"Death Is Certain…but God" Psalm 49 Introduction As humans, we all have to face our own mortality The most basic truth about life is death The theme of Psalm 49 is the brevity of life and the certainty of death James 4:14 God has a solution for the brevity of life "But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me" (v. 15) Psalm 49 could be summed up this way: we live precariously, we die certainly, and we must plan accordingly Life Is Unstable (vv. 1-5) This psalm points to life's instability and uncertainty in talking about common experiences Notice the contrast between  high  and  low, rich  and  poor "I have one foot in heaven and one foot on Earth, and the foot on Earth is on a banana peel" —Malcolm Muggeridge Ecclesiastes 6:12 In the New Testament, there are three different Greek words that are translated into one English word— life The first two are unstable; the third is stable Bios —the most basic word for  life  in Greek; physical life This is where most people spend most of their time, energy, effort, and money Physical life is very unstable Psuché —the inward life; your personality and how you process thoughts This is the inner person This aspect of life is also unstable, because you can have peace one day and be filled with anxiety the next Many people are alive physically but tormented mentally, with no peace of mind Zóé —eternal life or everlasting life Life on the spiritual plane, which is stable This theological term is found 143 times in the New Testament This describes a quality of life—life in the here and now that will follow you into the future John 5:24 Death Is Universal (vv. 1, 6-12) This psalm cuts across all different categories of geography All peoples All social strata This is a message for everyone: we're all going to die No one gets out of this alive; death is the great leveler for all of us Hebrews 9:27 Death is mentioned 394 times in the Bible Not even the wealthiest person with access to the world's best health care can escape death; all the money in the world can't buy life Redemption Is Possible (vv. 14-15) You can't redeem anybody, and you can't redeem yourself The word  redeem  meansto set free by paying a price You can't pay a price to free anyone; God paid the price to free everyone Jesus, by His death, makes your death temporary The only loophole to death is to have a relationship with the one who holds the keys of life and death—the Lord Jesus Christ Verse 15 is highly theological; it expresses faith in God for personal redemption and for eventual resurrection God will provide payment for my soul—this payment was made on the cross God's redemption includes giving me power over death—God plans to resurrect me at some point after death Psalm 73:24 Genesis 5:24 Hebrews 11:5 Job 19:25 Death is not the final word—Jesus is (see John 11:25) Confidence Is Conditional (vv. 16-20) Don't be jealous of people who have a lot, because people who have a lot leave a lot when they die Job 1:21 1 Timothy 6:7 Trusting anyone other than God is foolish "This is the way of those who are foolish" (v. 13) Luke 12:16-21 When you understand the temporary nature of life, the certainty of death, and the spiritual reality of everlasting life, you will have confidence because you have stability Stability breeds real confidence Confidence is conditional—not everybody has it The believer has confidence because death isn't the end of the road Death is the doorway to life Conclusion If there is no hereafter, then nothing matters This is why so many philosophers become fatalists If you just live biologically and consciously, but afterwards cease to exist, there's no purpose to life and nothing matters If there is a hereafter, then nothing else matters This is the central issue We need to think clearly and soberly about life, death, judgment, and eternity Figures referenced:  Malcolm Muggeridge Cross references:  Genesis 5:24; Job 1:21; 19:25; Psalm 73:24; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Luke 12:16-21; John 5:24; 11:25; 1 Timothy 6:7; Hebrews 9:27; 11:5; James 4:14 Greek words:  bios, psuché, zóé

Bad Girls of the Bible - RAHAB Pastor Jack Schull Joshua 2:1-21; 6:22-23 Good Morning…turn with me to Joshua 2 Intro: series: (bad girls of the bible …redeemed) Today we explore a woman who was @ 1st known by her reputation – but remembered thru history by her faith. She acted upon her new found faith with great courage and she wagered everything on a promise– sort of a lifeline – and she had everything riding on it… -pause- ➡️ I want us to get at her story maybe through a different way this morning… Q how many of you like game shows? Anyone ever been on one? To have some interaction this morning: I want you to share with your neighborhood (2-3 pp) around ya which game show you wish you could be on? (allow 30 sec) Q how many of you ever watched: who wants to be a millionaire? (today we’re going to play – I need 1 contestant, for 1 question, for a chance at 1 million dollars (ok-just kidding)) Have contestant come up with music in background – play along – get audience the applause sign participation… Ask them the 1 question – tell them about the 1 life-line left – who would they call ? The deal with the lifeline – is that you’re hanging all your hope on that call! Reward contestant with small gift card & transition into talking about lifeline T the lifeline is part of the appeal of that show – and it is vital when you get down in that moment of decision – all your hope is hanging on the help from that lifeline & this morning I want us to look at a story of a woman who got to such a moment: all her hope was hanging on her lifeline…she had pinned all her trust on this scarlet cord (this scarlet lifeline)  ➡️ we’ll see her story, draw out some insights as we move toward a time of taking communion together… Joshua 2:17-21 Now: this is the story – of Rahab…in fact she is more widely known by her reputation, her occupation – turn back with me to Joshua 2:1…Joshua has sent out 2 secret spies, the Israelites have been on this 40 yr journey in the desert, now coming to the land God has promised them…but they will have to battle for it. A lot going on here in the minds of the people… Joshua 2:1 Spies have been sent out before…Joshua is maybe wanting this to be secret to gather info for himself – not to risk the tension that was created last time spies reported to the people Whose house did they go too? As a God follower – isn’t there something that just twitches inside you – how could they go to ‘her’ house (we’ve labeled her ‘that woman’; we’ve instantly devalued her in a blink of an eye)…we’ve allowed her to be hidden and only seen by her label: the prostitute) Most scholars point out her beauty, the probability that she ran an inn / brothel like establishment – being part of the outer wall of Jericho’s fortified city. This is a woman, for whatever the reasons were – had gotten detoured in life, she’s lost and wandering, trying to make it through. And yet – God is active behind the scenes… The story of Rahab – is the story of the unapproachable woman… In the city – many knew all about Rahab – but probably very few actually knew her!... She was the woman who was talked about, but not with. she was noticed, but never acknowledged she was held close, but felt distant from all she probably felt unapproachable, unworthy – maybe especially toward God. ➡️ But God feels differently toward her…toward you… Her story is a part of ours: it’s a story… …for those that have ever felt past over or forgotten or uninvited… …for those who feel that their littered past disqualifies them from life with God. …for those who are searching for a hope that will finally renew. ...for those that hold out that someone might feel you’re worth finding. …for those who are stuck wandering the ‘detours’ of life Q Why did they go to her house? Some say b/c they were military spies, and lots of military men had been in that house Some say b/c it was a place where foreigners’ might not stick out as much ➡️ I believe they went there: b/c God lead them there. b/c God was already at work in that house. T …the interesting thing about Rahab’s story – is that it’s a part of God’s story…and we begin to see some things taking shape within her soul, God revealing Himself and her fear turning toward faith Let’s keep reading: I just want you to listen to her story and what transpires…I’m not going to put it on screen, b/c I want your heart to hear it and not let your eyes distract you… Joshua 2:2-7 Think about this moment for her…if she is found to be harboring these spies, she’s died She sends them away – out on a wild goose chase…the gate to the whole city is closed and the 2 spies are trapped inside (not good if you’re a spy) Joshua 2:8-10 Joshua 2:14 Then the agreement that they make: as she ties that ‘lifeline’ – that scarlet cord to her window – that cord would hang there for the next few days…it would hang through the 7 day siege as all Israel encircled the fortified city of Jericho and marched around it…you know the rest of the story…on the 7th day: Israel shouts, the walls fall, the city’s conquered & the promise was kept Joshua 6:15-17, 24a-25 T this is a great story: a story of Rahab’s faith/courage, God’s power & faithfulness, Joshua’s leadership and the people’s resolve to following God…but this morning I want to draw out a couple different things we can gather from Rahab’s story – things that have been preserved for us; as we move toward a time of communion… 1) God’s always looking – always at work moving people toward faith Joshua 2:9-11 For Rahab: she had this wandering heart, things got tough in her city and the feelings of fear were gripping the hearts of the people, then the same signs that caused fear in some, brought her to a place of faith. Maybe today: you’ve got some fears that are gripping you – it’s like your heart is melting…fear of rejection, the economy, the unrest around the world or within your very home. In that moment – you can either cling to your fears – or you can notice the One who is BIGGER. Rahab lived in a land of polytheistic philosophy – lots of gods that needed worshipped, appeased and attention… but as things were changing around her – she noticed the trust the people of Israel had in their God…she saw what God was doing for them, she took note that maybe there was ONE true God who was over all – who could be trusted when things were falling apart… Joshua 2:11 ➡️ God was working in the lives of Israel – & others were noticing -- God was using that to get their attention – to draw them toward faith in Him. John 5:17 "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him -jesus speaks of the Father drawing people… Jesus was always looking for all who would be receptive to Him, because God has a heart for all people! 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ➡️ friends : God wants to use you – to help people see Him…that the things that are unfolding in your life, the stories of God’s interaction with you can be used to draw others attention toward Him. ➡️ God’s already at work behind the scenes in the lives of your friends, co-workers, neighbors, family members, classmates – and though you might not be aware of it, doesn’t make it any less real. You may never know – what people notice about you and within you and your walk with God, but you can be certain of this. God wants you to grow – so that they might know. God’s always at work moving people toward faith 2) God is looking for active faith Faith is: believing in something and allowing it to shape how you behave/act/respond You all exercised faith this morning – by sitting in the chair, you believed it would hold you.. Illust: Story of zip line in China (show 2 pics) Faith invites our response (it moves us) we’re not to be a mere bystander, but a participant! James 2:25-26 Faith is not merely about head knowledge – it’s to penetrate our hearts and permeate our life and our living! Life in the Kingdom: is about having our faith activated – changing, shaping us, calling us to respond toward the things God stirs us toward for Him and His glory! --so let me ask you this morning: Q how is God calling you – moving or inviting you to respond in life? Or has faith become something that you know about, believe in your head, but doesn’t stir your heart to action anymore? T another thing that I’m struck by in this story is: 3) God looks past our labels Joshua 2:1 Rahab the prostitute: it was her label…almost like her last name. every time she is mentioned by the biblical writers, they are using her last name…why is that? a) it’s to give us hope : it’s like those late night infomercials – they are plastered with the “BEFORE AND AFTER” pictures. -as the biblical writers are recording: they’re saying God can take you from where you are to where He wants you to be. (Paul says: phil 1:6 – he who started the work will be faithful to complete it…) -Your past doesn’t predetermine your future! b) it’s to remind us: that none of us deserves God’s love, but He desires to love us and He looks past or labels…we’ve all fallen short  ➡️ yet most of the bible is spent telling us who we are, not who we were! (Satan’s mode is: remind us of who we were, God is constantly telling us who we are!) Moses was a murderer, but God saw him for the leader and man of God he would be Peter was merely a fisherman, but Jesus saw him as the ‘rock’ to build the church Rahab was a prostitute, but God saw her as valuable, courageous and worth picking I’ve met a lot of people who are stuck in life (detoured) by their ‘label’: Addicted or Abandoned Unfaithful or a Quitter Criminal or Failure Alcoholic - Depressed Unworthy Abused Anxious Fearful ➡️ many live locked up by those labels – unable to see themselves as anything else… I want to remind you In the words of the Scriptures – as a follower of Jesus = of your new label this morning: YOU ARE: New creation, God’s child, Beloved! -- Dismiss the ushers for the (Lord’s Supper) T the beauty of the Lord’s Super – is that it’s a table that none of us can earn a seat at, but yet every believer has a place card with your name on it…a space reserved for you. T we started this morning with a lifeline – and now we enter a moment to remember our lifeline – not a cord – but a person: His name is Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on our behalf seals our eternal security! His love is available to those who trust in Him. He is the ultimate lifeline! Ephesians 2: 1-2a, 3a, 4-5

