Faith to Dream | Pastor Zachary Ethridge | Liberty Live Church

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music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music Good morning, welcome to Liberty Live Church, we are so glad you decided to join us. Today's your first day at Liberty, we'd love to meet you, so text CONNECT to 40371, tap

the seat back in front of you, or visit us at one of our next step centers after the service today. We can't wait to meet you. Si hablas español, nos encantaría que nos acompañaras a nuestros servicios todos los domingos en nuestro campus de Hampton. Para más información, favor de mandar la palabra ESP al 40371, te esperamos. Because of your generosity, lives are being changed right here in Hampton Roads and around the world. Whatever you give, you partner with us to help change lives, communities, and the world for Jesus Christ. You can give through our website, tap the seat in front of you, or through an envelope at your campus today. Thank you for investing in all that God is doing through the work here at Liberty. You know, God is moving in so many incredible ways here at Liberty, from kids to students to young adults to senior adults. There are so many ways for you to find community, discover your purpose, and grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus. So right now, let's look at some exciting things coming up. Don't miss what's happening all throughout the week, so follow us on social media and connect with your campus Facebook group. Thanks again for being here today, where it's not just church, it's life. ♪♪♪ Good morning, Liberty! What a great day to be in the house of the Lord. We are so glad you're joining us here for church this morning. No matter where you're at right now, we love you and you're a part of the Liberty family and it's going to be a great day. Yes, it is. We just want to say, happy Memorial Day weekend. Happy Memorial Day weekend, hopefully you're enjoying your long weekend, but remembering

those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. That's right. We would love to meet you this morning. This is Kyle. I'm Jenny. Put your name in the chat. Let us know where you're streaming from. Some shout outs from last week. Shout outs. Gail from Nashville tuned in last week. We had Vernon on vacation in Cancun. Vernon in Cancun. That's where I think we need to stream church from, Cancun. Yeah, that sounds good. Can we do some on location beach? Yeah, we'll follow these people on their vacation. You let us know where you're vacationing this summer, we might show up and do the pre-show with you on it. Wouldn't that be fun? So Vernon, Gail, is that it? Yes, yes. That's it. Okay. I think there were more. So y'all let us know where you're streaming from so we can shout you out next time. Yes. And, it's summertime. Well, kind of, sort of. Almost. Almost summertime.

I mean, once Memorial Day hits. Once Memorial Day hits. Isn't that when all the pools open and stuff? That's when the pools open. Yeah. Water country opens. That's like the official start to summer. Yeah. Get the grill fired up. Summer's here and we got a lot of fun things coming up. Big ones, student camp and kids week are fast. Is it vastly or fastly? Vast approaching. Vastly approaching. Vastly approaching. So, we want you to get signed up. They're coming quickly. dates, location, times, all in the events page at LibertyLive.Church.Events to get your students signed up and your kids signed up. That's right and one thing we forgot to mention when we introduced ourselves, if you're here for the first time, oh my goodness, how did we forget? Just text LIFE to 40371. We'd love to get you plugged in here at the Liberty Family and send you a free gift if it's your first time joining us. So just say thanks for coming. And we got a little bit of scripture before we get some service here. What you got Kyle? We are in Hebrews, this whole series, and Hebrews 11.1. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. We hope that encourages you as we get ready to dive into the message. It's gonna be a great Sunday. We're so glad you're here and let's get you to it. His faithfulness and His goodness. Come on, let's sing this out. One generation to the next, we'll testify.

Come on, sing, through it all. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Here and now, looking back on where I've been. Still as good as You were then. There's no limit to Your love. Through it all, through it all, You've been so, so good. Kept Your word, like You said it would. Your first days are new, everybody. Step by step, I'm forever in it. This hope won't fail me, babe. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Oh, how great. Oh, how great. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Your faithfulness. Through it all, through it all, You've been so, so good. Kept Your word, like You said it would. There's no limit to Your love. Step by step, I'm forever in it. Through it all, through it all, You've been so, so good. We remember. Kept Your word, like You said it would. Oh, it never turns void. Through it all, You've been so, so good. Kept Your word, like You said it would. Come on, hands up! Your first days are new, everybody. Step by step, I'm forever in it. This hope won't fail me, babe. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Your first days are new, everybody. Step by step, I'm forever in it.

This hope won't fail me, babe. Lord, how great. ♪ Faithfulness, Lord how great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Lord how great is your faithfulness ♪ Oh, he's faithful, he's faithful. Come on, church, give God a shout of praise in this place. For his faithfulness, he's worthy of our praise. Hallelujah. ♪ And oh my Lord, you have been faithful ♪ ♪ And oh my Lord, you have been so, so good ♪ ♪ With every breath, with all your neighbor ♪ ♪ Oh, we'll sing of the goodness of God, oh my Lord ♪ ♪ Oh my Lord, oh my Lord, oh my Lord, oh my Lord ♪ ♪ And oh my Lord, you have been faithful ♪ ♪ And oh my Lord, you have been so, so good ♪ ♪ With every breath, with all your neighbor ♪ ♪ Oh, we'll sing of the goodness of God, oh my Lord ♪ ♪ Oh my Lord, oh my Lord, oh my Lord, oh my Lord ♪ ♪ Oh my Lord, oh my Lord, oh my Lord, oh my Lord ♪ ♪ And oh my Lord, you have been so, so good ♪ ♪ With every breath, with all your neighbor ♪ ♪ Surrender now, I'll give you everything ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me ♪ ♪ Oh say hey, your goodness is running after, it's running after me ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me ♪ ♪ With my life laid down, I surrender now, I give you everything ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me ♪ ♪ It keeps running after me, oh ♪ ♪ And all my life, you have been faithful ♪ ♪ And all my life, you have been so, so good ♪

