Peace In The Plot Armor // Missing Peace (Part 5) // Pastor Tim Ross

What's up to my Pando family? I love you guys. Every single one of you all behind bars, literally leaning in to what the Word of God can do for your life. Thank you so much for making this a part of your spiritual formation. My prayer, my hope is that you understand that even behind bars, you can have peace in your plot armor as well. Joseph was behind bars. We can all relate with either a family member or ourselves going through something that's kept us in bondage. But I want you to know, you are not alone and the best is yet to come. Keep going through. This week, live a transformed life. We'll see you next week. Peace. Would you stand to your feet for the reading of God's Word? We have been in a series called The Missing Piece. This is week five of six. And we have been talking every week about what happens when you get your peace back. What happens to your nervous system? What happens to your mind? What happens to your relationships when you actually have the shalom that Jesus promised he would give us

in the gospel according to St. John, chapter number 14, verse number 27. Shalom, I leave with you. Shalom, I give you. But not as the world gives, which strongly implies that the world does have a version of peace. But it's an imitation. It doesn't last. He says, but not as the world gives. So neither be thou troubled or afraid. He was literally saying, I'm not giving you something that gives you chill bumps on Sunday. I'm giving you something that regulates your nervous system on Sunday night, Monday morning, in traffic, when you get to work, fooling with them bosses on your job, and them coworkers, family members. You can have a regulated nervous system. You get to have your emotions. Your emotions don't get to have you. And today I draw your attention to just three verses in the book of Genesis because time does not afford me to read 12 chapters. I would love to do it in like a Bible study setting, but I won't be able to do it here. So I draw your attention to three verses. The first two are in the book of Genesis, chapter number 45, verses seven and eight.

Here's what the word of the Lord says. But God sent me ahead of you. I feel, ooh, the storyteller in me is just having fits because I have to drop, I have to insert you into a narrative that has been developing since Genesis 37. And here I have the audacity to drop you into chapter 45. But I'll come back and give you some context. But this is what Joseph says to his brothers. But God sent me ahead of you to ensure a remnant in the land and to keep you alive for a great escape. So now it wasn't you. You didn't send me here, but God. And he made me as a father to Pharaoh, Lord over his whole house and ruler over the entire land of Egypt. Genesis chapter number 50, verse number 20. Joseph, again, talking to his brothers, says this. Yes, you yourselves planned evil against me. God planned it for good. Ooh, resist the urge, Tim. God planned it for good in order to bring about what it is this day to preserve the lives of many people. If you're taking notes on this message, the title of this message is Peace in the Plot Armor. Peace in the plot armor. Let's pray and then we'll sit down, shall we? Holy Spirit, give us peace in the plot that you've planned for our purpose. In Jesus' name, amen.

You may be seated Genesis chapter number 37 records The life story of a young man named Joseph Joseph is one of the two children born to Jacob slash Israel who is a Child of the woman he originally fell in love with and Worked so many years to have a life with Joseph and his brother Benjamin are the sons of Jacob through their mother Rachel Rachel dies While giving birth to Joseph's younger brother Benjamin He is a child of Jacob's old age and he is favored by his father Scripture says that he was favored over all his other brothers. Jacob just had an affinity for Joseph I believe it was because it was with Rachel with whom he had fallen in love with Initially and the fact that this was his firstborn son through that union. I believe he just had an endearment to Joseph as a parent. I know Jacob loved all of his kids But you know, you got them one kids or a couple of those kids that you just like, you know, what I I can't say it out loud Don't tell your siblings but You and I just get along we click and he made for his son a coat of many colors So the brothers already knew they had they had been seeing the interaction that Jacob had with this particular son. They knew he was favored but but then Jacob Exasperated it by giving him a coat So now he has this coat of many colors that he loves he loves this coat that his father gave him He's wearing this coat. He loves this coat He understands what this coat means to him how it makes him connect with his father

He's wearing the coat on top of that Joseph is a snitch Let's just keep it a buck a lot of times we glaze over the character flaws of such people in the Bible But they're human just like us These are not stories of superheroes. These are real men and women that lived in a narrative that's recorded in Scripture Joseph was a snitch. He told on his brothers whenever they were doing something wrong He would report back to his father his father trusted him in that way and he would come home and he'd be like, ooh, daddy Simeon down there tripping Reuben Levi and Judah. Oh, I saw him over this girl's house Anybody got it anybody got any younger siblings No snitch I Was that sibling I Just want you know, sometimes preacher truth is a little bit of a pain in the ass I just want you know, sometimes preacher try to make it seem like it was always the other person Now I had an older brother that was 10 years older than me whenever he did some I went straight to my mom and daddy He'd be like mama There go that man Joseph Joseph is wearing this coat of many colors. He's he's out in the field his brothers start hating him When Joseph was 17 years old he had a dream Very unique dream. The dream was so Compelling to him that he keep he couldn't keep it to himself He had a dream that They were gathering the harvest in Outside and he had gathered his bundle the sheaves and his brothers had gathered their sheaves And then he saw in the dream that all of their sheaves came to his sheave and bowed down before Now for however rude crude or Wonton these brothers were they were still in the covenant of God and they had the interpretation of dreams We know they had the interpretation of dreams because when they heard Joseph's dream They weren't just like man you trip and get out of here. They were like, wait a minute They instantly interpreted and said do you think we're gonna bow down to you one day? They immediately turpin