Enoch’s Faith; Or, How to Mezuzah Your Life Soul Structuring—Hebrews 11 Series #5 Hebrews 11:5 S-1505 Anthropologists have known for years that primitive peoples spend 30-40% of their time interacting with the supernatural world:  preparing and performing rituals, dances, and ceremonies. It doesn’t matter how much time they needed to eek out a living or not, a significant portion of time was devoted to religious matters. They can tell how much free time a society had by the art work and crafts they engaged in—or not.  If survival was not too difficult, they had time to paint and etch and fire their pots and produce beautiful artwork.  If it took every hour of every day just to survive, there was no time for art; the pots were just fired with no decoration. But, no matter how hard it was to survive or not, the people always spent 30-40% of their time in religious and spiritual endeavors, rituals, etc. Why?  They do that so their feeling is in right relation with the world they’re in.  It just made the world feel right. God never intended for the sacred to separate from the secular. For two centuries we lived in a society that made sense.  The secular and the sacred intertwined. It was like we had a sacred canopy over our country—like most other societies throughout history have had. “One nation, under God;” “God and Country;” “In God we trust;” Up to WWII many newspapers ran a Sunday sermon from the day before as part of the regular Monday edition because the sacred and secular just made sense.  It made the world seem right. We now live in a “twisted” society that seems Hell-bent on eradicating the sacred from our every day lives. This is a most unnatural thing. SLIDE #1: In the early 60s the supreme court of our land outlawed the 10 commandments in the schoolroom. SLIDE #2: Shortly thereafter, the freedom to pray publicly in school was rescinded. SLIDE #3: Nativity scenes forbidden in public places. SLIDE #4: Last session of Supreme Court: Prayer at High School ball games forbidden SLIDE #5: The secularization of our society is being done under the auspices of the “Doctrine of the Separation of Church and State.”  This concept is foreign to the U.S. Constitution; as far as the Constitution is concerned, this idea was created by the U.S. Supreme Court out of nothing. SLIDE #6: Note carefully the wording to the 1 st amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting and establishing religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right to the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” This has to do with forbidding the establishment of a state religion (like existed in England from whence the colonists had just come) and forbids the establishment of laws which would hinder the free expression of anyone’s religion (which the U.S. Supreme Court has been violating since the early 1960s). STORY: Brie and Paige forbidden to sing about Jesus in a talent show at Donaldson elementary.  Came to word Jesus they were instructed to leave it out and hum.  Finally pointed the name of Jesus to Heaven. Our empathy goes out to school teachers. Many surveys reveal that the average American believes that we have less religious freedom in America than ten, twenty, or forty years ago. Raise hands: How many feel that our religious freedom is being restricted? Lunch with Rick Wilson: “They did not put anything back in its place.” Look at the world our young people grow up in. Murders, gangs shootings, kids sit frightened in school, 16 year old kills mom and two children for wheel rims.  We ripped out the sacred values and absent secular values will never do the job. Coming out of WWII we lost the sacred canopy, people are now putting up their own “sacred umbrellas”. We all know that Roman Catholics and members of some other religious traditions made the sign of the cross from forehead to breast and from shoulder to shoulder. Historians tell us that this practice developed out of a very early and widespread Christian tradition of using a thumb or finger to trace the shape of a small cross on one’s forehead or an object. Second-century church leader Tertullian had this to say about the practice: SLIDE #7: “In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting off our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever activity occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross.” Make everything a holy thing. Set up sacred umbrellas. Pray to make Casas’ new site a sacred umbrella for folks. Need to sacredize the spaces that we live in. Soul Structuring Lifestyle arts. READ HEBREWS 11:1-2. SLIDE #8: 1. My faith means I listen to what God says and live accordingly. Faith always begins with a word from God—the Bible or my inner spirit—then I do whatever God says. READ HEBREWS 11:3. SLIDE #9: 2. My faith means I live and act on the basis of the supernatural, invisible world. Heaven is right here.  Push back the curtain and it is right here in another dimension. SLIDE #10: 3. My faith believes that in a universe as large as ours, my God is really big. Too many of us have a God who is too small. A big God allows for a big faith. READ HEBREWS 11:4. SLIDE #11: 4. My faith in the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ for my sin restores my broken relationship with God.  Now we come to the next lifestyle art. SLIDE #12: My faith means I creatively integrate the sacred into my everyday life. READ HEBREWS 11:5: By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. Here we have the sacred testimony that this man pleased God.  We would do well to discover why and do likewise. His story is found in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. READ Genesis 5:18-24: When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died. When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. (Please get the s upplemental tape #S-213 available at tape table today for a further study on Enoch’s life and times. Enoch’s translation is a picture of the Rapture of Christians. The age in which he lived paralleled the age which will exist just before the 2 nd coming of Christ.) Key is verse 24. Enoch’s walking with God was very attractive to the Almighty. This morning I want to describe what that might look like in our generation. SLIDE #13: MEZUZAH (or Sacredize or sacramentalize) Your Life On the right side of every Jewish doorpost is nailed a small piece of parchment rolled and inserted into a wood, metal, stone, or ceramic case called a mezuzah. SLIDE #14:  Deuteronomy 6:4-9: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. SLIDE #15: Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. The idea is carried over in the New Testament:  SLIDE #16: 1 Cor. 10:31: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. SLIDE #17: Colossians 3:15-17: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. As we go through life we set up sacred canopies in all sorts of spaces to make it all make sense. SLIDE #18: MEZUZAH YOUR HOME Julie and I enjoy traveling.  In states usually stay in hotel. Usually on business, anyway.  Go overseas, arrange to do something different. Creative ways to save money and have great experiences.  Convent in Rome.  They rented out rooms to travelers.  No AC, sparse, it was a convent.  Julie did not like the accommodations the first. Next morning chimes and nuns singing filled the convent.  Did it every day. Time to go and Julie wanted to stay another night. It was such a holy place.  Those nuns muzuzahed their home. SLIDE #19: Here is the house I was born in: corner of Mixon and Park Lane. SLIDE #20: Here is my house growing up. Mom and dad still live there. This is a sanctified house. It is sanctified by the stories and experiences my mom and dad brought into that house. Mom’s wall of special memories of trips and pictures. They were careful to bring God into that house and I never got over it. Kitchen table where we had endless discussions on theology, how to build a church, reach people. Inside hall we knelt in during a tornado that struck Dallas and prayed for God’s protection. Couch where I saw my dad kneeling in prayer early in the morning praying for the family. Does God live inside your house?  In what ways do your children know it?  How do you know it? SLIDE #22: Here is a picture of the official plate commemorating Mark McGwire’s 62 nd home run. What made Mark McGwire’s sixty-second home-run baseball worth $1 million? It’s the same $5.00 ball that anyone catches. The story is what makes it so valuable. Stories are sacred. If you go into our house you will find stories everywhere.  Pictures all over the walls.  Julie’s dad’s clown paintings.  Raggedy Ann doll hanging from ceiling fan represents Brie who has gone away.  Little girl on a swing hanging from a hook over the sink represents Bronwyn. SLIDE #23: If you walk into the front entry way there is a picture of Elijah etched in marble that was given to me in the Ukraine—represents teaching spiritual growth. I have sat before it on many long hard nights remembering God’s provision. Vase also given in Ukraine representing Mary pouring out all she had over Jesus. I want those things in my life. Julie “Servant” SLIDE #24: MEZUZAH YOUR ARTIFACTS When you polish the silver candelabra you inherited from your grandmother, clean the treasure your wife gave you on your honeymoon, or vacuum your mother’s oriental rug, offer a prayer of gratitude to God for their influence in your life. When you get a car, bless it for God’s use. Then treat it with respect. Every time you open you Bible, say a prayer of thanks for William Tyndale, the biblical scholar who gave his life so that you and I can do something we take for granted: read the Scriptures in our own language. SLIDE #25: MEZUZAH YOUR RELATIONSHIPS Every encounter is a divine encounter.  People are not there by accident. If you are too busy then people are an intrusion rather than an opportunity. Make every person you encounter leave your presence feeling better, not worse. Say something encouraging to everyone you meet. Let them touch God in you. Practice the spiritual discipline of secrecy. Pay for someone’s meal without them ever figuring out who the benefactor was. Gregg and Ruth Spykerd and Kelly Glover bought us dinner: Made us feel so wonderful.  Made them feel better. SLIDE #26: MEZUZAH LIFE’S TRANSITIONS Why don’t we send our parents and grandparents a handmade note and gift on our birthday, thanking them for this precious gift of life? One man sent a note like this to his mother (who lived with him the last eleven years of her life). “I found in her purse when she died.” Julie’s best birthday was at Gloietta, NM this past month.  Video tape of people telling her what she had meant to each of them.  “God did use me to touch that person’s life.  This was so special, I can pull out that tape whenever I get depressed or discouraged. Party! Glorietta police had to come and break it up.  But that is another story for another time. SLIDE #27: MEZUZAH YOUR MOMENTS I have a rock collection to mark significant moments with God. Into every life God moments will come: it may be angel money, God presences, comforting consolations. But God moments will come. If you’re a teacher, what kid blessed your heart today? If you’re a salesperson or checkout clerk, what customer cheered you up and calmed you down? There is one day in your life that will be your best day. There is one day in your life that will be your worst day. It’s important to know when you’re having one of life’s best moments. And worst. Landmark both. It’s important to know when you’ve eaten the best peach you’ll ever eat. And worst. Landmark both. Mezuzah your moments: “God was here.” Look for when God penetrates the heavens to open shafts of divine light on earth. Poem by a contemporary Danish poet I heard on Garrison Keillor several years ago. It is entitled TIME.  