♪ With every breath that I am able to breathe ♪ ♪ Oh I will sing of the goodness of God, of God, of God ♪ ♪ I will sing of the goodness of God, of God, of God, of God ♪ Church family, I want you to see the goodness of God in these testimonies this morning. First, we have Sarah. And as Sarah said, for the last decade of her life, she struggled with mental health. She said she just kept trying to find a reason to live, but she said there was really no reason in herself, no purpose in herself, but she said God is restoring her mind and heart. And she's following in Believer's Baptism this morning, committed to follow after Him and live for Him. Sarah, I believe God's gonna continue to bring healing and peace into your life. It's an honor to baptize you, my sister, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Buried with Christ in baptism, praise to all the goodness of God. Next up, we have James. James has a story like many of you. He encountered trauma at a very early age. And he said that trauma really shaped everything about his life and he started struggling with his own identity and with who he was. And because of childhood trauma and the way that shaped his identity, he started living out an identity that was contrary to what God really had for him.

And in the grace of God, he said God brought it all to light and his wife has been pointing him toward Jesus. And he's here now to give his life to the Lord and to walk in the identity that God has for him. James, this is only the beginning. I'm so proud of what God's doing in your life. It's an honor to baptize you. tells you my brother, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Beared with Christ in baptism, and raised to walk in the nearness of life. And finally, we have Jaden, come here, buddy. Come here, buddy. I gotta tell y'all about Jaden because there are very few people, I told him, I said, there are very few people that encourage me or get me excited to come to church and remind me why I do my job. And Jaden, he's awesome. He comes up to me every Sunday, gives me a big bear hug, lets me pray over him. He started coming last VBS, and he fell in love with church. He's actually the reason that the rest of his family started coming. And they have an incredible story. He lost his dad in a tragic accident. He actually lost his dog not long after. And when they came here, they were really struggling with grief.

And he came forward one Sunday and knelt with me in the altar and let me pray with him. And he's kept that up as a tradition every week since. And Jaden, I'm so proud of you. And I'm so proud of your decision to follow Jesus. God has so much in store for your life. And it's an honor to baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Praise to God, can't do this in life. Good job, buddy. Good job. This is Marie. I'm just so encouraged by her faith in the Lord. In the midst of grief, in the midst of pain, this is what she said. Jesus is becoming our peace. And I'm believing that. I'm claiming that over your life. It's an honor to baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We're buried with Christ in baptism, raised to law in newness of life. Come on, church, let's continue worshiping together. Let's sing this. ♪ Nothing compares ♪ ♪ Nothing comes close to you, Jesus ♪ ♪ Here in your presence ♪ ♪ We fall on our knees in surrender ♪ ♪ We fall on our knees in surrender ♪ ♪ To the Son of man who commanded you are holy ♪

Sing it out. ♪ Seated on the throne, reigning in forevermore ♪ ♪ High and exalted, worthy is your love ♪ ♪ Oh, it's so to dream ♪ Come on, sing matchless. ♪ Matchless in splendor, no one can measure your beauty ♪ ♪ Measure your beauty, there's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ Greatness of heaven, no one can fathom your glory ♪ ♪ So we lift, so we lift our eyes to the Lord of life ♪ ♪ So we lift, so we lift our eyes to the Lord of life ♪ Come on, sing. ♪ You are holy, seated on the throne, reigning in forevermore ♪ ♪ High and exalted, worthy is your love ♪ ♪ Yes, the Lord, oh, you're holy, you are holy ♪ ♪ Seated on the throne, reigning in forevermore ♪ ♪ High and exalted, worthy is your love ♪ ♪ Oh, worthy is your love ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord in all the earth ♪ ♪ No rock like our God ♪ Scripture says, ascribe to the Lord all the glory that He's due, so church, I want you to blow the roof off of this place and we're gonna sing blessing and honor, glory and power to Him alone. Come on. ♪ Blessing and honor and glory and power to me ♪ Come on. ♪ And wisdom belong to the only King, yeah ♪ ♪ Forever and ever sing worthy is the Lord, worthy is ♪ Come on and sing that again, sing blessing.

