
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Help us to view the experiences
of the saints of old so that
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we can have the integrity
of being the saints of today.
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Be with us now
in Jesus name. Amen.
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The most visible man in
the 1990's stood in front
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of his nation and
the watching world
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as he exclaimed,
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"I did not have sexual
relations with Miss Lewinsky. "
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Yet the truth came out later
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that he had done exactly that.
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During the same
period a poll was taken.
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The poll asked people what
they would do for $100,000.
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And two thirds of the people
agreed to one of the things
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that I will be reading to you.
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25% said they would
abandon their entire family
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for $100,000!
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Another 25% said
they would abandon
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their church for $100,000!
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23% said they
would become prostitutes
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for a week or more for $100,000.
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16% said they would give
up their American citizenship
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for $100,000.
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Another 16%
said they would leave
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their spouses for $100,000.
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10% said they
would withhold testimony
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and let a murderer
go free for $100,000.
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7% said they would kill
a stranger for $100,000.
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3% said they would put
their children up for adoption
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for $100,000.
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The article comes
from James Patterson
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in the book entitled, "The
Day America Told the Truth. "
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Brothers and sisters,
today I'd like to talk about
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God is looking for a
group of people, men and women
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who will not allow their
integrity to waver like a reed
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People who will stand
up though the heavens fall.
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I'd like for us to open up our
Bibles today to Genesis 39:1-9
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He was from the line
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of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
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He was favored in his family.
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His brothers despised him.
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In fact his
brothers wanted to kill him
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but yet spared his life
and sent him into Egypt.
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He could have allowed
what his brothers did to him
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to taint his
relationship and his future.
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But Joseph made a choice.
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and the choice was: No
matter what happens in his life
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he would serve the
God of his fathers.
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Upon arriving into
Egypt, Potiphar the captain
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of the king's guard, bought him
and brought him into his house
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and from the very beginning
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Joseph had the Midas touch.
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Everything he
touched turned to gold.
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His master began to
trust him with everything.
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In fact the Scriptures say there
is nothing his master held back
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but his wife.
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Joseph was a man of integrity.
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Joseph would stand for the
right though the heavens fall.
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Joseph was
willing to condemn sin
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in himself as well as others.
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Joseph could
have very easily said
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"I'm in Egypt and I'm going
to do as the Egyptians do. "
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We better know
that as the Roman rule:
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'When in Rome do as the Romans '
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Joseph could have used
this logic and went with it.
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He could have trusted in himself
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In fact, think about it friends.
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Joseph could have said, "I have
access to my master's wife "
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"she can help facilitate the
dreams I have to go back home "
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"I can begin to
play my own cards "
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"and I can begin
to make my own way "
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"and no one will ever know. "
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"NO ONE! "
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"Potiphar won't know. "
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"The servants won't be there. "
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"We could
orchestrate events as needed. "
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But Joseph knew
that Jesus would know.
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God would know
what Joseph would do
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even in the dark.
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For God reads the
motives of the heart.
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And Joseph was
concerned and knew
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that he could not allow himself
to do this kind of wickedness
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and sever his
relationship with God
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because Joseph
lived by a principal
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that is found in 1 Samuel 2:30
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And that principal is: God says,
Those who honor Me I will honor
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Interpreted, 'If we
honor God, God will honor us. '
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You see, God had
a plan for Joseph
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and Joseph could have
deviated from the plan.
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Joseph could
have done it his way.
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You know, kind of
like going to Burger King.
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Make it my way.
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He chose not to.
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Joseph chose to
follow the Lord's way.
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Point #1 that I'd
like to share with you
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in the first
half of this story is
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the decisions we
make can either bring
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and spring forth eternal
life or the decisions we make
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can bring forth eternal death
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and separation from God.
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There are decisions
today that we are making
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whether in the
house, whether at work,
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whether in church
that will determine
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the outcome of our destiny.
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Because one decision
does not necessarily determine
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the outcome, it is
the pattern of decisions.
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And usually if we begin
to compromise in one area,
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in one decision
the next decision
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is easier to compromise
and the decision after that.