Moments passe by before we know it. SLIDE #28: We have twelve clocks in our house; still there’s never enough time. You go into the kitchen and get chocolate milk for your spindly son, and when you return, he has grown too old for chocolate milk, demands beer, girls, revolution. Your daughter comes home from school, goes out to play hopscotch, comes in a little later, and asks if you would mind the baby while she and her husband go to the theatre. While they are at the theatre, the child, with some difficulty, is promoted to the tenth grade. You photograph your full-blooded young wife, with fashion-coordinated outfit, an opulent fountain in the background, But the picture is hardly developed before she announces that it is time to collect her old-age pension. Softly, the widow inside her awakes. You want to make the most of your time, but it gets lost all the time. Where has it gone?  Was it ever there at all? Have you spent too much time throwing time out? So you roam around for awhile, without time and place. And when it’s time, you call home, and you hear,  “Hello, this is the operator, you’ve called 959-4939.  I’m sorry.  That number is no longer in service. (Click) Make the most of your time while you have it. These lifestyle arts are critical in a society where the sacred canopy has been removed. “By faith he was translated that he should not see death.” Enoch had been walking with God for so many years that his transfer to Heaven was not even an interruption. SLIDE #29: I’ve often heard said, “No one is ready to live until they are ready to die.” SLIDE #30: Enoch lifestyle are is this: “When you have sacredized your life it is easy to die. Who do you know who died well? SLIDE #31: Albert Fox:  SLIDE #32: Hildegard and Heinz Janssen SLIDE #33: Hildgeard Janssen. Newly widowed. Going to take a whole bunch of people to heaven with her.  Winter of life. 1. Mechanic came to fix her washer.  Taking her blood pressure. “Will you take mine?” It was very low. “You will live forever.” “No, I might fall down the stairs today and break my neck.”  “Are you ready to meet God?”  Shared how to right with God.  Twenty minutes later he bowed his head and prayed to receive Christ. 2. Began a Bible study in the hospice.  Started with 4. Now have 14. Talking about the 2 nd coming of Christ. “Is everyone here ready to meet Him?” “No.” “Led her to Christ in front of all the others. 3. Handicar occasionally takes her places.  Passed by a funeral home and driver said, “I don’t ever want to go there!” “Why?” I am afraid. Are you afraid?”  “No, I am going to see Jesus.” Shared gospel. “Now are you ready to receive Christ?”  “I’ve been a really bad boy.” “Wonderful, these are the people God loves the most.”  Led him to Christ. 4. Talking to employee at the hospice.  “How old are you?” “I am 81.” “Aren’t you afraid of dying?”  … Roger, it is so easy.  You just tell them how much God loves them.  It is so easy.

Soul-Structuring Arts Enoch’s Faith; Or, How to Mezuzah Your Life Dr. Roger Barrier Hebrews 11:5 Anthropologists have known for years that primitive peoples spend 30-40% of their time interacting with the supernatural world: preparing and performing rituals, dances, and ceremonies. It doesn’t matter how much time they needed to eek out a living or not, a significant portion of time was devoted to religious matters. They can tell how much free time a society had by the art work and crafts they engaged in —or not. If survival was not too difficult, they had time to paint and etch and fire their pots and produce beautiful artwork. If it took every hour of every day just to survive, there was no time for art; the pots were just fired with no decoration. But, no matter how hard it was to survive or not, the people always spent 30-40% of their time in religious and spiritual endeavors, rituals, etc. Why? They do that so their feeling is in right relation with the world they’re in. It just made the world feel right. God never intended for the sacred to separate from the secular. For two centuries we lived in a society that made sense. The secular and the sacred intertwined. It was like we had a sacred canopy over our country—like most other societies throughout history have had. “One nation, under God;” “God and Country;” “In God we trust;” Up to WWII many newspapers ran a Sunday sermon from the day before as part of the regular Monday edition because the sacred and secular just made sense. It made the world seem right. We now live in a “twisted” society that seems Hell-bent on eradicating the sacred from our every day lives. This is a most unnatural thing. •SLIDE #1 : In the early 60s the supreme court of our land outlawed the 10 commandments in the schoolroom •SLIDE #2: Shortly thereafter, the freedom to pray publicly in school was rescinded. •SLIDE #3: Nativity scenes forbidden in public places. . •SLIDE #4: Last session of Supreme Court: Prayer at High School ball games forbidden •SLIDE #5: The secularization of our society is being done under the auspices of the “Doctrine of the Separation of Church and State.” This concept is foreign to the U.S. Constitution; as far as the Constitution is concerned, this idea was created by the U.S. Supreme Court out of nothing. •SLIDE #6: Note carefully the wording to the 1st amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting and establishing religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right to the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” This has to do with forbidding the establishment of a state religion (like existed in England from whence the colonists had just come) and forbids the establishment of laws which would hinder the free expression of anyone’s religion (which the U.S. Supreme Court has been violating since the early 1960s). STORY: Brie and Paige forbidden to sing about Jesus in a talent show at Donaldson elementary. Came to word Jesus they were instructed to leave it out and hum. Finally pointed the name of Jesus to Heaven. Our empathy goes out to school teachers. Many surveys reveal that the average American believes that we have less religious freedom in America than ten, twenty, or forty years ago. Raise hands: How many feel that our religious freedom is being restricted? Lunch with Rick Wilson: “They did not put anything back in its place.” Look at the world our young people grow up in. Murders, gangs shootings, kids sit frightened in school, 16 year old kills mom and two children for wheel rims. We ripped out the sacred values and absent secular values will never do the job. Coming out of WWII we lost the sacred canopy, people are now putting up their own “sacred umbrellas”. We all know that Roman Catholics and members of some other religious traditions made the sign of the cross from forehead to breast and from shoulder to shoulder. Historians tell us that this practice developed out of a very early and widespread Christian tradition of using a thumb or finger to trace the shape of a small cross on one’s forehead or an object. Second-century church leader Tertullian had this to say about the practice: •SLIDE #7: "In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting off our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever activity occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross." Make everything a holy thing. Set up sacred umbrellas. Pray to make Casas’ new site a sacred umbrella for folks. Need to sacredize the spaces that we live in. SOUL STRUCTURING LIFESTYLE ARTS. READ HEBREWS 11:1-2. •SLIDE #8: 1. My faith means I listen to what God says and live accordingly. Faith always begins with a word from God—the Bible or my inner spirit—then I do whatever God says. READ HEBREWS 11:3 •SLIDE #9: 2. My faith means I live and act on the basis of the supernatural, invisible world. Heaven is right here. Push back the curtain and it is right here in another dimension. •SLIDE #10: 3. My faith believes that in a universe as large as ours, my God is really big. Too many of us have a God who is too small. A big God allows for a big faith. READ HEBREWS 11:4 •SLIDE #11: 4. My faith in the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ for my sin restores my broken relationship with God. Now we come to the next lifestyle art. •SLIDE #12: My faith means I creatively integrate the sacred into my everyday life. READ HEBREWS 11:5: By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. Here we have the sacred testimony that this man pleased God. We would do well to discover why and do likewise. His story is found in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. READ Genesis 5:18-24: When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died. When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. Enoch’s translation is a picture of the Rapture of Christians. The age in which he lived paralleled the age which will exist just before the 2nd coming of Christ.) Key is verse 24. Enoch’s walking with God was very attractive to the Almighty. This morning I want to describe what that might look like in our generation. •SLIDE #13: MEZUZAH (or Sacredize or sacramentalize) Your Life On the right side of every Jewish doorpost is nailed a small piece of parchment rolled and inserted into a wood, metal, stone, or ceramic case called a mezuzah. •SLIDE #14: Deuteronomy 6:4-9: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. •SLIDE #15: Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. The idea is carried over in the New Testament: •SLIDE #16: 1 Cor. 10:31: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. •SLIDE #17: Colossians 3:15-17: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. As we go through life we set up sacred canopies in all sorts of spaces to make it all make sense. •SLIDE #18: MEZUZAH YOUR HOME Julie and I enjoy traveling. In states usually stay in hotel. Usually on business, anyway. Go overseas, arrange to do something different. Creative ways to save money and have great experiences. Convent in Rome. They rented out rooms to travelers. No AC, sparse, it was a convent. Julie did not like the accommodations the first. Next morning chimes and nuns singing filled the convent. Did it every day. Time to go and Julie wanted to stay another night. It was such a holy place. Those nuns muzuzahed their home. •SLIDE #19: Here is the house I was born in: corner of Mixon and Park Lane. •SLIDE #20: Here is my house growing up. Mom and dad still live there. This is a sanctified house. It is sanctified by the stories and experiences my mom and dad brought into that house. Mom’s wall of special memories of trips and pictures. They were careful to bring God into that house and I never got over it. Kitchen table where we had endless discussions on theology, how to build a church, reach people. Inside hall we knelt in during a tornado that struck Dallas and prayed for God’s protection. Couch where I saw my dad kneeling in prayer early in the morning praying for the family. Does God live inside your house? In what ways do your children know it? How do you know it?. • SLIDE #22: Here is a picture of the official plate commemorating Mark McGwire’s 62nd home run. What made Mark McGwire’s sixty-second home-run baseball worth $1 million? It’s the same $5.00 ball that anyone catches. The story is what makes it so valuable. Stories are sacred. If you go into our house you will find stories everywhere. Pictures all over the walls. Julie’s dad’s clown paintings. Raggedy Ann doll hanging from ceiling fan represents Brie who has gone away. Little girl on a swing hanging from a hook over the sink represents Bronwyn. •SLIDE #23: If you walk into the front entry way there is a picture of Elijah etched in marble that was given to me in the Ukraine—represents teaching spiritual growth. I have sat before it on many long hard nights remembering God’s provision. Vase also given in Ukraine representing Mary pouring out all she had over Jesus. I want those things in my life. Julie “Servant” •SLIDE #24: MEZUZAH YOUR ARTIFACTS When you polish the silver candelabra you inherited from your grandmother, clean the treasure your wife gave you on your honeymoon, or vacuum your mother’s oriental rug, offer a prayer of gratitude to God for their influence in your life. When you get a car, bless it for God’s use. Then treat it with respect. Every time you open you Bible, say a prayer of thanks for William Tyndale, the biblical scholar who gave his life so that you and I can do something we take for granted: read the Scriptures in our own language. •SLIDE #25: MEZUZAH YOUR RELATIONSHIPS Every encounter is a divine encounter. People are not there by accident. If you are too busy then people are an intrusion rather than an opportunity. Make every person you encounter leave your presence feeling better, not worse. Say something encouraging to everyone you meet. Let them touch God in you. Practice the spiritual discipline of secrecy. Pay for someone’s meal without them ever figuring out who the benefactor was. Gregg and Ruth Spykerd and Kelly Glover bought us dinner: Made us feel so wonderful. Made