♪ Blessing and honor and glory and power to me ♪ ♪ And wisdom belong to the only King who's worthy ♪ Come on, lift Him up, lift Him up. Lift Him up, lift Him up. ♪ Worthy is the Lord, worthy is the Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Blessing and honor and glory and power to me, yeah ♪ ♪ And wisdom belong to the only King who's worthy ♪ ♪ Forever and ever sing worthy is the Lord, worthy is the Lord ♪ ♪ He's worthy, He's worthy, He's worthy, He's worthy, He's worthy ♪ ♪ You are holy, seated on the throne of grace ♪ ♪ Be forevermore high and exalted, worthy is the Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, oh, you're worthy ♪ ♪ You are holy, seated on the throne, oh, you're right forever ♪ ♪ Oh, you're right forever, high and exalted, worthy is the Lord ♪ ♪ Worthy, yeah, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ High and exalted, worthy is the Lord, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, blessing and honor and glory to me, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ And high and exalted, high and exalted, Lord, oh Lord ♪ Come on, we sing it. ♪ High and exalted, oh Lord, high and exalted, Lord, oh Lord ♪ All over this place. ♪ Oh Lord, yeah, high and exalted, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord ♪ Come on, you can sing it louder than that. Sing it to Him. ♪ High and, oh Jesus, high and exalted, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord ♪ We're lifting high your name, Jesus. We're exalting you in this place because there's nobody else worthy like you. You alone were slain for us. You alone paid the punishment for our sin.

You alone lived the life of holiness we couldn't live. You alone brought salvation. There's salvation in no other name but the name of Jesus. And therefore, God's highly exalted you, giving you the name that's above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue proclaim that Jesus Christ, you are Lord. We give you glory. We give you honor. We worship you for who you are. And we claim this moment, this hour, for you and you alone. God, would you speak to us? Would you move in this place? Would you show us what you desire of us? We rebuke every other spirit that's not your Holy Spirit. Devil, demons, you're not wanted or welcome here. You don't have any right, any power here. We welcome the Spirit of God to dwell in this moment, in this place, and to meet with us. God, meet with us now. It's in your holy, precious name, the name of Jesus that we pray. Everybody said? Amen, come on, is it good to be at church today? Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on.

Come on. Come on. Well, you can be seated. I'm so thankful that we get to stand and proclaim the name of Jesus and worship Him for who He is. Make much of Jesus. You know, all around the world, they don't have the freedom that we have. So don't take for granted the gift that you have to be able to worship the Lord. With so much boldness and so much freedom, what a gift it is. And we have that freedom because of those who came before us, who gave their lives so that we could worship and make much of Jesus. I'm so thankful to live in a military community where we understand sacrifice. We understand what people have done so that we could be free and what a blessing to get to worship Jesus in America. And I know tomorrow is Memorial Day and we're gonna have fun. So many of you are gonna enjoy the day off and play on the water. Well, it's gonna be raining. So I don't know. I don't know how much outside we're gonna get, but I know you're gonna enjoy the day off,

but don't miss in all the celebrating why we get to do what we do. And don't forget to remember those who have given their lives. And that's why Memorial Day exists. And so I wanna turn your attention to the screen as we dwell on the reality of Memorial Day. For the sight before us is that of a strong and good nation that stands in silence and remembers those who were loved and who in return love their countrymen enough to die for them. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost. As we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation. I can't claim to know the words of all the national anthems in the world, but I don't know of any other that ends with a question and a challenge as ours does. Does that flag still wave for the land of the free and the home of the brave? Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Guys, thank you so much. It was great to be a pastor at Liberty in Smithfield. And I want to welcome all Of those who are joining us at each campus on this Memorial Day weekend, and those even who are joining us online wherever you are in the world today. We want you to know that God wants you to experience his grace and power, that we've been praying for you and believe that God is gonna work in your heart and life today. As you just saw, this weekend, we remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms. And this morning, we want to pause and reflect and never forget the sacrifices of those who have come before us. They paid that ultimate price, their families paid the ultimate price so that we can live in and walk in the freedoms that we have today.

And today we remember and we give thanks to God, amen. Well, we hope that tomorrow you have a great Memorial Day. And then on Tuesday, we want to encourage you to check out the latest episode of the It's Life podcast. This past month, Ms. Tammy recorded an episode for ladies on Mother's Day, and Pastor Grant has a great episode that's coming out this week. As we anticipate Father's Day coming up, he has a great message for men, and we would encourage you to check that out this week. Well, this morning, we are continuing our series in Hebrews 11 called By Faith. By Faith, we're looking at stories of faith from creation to Christ. And here at Liberty, we say often, it's not just church, it's life. It's like these people lived out their faith. Their faith shaped the way that they lived. And we want to look at their example and look at their lives and see how our faith might shape the way that we live in our day. And so today, we come to the story of Joseph, and I've called this message Faith to Dream. Faith to Dream. His story is found in Genesis 37 to 50, and what a life Joseph had. His story includes the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. His life is unrivaled in Genesis

for its suffering and successes. And there's so much that the author of Hebrews could have said about Joseph's life, but we find what he said in verse 22. It says, by faith, Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. You see, Joseph's faith in God in this final moment of his life was so strong because he lived by faith through so many other moments of his life. It's those two words here in Hebrews 11, his life, and what a life he had. Through 14 chapters in the book of Genesis, we read of Joseph's life. And since Joseph was a prophetic dreamer, I think it's fitting to frame his life through two main scenes, the nightmare and the dream. The nightmare and the dream. So if you're taking notes, the first lesson that we learn from Joseph's life is how to have faith when life is a nightmare. Faith when life is a nightmare. Like so many, Joseph's life begins with so much hope and anticipation and expectations. His parents, I'm sure, had many big and great dreams for him. And he would later have great and divine dreams for himself. But those dreams quickly and tragically

