Halftime | Hervera Hambrick | Twin Rivers Church

Well, I'm excited to stand before you today. I've got a good message for you, good word, and as I was preparing for this message, it took me back a few years. It took me back to my heyday when I was a young adult, so it was maybe, you know, a few weeks ago, or maybe a few decades, I don't even wanna talk about it. But I remember being a young adult and we took our young adults group to go see the great sequoia trees at Yosemite National Park. It was something I was looking forward to. I was looking forward to it because I was expecting something great. I heard so much about Yosemite and these great sequoia trees, and so I was excited to do so. The only thing is that we were young adults and we didn't plan correctly, and we decided to go there during the winter. So when we went there, we understood that there was a problem. You see, the day before, it had snowed heavily, and the trail to the trees were closed off. So the park ranger told us, listen, the trail is closed, but you can still go up there if you want to. You'll just be going at your own risk. So we were young, a little dumb. Why not?

Sounds like an adventure. Let's do it. And we decided to go ahead and hike on up there. In the beginning of the journey, it was great. We had a great time. We were just laughing and giggling and talking about everything, and we were just so excited, but every step we took began to be a little bit harder, and the snow became a little bit more deeper, and we had to stay on this little trail because if we stepped off of this packed-down snow, our legs would go about waist deep into the snow, so we had to stay on this narrow pathway, and we got to a place where we were thinking, man, this is for the birds. I don't know if we should keep going. We were tired, exhausted, frustrated, and cold, and those are not good combinations, and we thought about turning around, but we just kept pushing forward, and then finally we reached a grove of trees, and I'm so glad that we kept pushing forward because those trees were breathtaking. I mean, we looked straight up, and those giant trees looked like we were in Jurassic Park. We thought at any moment we would see giants just walking past us, and we were amazed, and I thought about it. I was thinking to myself at that moment,

man, I'm so glad that we didn't quit. If we would've quit halfway up here, we would've missed out on seeing all of this beauty, and we decided that, okay, now the second half back, because we had to get back, that's the other thing. You go someplace, you forget that you gotta come back, and we said, all right, we gotta get back, so let's get a game plan, and the second half back, it seemed so much more easier because we had planned for it. We had prepared, and we had a greater expectation. As a matter of fact, our confidence was high because we knew that we can make it back, and so we went back, and we were excited that we made it back so easily. See, sometimes the second half can be easier than the first, and God sometimes uses our first half to prepare us for the second half. God will use us knowing that your situation might not change, but he knows how to make sure that you can change to be better, and that's how he works. He encourages us not to quit. If you've ever experienced God's promises, if you've ever experienced God's faithfulness, then you know that you should never quit on God because he'll never quit on you. You should always go to full distance with the Lord and let him complete the work that he's began in you, and that's what we did, and I was excited to be able to share that with you and that experience,

but that experience also taught me something. It taught me that sometimes you don't need to quit. So often when times get hard and rough, we wanna quit, but we shouldn't always quit. Sometimes you just need to rest and reconnect with why you even got started in the first place, and that's why today's message is called Half Time because we have reached a midpoint of the year, and all of us have reached the point in our lives sometimes where we've reached the halfway point, a halftime, the time where the momentum seems to stop and pressing forward seems a little bit more difficult, and sometimes that's what we need to do. Sometimes you just need to pause and hear from your coach. So we need to stop, and we need to rest, and we need to reconnect with why we even got started. Every believer eventually experiences what we call a halftime season, and when we get to this halftime season, I'm so thankful that God will give us the grace to rest. You know, in sports, halftime is when players stop and catch their breath, they regroup, they refuel, they refocus, and they remember the game plan that they originally started out with. They do all this to hopefully come back better the second time out than they went in the first time. And one thing that I notice about great coaches is that during the halftime, they don't always introduce entirely new concepts to their players. No, what they usually do is they usually bring the players back to the basics.