them feel better. •SLIDE #26: MEZUZAH LIFE’S TRANSITIONS Why don’t we send our parents and grandparents a handmade note and gift on our birthday, thanking them for this precious gift of life? One man sent a note like this to his mother (who lived with him the last eleven years of her life). “I found in her purse when she died.” Julie’s best birthday was at Gloietta, NM this past month. Video tape of people telling her what she had meant to each of them. “God did use me to touch that person’s life. This was so special, I can pull out that tape whenever I get depressed or discouraged. Party! Glorietta police had to come and break it up. But that is another story for another time. •SLIDE #27: MEZUZAH YOUR MOMENTS I have a rock collection to mark significant moments with God. Into every life God moments will come: it may be angel money, God presences, comforting consolations. But God moments will come. If you’re a teacher, what kid blessed your heart today? If you’re a salesperson or checkout clerk, what customer cheered you up and calmed you down? There is one day in your life that will be your best day. There is one day in your life that will be your worst day. It’s important to know when you’re having one of life’s best moments. And worst. Landmark both. It’s important to know when you’ve eaten the best peach you’ll ever eat. And worst. Landmark both. Mezuzah your moments: “God was here.” Look for when God penetrates the heavens to open shafts of divine light on earth. Poem by a contemporary Danish poet I heard on Garrison Keillor several years ago. It is entitled TIME . Moments passe by before we know it. •SLIDE #28 : We have twelve clocks in our house; still there’s never enough time. You go into the kitchen and get chocolate milk for your spindly son, and when you return, he has grown too old for chocolate milk, demands beer, girls, revolution. . Your daughter comes home from school, goes out to play hopscotch, comes in a little later, and asks if you would mind the baby while she and her husband go to the theatre. While they are at the theatre, the child, with some difficulty, is promoted to the tenth grade. You photograph your full-blooded young wife, with fashion-coordinated outfit, an opulent fountain in the background, But the picture is hardly developed before she announces that it is time to collect her old-age pension. Softly, the widow inside her awakes. You want to make the most of your time, but it gets lost all the time. Where has it gone? Was it ever there at all? Have you spent too much time throwing time out? So you roam around for awhile, without time and place. And when it’s time, you call home, and you hear, “Hello, this is the operator, you’ve called 959-4939. I’m sorry. That number is no longer in service. (Click) Make the most of your time while you have it. These lifestyle arts are critical in a society where the sacred canopy has been removed. “BY FAITH HE WAS TRANSLATED THAT HE SHOULD NOT SEE DEATH.” Enoch had been walking with God for so many years that his transfer to Heaven was not even an interruption. •SLIDE #29: I’ve often heard said, “No one is ready to live until they are ready to die.” •SLIDE #30: Enoch lifestyle are is this: “When you have sacredized your life it is easy to die. Who do you know who died well? •SLIDE #31: Albert Fox: •SLIDE #32: Hildegard and Heinz Janssen •SLIDE #33: Hildgeard Janssen. Newly widowed. Going to take a whole bunch of people to heaven with her. Winter of life. 1. Mechanic came to fix her washer. Taking her blood pressure. “Will you take mine?” It was very low. “You will live forever.” “No, I might fall down the stairs today and break my neck.” “Are you ready to meet God?” Shared how to right with God. Twenty minutes later he bowed his head and prayed to receive Christ. 2. Began a Bible study in the hospice. Started with 4. Now have 14. Talking about the 2nd coming of Christ. “Is everyone here ready to meet Him?” “No.” “Led her to Christ in front of all the others. 3. Handicar occasionally takes her places. Passed by a funeral home and driver said, “I don’t ever want to go there!” “Why?” I am afraid. Are you afraid?” “No, I am going to see Jesus.” Shared gospel. “Now are you ready to receive Christ?” “I’ve been a really bad boy.” “Wonderful, these are the people God loves the most.” Led him to Christ. 4. Talking to employee at the hospice. “How old are you?” “I am 81.” “Aren’t you afraid of dying?” … Roger, it is so easy. You just tell them how much God loves them. It is so easy. Enoch learned to have heaven on earth, so it was an easy transition when God decided to take him right up to heaven. Transitioning to the eternal in death is easy when we’ve already made altars to give meaning into our lives. Who do you know who died well? Ponder why. www.casaschurch.org .

https://www.russellmoore.com/2026/02/04/when-christians-contemplate-assisted- suicide/ A reader of my newsletter asked me if he might be going to hell. Actually, the reader’s question was quite a bit more nuanced. He’s a Christian, a committed follower of Jesus. He’s also suffering from a debilitating, painful, and slowly terminal disease. Let’s call him Max. He lives in Canada, where physician-assisted suicide—or “aid in dying,” as the euphemism goes—is now legal and ubiquitous. Max says he is not at all suicidal. He is not tempted to die. But, he notes, he is looking at himself right now. Who can tell what state of mind he will be in in five or ten years? Who can predict what will tempt him later, when he might be much weaker? What if, Max wonders, a future version of himself were to make a decision he would never make right now—maybe because his disease blurred his thinking or simply because he’s in a different place spiritually. Would he go to hell? Max’s question is in some ways a very old one but in other ways a pressing matter. In Canada, medical assistance in dying (MAID) has expanded at lightning speed—from terminal illness to chronic suffering and now, in principle, to mental illness alone—making it one of the most permissive regimes in the world. In parts of Europe—such as the Netherlands and Belgium—eligibility has widened to include those with psychiatric conditions and, in some cases, even minors. Here in the United States, several states allow physician-assisted suicide, but only for the terminally ill and with tighter procedural limits. But it’s not hard to see that the framing of assisted dying as compassionate is advancing culturally. There are at least two angles to Max’s question, and all of them make me sad. The first is the gospel angle. I was hesitant to say to him, “You will not go to hell.” That’s because I was afraid that if indeed some future version of him changed his mind in a darker direction, he might use that as reassurance to choose to die. Yet if I were to use the threat of hell as a useful rhetorical tool, would I not be doing the very thing I most oppose—turning the gospel into a means for manipulation? Even worse, would I be doing what Jesus never did: breaking a bruised reed, snuffing out a faintly burning wick? What Max needs to hear right now is John 3:16–17: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (ESV throughout). In other words, God’s love for Max is real. God is not a bigger version of Faust’s Devil, looking for loopholes in a contract in order to damn one who has come to him. The very fact that Max is asking this question means his real question is whether he’s really loved or whether God loves him for his stability and strength right now. This suffering man wants to know if it’s true that, as the apostle Paul wrote, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39). If none of that can sever his union with Christ, a future mental illness won’t either. But the second angle is the personal suffering this question reveals. Max didn’t say this, but I suspect his question is not just about uncertainty of his own resistance to temptation in the future. It may also point to an even more tragic fear: Is my living a burden to those around me? “Will I go to heaven?” might be a request for straightforward theology, but it also might hint at something else. Have you ever been somewhere, maybe a dinner party, where you wondered, Have I stayed too long? Is everyone being polite but secretly wishing I would just leave? Maybe Max is worried about that kind of future and doesn’t know what pressure he will face then, even if it’s unspoken. In the social Darwinism of this time, many people see human life as something calculable. Am I contributing? Am I useful? Am I wanted? If human beings are just machines made of meat, those calculations make sense. And if the law of nature is our morality, then few things could seem more natural than a stronger animal snuffing out the life of a weaker one to keep it from dragging down the rest of the herd. But if human life is something more—a mystery that somehow discloses a sign of God himself—then to treat that mystery as the sum of its contributions is a long disobedience in the wrong direction. And that brings me to the third angle: culture and policy. Consider the cultural context in which these questions of “assisted dying” are unfolding: aging populations, overwhelmed health systems, loneliness, marginalization of those with disabilities, economic anxiety, and a growing sense that everyone must justify their own continued existence. The signs are not promising when we look at the prospects of war, political collapse, and technological upheaval. In the background is a key question: Is human life to be protected precisely when it feels most burdensome, or should it be optimized and monetized and, when it no longer “works,” discarded like an obsolete digital app? The question is not just about Max—although it would be worth asking even if it were—but about what kind of society we are becoming. It is about whether we respond to despair with relationship or with an exit sign. This question is precisely what is so cruel about Max even facing this choice. What was once framed as a right becomes, in the fullness of time, a responsibility. We shouldn’t judge Max for wrestling with this awful possible temptation. He might well see an entire society saying to him, “Why don’t you just die already?” Max needs a community willing to bear his burdens—not just the burden of his illness and suffering but also the burden of his despair. If Max has put his trust in Jesus, he is not going to hell. But if we’re not careful, the rest of us could act like the Devil. And we should turn back from that before it’s too late. We should see “assisted dying” for what it is—an exploitation of the weakest among us just to keep us in our illusion that a life with suffering is no life at all. As Jesus told us, “For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” (Matt. 18:7). After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to Peter and the other disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. Peter must have had ringing in his mind the words Jesus had spoken to him before everything went sideways: “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” (Luke 22:31). Here Peter was—having run away and denied his Lord. But there Jesus was—not in judgment or anger but with the same words he said on that same shore years before: “Follow me” (John 21:19). What Max should think about, should he ever waver—and what I should think about if I do too—is how Jesus defined what it means to follow him: “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go” (v. 18). What Jesus meant by “Follow me” wasn’t summed up in Peter’s coming strength—his sermon at Pentecost, his plowing the way for the Gentiles to enter the church, his escapes from the Roman authorities. It was defined here by the very moment when Peter was at his weakest, in his deepest suffering and despair, in his helplessness to control his future. That’s following Jesus too. In many ways, that’s when following Jesus really starts. Max, if you have put yourself in Jesus’ hands, you’re not going to hell. God loves you and draws near to the brokenhearted. Of all of the things you have to carry right now, worrying about God’s perception of you is not one of them. He hears and saves all who look to him for mercy through Jesus, full stop. I want to encourage you to live. That’s not because I am worried you will go to hell. God’s mercy is greater than all our sin. It’s because your life is worth living. Your life is a mystery—indwelt by God—even when you don’t feel like it. You are not alone. It’s okay to pray now for future Max, but you don’t need to store up the grace you will need then. It’s already in the future waiting for you. I can’t imagine the suffering you face or will face. But Jesus loves you, this I know. If you are in immediate danger or are thinking of harming yourself, please, right now, reach out to someone local who can help you stay safe. If you’re in Canada or the United States, you can call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Someone will answer 24 hours a day and can connect you with people who will listen and help you find care nearby.