turn into a nightmare at a very young age. At a very young age. Have you ever had a nightmare that felt so real? You know what I'm talking about. You wake up in the middle of the night, your heart is pounding. You can hardly catch your breath. Maybe you're even emotional and you wake up and you go, wow, thank God that was just a dream, right? But how do we live by faith when our reality is a nightmare? When our reality is something we cannot wake up from. Before Joseph was even a teenager, his mother unexpectedly, suddenly dies. She was giving birth to his little brother, Benjamin, and she dies there in labor. You know, I have four kids, Tori and I have four kids, and I see what she means to each one of them. And I can't imagine, it's almost impossible to quantify what this loss would have been in young Joseph's life. We then learn as a teenager that he's hated by his brothers. He's lost his mother, he's hated by his brothers. And then he has these dreams that make the nightmare even worse. We read it in Genesis 37. It says, but when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now, Joseph had a dream. And when he told his brothers, they hated him even more.

He said to them, hear this dream that I've dreamed. Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright, and behold, your sheaves gathered round it and bowed down to my sheaf. His brothers said to him, are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us? So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. He has this dream of these sheaves and the one that represents him rises up while his brother's sheaves bowed down to him. And then he has a second dream, a second dream. Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me. But he told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him and said to him, what is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother, at this point Leah, his stepmother, shall I and your stepmother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you? And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. mind. He has this second dream, the sun and moon, his father and his stepmother and his eleven brothers bowing down to him. We will later learn what the doubling of a divine dream means when we get to Pharaoh's dreams, but here in Joseph's life what we need to realize is that his dreams

are just a short escape from the nightmare he wakes up to each day. He wakes up each day to brothers who have rejected him. His reality is isolation. His reality is loneliness, where he should be finding friendship and brotherhood. He finds hatred and resentment and jealousy and it's about to get a lot worse. You see, one day his brothers who hate him, they plan to murder him and in the meantime they throw him in a pit while they discuss the matter further and they settle on the plan that instead of murdering him they're just going to sell him off into slavery. And so they sell him into slavery and they tell their father, who loves Joseph deeply, they tell him he's been killed by this wild animal. And so his father believes he's dead. His brothers have sold him off into slavery and he's sent off to Egypt and there he ends up in the house of an Egyptian captain whose name is Potiphar. And there somehow this nightmare gets even worse. You think sometimes in a story like it can't get worse than this, and then it does. And that's what happens in Genesis 39. It says, Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, Lie with me. But he refused and said to his master's wife, Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house. And he's put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Notice that here. Not just sin against Potiphar. He senses my sin would be against the living God. And as she spoke to Joseph, listen to this, day after day. This is not just one temptation. This is not just one moment where he has to have faith and strength. No, it is day after day. He would not listen to her though, to lie beside her or to be with her. He's not even going to get close to stepping over this line. But one day when he went into the house to do his work, he's just doing his job. Sometimes you're just out there doing your job, doing what you're supposed to be doing. And you're trying to mind your own business, but Satan and the enemy just won't leave you alone. He's just doing his work. And none of the men in the house were there in the house. And she caught him by his garment saying,

lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. I believe that verse 12 is God's message to so many of us today. You find yourself in situations, maybe day after day, where you're tempted to sin against the living God. And God's saying to you through the story of Joseph, you've got to get out. You got to get out of that situation. You've got to flee from sin. Because here it is, Satan doesn't just want you to suffer. He does want you to suffer. But he doesn't just want you to suffer. He wants you to sin in your suffering. And he will see to it that at the worst time, you have the best opportunity to sin. But Joseph shows us how to have faith even through the nightmare. You know, when we've been wronged or we're hurting, we're tempted to excuse our sin, aren't we? When people have wronged you, they've mistreated you, they've sinned against you, it's easy to justify your sin. When we correct one of our kids, they've said or done the wrong thing and we're correcting them, what do you think is the first thing that they say? But she, but he, they start talking about what their brother or their sister did wrong. And we do that too. We think we're going through a hard time, other people have sinned against us, and so our sin isn't that bad because someone else, because of someone else's sin. And how easy would it have been for Joseph to justify this sin? No one back home will know. Think of all that he's endured, and think of all that he has suffered. I mean, you can imagine the flesh negotiating this sin, right? And thinking, well, I deserve some happiness in this life, right? But sinful living won't bring the happiness we long for, will it? Sinful living never brings the joy we need. It won't leave our hearts full. God gave me this imagery, this illustration years ago, and it just stuck with me. And I want to share it again with you. I've shared it years ago here before, but sin is like gum to a man who is starving. The flavor is fleeting, and in the end, he will still die hungry. We want to be full. We want joy. We want happiness. We think sin's going to give it to us. It won't. You ever put a piece of gum in your mouth? What is it like? The intense flavor right away. You like that. It's great. But what happens when you hold on to that gum for long enough? Soon enough, you can't wait to find a trash can. How can I get rid of this? It's not bringing that joy and that flavor and that excitement that it once did. Now I just can't wait to get rid of this, right? I was at home the other day, and our two-and-a-half-year-old Isaac, he gets up on the counter, and he gets a piece of gum. And he's chewing this gum, and then he throws it in the