But if the dream, can I just pause and say that even though you might find somebody that's wavering, don't think that God's gifting is gonna leave them. I don't know who that's for, but for any judgmental people in the room, don't think just because somebody might be backslidden or they're not living in the ways of the Lord that when God gives them the gift, he's gonna take it back just because they're not using it for his glory. He has this dream and he shares it with them. Now, I just wanna say my advice to Joseph would have been, hey, if you are the favorite of your father and he gave you a coat of many colors and then God gives you a dream, here's what you don't do. If you're gonna wear the coat, don't tell the dream. And if you're gonna tell the dream, don't wear the coat. But please resist the urge to put on the coat and give the dream. Do one or the other, but not both. Joseph's brothers, scripture says, hated him even more. So they plotted, and this is how you know these dudes was gangster. They didn't plot to like beat him up like older siblings do to younger siblings oftentimes. No, they were like, let's kill him. We'd be waving flags about the 12 tribes of Judah. We'd be like, the 12 tribes of Israel. You'd be like, that Joker? Let's kill him.

And it was Reuben that says, no, no, no, we should not shed our brother's blood. So then Judah comes in and is like, you know what? There's a pit over there. Let's throw him in the pit. So they throw him in the pit. Now, I want you to imagine that at 17 years old, Joseph has a dream that one day his whole family is gonna bow down and be serving him. But now he finds himself in a pit. Scripture says that there was an empty pit with no water in it. And Joseph is thrown into the pit. Can you imagine him at the bottom of that pit trying to compare the analysis between the dream he had and the reality he now lives in? Anybody beside me had a word that you got from God and the reality of where you are does not match the word that you got from God. And you're trying to reconcile. Wait, God, I heard you just say in my dream that my whole family was going to be a subservient to me, that they were gonna be submitted to me. But now I find myself in a pit. Joseph is in the pit by himself. Scripture says that the pit was empty. But I know better than to just read what the text says. The text does say that the pit was empty, but the pit was only empty until Joseph got in it. For the moment Joseph got in the pit,

the pit was no longer empty. It wasn't just filled with Joseph, it was also filled with the dreams that Joseph had. That empty pit was now filled with the purposes and the plans of God for what God wanted to do in Joseph's life. Joseph is in the pit and he's trying to figure out what's going to happen to his life. I don't know if he was there for hours. I do not know if he was there for days. But one of the brothers was just like, you know what, we just can't leave him in this pit to starve and die, let's sell him. It just keeps getting progressively worse. These brothers, these are not the kind of family members you want. I thought about killing you, but on second thought we threw you in the pit. And then on third thought, we thought we would just sell you into slavery. We don't care what happens with you. So the Midianites come by, some traveling merchants, and they sell Joseph to the Midianites for 30 pieces of silver. They bag the money and then they say, I wonder what we gonna do with the story of what we did to Joseph. Reuben is the one that told him to come and throw him in the pit. And Reuben, the way the text explains it,

Reuben's, this is implied, it's not literally like spelled out, but I believe Reuben told them to throw him in the pit so he could come back at night and bring him out of it. When Reuben came back, he was already gone because he was sold into slavery. So Reuben comes back and goes, what happened to Joseph? And they were like, oh, we sold him into slavery. Then he said, what are we gonna tell the father? He was like, well, we got his coat. Let's kill an animal, dip it in the blood, and take it back to his daddy and let his daddy give the narrative. come back to Jacob with the bloody coat of Joseph and they hand it to him and say, do you recognize this coat? They know exactly what happened, but they're going to let him draw the conclusion. Hey, dad, do you recognize this coat? And he goes, oh my goodness, this is my son's coat. An animal must have mauled him out in the wilderness. And they were like, yup, what you said, straight up. What did you say again? The animal must have mauled him in the wilderness. That's exactly what happened. And he must have picked them clean because we didn't see none of him, we just saw the coat. So Joseph goes from being hated, betrayed, to pitted and sold. And he sold to a young man named Potiphar. Potiphar has rank in the Egyptian political system and he hires Joseph to work in his house. Because Joseph is so favored... Thank you, Holy Ghost, I'm going to take my time. Because Joseph is so favored, he winds up the chief in Potiphar's house. Can I just say that when God puts favor on you, it works anywhere. I'm going to say that again for somebody that doesn't believe it. When God gives his favor to you and places favor on your life, it will work anywhere. So in the company of his father,