Let's give our attention to the Scriptures in Genesis, chapter 50, beginning in verse 14. The verse I've heard the most from Genesis 50 is verse 20. I'm going to read that one, but I want to give you a fresh context around it to help usher the principle in this text into the problem you're facing in your life. I believe it's going to be very, very personal for you today. My friend Rick Beato does a YouTube channel, and he has a thing. He's a guitar player/musician/producer, and he calls it What Makes This Song Great? He takes songs you've heard a thousand times by worship leaders like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Boston. He takes those hymns of the faith, and he breaks it down and shows you things you heard, but you didn't know you were hearing them, and it's what makes the song great. I'm going to take a page out of his playbook today. I'm going to show you what makes this verse great in verse 20, where it says God takes what others mean for evil and uses it for good. Let me show you what makes that verse great. To do that, I want to get a start and ramp up from verse 14. The Bible says, "After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father". That's a big contingent, because the chariots of Egypt and all of the officials went with Joseph. So it's a huge traveling party, and 70-plus descendants of Jacob. It's a big group. Then it comes to a personal decision. Verse 15: "When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, 'What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?'" Well, now's a fine time to think about the consequences of your actions. Right? You're not sorry you did it; you're just sorry you got caught. You're just scared of the consequences. Listen to what they did. Verse 16: "So they sent word to Joseph, saying, 'Your father left these instructions before he died…'" Yeah, I'm sure he did. When other people tell you what God said to you as a form of manipulation… "The Lord told me you're supposed to date me". The Lord has my direct number. He can tell me. The Lord doesn't play the telephone game, so he'll tell me. "The Lord said we should go in business together". That's funny, because he told me you were a crook, because I checked your online review. "'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father". That's what his brothers said their dead dad said, which we know isn't true, because he didn't really like them. Joseph was his favorite, so he would have told Joseph directly, you understand. . That's why the Bible says, "When their message came to him, Joseph wept". Not because his dad was dead. His dad has been dead for three months at this point…40 days of embalming, 30 days of mourning, and then a journey that's 11 days on each side. So, he has had time to mourn his father Jacob. He is weeping because they still haven't changed, even after all the grace he has given them. That's what he's crying about. This is the fifth time he cries between Genesis 37 and 50. Verse 18: "His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. 'We are your slaves,' they said. But Joseph said to them, 'Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.'" Verse 21: "So then, don't be afraid". "I'm not going to kill you. I could, but I'm not going to…not because of your little fabricated speech from dad, but because I see God's purpose in this moment and in this season". "'I will provide for you and your children.' And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them". Back up to verse 18 one more time. "His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him". They bowed before the one they had betrayed and said, "We're your slaves". "But Joseph said to them, 'Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?'" I got up here this morning to tell you Bent Knees Break Chains. That's the title of this message. The truth I want to communicate to you is all in those four words: Bent Knees Break Chains. Father, I thank you that the chain-breaking power of your Spirit is standing up inside of me right now to preach deliverance to every captive. Do it, God. In Jesus' name, I give you thanks, amen. I want you to start by considering this premise: the position we're in influences the decisions we make. The position you're in really influences the decisions you make. It sounds obvious, but it's illustrated all throughout the book of Genesis. God said, "Let there be light". He was in a position to make a decision to do something about the darkness, but you could run around shouting, "Let there be light" all you wanted to, and unless you have flipped the switch and are current on the power bill, no lights are coming on. The position you're in determines the decisions you make. A subpoint to this is: you are not God. Your neighbor doesn't look convinced, so you tell them for me. Say, "You're not God". Sometimes, if you get confused, just remember, "The position I'm in influences the decisions I make". The easiest way to explain it is parenting. When you start doing stuff as a parent that you hated as a kid, and you turn around… Every parent in this room has had this thought: "I sound just like my mom". "I sound just like my dad". It's because you now are in a position that not only you have to provide but protect these lives you treasure so much. So, you're doing things the kids don't understand. "You can't go there. Don't talk to them". They think, "You don't want me to have any friends". "Yes, I do want you to have friends. Like I want to hang out with you all the time. I'd love for you to have somebody else to hang out with. I just don't know about these kids". The position I'm in is affecting the decisions I make. See, empathy is tricky for the kid to have for the parent, because although the parent has been a kid, the kid has never been a parent. That's why teaching your kids to drive is like the scourging whip they laid on our Savior's back when they hung him on the cross. It's because it is the punishment of their inability to feel empathy, because the position you are in determines the decisions you make. That's true in parenting. That's true with money. A lot of times, we say little cliches like, "Money isn't everything". It is if you don't have any. How many of you have ever not had any money and had to do things…? I'm not talking about robbing anybody. I'm not talking about anything crazy. I'm just saying, when you didn't have it, you didn't walk around saying stuff like, "Money isn't everything". You went around saying stuff like, "Can I cut your grass? Can I wax your bald head? Can I clip your fingernails"? Money isn't everything once you have money. We get in a position where maybe we've come to a place where we're blessed in our lives, and then we're like, "Well, money isn't everything. I don't do it for the money". That's because you have some! But if you don't have any, you have to do what you have to do to catch the crumbs that fall from somebody's table. Stop judging people for things they are doing in desperation for situations you haven't been in or that you haven't been in lately. Personal confession: I was a staff member at a church before I started this church, and I would always keep this mental list of dumb stuff the pastor was doing that I would never do. One day, when I get a spare minute, I'm going to write him a whole card. It's going to be a 17-page card of all of the things I judged him for in his position as a pastor from my position as a staff member that I now just want to say, "I'm sorry". Especially because I met him when he was into his tenth year of pastoring that church, and I didn't know how tired 10 years can make you. Do you see all this gray y'all put on me in these last 16 years? So now I feel differently, because the position you're in… I want to nail this down. If I lay this foundation right, then we can really celebrate the truth in the text that bent knees break chains, but first of all, acknowledge that the position you're in influences the decisions you make. Now let's flip that, because the decisions you make influence the position you're in. You are very timid in celebrating that truth. I have never seen such a half-hearted clap. "I think he's probably right, but I don't like it, because I want to say the Devil did it. I don't really want to clap for that". It could be possible that not everything that happened to me was caused by decisions I made, but some of it, a little of it, 10 percent of it… When's the last time somebody lost their job and told you, "You know what? I just really sucked at it. I was lazy. I talked bad about everybody. I chewed gum with my feet up and played Wordle seven hours and worked one". Nobody says that. In church (this is dangerous), you'll slap a spiritual justification and a summary on something that happened through a series of decisions you actually made, thereby enabling your dysfunction by over spiritualizing your decisions. Goodbye, everybody! I've said enough. I don't mean to be Yoda on you, but those two things really go hand in hand. The position I'm in determines the decisions I make. Sometimes I did something because I'm depressed. The depression may not be my fault. I believe there's a genetic element to depression. But in the process of me complying with the habits that brought me to that place, I may prolong my stay in depression by my decisions. When we talk about, "The Devil attacked me. The Devil attacked me. The Devil attacked me…" Well, the Lord gave me a word on that a few weeks ago. He said, "It is not the attack that matters the most; it is what you do after the attack". Watch this. New Testament verse. I hope I get back to Genesis 50, but I'm anointed for this right now. The Bible says the Devil is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. It does not say he can devour whoever he wants, but he can attack whoever he wants. The difference between him attacking you and devouring you will be the decisions you make in the attack. So, when you feel anxious, what do you do with that anxiety? When you feel sad, who do you speak to about your sadness? When you feel overlooked, do you retaliate, or do you bring it to God and allow him to help you process it? We could describe Joseph's life in terms of a chain of events. In reviewing all of those Scriptures this week, I felt myself wishing we had three days to do this, because everything in Joseph's life… Oh, it's so rich with detail. Just to boil it down to "What the Enemy means for evil, God means for good…" My friend Rick Beato, my YouTube guy, would break it down and show you the isolated tracks. He'd be like, "This is what makes the song great". I want to show you how the events in Joseph's life that God did not prevent that were painful positioned him for the purpose of Joseph's life that he could have never imagined. So, let me do a typical sermon about Joseph in two minutes. You have to walk through everything that happened to him. Right? He had a dream. He told his brothers. That's an event. His brothers got mad about it and didn't like his Gucci coat that his father Jacob gave him. Now, understand, when they threw him into a pit, they saw him as a snitch because he came out to check on them and see if they were doing their jobs. You can understand, then, that from their vantage point, the position they were in influenced the decisions they made. It's easy in this passage to feel like you're Joseph, but have you ever been his brothers too? Have you ever been jealous? Because you do things when you're in a position comparing yourself to others… That's why the Bible says when you compare yourself to somebody else, you're not wise. That's what it says. It doesn't say it's evil; it says it's not wise. You are going to do dumb stuff trying to be like somebody who does not have your same bone structure, background, or the same blessing on their life. Reuben saved his life, because he said, "Let's not kill him. Let's sell him. We can probably get 20 shekels for him". They sold him to the Midianite caravan. These are the events of Joseph's life. So, if I'm walking you through it, I'm saying by the time you get to Genesis 50:20, he's 56 years old. You didn't know that, did you? You thought he was standing there saying, "What the Enemy means for evil, God means for good" while he was going through his testing, but he went through 40 years to get to the point where he understood the events of his life…all of them… The dream he had, the coat he wore…the good things. The pit they pushed him into… Y'all, he even ended up in prison because he did such a good job serving this man named Potiphar, and Potiphar's wife "Hotiphar" (I named her) said, "Hey, big boy. Come to bed with me. I like your coat. I like your character. I like the way you clean windows". Remember, he has a menial job, but he has a great sense of responsibility. Everything he did in Potiphar's house drew attention because God's favor was still on him. God's favor is still on you. Pushing a mop, God's