trash, okay? Then he goes back. He gets a second piece of gum. Like, what? You just had a piece of gum. What are you doing with another piece of gum? And two minutes later, what do you think he's doing? Throwing it away. Don't taste good anymore. Just throwing it away, right? What do you think he tells me two minutes later? Can I have another piece of gum? I need another piece of gum. I said, Isaac, you just had two pieces of gum. You already threw them away. We're not wasting any more gum. He says, but I'm still hungry. But I'm still hungry. And that's how sin leaves us. We want that flavor. We want that joy. We want that excitement. But it's going to leave you hungry because I'm having to explain to Isaac, and I want to explain to you, that sin doesn't nourish the soul. It doesn't fill you up. It's never meant to do that. You want a fullness. You want to satisfy that hunger. But sin isn't the way. No, Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus is the living water. And there's a fullness that you can have as you trust in him and live by faith. Amen? It would have been so easy for Joseph to act faithlessly. But Joseph's faith has not died with his dreams. He may be a slave, but he's not going to be living in spiritual bondage. And I see in Joseph here a freedom that so many people in America today do not have. We think we're free. We want to be free. All this talk of freedom. Let me ask you, is Joseph as a slave more free than you are right now? He was free. And in his freedom, he fled from sin. He ran away. And if you want to be free, if you want to be free, you need to learn to flee. I saw this just a couple of months ago, and when I read this story, it just came back to mind. But we got to flee from sexual immorality. And here's what it stands for. F-L-E-E. Here's what you got to do. You got to fear God. You got to fear God. Because it's not enough just to not sin for your parents or for other people or your friends or your pastor. Guess what? Sometimes they're not going to be around. Like Joseph, you're going to find yourself in a situation where maybe no one but God would know. Do you fear God? He said, how can I sin against God? Fear God. Then you got to leave no provision for the flesh. You don't leave any room for the devil. You need to understand that sin is not something to be managed. It's not something to be domesticated. It is a tiger waiting to kill you. Our adversary is a lion. He is seeking whom he may devour. No, we can't give him the opportunity in your life. You got to leave no provision for the flesh. And then E, you got to expose the lies of temptation. Satan is a deceiver. If you're reading in the one-year New Testament plan that we have going right now, you just read today that Jesus says in John chapter 8,

Satan is the father of lies. He's been a liar from the beginning. He's only got one strategy and it's to deceive. If you could ever know the reality of sin and sin when it's fully grown and the death and destruction that it brings, you wouldn't walk in that sin. You gotta expose the lie because Jesus is the truth and he can set you free. And then after you expose the lie that Satan wants you to believe, then what do you do? You escape through joyful obedience. You escape through obedience. No one flees passively, do they? No one flees without any action. At some point, if you're going to escape the sin in your life and find freedom in Christ, you've got to act in obedience. So we all need to flee. Flee like Joseph. Flee in faith to the God who reigns over all. But fleeing sin, listen, fleeing sin doesn't mean your circumstances will suddenly get better. That's what we see in this story. His circumstances don't suddenly get better. In fact, Joseph's nightmare only gets worse as he lives out his faith faithfully. That might be discouraging to some of us to hear,

but it's the reality. What happens, it says in verse 20, Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. Padre's wife makes up this fabricated story. And of course, as a slave, he has no standing, no status. She's believed and he's not believed and he's thrown in prison. He's thrown in prison. Joseph had been sold into slavery. He's now wrongly in prison. But hear me, this is so important. Just because your life is falling apart doesn't mean that you have to be falling apart. Look at what it says in this chapter. When he's in Padre's house as a slave, and when he's in prison, look at these verses. The Lord was with Joseph and he became successful. He was in the house of his Egyptian master. The Lord was with him. And then later in prison, the Lord was with Joseph and he showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The Lord was with him. We don't have a God who's distant. We don't have a God who leaves us to the darkness of the night alone. No, he is with you. And sometimes, we'll go upstairs for the night.

We turned out all the lights downstairs. And then what does one of our kids need? I forgot something. I forgot something. I gotta go get my water. I gotta go get my blanket. I gotta go get something, anything, right? Gotta go get something. All right, they get to that staircase though, and they see it's completely dark downstairs. All the lights are out. They suddenly say, I don't want that. I don't need that. What do they say? Will you go with me? Will you go with me? Okay, when their father goes down with them, then they can walk through the darkness without fear. When their father is with them, there's this safety, there's this security, there's this steadfast love. They don't have to be afraid of the dark. And I'm telling you, when the road ahead is dark, when you are in that nightmare, you know your heavenly father is with you. And you don't have to be afraid. You can live in faith. Well, from the pit to Potiphar's house, to prison, the Lord was with Joseph. And regardless of the nightmare you may be walking through,

God is right here with you. What did the psalmist say? Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shower of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. I love this Psalm 139. It says, where shall I go from your spirit or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. If I say surely the darkness shall cover me and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you. The night is bright as the day for darkness is as light with you. You can have faith. You can have faith when life is a nightmare because you're walking with a God who never sleeps. or slumbers, he is with you in the darkness as he was with Joseph in that nightmare. But we don't just learn how to have faith when life is a nightmare from Joseph. No, we also learn how to have faith when life is a dream, when life is a dream. You see, Joseph's dreams had turned into a living nightmare, hadn't they?