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I can imagine in this
story that Potiphar's wife
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would have liked
Joseph, being a younger man,
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maybe didn't have a tire around
his waist like her husband.
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Maybe from that point it
could have went from adultery
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to murder!
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We find that out in the
Bible it happens many times.
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David committed
adultery and had to have
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Uriah killed
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in a cover-up.
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This very easily could
have led Joseph away from God.
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But Joseph purposed in
his heart and in his mind
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to follow Jesus.
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Notice, Joseph lived his life
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through the eyes of Heaven.
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Joseph was not so worried
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about how he was
viewed upon here on Earth.
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This is a very important point.
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If we are to be
Christians living in the days
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that we are living in -
You see people around us
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are looking to see if
our profession is true.
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People around
are looking to see.
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'Mike Contes is
claiming he's a Christian. '
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'Is he really a Christian? '
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And my actions
are revealing to them
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and the universe
whether I'm a Christian
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or if I am a
professed Christian.
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Am I a possessed
Christian of the Holy Spirit
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or am I a professed Christian
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possessing the
principals of self and Satan.
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And there are people
out there that are hungry,
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people who want to believe.
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People want to believe
that there are people out there
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full of integrity.
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People are looking for leaders
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who will not say one
thing and do another.
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"I did not have sexual
relations with Miss Lewinsky. "
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"Well how do you
define 'sexual relations'? "
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God is looking
for a group of men
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a group of women
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'who will be as true as
the needle is to the pole '
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'though the
heavens fall around them. '
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They will stand for the
right principals through the
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power of the Holy Spirit.
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Notice the next text we go into
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here in Genesis
39:20 goes on to read,
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Joseph now being in prison
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could have thrown his
hands up in the air and said,
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"What in the
world is going on? "
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"I'm no longer with my father "
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"I'm no longer in my
father's household. "
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"I was sold by my brothers. "
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"I don't even have my nice
coat that I used to have. "
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"Now I'm in this foreign land. "
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"Just when things are
beginning to turn the corner "
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"and I think something
good is going to happen "
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"my master's wife is accusing
me of trying to rape her. "
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"And now I'm in prison! "
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"God what is going on here? "
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Notice, Joseph
did not get despondent
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throw his hands in the air.
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Joseph was a man of God.
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Joseph knew that whatever
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God was allowing in his life
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that it was there to shape him.
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in fact Joseph implicitly
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trusted God.
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Psalms 56:11 reads, "In
God I have put my trust "
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Joseph wasn't afraid of what
men and people could do to him.
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Joseph had a healthy fear of God
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Now, there are times
when bad things happen to us
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and we don't
know what's going on.
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And we're thinking, 'What
has caused this to happen? '
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I remember in the early '80s
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I was around 14 years
old, I believe, my sister and I
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We just found out that
the local radio station
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KWOD 106 there in Sacramento CA
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had a request line
and every Saturday morning
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we'd call in and
request the songs we liked.
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One song though not Christian,
because I wasn't a Christian yet
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was entitled, "Funky Town. "
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That song was a very hip-hop
song so we decided to call in
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and have this song played.
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A block away at my
sister's god-parent's house
00:13:58.30\00:14:02.52
they were getting crank calls
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like 20, 30 or 40 of
them within an hour's time.
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so my sister's
god-mother's son got on his bike
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and came to our house.
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Now, my bedroom window was
beside the living room window
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in the front of the house.
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And my window was open
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And he heard my sister
and I laughing and giggling
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and he looked in the
window and saw us on the phone.
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And there we were
laughing and giggling
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and right away
guess what he thought?
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'Mike and Dena are
making the crank calls to us. '
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So he went back home
and told his parents.
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Then his parents called my mom.
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My mom found out
about their trouble
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and my mom gave us a whooping.
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She spanked us and
then on top of that
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mom said we had to apologize.
We said, "Mom we didn't do it! "
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We went over and started
apologizing and lo and behold
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the phone rang.
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And guess who it was.
00:14:55.66\00:14:57.62
The crank callers.
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And the family
looked at us and said,
00:14:59.59\00:15:01.16
"We are so sorry. "
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And you know what?