favor is on you. Washing dishes, God's favor is on you. Quarter of a tank of gas and don't know how to fill it…God's favor is on you. Oh, by the way, when you get a promotion that puts you in a tax bracket you never imagined, that's God's favor too. It was your Father who put the favor on you to bring you into the position. When you understand that, that God raised you up, it makes you two things: it makes you humble in high circumstances and hopeful in low circumstances. When I see that my Father favored me… Joseph knew that early in his life. He saw this vision that his brothers were one day going to bow down to him, but he didn't see everything that would come before that. This chain of events, things that happened to Joseph that he largely could not control… Some people say he shouldn't have told his brothers his dream, and they wouldn't have pushed him in the pit. I say if he didn't go in the pit, how could he have gotten to Egypt so there was food waiting for them when they came through the famine? It makes me think that even my mistakes can become miraculous if I give them to God and be humble about them. A lot more happened to Joseph, and although we won't explore all of it today, I just want you to hear some of the other things that come before this so you can put yourself in this story, in a way, to try to figure out "In this season of my life, what decision is God leading me to make"? The events that led you to this point in your life, however painful they were… I forgot to tell you this part. When he got to prison, he started interpreting dreams for the other prisoners. I wouldn't have done that, because I would have been pouting that "I don't belong here," because Potiphar's wife accused me of raping her, and I was actually running from her. I probably wouldn't have been able to get past my own pity party. Pit…he was in the pit…pity party. I'm just checking to see if I still have your attention. There's a lot of background. So, there are a lot of things that happened. Eventually, when he interpreted… The cupbearer had this dream. He was like, "I saw these three vines coming off of one branch. It had grapes on it. I squeezed the grapes, and then the cups were filled". Joseph is like, "Oh, in three days you're going to get your position back. It's going to be great. On Pharaoh's birthday, he's going to put you back into position". The baker was like, "Oh yeah, me too, me too. I had a dream too. There were baskets on my head and bread in the baskets, and the birds came and ate it". He was like, "Oh yeah. That's because your head is going to be cut off in three days. That's why it's three baskets. And the birds will eat your flesh". So, all of that happens just as Joseph spoke it. The cupbearer gets out of prison and completely forgets to mention Joseph. Oops. For two years he stays chained in a dudgeon, not because of his decision but because of an event. But here's what I want to show you. Within every event is a decision. You got it? I'm not even asking you to understand it yet. Just, did you hear it? Within the event there's always a decision. Illustration of this. Today, we are having a worship service. It's an event. The service is an event. We sang about four songs. That was part of the event. Hopefully, somebody offered you a breath mint and a pen when you came in the door, if you came in the door, or you logged online, and here I am now, standing behind my pulpit with my Bible open, ready to preach to you. I've been praying about it all week. This is the event. This is the service. But worship is a decision you have to make in the event. The service is the event. Worship is the decision. Worship is an offering. Some of y'all didn't sing a note. You were watching this like you're going to vote whether they stay on the stage or not. Like, "Oh, I don't know…" You are not Simon Cowell. Why weren't you singing? God is the star of this. God is the audience of this. Why didn't you sing? "No, no. Pastor Steve, Pastor Steve, Pastor Steve, I didn't sing because I can't sing that good". That doesn't stop you in the shower. Another thing is if the person next to you doesn't like your singing, you just told them 10 minutes ago they're not God. So, if they don't like how it sounds, it's good news, because they're not the audience you were singing to anyway. So get this. When we were singing at the campus I'm at, "I'm going to see a victory…" If that song went by and you didn't sing it… I mean, sing it out of tune, sing it loud, sing it bad, sing it good, sing it falsetto, sing it bass, sing it tenor, sing it alto. If you didn't sing it, and if you didn't believe it and put your heart in faith and say, "You know, I don't feel that right now, but I believe it. In Jesus' name, I'm going to see it with my kids. I'm going to see it on my job. I'm going to see it in my body. I'm going to see it in my mind. There is a breakthrough with my name on it. I don't know when, but I have faith for it. I'm going to see a victory…" If you didn't sing it, how can you expect to see it? The song was the event, but your worship was a decision. I forgive you. Hearing the sermon is an event. Sharing it with somebody who needs it is a decision. What if they're about to give up and you could send them a link? I'm talking to you. Logging on watching a sermon… This is an event. You can watch a lot of things on YouTube. But what if God prompts you to send it to somebody else? "Hey, man. Thought about you today. Preacher is up there talking about decisions and stuff, and I was just thinking how you have to make this decision right now. So here it is. I love you. I'll see you Tuesday". Whatever. That's a decision. The more we separate the event from the decision, the more room it gives God to move in our situation. I'll go a little deeper. Here's one. I thought of a bunch of them, but I won't give them all to you today. Y'all won't like this. Traffic is an event. What time you leave the house… Got 'em! Like traffic was the Red Sea, like you didn't know it was there, like it isn't there every morning. "I'm sorry; the traffic was bad". The traffic is always bad. It's 485. They're going to be building it for the next 485 years. You knew that when you pushed it till the last minute and hit "snooze" for the third time. Leaving early is a decision, and the decision to leave a little early might affect your decision to road-rage. See, we have to stop blaming so much stuff in our lives. Joseph is a model. We have to stop blaming the events and start making the decisions God is calling us to make within the events that can empower us to move forward or else we will always be a slave to what happened. Joseph has a decision to make now, and I think it's such an emotional moment for him, because his father loved him a little too much, because he was born of Rachel, who was the wife Jacob really wanted, not Leah. Because he was the firstborn son of Rachel, Jacob's favorite wife (Holly, you're my favorite wife, by the way), that gave him a little extra status. But he's going through this shift. A lot of people will tell you Joseph's life is about going from the pit to the palace. I don't see it that way at all, although that geographically describes his position, because he ended up being promoted, when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream about the famine, to a position of responsibility where he could prepare the people for the famine, even his own family. Although that's true, it's really not the heart. He's really going from status to service. God brings him from a place of great status to a place of great service. Or you could see it this way too: he's going from a place where he has to get from pain to purpose. The position you're in determines a lot of the decisions you make, and a lot of the decisions you make will determine the position you're in. If at any point in Joseph's life he would have decided, "This isn't fair. Forget it, God…" If he hadn't served with excellence in small positions, he could not have been trusted in a bigger one. All along the way, there were little decisions he was making that you're making…to do it with your whole heart or to only do it when someone else is looking. Little decisions you make…corners you cut or you don't; words you speak and times you bite your tongue because it's not going to help anything anyway. Little decisions. Where would you be financially if you had made little decisions differently along the way? "Well, now I don't have any money, and I'm doing like what Pastor said. I'm in a bad position, so I'm taking desperate measures". But would you have to take desperate measures if you made some different decisions? Could it change from this point forward, that your future is not chained to your past? We've talked a lot about the chain of events that led to Joseph's moment of decision, but how about the chain of decisions that put him in this place? The chain of decisions. Think about that. It's a lot more interesting than giving me a list of everything life did to you. I told somebody one time, "When I first got married, I got fat". And I did. I was turning into a big old boy. The way I explained it was like how Adam explained why he ate the apple in the garden. "This woman you gave me, Lord, is a wonderful cook". I was actually perverting the gift God had given her as a cook to explain the situation of my cellulite. Y'all know the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the cellulites. Well, they were all coming against me. Somewhere in that, I had to own the fact that I ate what she put on the plate and then went and filled the plate three more times to get this way. So, it's not exactly true to say, "I got fat," like it's something that just crashed into the earth, like it was a meteor shower, like it was a snow day. I ate food. I didn't exercise. I got fat. That's the event. The number on the scale screamed at me. I rebuked it. It didn't change. I prayed about it. It didn't change. I quoted Genesis 50:20. "What you mean for evil, God means for good". I reversed the curse. It didn't change. Then I decided. I didn't get to decide once; I got to decide daily. Joseph has a decision to make in this moment, because now his dad is dead, and the only thing that can keep him being kind to his brothers is how he views his relationship with God, because his relationship with them is obviously never going to change. They lied about him when he was 17, and they are lying about him as he's 56. He has been playing with it. He has been playing with whether or not he wants to pay them back. He has been doing it for decades. When they first came to him, he was 39. The famine had only been going on two years. When they came to him, he pretended like he didn't know who they were. I think he was trying to decide, "How am I going to move forward"? He was already in a position of power. He was already in a position of authority. He was already in a position of influence. The position you're in influences the decisions you make. So he didn't tell them. For a little while, he'd go cry in private, and then he'd come back out and be strong in public. He even stuffed their bags with silver and then sent his own men to arrest them and throw Simeon in prison. That's how bad it felt to him. So, I want you to think about when something bad happens to you, the event. (I wish I could draw this. I am not a good artist. You can draw it and post it online later. Okay?) Something bad happens. When Joseph says, "God meant it for good," he does not call their abuse, neglect, and betrayal good. He's moving past that. So, something bad happens. Many bad things happen to Joseph. It's almost a disservice to what he has been through to call it "Something bad happened," but let's just call it that. This thing happens, and it's bad. Now the decision Joseph has to make… Because, remember, the event is not the decision. So now he says, "That was bad, what you did to me. That was bad, how you sold me. That was bad, what I went through. I'm not sugarcoating anything or spiritualizing your decisions. It was bad". Sometimes the first step to getting to "God is good" is to say it was bad. "It was bad, and it hurt, and it harmed, and it set me back, and I wish it hadn't happened. If I got to write the script, I wouldn't have put that in it. It was bad". You know we do "God is good all the time. All the time God is good". But it is bad a lot of the times, and a lot of the times it is bad, but God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. But it is bad. That's bad. Read the news. That's bad. That's horrible. That's unthinkable. That's inhumane. A lot of us in this room know somebody like Joseph. Everybody in this room knows a Joseph. You watched what happened to them, and you could not believe how they responded to it. My Joseph who I think about all the time is my buddy Levi Lusko. He's a pastor in Montana, a foreign country. He's an international missionary to the