But Pharaoh will soon have nightmares that will lead to the fulfillment of Joseph's dreams. We don't have time to read the full story, but Pharaoh had two nightmares. And in the first one, there were seven healthy sheaves that are consumed by seven sickly dead sheaves. And in the second dream, there's seven healthy cows that are consumed by seven diseased cows. And no one in Pharaoh's court can discern the meaning of these dreams. But the cupbearer who Joseph had met in prison and had actually forgotten him for over two years, he remembers, oh yeah, there's this Hebrew and he's in prison, but he was able to interpret my dream and he's gonna maybe be able to interpret Pharaoh's dream as well. So they quickly bring Joseph from the prison and they present him before Pharaoh. He's called to interpret these dreams. And here's what God reveals to Joseph through Pharaoh's dreams. He says, there's gonna be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of severe famine. Joseph says, the doubling of the dream, it means that this matter is fixed by God. There's no changing it. It is going to happen and it's going to happen soon. Not only does God show Joseph the meaning of Pharaoh's dreams he also gives him the wisdom to know how the nation can be saved

and sustained through this famine. And as a result, Pharaoh lifts Joseph from the prison to the palace. And we read it, he puts him over all of the land of Egypt and he makes him ride in his chariot and everywhere they go, they say, bow down to Joseph. It felt like an out of body experience, I'm sure, for Joseph. I'm sure he thought, I'm gonna wake up one day and this is not gonna be real. But this dream is a reality. Joseph is given authority, he gets married, he's blessed with sons. He leads the nation wisely through years of plenty and prepares the nation for the coming famine. And I find it ironic that when all is well in the world, Joseph's life is falling apart. And then all is well in Joseph's life and now the world is falling apart. Isn't life just like that? You reach your dreams only to find that it's still gonna have seasons of struggle, seasons of famine. This is what you dreamed for earlier in your life, but it's still gonna have problems. It's still gonna have brokenness. Every season has its own share of blessings and burdens. Joseph's reached his dreams, but now he's learning to be a father. He's learning to be a husband.

And in the midst of that, he's called upon to lead a nation through crisis. And the famine doesn't just touch Egypt, it also reaches Canaan. And so two years into the famine, Joseph's family is forced to seek food in Egypt. You can see where this is going. And Joseph's prophetic dreams from years before will soon be fulfilled. The story of Joseph's forgiveness and reconciliation with his brothers is one of the most amazing stories in the entire Bible. And we don't have time to see it all this morning, but they make two visits to Egypt for food. They have no idea that Joseph is still even alive, much less that he is the ruler who is standing before them. And here's what it says in Genesis 42, six. Now, Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers who came and they bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph has dreamed. This dream was over 20 years old before it was fulfilled. And it's in this time that Joseph shows us what it looks like to live by faith when you're living the dream. You see, in his exaltation, he lifts others up. It's not a self-serving season for him. It's a season where he works tirelessly

to manage the resources of the nation and save the people from starvation. It's an incredible story. And sometimes living the dream, in this life, living the dream looks like being a good husband, being a good father, being a good employee, serving your community with the abilities that God has given you. You see, living the dream isn't about luxury. Living the dream isn't about leisure. Living the dream is about purpose. It's about God's purpose for your life. In it all, Joseph sees God's purpose, and we see that in Genesis 45. It says, now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here for God sent me before you to preserve life. Miraculously, supernaturally, when Joseph sees his brothers again, he's not filled with anger. He's not filled with bitterness. He is overcome with compassion and love for them. And though, as his dreams predicted, Joseph does reign over his brothers, he does, but he also resists any temptation to take revenge. Better than reigning over them, Joseph is reconciled to them. It's an amazing story. He goes on in Genesis 50, and he says, as for you, you meant evil against me,

but God meant it for good to bring about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. Joseph said, you sold me, but God sent me. Joseph said, you meant evil, but God meant good. Joseph was able to live by faith through both the nightmare and the dream, not because he believed that he would one day reign, listen, but because he knew that God was reigning over it all. There's this song that our kids learned at school. It's called, This Is My Father's World. And it says, this is my father's world. Oh, let me never forget that though the wrong seems off so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my father's world, why should my heart be sad? The Lord is king, let the heavens ring. God reigns, let the earth be glad. God reigns, he reigns over each season of our lives. He is with us through those darkest nights. He is there in the brightest day. He is bringing about his good purposes, even when things feel painful and disorienting and uncertain. And every time Joseph's life takes a turn for the worst, it actually puts him one step closer to God's purpose for him. And I want you to personalize that for yourself. Think for yourself. You might think you're three steps back, 10 steps back, but you might just be one step closer to the place