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My sister and I
were so angry at my mom.
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She spanked us without first
trying to get to the truth.
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When we feel that an
injustice has been done
00:15:13.68\00:15:18.14
We, most of the time,
throw our hands in the air
00:15:18.17\00:15:22.27
and say, 'What
is going on here. '
00:15:22.30\00:15:24.23
Friends, this kind of
thing happens in church as well.
00:15:24.26\00:15:27.42
Brothers and
sisters, an injustice is done
00:15:27.45\00:15:30.02
and we throw our
hands up in the air
00:15:30.05\00:15:33.89
and we begin to
discard that God knows
00:15:33.92\00:15:39.29
how to set up kings and rulers
00:15:39.32\00:15:40.97
and He knows how to
set down kings and rulers.
00:15:41.00\00:15:43.72
And because of that we
should implicitly be able
00:15:43.75\00:15:47.08
to have enough faith
and trust to know that
00:15:47.11\00:15:49.33
whatever God is
allowing in our lives
00:15:49.36\00:15:51.25
He is allowing it
because He thinks so much of you
00:15:51.28\00:15:54.52
so much of me
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so much of His church
00:15:55.87\00:15:58.01
that He wants to shape and
mold us to the image of His Son.
00:15:58.04\00:16:01.51
That's what Joseph was like.
00:16:01.54\00:16:04.09
In fact it was so
much so that we're told
00:16:04.12\00:16:06.37
in the Scriptures that even
the captain of the prisoners
00:16:06.40\00:16:10.14
began to see Joseph
00:16:10.17\00:16:12.63
was a blessed man of God.
00:16:12.66\00:16:14.01
And everything that
Joseph touched in prison
00:16:14.04\00:16:16.84
turned to gold!
00:16:16.87\00:16:17.84
Joseph had the
Midas touch in prison.
00:16:17.86\00:16:21.02
Some of us don't even have
the Midas touch in our homes
00:16:21.05\00:16:23.98
and Joseph had it in prison.
00:16:24.01\00:16:25.96
Booker T. Washington once said,
00:16:25.99\00:16:32.20
"Let no man pull you so low "
00:16:32.23\00:16:34.98
"as to make you hate him. "
00:16:35.01\00:16:39.59
There are injustices
that God allows so that
00:16:39.62\00:16:43.18
He can shape us into
who He wants us to be.
00:16:43.21\00:16:48.05
But the key for us as
Christians is to realize
00:16:48.08\00:16:51.74
how God has led us in the past.
00:16:51.77\00:16:55.48
Because if God has been
true and faithful in the past
00:16:55.51\00:16:58.86
He's going to be true
and faithful in the future.
00:16:58.89\00:17:01.95
He's going to be
true and faithful
00:17:01.98\00:17:03.13
in any situations
we're going through NOW!
00:17:03.16\00:17:06.21
Joseph was able to get
through these situations
00:17:06.24\00:17:09.82
because he remembered
how God worked in his past.
00:17:09.85\00:17:12.37
Joseph had heard the stories
of his grandfather Isaac,
00:17:12.40\00:17:16.01
how he was laid down to
sacrifice and God stopped
00:17:16.04\00:17:20.10
Abraham's hand.
00:17:20.13\00:17:23.09
Joseph had heard the stories
00:17:23.13\00:17:24.41
of his father Jacob
knowing how he was running from
00:17:24.44\00:17:28.53
his brother Esau.
00:17:28.56\00:17:30.31
And how God revealed
Himself in the form of a ladder
00:17:30.35\00:17:36.04
that touched the
Earth and Heaven.
00:17:36.07\00:17:40.59
Joseph knew God intimately.
00:17:40.62\00:17:43.93
I can imagine that probably when
00:17:43.96\00:17:48.45
he was thrown into that carriage
00:17:48.48\00:17:51.57
as the Ishmaelites were taking
him from his father's house
00:17:51.60\00:17:54.84
into Egypt, I am sure as he
started going further away from
00:17:54.87\00:18:00.43
his father's home he began
to weep like a little puppy.