They usually remind the players of who they are, what they've practiced, and why it matters for them to finish well. And I believe God does that exact same thing with us. In our seasons, we always believe that we need something new, but sometimes God is simply calling us back to something that we've forgotten. Sometimes we just need to get back to some of the truths that he's already given us. Sometimes you need to get back to his Word, back to prayer. Sometimes we gotta get back into worship, get back to serving, get back to trusting God. Listen, you don't always need a new direction. Sometimes you just need a renewed devotion. And God has a way of letting us know that we can, well, we can get back to not only what we know, but we need to get back to the God we know. Sometimes we distance ourselves from him, and that's why halftime is so important. Because all of us at some point in life should take a rest, a reset, and allow God to speak to us. Sooner or later, you'll need that break. It might be a financial setback. It might be a marital struggle. It might even be a place in life that you've reached where you're just feeling all alone and lost. It's during these times that you have an opportunity to talk to your coach. You see, halftime gives you an opportunity to ask the coach questions, and God is our coach. When we get an opportunity to talk to God, sometimes we don't

ask God the right question. Sometimes we end up questioning God instead of asking God the question. We question him and say things like, God, what are you doing to me? Instead of God, what are you wanting to do in me? We question God and we say, God, can you just fix this? Instead of God, can you do whatever you need to do to fix whatever is broken in me? You see, these are the questions that we should be asking God. And like any good coach, he is more invested in your development than your deliverance. God is more concerned with your character than your comfort. He understand that he's trying to do something in and through you. He's not just preparing blessings for you, he's preparing you for the blessing. And that's why we have to take halftime serious. I love it that when we get to the halftime, it's not a preparation time that's done in the public eye. Usually, halftime takes place in the private. In sports, they call it the locker room. And today, I want us to take a look at a young man by the name of Joseph from the Bible. Joseph is in his own halftime season. Joseph is in a prison. That becomes his locker room. And please understand that Joseph was never one to be a prisoner. You see, Joseph didn't start out being a prisoner.

Joseph started out being a dreamer. Joseph was a big dreamer. Joseph was given God-given dreams. He was given dreams that were so vivid and so real that he couldn't contain it. He had to tell somebody. So, Joseph begins to tell the people closest to him, his brothers. He tells his brothers his dreams. Well, they don't cheer him on. No, they hear the dreams and they begin to get jealous of him. See, that was an issue and a problem. And can I just give you a little word of wisdom? You don't have to be afraid to share your dreams with people, but you should use wisdom in who you share your dreams with. Because whenever you share your dreams with people, it'll identify two types of people in your life. It'll identify those that will support you, and it will reveal who your doubters are as well. You see, when you share your dreams, you will find out the supporters and you will find out the doubters. And your supporters will always see what God is doing in and through you, and they will encourage you forward. But your doubters, well, they will only see your limitations, and they can't see past that. And see, that's what happened with Joseph. I want to encourage you. Some things that I understood and I discovered in this is that you should never give your critics more attention than you

give your contributors. Because your critics will always speak down, but your contributors, they're already pushing you forward. You see, God gives you dreams, and God only needs one person to believe in the dreams that he's giving you, and that one person is you. You don't need anybody else to believe in what God has told you. And Joseph, well, he was hoping to have others believe it in, but he didn't find that. You see, Joseph found out real quick that his brothers were not his supporters. As a matter of fact, he found out that his brothers was his biggest haters. He told his brothers, and they despised him. They had a problem with Joseph. They had a problem with Joseph because Joseph had favor on his life. It says that Joseph's father favored him. Joseph's father made him a custom-made coat. The coat was bad, y'all. That coat was so bad, they didn't even have a name for it. They just called it a coat of many colors because he was shining, and his brothers despised him for it. His brothers looked at him, and they couldn't stand it. They didn't look at him with that custom-made coat on, and we over here wearing this coat from Timu. They had a problem with Joseph. It ate him up inside. It got to him to the place where they said, you know what, we can't take it no more.