that God wants you to be and the purpose that he has for you. You see, God is using the closed doors. He's using even the trap doors to lead you to the right door. And here's the key, here's what we all need to learn. God isn't just getting you to the right place. He is making you into the right person. He's not just getting you to the right place. He is making you into the right person. Imagine how Joseph's journey shaped the kind of ruler that he became. Think of the character that was formed, the compassion, the conviction that was forged in the fiery trial. God was molding him and shaping him in those trials. But that only happened to Joseph because he had a soft heart of faith. Hard clay can't be molded. A hardened heart can't be molded. Imagine the kind of ruler Joseph would have been if in his trials, his heart had been hardened, made him bitter and angry and resentful. He would have been entirely unfit for the calling and purpose God had for him. And you could too. Along the process of God getting you to the right place, if you don't become the right kind of person and have a soft heart of faith that God is molding and shaping through your trials,

you might get to the destination and be unfit for the purpose and calling God has. on your life. That's why you gotta walk by faith, when it's a nightmare, when it's a dream, and everywhere in between. Because the only thing more tragic than his suffering would have been if in the process, he would have allowed the hardness of his circumstances to harden his heart. This is a real danger. We can not allow the darkness of our trials to darken our soul. Too many, I believe, are missing out on what God wants to do in and through them because they are fixated on their pain. They see everything through the lens of their pain rather than through the lens of God's purpose. And when you're seeing in that kind of way, you're not becoming the kind of person God wants to use. You're not becoming the kind of person that walks in God's purpose. Now, I want you to ask yourself, and I said, am I, instead of are you, because we all need to ask ourselves these questions. Make it personal. Am I becoming bitter or better? Am I becoming bitter or better? Am I focused on where I want to be or on who God wants me to be?

Don't we miss this so often? We're focused on where we wanna be. We need to be focused on who God wants us to be. How about this? Am I focused on what I want God to do or what He wants me to do? He's God, He reigns, He's sovereign. He rules with wisdom. He doesn't need us to tell Him what to do. We're so focused on, I just want God to do X, Y, and Z, as if we are greater than God. We don't need to be focused on what we want God to do. We need to focus on what He wants us to do in our lives. You may be missing what God wants to do in you right now because you're fixated on what you want God to do about your situation when you should be focused on what God wants to do in your spirit in this season. And we must all learn, we must all learn, God is not in the business of fulfilling our dreams. His ultimate purpose is not to fulfill my dreams, but to conform me to the image of Christ. That's what He's about. His ultimate purpose is to make us more like Jesus. And Joseph wasn't focused on his problems, he was focused on God's purpose. And that's what you need to set your focus on this morning. And he trusted God with the rest. His faith remained strong, both in the nightmare and the dream. And as we learn in Hebrews 11, His faith remained strong,

even as he prepared to fall asleep one last time. He's there on his deathbed in Hebrews 11, isn't he? At the end of that great long life. He's about to close those eyes one last time. You know, when we meet Joseph, he's dreaming of a better future, isn't he? When we say goodbye to Joseph, guess what? He's still dreaming of a better future. He's reached the top of what this world can give. He's reached the pinnacle of all achievement in this world, hasn't he? He's a national hero. He saved the kingdom from famine, but he's still looking to a better kingdom, isn't he? He's still looking to God's purpose for his life. He's dreaming of a better future, a future where God's people are lifted out of slavery to walk in God's promises and plan. And he gives instructions concerning his bones. He's not just looking to heaven, he's looking to that resurrection life. To be raised forever, not raised from prison to the palace. No, raised from death to life. That's where his hope is. He's looking to eternity. He has faith and you can have faith through all the trials and all the triumphs of life and faith that goes beyond the grave. No matter how terrible this life gets, no matter how dark the nightmares become.

Can I tell you that if you have faith in Christ, you will wake up one day to an eternal reality that is greater than anything you've ever dreamed. And we read it right here in 1 Thessalonians. God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us. so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him. You see, there's a man named Jesus. He's so much like Joseph. He was loved by his father, hated by his brothers. He's falsely accused. He's wrongly tried. He suffers for sins he does not commit. What people meant for evil, God meant for good, for the saving of many lives. And God didn't leave him there in that grave, but he raised him up, and he exalted him to the right hand of power. You know, life far from God is a famine. Sin leaves us empty and hungry, but Jesus wants you to know he is the bread of life. He is the living water. And if your soul is empty and hungry this morning, I would urge you, come and be filled. If your soul thirsts, come and drink freely from the everlasting fountain. Maybe you're scared to come to Jesus. Maybe you know, like Joseph's brothers,

you know you've sinned against Jesus, that you don't deserve his mercy. But just like Joseph, even greater than Joseph, Jesus doesn't want revenge. Jesus wants reconciliation. Jesus wants restoration. Jesus wants to reign over you so that you can experience his goodness like you've never known before. You can come to him. You can come to him. And I would ask you this morning, will you bow down before that King? Would you come and bow before Jesus? Would you let him be the ruler of your life? If you would, you would experience a freedom and joy far beyond anything you've ever dreamed. Would you bow with me? Maybe this morning you're ready. You're ready right now to receive his mercy and to receive his grace and restoration. If that's what you're longing for today, come to Jesus and be filled. You can just say something like this, Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned against you. I know I do not deserve your mercy, but I'm coming in faith that you will receive me, that you will forgive me. And I'm bowing before you today. I humble myself.