00:18:00.46\00:18:05.99
He began to see his once
home disappear, and I believe
00:18:06.02\00:18:16.48
that Joseph remembered
the God of his fathers
00:18:16.52\00:18:21.63
and purposed in his
heart then and there
00:18:21.66\00:18:27.52
wherever God put
him, he'd unswervingly
00:18:27.55\00:18:31.62
serve Him.
00:18:31.65\00:18:34.54
For God is loyal and
true and honors those
00:18:34.57\00:18:38.54
that honor Him.
00:18:38.57\00:18:41.19
When God appoints
someone to a special work
00:18:41.22\00:18:47.98
God will enable
us to do the job.
00:18:48.01\00:18:53.58
Let's think about
this for a second.
00:18:53.61\00:18:58.51
here Joseph was in
a prison, a prisoner!
00:18:58.54\00:19:04.26
We don't know
how big the cell was.
00:19:04.29\00:19:06.47
But we know he
couldn't freely move in society.
00:19:06.50\00:19:12.15
Yet because Joseph
was a man of integrity
00:19:12.18\00:19:17.64
and purposed to
serve God wholeheartedly
00:19:17.67\00:19:20.65
though he was in a prison
00:19:20.68\00:19:23.07
Joseph was free!
00:19:23.10\00:19:26.63
Because the Bible tells us
00:19:26.66\00:19:28.30
that when God is in our heart
00:19:28.33\00:19:31.29
and guiding and directing us
00:19:31.32\00:19:34.60
we are free indeed.
00:19:34.63\00:19:37.35
In fact, Potiphar
was a greater prisoner
00:19:37.38\00:19:40.94
in his own house
00:19:40.97\00:19:44.13
than Joseph was in prison.
00:19:44.16\00:19:48.28
How many of us today
00:19:48.31\00:19:49.97
are in prison
though we are free?
00:19:50.00\00:19:56.19
How many of us
allow circumstances
00:19:56.22\00:19:59.64
and turmoil to place
us in a prison house?
00:19:59.67\00:20:04.26
and we can't even
walk and freely talk
00:20:04.29\00:20:08.06
to our Lord and
Savior because circumstances
00:20:08.09\00:20:11.87
drive us away from God?
00:20:11.90\00:20:14.90
Instead of
allowing these circumstances
00:20:14.93\00:20:17.96
to draw us closer to Him
00:20:17.99\00:20:19.52
we allow these circumstances
to draw us further from Him.
00:20:19.55\00:20:26.34
I can share with you
00:20:26.37\00:20:30.27
there've been
circumstances in my life
00:20:30.30\00:20:32.28
where it was very difficult
00:20:32.31\00:20:38.36
and because I trusted in God
00:20:38.39\00:20:40.38
God came through for me
in the toughest situations.
00:20:40.41\00:20:45.84
In 1999 my daughter was
diagnosed with brain cancer
00:20:45.87\00:20:53.41
and passed away 6 months later.
00:20:53.44\00:20:57.04
The day she died
was a sad day indeed
00:20:57.07\00:21:03.59
and I miss her today.
00:21:03.62\00:21:04.90
There is no doubt about that.
00:21:04.93\00:21:06.49
As we were preparing to
take her to the mortuary
00:21:06.52\00:21:10.87
my wife and I were sitting
00:21:10.90\00:21:12.06
in the back seat of
my brother-in-laws car.
00:21:12.09\00:21:14.17
We lived in Vacaville.
00:21:14.20\00:21:16.37
The mortuary was 45
minutes away in Sacramento, CA.
00:21:16.40\00:21:20.67
As we were riding, I was
singing songs praising God
00:21:20.70\00:21:26.44
through tears.
00:21:26.47\00:21:30.05
My brother-in-law and
sister were in the front seat
00:21:30.08\00:21:31.90
just dumbfounded, crying.
00:21:31.93\00:21:33.24
My wife and I were holding
hands and holding our daughter,
00:21:33.27\00:21:36.18
singing and praising God
for what He had given us.
00:21:36.21\00:21:41.37
He had given us a beautiful
girl for four and a half years.