And they took their own brother, and they threw him in a pit, and then later on, they sold him into slavery. But that didn't stop Joseph in the favor that was on Joseph's life because even in slavery, his master named Potiphar had favor on him. And Potiphar seen Joseph, and he said, you know what? I'm going to place you over my entire household. That's the favor that was on Joseph's life. But Joseph had a problem, you guys. The Bible says that Joseph was very handsome. Now, you know you got to be a good-looking dude if the Bible says you're very handsome. Not only does the Bible say that Joseph was very handsome, it goes on to say that he was well-built. That means that Joseph had muscles on top of muscles. That brother had more muscles than a seafood restaurant. Somebody had to give Joseph needle and thread because he was ripped. I'm telling you, I can go all day long. But Joseph was very handsome and well-built. And well, Potiphar's wife, she had eyes. And the Bible said that Potiphar's wife looked on to Joseph and began to lust after him. Ooh. And then watch this. See, you got to turn off Netflix sometimes and get into this word. You want some drama? Watch this. And then after that, it says that she began to try to seduce

him. Mm-hmm. And then Joseph says, I can't do this to my master. I'm not going to do it. And he runs away from Potiphar's wife. Now, she didn't like that. She got upset about it, and then she lied on Joseph. And she tells her husband that he tried to attack her. Well, Potiphar got so upset that he threw Joseph in jail because of it. And that's where we find Joseph now, and that's where we enter into his story. It says in Genesis 39 and 20, it says, so he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king's prisoners were held. Isn't it interesting that he was even positioned in a special prison? And there he remained, but the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. There goes that favor again. And before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. Looking at this, I believe that there are the few things that we can learn from Joseph and his halftime and his locker room experience. And the first thing that we can learn is that when you are in your halftime, you're going to have to reconnect to presence, reconnect to the presence of God.

Because the Scripture says something that gets me. It says, but the Lord was with Joseph. That is interesting because Joseph is not living out his dreams. Joseph is not in the palace. Joseph is not even being cheered on by others. No, Joseph is sitting in a prison. And yet, the Bible tells us that God was still with him. That's interesting because so often we believe that if God is with me, then I'll be problem free. But Joseph teaches us something totally different. Joseph teaches us that God's presence produces peace over every problem. And as long as you have the presence of God with you, you can make it through anything. See, Joseph understood that all he had to do was trust in the Lord. And it's hard to not only trust in the Lord, but it's hard to trust in people. It's hard to trust in anything nowadays. I don't know if you've ever written with somebody and they knew all the back roads. They knew the area better than you did and instead of them taking the interstate, they take the back roads, the back alleys. They take you down streets that you have never even seen before. And the whole time you're wondering, okay, where are we going? Are we going the right way? I think we need to be over here.

I don't think we're doing this right. And yet, the driver is fully confident because the driver knows exactly where they're going. See, the problem is not the driver. The problem is usually the passenger because the passenger is going through unfamiliar routes. And that's the same thing that happens when we tell Jesus to take the wheel. We're like, okay, God, take the wheel in my life. But if you give God the wheel in your life, please understand that he will take you down roads you wouldn't believe, roads that you have never seen before. He'll take you down the roads of disappointment drive, patience parkway. How long is this going to take? He'll take you to character court where you'll go around and around and around until your character is finally fixed. He'll take you down humble highway. Oh, man. But if you stick with him long enough, he'll always drop you off at purpose place. God has a way of getting you there. All you have to do is trust in him. Proverbs 3 and 5 tells us this, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him and he will make your path straight. God has never gotten lost. He knows exactly where to go and he knows exactly how to get you