state of Montana. I love him for many reasons, but, y'all, I put my hand on his chest to pray for him the other night, because he turned 40. I was praying, and God anointed me, and I was speaking stuff over his life that I couldn't even understand where it was coming from. When Graham was 5 and his daughter was 5, and his daughter died of an asthma attack while he was out of the house, and he stood over her and prayed God would make the sun stand still and save his daughter's life, and she died… That would have broken me. I had a context for it because I had a boy who was 5. I thought, if I were in that position, I think I would be tempted to stand up and tell y'all I quit, because how can I speak this faith over you? How can I trust a God who would let me go through that? So now, standing on 10 years later and watching him turn 40 and seeing… I hope he watches this message. Text him and tell him to watch it. He can watch it right now. He's on a different time zone out there in Montana. I think it's, like, 1843 in Montana. It's like a different year zone in Montana. I prayed over him, and he's a powerful man. He wrote a book. It was bad. He wrote a book to let the Devil know, "My daughter Lenya will live on even if there's no breath in her lungs". Do you follow me? This is my Joseph. I think about him all the time when I go into a pity party, because I think about, "If he can decide that, to keep preaching in the middle of what he…" That's why I love lifting these Bible characters up to you on Sunday. Even if you don't know somebody like that personally, you get to be with Joseph for a little while, and you get to think about the fact that at the moment… I mean, most of us would have been waiting for this moment to pay our brothers back. "Oh, I'm just waiting until Jacob dies. When Jacob dies, I'm about to let y'all have it". Jacob lived to be over 140. Do you know how long Jacob held on until he had put a blessing on all of the kids? Then he dies, and they walk for 11 days to bury him, they walk 11 days back, and then his brothers send some weak message, talking about, "Before he died, Dad said…" Trying to relay a message, showing him the evidence that there has been no change in their hearts. They bow before him, and he has to decide what he's going to do, because he can't control what they do. You can't change them. Stop trying. They're on their knees before Joseph, but not for the right reasons. "Forgive us. Forgive us. Forgive us. We are your slaves. We'll do whatever you say. We're sorry". You're not sorry. You're still lying. And he wept. He came out and showed us something. Right after he got done weeping, he still made the right decision. Your emotions don't determine your decisions, not when you've seen the goodness of God. "What these brothers did was evil, but I'm not going to let what they did be the final word on what I do, because I still have life to live". So, if I look at them and say, "Reuben, Simeon, Judah," and start calling them by name, and I say, "This is the moment I've been waiting for. Y'all want to throw me in a pit? I'm in the palace now…" If I use this moment of my power to put you in your place, then I am putting myself in God's place. That's what he said. He said, "No, no, no". They're on their knees. He says, "Wait, wait, wait. I'm not God". Verse 19: "Am I in the place of God"? You have to go through verse 19 to get to verse 20. "All things work together for the good. God uses what the Enemy meant for evil". We kind of skip to that verse. No, no, no. Get to this verse first: "Am I in the place of God"? Not only are they on their knees, but Joseph, after everything he has been through, in the moment of decision… You are at the moment of decision right now. "Am I going to stay chained to my past? Am I going to live in this resentment toward others and this regret toward myself"? Some of you are angry at yourself. You think you're God. You think you can make a big enough mess that God can't clean you up, but it's not true. You're not God! If he died for you, and if he calls you, and if he comes for you, and if he raises you, even you yourself can't change his mind. The gifts of God are without repentance. Joseph has a decision to make, and he does it like this: "I'm not God". In the moment of decision, he takes a posture, as the second most powerful man in the land… He takes his posture to say, "God has been…" I wonder what it would look like for you to have this mentality to say, "God put me here for a purpose, and I'm submitting everything that has happened to me to God. I'm going to put myself in a position on my knees before God". I never come to preach to you, if I can help it, that I don't do this, even if it's for 10 seconds before I round the corner. A lot of times, the way I'll preach, stuff will just be coming to me to the last minute. But I try every time to take one minute by myself and say, "God, when I get out there today… There are people out there whose parents abandoned them. There are people out there who were molested. There are people out there who are going through the scariest medical situation in their lives, or their kids are. There are people out there who have no idea how they're going to catch up on four months worth of mortgage. There are people out there today who need you, and I can only meet that need on my knees". It reminds me that if I do this, I can do this. See, the power you need is not in me, but if I go to the one who has all power and all authority, and I get down low, and I say, "God, I lift my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from you," I know bent knees can break chains. I know one word from almighty God, one breath from the Spirit of… I feel chains breaking right now! I feel burdens lifting right now! I feel shackles shaking on prison floors and prison doors flying open right now! When you do this, God does that. What you did to me was bad, what happened to me is bad, what I'm going through is bad, but if I blame you, then my blame will become bitterness, and my bitterness will become bondage…not your bondage; it will be my bondage. So, I either get to stay chained to the events or I get to make a decision. This is where God brought you to. This is why you logged on. This is why they sent you the link. This is why you came to church. You thought you decided to come to church? You're crazy. God sovereignly brought you to church. You had 10 excuses not to come, what didn't fit, and "I have nothing to wear," but here you are. It's a size too small, but you came. Why? For this moment. God wanted you to know you are in an important moment of your life, and if you do this… Every athlete knows you can't hit a golf ball well if you don't bend your knees. That's where your power comes from. You can't shoot a basketball right if you don't bend your knees. That's where your accuracy comes from. You can't do a takedown standing up straight. There are no Division 1 wrestling champions who stand up straight, talking about… Why are you fighting your battles like this when God gave you this? "This is how I fight my battles, Devil! Watch me surrender to God". Because bent knees break… You can't do it in your own strength. If you could, you would have by now. God brought you to your knees because he's breaking some generational chains. I feel the Holy Ghost. Come, Lord. Break those chains. The past has no power over you. The blood of Jesus speaks a better… I break it in the name of Jesus! You still have so much life to live. Joseph lived to be 110. He was 56. It's only halftime. High-five somebody and say, "This is your halftime speech". Come on, let's turn this into a locker room. I'm down by 20, but I have time on… Watch me bend my knees. Watch me hit this song. Watch me trust God! I have a decision to make what to do with the time and the life I have left. Bent knees break chains. As long as you rehearse what happened, you can never reverse what happened. What makes this verse great? If Rick Beato were here, he would tell you this. It's not what you think. Verse 20 of Genesis 50 could be the worst verse in the Bible. It could be, when it says, "You intended to harm me…" It's what comes after the comma. God brought you here so you can make a decision. What comes after your comma? It's just halftime. This is just a comma. Not a coma…a comma. How could one comma make such a big difference? Because that's where Joseph went from the event to the decision. I'm choosing to do this on my knees, because if I let this hold power over me, I stay a slave. I won't be chained to what you did, and I won't be chained to what I did when I remember what God has done. He set this up in your life. You don't have to believe that, but you can. I can decide. Is this the moment that you decide to own your story, the bad and the good, and put something after the comma? I hear the Spirit of God saying, "Finish the sentence". In the spirit of Kanye West, I'm going to let you finish. "You tried to hurt me. It hurt me, but my hope is…" What happens after the comma. "…but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives". Decision, decision, decision. Verse 21: "So then, don't be afraid. I will…" Decision. "…provide". He makes this decision. "If I don't feed you, it will eat me, so I'm going to use this as food". He fed that family, the same family that failed him, by a decision. You have a decision to make today. Are you going to stand up and try to be self-strong in your own strength or are you going to bend your knees? I'm talking physically this week. I want some of y'all to pray on your knees for at least a minute a day this week. It doesn't have to be long, but you drop on your knees just to remind yourself. "Well, God doesn't need me to kneel". No, you need to kneel, because the position you're in determines the decision you make. When you get up, maybe you walk differently. Maybe you talk differently. Maybe you remember, "I'm favored by God, and he has a purpose and plan for my life". Bent knees. When you submit it to God… How do I know when I've submitted it to God other than physically? Okay. A couple of things. When you stop waiting for others to change for you to obey, you're on your knees. "The way they treat me is not going to make me toxic". That's one sign. Another sign is you start becoming absorbed in the process of what God tells you to do and stop being attached to the outcome. That's when you know you're on your knees. "This is how I fight my battles. I have to do what God gave me to do today. That's all I can do". Do you know how I know when I'm really anointed to preach? When I don't care how you look at me while I'm doing it. That's when I'm like, "Uh-oh". That's when I've got my powerup, my invincibility star. Remember Super Mario? This is so important. When you have given up the illusion of control, but you have committed yourself to the process of obedience of what God spoke, now you're on your knees. Look. The Bible says in Philippians 2:5 that this is what Jesus did. He considered it not robbery to be equal with God. He was God. "In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God". He did this. He became sinful man and humbled himself to the point of death on a cross. We're not just talking about Joseph; we're talking about Jesus. And he lives in you. He said when Jesus humbled himself, God has given him… God will lift you up. You have to trust God to lift you up. You have to trust God to position you and bring you where he wants you. The Scripture says in Philippians 2 that one day every knee will bow. Everybody will be brought to their knees. If life hasn't humbled you enough yet, if you're still in the dream state, that's okay. Life will eventually bring you to this point. So, why not bow now? Why not do it God's way now? If you do it his way now, you'll be ready for whatever he has next. Joseph didn't die in the pit. He didn't quit in the prison. You didn't either. Give God praise that you didn't quit. It was his mercy that got you through it. Quit trying to look so strong. It was his mercy. I don't understand being a self-made man, because if I'm self-made, that means I can be Enemy-broken. I'm a God-made man. He did it for me. He was with me. I bow before him to give him the glory. That's not weakness. Bent knees aren't weak. That's where your strength comes from. Joseph goes on to raise these two kids. Do you know their names? Ephraim and Manasseh. Joseph got an extra ridge in the allotment of the Promised Land, and the half-tribe of Manasseh got property too. His kids got blessed because of what he did. Wow! There's a lot on the line right now. Some of you are breaking generational chains, and you don't even know it, but you need God's help to do it. "Not by might, not by power, but by his Spirit…" Bent knees break chains, not you proving you're right, not you refusing to admit when you're wrong. I love what the Bible says. If you will bend your knees now… I don't mean physically