00:21:41.40\00:21:44.05
Friends, one of the reasons
I was praising was because God
00:21:44.08\00:21:48.30
honored my prayer request.
00:21:48.33\00:21:50.08
You see, my
prayer request has been,
00:21:50.11\00:21:51.75
"Father, I want my
children in heaven. "
00:21:51.78\00:21:54.55
Now, I didn't
give Him the details
00:21:54.58\00:21:57.18
on how they're to get there.
00:21:57.21\00:21:58.46
That's not my job.
00:21:58.49\00:22:00.07
But I want my
children in heaven.
00:22:00.10\00:22:03.84
I can stand here
today in front of you
00:22:03.87\00:22:07.05
and tell you
without a shadow of a doubt
00:22:07.08\00:22:09.16
that my daughter loved Jesus.
00:22:09.19\00:22:10.68
And I know she'll be waiting
in that first resurrection
00:22:10.71\00:22:13.22
for her mother,
father and brothers.
00:22:13.25\00:22:16.32
I could have been
very easily angry at God.
00:22:16.35\00:22:19.96
I could have let that experience
turn me away from Him.
00:22:19.99\00:22:24.34
I could have used
that as an excuse to say,
00:22:24.37\00:22:28.58
"God, You have so hurt me "
00:22:28.61\00:22:31.09
"You're not trust worthy. "
00:22:31.12\00:22:32.55
But instead, through the power
and the grace of the Holy Spirit
00:22:32.58\00:22:38.27
that experience became
a stepping stone for me to
00:22:38.30\00:22:45.66
come closer to Jesus.
00:22:45.69\00:22:46.99
I realized I was a steward
and she was not really mine.
00:22:47.02\00:22:51.85
I was just watching and taking
care of her as God wanted me to.
00:22:51.88\00:22:55.27
And I had done my job.
00:22:55.30\00:22:57.33
And God allowed
this to take place.
00:22:57.36\00:22:59.62
Joseph was allowed to
be sold by his brothers.
00:22:59.65\00:23:04.14
Joseph was allowed to
go into Potiphar's house.
00:23:04.17\00:23:07.77
Joseph was allowed
to be falsely accused.
00:23:07.80\00:23:16.40
Joseph was thrown in prison.
00:23:16.43\00:23:18.96
Yet Joseph's light
would shine through prison.
00:23:18.99\00:23:25.64
Do we serve God,
brothers and sisters,
00:23:25.67\00:23:31.06
from an undivided heart?
00:23:31.09\00:23:34.45
or do we serve God as
long as things are going okay?
00:23:34.48\00:23:37.57
As long as our
bank account is full,
00:23:37.60\00:23:40.32
our cars are not broke down,
00:23:40.35\00:23:42.44
our bass boat is doing good,
00:23:42.47\00:23:44.67
kids are growing and healthy,
00:23:44.70\00:23:48.33
we serve God.
00:23:48.36\00:23:51.21
And then with the
first sign of trouble
00:23:51.24\00:23:54.04
we kind of go on
a vacation from God.
00:23:54.07\00:23:56.52
"Hey God, I'm
going to the Bahamas. "
00:23:56.55\00:23:58.87
"I'll see You in three months. "
00:23:58.90\00:24:00.34
And we disappear.
00:24:00.37\00:24:03.66
Or when circumstances
come across our path
00:24:03.69\00:24:06.31
do we humbly say,
"Lord I am Thy servant. "
00:24:06.34\00:24:09.64
"Not my will but
Thy will be done. "
00:24:09.67\00:24:12.27
There is a great prayer in
the book, 'Steps to Christ '
00:24:12.30\00:24:15.02
that says, "Take me
oh Lord as wholly Thine "
00:24:15.05\00:24:17.41
"I lay all my
plans at Thy feet. "
00:24:17.44\00:24:19.34
"Use me today in Thy service. "
00:24:19.37\00:24:21.36
"Abide in me and let all
my works be wrought in Thee. "
00:24:21.39\00:24:24.86
A daily prayer of consecration.