I trust your authority and your rule over my life. And I commit to live for you. In every season, in Jesus name, amen. Now look here, I wanna invite you to stand with me and the altar is gonna be open. We're gonna worship, but you just respond to God. You respond to his leading. You deal with the hardness of your heart. You deal with your faithlessness. You deal with your sin. And you experience God's mercy today. If you prayed that prayer for the first time and you wanna make a decision to follow Jesus, there's a place where you can tap on the seat back in front of you. If you're online watching this hour, we'd love for you to fill out that connection card. But really this is the most important time of the service. And to be honest with you as your campus pastor, I always watch in this moment and I know people have got places to be and things to do. But really the most important thing is that every time the word of God is preached, we respond in faith. If you just heard that word and God spoke to you at any point in the message, this is your moment to respond. I wanna invite our staff and our prayer team forward. They're gonna be here to receive you. This altar's always opened as a place to surrender.

Some of you need to flee from sin in your life. And this is the grace of God again, calling you out of the life that you're living. Others of you, you're living through a nightmare. Circumstantially, so difficult what you're going through. But I'm telling you, in the midst of that nightmare, you don't have to surrender. If you don't have to get bitter, you can get better. You can become who God wants you to be. He can use this to shape you into who you're meant to be. And so you don't have to wait for us to sing, you can come even now. And I invite you to come as you surrender to the Lord and respond to Him. I'm gonna pray, and then we'll sing and respond together. Holy Spirit, would you take your word and apply it to our hearts? Right now, would you show us the area in our lives that need to change? Would you open our eyes to the areas in our life we're not walking rightly with you? God, what an opportunity to respond to your grace. We need you, Jesus. We want you, Lord. God, I pray right now that you would deal with us like only you can, and you would change us and shape us, mold us into your image. We trust you. In the midst of hard places, hard circumstances,

hard realities, we trust you. And we wanna live by faith right in the midst of what we're going through. We surrender our lives to you. We worship you. In Jesus' holy, precious name, we pray. Amen. As we worship, you respond. ♪ Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine ♪ ♪ Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine ♪ ♪ He's been my fourth man in the fire ♪ ♪ Time after time, born a new man in my life ♪ ♪ I love his spirit and washed in his blood ♪ ♪ And what he did for me on Calvary is more than enough ♪ ♪ So I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail, I trust in God, he's my Savior, the one who will never fail, he will never fail ♪ ♪ The perfect salvation, all is at rest ♪ ♪ I know the author of tomorrow is on my steps ♪ ♪ So this is my story, and this is my song ♪ ♪ And this is my song, I'm praising my risen King and Savior all day long ♪ ♪ And I trust in God, he's my Savior, the one who will never fail, he will never fail, he will never fail, never fail ♪ ♪ And I trust in God, he's my Savior, the one who will never fail, he will never fail, he will never fail, never fail, never fail ♪ ♪ Jesus, what the enemy meant for evil, you turned it all around for good ♪ ♪ And I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered, I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered, that's why I trust him, that's why I trust him, I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him! That's why I trust Him! ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪

♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him! That's why I trust Him! ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him! That's why I trust in God! ♪ ♪ He's my Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail, I trust in God! ♪ ♪ He's my Savior, the one who will never fail! ♪ ♪ He will never fail, I trust in God! ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him! That's why I trust in God! ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him! That's why I trust in God! ♪ ♪ That's why I trust in God! ♪ ♪ He didn't fail you then, He won't fail you now ♪ ♪ I trust in God! ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ay! Ay-ay, ay, ay, ay! Ay, ay! ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ay! Ay, ay, ay, ay! Ay, ay! Ay, ay! ♪ ♪ It's why I trust in God, He's my Savior the one, ♪ ♪ Who will never fail, He will never fail. ♪ ♪ I trust in God, He's my Savior the one, ♪ ♪ Who will never fail, He will never fail. ♪ ♪ So I trust in God. ♪ Well, Liberty family, thank you so much for joining us today.

It's such an incredible series by faith and thank you, Pastor Zach, for bringing that word. And if you were watching and you made a decision to believe and follow Jesus for the very first time, you prayed that prayer alongside us, I wanna be the first one to tell you congratulations. That's the best decision that you will ever make and you are now a new creation in Christ Jesus. And I cannot wait to see all that God is going to do in and through your life in these days and years ahead. And I wanna remind everyone and those that prayed that prayer of this verse right now, it's Romans 1 16, for I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. Now more than ever, we need believers and those who trust in Christ Jesus to not be ashamed and to stand up for the gospel. As we go into this week to the sinful and dying world, we need to stand up for Jesus and not be ashamed to live for him. That is my encouragement to you. And just as we begin this week, let God's word guide your life. And I cannot wait to see you right back here next week. We love you, Liberty. Have a great week and go bless someone today. We love you so much. But you got a crap ton of time for nothing.

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