to where he's taking you. The problem is that we have an issue with letting go of control. We want to take the wheel back. We want to tell God how to get there. We want to tell God how fast to go because we need to get there in our timing and not in his time. We like to tell God which roads to take and, Lord, please make sure that the road is not bumpy. We love the easy route, the easy street, but trusting in the Lord requires us to just sit. back, relax, and be the passenger. And trust him through every single turn because he'll get you there. But he's not gonna get you there alone. No, usually the journey, well, the journey is scattered and the journey has people on the path. Which brings me to my second point and that is this, that in your halftime, you're gonna have to reconnect to people. One of the most remarkable things that we see here is that even in prison, Joseph, he's not stuck to his own pain. He's not just carrying his own pain. No, Joseph sees the pains of others. And it's so natural for us if we're going through a hard season and we're dealing with our own pains that we isolate. But Joseph doesn't do that. And you see, Joseph sees that there are others

that he can help. And he desires to help carry their pain as well. And it says in verse five, while they were in prison, Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker, each had a dream one night. And each dream had its own meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset. Why do you look so worried today? He asked him. And they replied, we both had dreams last night, but no one could tell us what they mean. Interpreting God is God's business. And Joseph was about his father's business. So he replied, go ahead and tell me your dreams. I believe that because Joseph stayed connected to God, God made sure Joseph was still connected to other people. And because of this, this is the key to getting Joseph set free. You see, Joseph didn't hesitate to hear the dreams of these other men. And so he heard their dreams and he told one man, the baker, he said, ooh, don't sound good for you, brother. After hearing your dream, I think you're gonna have to get your affairs in order. Because in three days, you're gonna be unalive. Then he heard the next man, the cupbearer.

And when he heard the cupbearer's dream, he said, oh, I got good news for you. I'm gonna encourage you with this one because in three days, you're gonna be fully restored. I don't know who that's for, but I pray and believe that in a short period of time, maybe you've experienced some losses, but my prayer is that you're fully restored. Amen. But he tells the cupbearer, you're gonna be fully restored. And when you get back into your position, you'll be on the right hand of the king. I need you to do me one favor. Cupbearer says, yeah, man, tell me, what is it? He says, just do me this one favor. Don't forget about me, all right? And tell the king that I'm in here and that I don't deserve to be in here. I didn't do anything to place me in here. Just let the king know. Cupbearer says, no problem, I got you. And then everything that Joseph said was gonna take place, happened just the way he said it would. And then we waited just a few moments later. And in chapter 23, or verse 23, it says this. Pharaoh's chief cupbearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought. Are you serious? I just gave you one job.

Don't forget about me. And the first thing he does is he forgets all about Joseph in the prison. Isn't that funny? Sometimes you help people, and then when it comes to your opportunity, you need some help, all of a sudden they seem like they've forgotten all about you. They don't even know your name. You're like, no, no, you know me. I'm the one that helped you in your time of need. And they're like, hmm, I don't recollect. Really? Really? Really? You see, that can be difficult. I don't know if you've ever had that experience, but it's not that you're only overlooked. Sometimes you feel forgotten. And if you've ever felt forgotten, well, that's hurtful. That can be very hurtful. And for Joseph, I can only imagine what he was going through because he had been forgotten by so many. He had been forgotten not only by this cupbearer, who he had just interpreted his dreams, just encouraged him, just told him one thing, don't forget me, and yet as soon as the cupbearer is released, he forgets about him. He's forgotten about by his brothers who betrayed him, who, who, who, who, who.

who threw him in a pit and who sold him off like property. Well, they went on with their life and they forgot about him. Even Potiphar's wife, who lied on him, falsely accused him and had him thrown in prison, she went on with her life and she forgot about him. And now he's sitting there. And she's a little bit different. When I think about Potiphar's wife, I kind of think that she, out of all of them, could have easily set Joseph free. All she had to do was just go and tell the truth. If she would have just went and told the truth and said, you know, he didn't do all these things, Joseph would have been set free, but that didn't happen. And maybe you're sitting in this room right now and maybe somebody has done wrong to you. And maybe you're hoping that they will right their wrong. Maybe you're even sitting here today and you're hoping that they will come back and apologize to you. I'm here to tell you this morning that that apology may not ever happen. And if that apology doesn't happen, you have two choices to make. You can either move on with your life by forgiving and releasing them, or you can hold on to the offense. Joseph, he didn't hold on to the offense. Joseph was able to forgive because Joseph understood that if I hold on to this unforgiveness, well, I'm only imprisoning myself. And I don't want to be held hostage, held in captive by unforgiveness, so I need to let them go.