00:24:24.89\00:24:28.53
When we say that prayer we
allow God to access our lives
00:24:28.56\00:24:32.75
and to do as He wills.
00:24:32.78\00:24:36.08
We're not to take vacations from
Him during tough situations.
00:24:36.11\00:24:43.62
In fact, it could
be said that sometimes
00:24:43.65\00:24:46.63
it's easier during tough
situations to come close to God.
00:24:46.66\00:24:49.25
Some people come close to
God during tough situations
00:24:49.28\00:24:52.68
and then when it
gets light they disappear.
00:24:52.71\00:24:54.90
"Oh, Thanks God. "
00:24:54.93\00:24:56.89
"Thanks for
answering my prayers. "
00:24:56.92\00:24:59.83
And then we forget about God.
00:24:59.86\00:25:01.31
Many angles we can
look at this story from.
00:25:01.34\00:25:05.72
But Joseph
served God and it says,
00:25:05.75\00:25:10.35
"God was with Joseph "
00:25:10.38\00:25:13.29
in everything he did.
00:25:13.32\00:25:14.63
Joseph had the 'Midas touch. '
00:25:14.66\00:25:17.84
Now, in the
beginning of our sermon today
00:25:17.87\00:25:22.84
we saw how so many people
00:25:22.87\00:25:25.55
would disband with
their principals for $100,000.
00:25:25.58\00:25:30.24
They'd leave their
church, they'd be prostitutes,
00:25:30.27\00:25:33.44
they'd leave their
spouse, they'd become murderers.
00:25:33.47\00:25:36.74
Today I want to say this.
00:25:36.77\00:25:38.78
God is looking for someone
00:25:38.81\00:25:42.25
that no matter what
happens in their life
00:25:42.28\00:25:44.42
will be true to Him.
00:25:44.45\00:25:46.49
God is looking for people
00:25:46.52\00:25:49.97
that no amount of money will
push them away from His church.
00:25:50.00\00:25:56.69
No amount of money will
push them away from His family.
00:25:56.72\00:26:01.80
No amount of money will
cause them to become murderers
00:26:01.83\00:26:07.37
physically as well as
spiritually by hating a brother.
00:26:07.40\00:26:13.45
God wants people that
with no amount of money
00:26:13.48\00:26:17.44
will make them a prostitute
00:26:17.47\00:26:20.85
physically or spiritually.
00:26:20.88\00:26:25.33
God doesn't want anyone to
discard their spiritual beliefs
00:26:25.36\00:26:28.87
for monetary gain.
00:26:28.90\00:26:32.94
God is looking or men and women
00:26:32.97\00:26:38.12
who will
ultimately bow their hearts
00:26:38.15\00:26:41.03
bow their minds
00:26:41.06\00:26:43.33
give homage to Him
00:26:43.36\00:26:44.72
in word, deed, in
life, in a closet, in public,
00:26:44.75\00:26:54.51
at church, at
work and in the home.
00:26:54.54\00:27:01.40
God is looking
today for a Joseph.
00:27:01.43\00:27:04.72
He's looking for
someone who will say,
00:27:04.75\00:27:09.75
"No matter if my
family discards me "
00:27:09.78\00:27:12.65
"I will be true to You, God. "
00:27:12.68\00:27:15.08
God is looking for a Joseph who
00:27:15.11\00:27:17.94
if something happens at work
00:27:17.97\00:27:20.58
and you're falsely accused
00:27:20.61\00:27:22.43
and you're thrown
into some type of prison
00:27:22.46\00:27:26.23
real or 'spiritual'
00:27:26.26\00:27:31.05
He wants you to be able to stand
00:27:31.08\00:27:32.73
as a shining light
in a dark place and say,
00:27:32.76\00:27:35.07
"Though He slay me,
I will yet trust Him. "
00:27:35.10\00:27:40.57
And I ask you today,
00:27:40.60\00:27:43.35
"though He slay you,
will you trust God? "
00:27:43.38\00:27:50.47
He's the
Merciful, Wonderful Creator.
00:27:50.50\00:27:53.47
He is your True Companion.
00:27:53.50\00:27:58.38