in this room. I mean if you will submit and surrender these events, this situation, to God and ask him for his wisdom and act on what he shows you, ask him for his wisdom, act on what he shows you, make the decision to turn pain into purpose… Look at what happened to Joseph. You won't believe it. Verse 22: "Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father's family". The death of Jacob was an event. Staying in Egypt was a decision. "He lived a hundred and ten years…" I told you that already, but I didn't tell you this. Next verse: "…and saw the third generation of Ephraim's children". Y'all, that's great-grandchildren. God is not through with you yet. It is too early and too soon for you to quit. "Also the children of Makir…" It means sold in Hebrew. That's what happened to him. That was the event. "The children of Makir son of Manasseh…" You got it? The children of his child were placed at birth…where? On Joseph's knees. When you bow your knees to God and surrender your situation to him, it makes room on your knees for the future he has in store for you. So, I close with this thought for everybody who has been brought to your knees by a situation in your life: expect God to bring to your knees a new beginning. God wants you free and clear from all of the junk, all of the bondage, all of the bitterness, all of the blame. You have to do what you have to do to get on your knees so you can get your knees ready for what God wants to bring you next. He is able…I preach this to every nation right now…to do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond what you ask or imagine. God wants to bring you what's next when you get on your knees. Joseph said, "I've been in prison before. I didn't like it. I want to be free now, so, God, I'm on my knees". Lord, today, we lift our hands just as a sign of our prayer and our eager hope for the freedom Jesus died to bring us to be made a reality in our lives. I thank you today, Lord, that this week is going to be different. It's going to be different because we're not going to spend it chained to bitterness. We're not going to spend it looking for something or someone to blame. We're starting this week, right here, right now, bowing before You, saying, "Jesus Christ is Lord, and what God has planned for my l ife… No man can stop it. No curse can stop it. No betrayal can stop it. No sickness can stop it. No recession can stop it. No virus can stop it. No pandemic can stop it. When God gets ready to bless me, when God gets ready to raise me… When God has a purpose, it will come to pass". Let's give him 60 seconds of praise that bent knees break chains. Come on, throw off those chains! Throw off that attitude! Throw off that shame! Throw off that guilt! Throw it off and praise him! Praise him! That's not enough. Who the Son sets free is free indeed. Bow your head. The Scripture says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. This is a salvation moment of decision for somebody. You are making the decision right now to place your faith in Jesus Christ, to place your faith in his death, to place your faith in his resurrection. He died for your forgiveness. He rose again to give you life. He invites you to follow him. He has promised you his Spirit. All you have to do is receive it. The moment you hit your knees his forgiveness will hit your life. I want to lead you in a prayer right now. We're going to pray this across all of our campuses and our eFam around the world for the benefit of those who are making the decision right now to place your faith in Christ, because he has already made the decision to save you. It's God who calls you. It's God who's drawing you. It's God who works in you. He brought you to this moment. For those of you who need to come to him for the first time or come back to him, I want you to repeat this prayer after me as you bow your heart before God: Heavenly Father, I am a sinner in need of a Savior, and today I bow my heart to you. I give you my life. Make me new. I believe you died that I could be forgiven and rose again that I could live. Jesus, I receive you as my Lord and Savior. I bow my life to you. I belong to you. This is my new beginning.

The Bible does not systematically address the problem of suffering or provide a comprehensive explanation” – Lexham Bible Dictionary. But we can deduce several things about suffering from the Bible. Questions: Is inflicting suffering on someone a sin? Why do you think God allows suffering? Suffering often has a purpose. Joseph as an example of suffering with a purpose. “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” (Genesis 50:20).  Jesus as the ultimate example of suffering with a purpose. Suffering was a necessary component of Jesus’ mission. “Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day’” (Matt 17:22–23). He suffered anguish while considering the plight of others. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34). The passion of Christ was a focal point of agony and suffering, even an experience of abandonment. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46). Paul urges us to “Share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God” (II Timothy 1:8). The Apostle Paul desired to “know” Christ and “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians 3:10 NKJV).  He declared that we are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17 NASB).  Therefore, “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword” cannot separate the believer from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35 ESV). He argues that “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17 ESV). There are two views about the nature of suffering and death.  The first view is that God built suffering and death into the system when he created the universe. In this view, suffering and death were intentional and not an accident. Suffering and death are functional in nature and were created with a purpose in mind. One support for this idea comes from God’s statement to Eve after the fall. God told her, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing (Genesis 3:16). Some translations read, increase, multiply, and intensify . These signify that there was already some amount of pain in childbirth before the fall. After the fall, God increased that pain.  Additionally, under this view the world already had some degree of suffering in it, including death of animals, but that Eden, as sacred space, was a unique place of blessing—where there was to be no suffering or death. Adam was brought into it to experience the presence of God but was exiled when he and Eve rebelled. What do you think about this view? Though God does not suffer in his being, he has chosen to experience suffering as the means to demonstrate his love and great power. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Love cannot be fully expressed without sacrifice and suffering. This is one of the answers as to why God allows suffering. He allows suffering because he wanted to express the full measure of his love for us, by enduring great suffering for us. Without suffering, God’s expression of love would have been limited.  God’s love is greater than man’s. Therefore, God presented the ultimate expression of his love by becoming a man in Jesus Christ and suffering on our behalf. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). By becoming a man, Jesus chose to embrace suffering for his good, and for our good. “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). As Jesus grew up, he learned through a process of suffering. But he also embraced greater suffering through the cross that we might be brought into a right relationship with God. In this way we see that suffering is not always bad but can be used by God for good. This means that suffering and death, though unpleasant, are functional in nature. Though they might be regarded as enemies (I Corinthians 15:26), they have a purpose in God’s created order. There are three areas in which we experience suffering. In our spirit. Separation from God because of sin.  “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).  Guilt for sin until forgiveness comes. “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin’” (Psalm 32:5). We deal with Spiritual suffering by committing our lives to Christ.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). In our minds. Oppression, Depression, Stress. Turmoil over our sin or imperfections in life We deal with mental suffering by renewing our minds “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2) and submitting every thought to Christ. “[We] take every thought captive to obey Christ (II Corinthians 10:5). In our bodies. Physical aliments and consequences of sin “Receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Romans 1:27). We are constantly at war against sin. “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin” (Romans 7:21-25). Suffering is a hard thing. Everyone hates to suffer. Yet the Bible encourages us with two facts about suffering: Suffering is only a temporary condition for the Christian.  “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Suffering is used by God to bring good. We’ve already seen this in the lives of Joseph, Jesus, and Paul. Can you think of a time when you suffered through something that turned out good? Suffering is used by God for good purposes. We should not view suffering as pointless or always bad, but as something that can contribute to good character. “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes” (Psalm 119:71).  “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:6-7). God decided to use suffering as the means to express his love. God gave a purpose to suffering that brings temporary and eternal benefits—good character and salvation from sin. We are commanded to endure and sometimes even embrace suffering to demonstrate the love and power of Christ, just as he endured and embraced suffering in the same way. “We suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17). “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (II Corinthians 12:10). Who are some of the people you admire the most? Did they endure suffering? Throughout history the people we admire the most are the ones who have endured great hardships and suffering. We recognize that perseverance in suffering is a character trait to be honored and imitated. We cannot become like Jesus without experiencing suffering. “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10). “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (I Peter 2:21). Since Jesus suffered for us we can expect that at some time in our lives we will have to suffer for him if we want to obey his word. Jesus said we should expect to suffer if we follow him. So, let’s boil this down to some direct answers. Why does suffering exist? God planned for suffering to exist and wanted it to exist for these four reasons. So that God can express the greatness of his love through the suffering of Jesus. So that man can express greater love through his own suffering. So that man can experience the love of God and others while we suffer. So that man can grow in character that would be otherwise unobtainable without some measure of suffering. Application. There are four ways we can deal with suffering in our lives… Understanding. If we come to understand that suffering is used for our good and to deepen our relationship with God, then we do not need to feel an attitude of victimhood or defeat. Suffering wasn’t permitted just for the sake of suffering, rather, suffering has a purpose. We may not know that purpose from time to time. Joseph didn’t know the purpose for at least 13 years, until he met Pharoah. But there was a purpose, nonetheless. Thus, suffering has a spiritual purpose. Endurance. Knowing that suffering has a purpose, we can see what suffering does in the life of the Christian. “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” (Romans 5:3-5). Submission. We can fight against suffering, and that’s okay. Or we can submit to it, looking for the greater good that comes from it. “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (II Timothy 2:3). “We know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Forgiveness. When others cause us pain, no matter how great, we should always strive to forgive. As Jesus forgave from the cross while he was in the process of being murdered, so too, we should adopt his attitude.

If we aren’t battling our sinful desires...they’ve won. Christianity will always have a bad reputation, unless we prove otherwise by our lives. It all comes down to how we live. Our actions will silence our critics, point people to God and bring people into the family! Preached at North Coast Church

Four great discoveries are revealed in Romans 6. We have evil natures and have committed sins against a Holy God. While we desire to do well, we always struggle with wrongdoing. Jesus provides victory over sinful behavior.