he had on a coat, but his favor wasn't in what was on him, it was in what was in him. That favor was in Joseph, whether he ever wore that coat again or not. When he was in the pit, he had favor. When he was sold, he had favor. When he was in Potiphar's house, he had favor. He's in Potiphar's house, he quickly becomes the chief of everything that is in Potiphar's house. He gets promoted, promoted, promoted until he is over everything. Scripture says that he is a handsome young man, so handsome that he catches the attention of Potiphar's wife because favor is attractive. Favor is absolutely intoxicating. If you get God's favor on your life, people would just want to be around you just because you have that thing on you that they want. And so Potiphar's wife catches the attention of Joseph and she is smitten by him. And Potiphar's wife, ooh, she for the streets. I'm so sorry, Mrs. Potiphar, but you for the streets. The attraction that she has, she cannot keep to herself. She literally tells Joseph, you need to come to bed with me. Read the text, she says, come lie with me. Come hop into bed with me. When Potiphar go to work, it could be me and you. Joseph is like, no, man, you're not about to get me fired. The favor that God has placed on my life has given me favor in your husband's house. You got to talk like that when people are trying to make you commit adultery. You got to start reminding them that they already married too. You know what I'm saying? They're trying to act like it's a thing between me and you. Your husband said, ma'am, have you forgot you're married? I'm not going to call your husband, Mr. Potiphar, I'm going to call him your husband. Your husband has given me authority over everything in the house. The only thing he hasn't given me permission to do is touch you because you're married to him. Then this is how you know Joseph has fidelity to God. He says, how could I sin before God

and your husband? Bump your husband, I have to report to God. The only reason why I'm in this position is because of what God has done for me, and I'm not about to ruin it for seven minutes with you. Arbitrary number. I guess you got to work fast when other people is in the house. I don't know. He declines her offer, and scripture says every single day he came to work, she came after him. When he came to work, she went to work. Lie with me. Come in here. Ooh, you look so good today. You're so handsome. Look at your muscles and things. You're so strong. And every single day he was like, I'm not about that life. I'm not about that life. I'm not about that life. I'm not about that life. I don't even know if I'm ever gonna see my family again I got to make the best of the situation. I'm in I still have a vision of the dream that I had Circling in my head. This is not the the reality of what I saw in my head But this is the reality of where I am right now, and I'm not gonna ruin it over a temptation Every single day scripture says he declined he declined the offer. He declined the offer. He declined the offer until one day Scripture says when nobody else was working in the house Joseph went in the house to do his duties. Can I just pause and say to anybody that would be wise enough to listen The reason why Joseph was able to handle the temptation of Potiphar's wife on all of those other days is because there was always someone else in the house and And when you have accountability around you the only thing your temptation can do is taunt you Lie with me lie with me lie with me sleep with me sleep with me sleep with me She had to kind of say it on the low why there were other people in the house There were other ears that were listening, but on the day when no one else was in the house Joseph no disrespect Joey was foolish enough That he could go head up with his temptation With no accountability around him and On every other day when there was another person in the house

The only thing Potiphar's wife's temptation could do was taunt him But the moment accountability was removed it took him Scripture says that she grabbed him because there was nobody else in the house Your temptation just taunts you when you have accountability but when there's no accountability your temptation will grab you and Now you're in a different situation when it grabs you then when it was just talking to you the temptation grabbed him and The only way I think I think Paul who was a Pharisee and knew the whole Old Testament Back and forth forth and back. I think when he writes the words flee fornication It came from here Because she grabbed His garment and it had to be a loose garment Cuz your boy did the most sophisticated slip out Of That garment you have ever seen listen and went running He wasn't like hey, man, we can't do that. You know, I already told you mr Potiphar wouldn't be happy about that Ma'am, you need to control yourself No scripture says he slipped out of that garb and he was like That lady crazy About to get fired cuz your nasty butt can't keep your hands to yourself He Ran that's the only way you get away from fornication I'm gonna look in this camera and say that the only way you're gonna get away from that fornication is to run it is not Going to be because you make a negotiation with it. You got to get on your two feet and run up out of there I'm tired of people falling to sexual sin outside of marriage talking about you know Then did the one thing just led to another no it didn't We was just chilling but then the next thing, you know, the next thing, you know, no, no, that's not the way fornication goes