You see, Joseph understood that he had a future, and you cannot drag your past baggage into your future. So, Joseph had to let it go. For some of you in here today, you're going to have to let it go. God is maybe wanting you to release your past so he can bring you into your future. And that brings me to my third and final point, and that is this. Sometimes you got to reconnect to God's purpose. Eventually, Joseph was suddenly called up out of the prison and into the palace to interpret Pharaoh's dreams. Now, notice that not a lot changed, but his environment and his audience changed. But his gifts and his character, they remained the same. You see, when he stood before Pharaoh, Pharaoh couldn't take credit in giving Joseph any kind of giftings at all. No, when he stood before Pharaoh, all he seen was God's development all throughout the years. It was an opportunity for God to display Joseph's gifts and Joseph's character. You see, there had been years of Joseph's life where many would have believed that they were wasted years, but God didn't see years being wasted, God seen years of preparation. And with God, there's no wasted time. And it reminds me of a story I heard about the great Chinese bamboo trees. These Chinese bamboo trees, they are quite different. With a Chinese bamboo tree, you can plant them, you can water them, you could fertilize them, and you can do this for years.

And yet, you will barely see anything sprout up from above the ground. But what we don't know is what's happening beneath the ground. You see, with the bamboo tree, there is an entire root system that's taking place. And that root system is going deep into the ground, and it's there to support a rapid growth that will later take place with the bamboo tree. And in the right season, it says that the Chinese bamboo tree sprouts up dozens of feet in just a matter of weeks. The entire time, people see that nothing has happened, but all of a sudden, growth takes place. And I believe God does that the same way in our lives. God is preparing for you for greater things, things that you can't even see right now. Just like Joseph in his life, he's seen setback after setback, and it looked like nothing good was happening for him in his life, but beneath the surface, God, well, God was developing his character, building his faith, and growing roots. Because he was preparing Joseph for leadership. God was growing roots before he ever produced fruit in Joseph's life. Listen, I believe that God is developing in you in private, so that one day... you'll be able to support what he will entrust you with in public. And with Joseph, he was able to leave the pit, he was able to leave the prison, and he was able to walk into the palace because God was with him the entire time. You see, God is not always asking us to do something

totally different. He's not asking you to be a totally different person. I believe God is calling us to be a totally devoted person, a totally devoted people. God is wanting us to get totally devoted to the original things, get totally devoted to his purpose, to his people, and his presence. And we've reached this midpoint, this halfway mark in our lives in this year, and I believe that we have to get back to our roots. At the beginning of this year, we started out with a word of the year, and that word was devoted. And so, I think it's very befitting that we complete this message today by quoting our Scripture for the year and getting back to the basics. So, I'm gonna ask you all to stand all across this room because we're still gonna remain devoted. And they're gonna put this Scripture up on the screens, 1 Thessalonians 5 and 23, and I want us to say this together on the count of three. One, two, three. May the God of peace himself. Amen. Amen. Amen. Today, you may have come into your halftime spiritually bruised. You may have come into your halftime spiritually beat up. But my prayer is that you leave this first half stronger so that victory comes to you in the second half.

You're gonna come out better. You see, even Jesus has a victorious second coming. The first time Jesus came, well, he was a suffering Savior. But it says he's coming back the second time as a conquering king. So, if God can write in Christ's story a victorious final chapter, he can surely write the final chapter in your life as victorious as well.