Before you knew it. No before you know it you can get shot. I Was just walking down the street before you knew it pow pow pow The Next thing, you know can happen in a car accident. I was trying to make a left on Mingo Road and The next thing, you know bang well, let me tell you what you can't next thing, you know sex He Made it incredibly intimate and difficult to have by accident This would be the quiet part of the sermon Some of y'all need some track shoes I keep falling. I do you don't run You're still trying to negotiate with a temptation that the Lord is telling you to run from. You need accountability in your life. You wouldn't be having them reckless conversations if somebody else was in your DMs. If somebody else has your passwords, you wouldn't be talking like that. If you knew somebody else was going to be watching, you wouldn't be doing all that. Joseph ran. He had integrity, but we have to acknowledge his stupidity. The stupidity to try to go head up against your temptress with no accountability because now it's your word against hers, and ooh, she lied. That's how scandalous she is. She was so taken aback by his rejection that she had to make up a lie. She couldn't stand the fact that this young strapping man would not compromise his morals to satisfy his flesh. So with the garment left in her hands, she just went, can't this man just ... I mean, I'm fine. This worked on all the other people. I done slept with many a assistant of my husband's. I thought this dude was going to be as easy as ... I don't like the fact that he did that. My ego is hurt.

The servants run in. Mrs. Potiphar, what's wrong? That young man that my husband hired came in here and tried to put himself on me, but I screamed and he ran and he left his coat. Joseph's steadily coming out of his garments, out of his robe, out of his tunic. He's not going to let anything he's wearing make him compromise the vision that God has given him. So now my boy winds up in prison. He winds up in prison. Can you imagine? You have been hated, betrayed, pitted, sold, lied on, and now put in prison. Joseph is in prison, and while he is in prison, two of Pharaoh's inner court employees are in prison as well, the cupbearer and the baker. They both have dreams. Joseph interprets their dreams. For the cupbearer, the cupbearer's interpretation of his dream was that even though you got in trouble with Pharaoh, you're going to be restored into Pharaoh's court, and you will hand him a drink again, and Pharaoh will be in love with you again, and you will serve him again. But for the baker, ooh, don't you hate when you get a prophetic word and it ain't happy? When the Lord is like, thus said the Lord, you're about to go through some thing. You're like, I don't even want that word. Don't come to me. That's when we get all technical with First Corinthians. That does not encourage me. I didn't feel exhorted by that. I don't feel comforted by that. Not a prophetic word. The baker has a prophetic word through a dream, and Joseph interprets it, and he goes, hey, I'm so sorry, but in three days, you're going to meet Pharaoh as well, but he's going to

take off your head, because Pharaoh is still Pharaoh. He's a gangster. Here's what Joseph says to the cupbearer, the one that's going to live, will you please remember me when you get to Pharaoh and get me out of this situation, because I didn't do nothing. Mrs. Potiphar lied on me. The baker gets out, gets his head cut off. The cupbearer is restored to Pharaoh's court, and he forgets about Joseph for two whole years. Can you imagine thinking that in the next couple of hours, the cupbearer, I interpreted his dream. I know, homie, go hook me up. A day goes by. Five days go by. A week goes by. I know he didn't forget about me like that, man. I interpreted his dream. He's back in Pharaoh's court. Six months goes by. A year goes by. Two full years go by, and then Pharaoh has a dream. Pharaoh has a dream that cannot be interpreted by anybody in his inner court, and then the cupbearer says, oh my goodness, I've sinned. There's a dude that I was locked up with two years ago. He interpreted my dream. I'm sure he can interpret yours. Joseph is released from prison and brought into Pharaoh's court, and Pharaoh explains the dream to him. He said, I saw some fat cows. But then they were eaten by some skinny cows.

I saw plentiful stalks of corn, but then they were eaten up and swallowed up by these really dry, parched, thin, emaciated stalks of corn. And Joseph says, don't worry about that. This is a good dream, Pharaoh, but I know what it means. You had two dreams, but it's only one meaning. You're going to have seven years of plenty, and then you're going to have seven years of famine. And the famine is going to be so rough, it's almost going to be like you didn't have the seven years of plenty. And Pharaoh said, I appreciate you interpreting my dream. And Joseph says, hey, because this is going to happen, you need to get somebody highly skilled in administration to be over all the stuff that I just told you. And Pharaoh said, that person is you. He says, you are about to be my second-in-command. I'm bestowing everything to you, the same authority you had in Potiphar's house. Scratch that. I'm promoting you to being the second-in-command only to me. When people hear you, they hear me. As a matter of fact, pull my chariot around. I want you to get in my chariot, and you're going to do a lap around the city so people understand when they see you in my chariot that you have the same authority as I have. Now, I'm telling you all of this because I need you to understand everything that Joseph has gone through and the disposition that he continued to have

through everything that he went through. He had a dream when he was 17 years old, and the hatred and the betrayal of his brothers did not make him forget about the dream that he had. The pit he was thrown in did not make him forget about the dream that he had. Here's why this was such an important message that I believe needed to be in this peace of mind series because many times we allow our present circumstances to change our inner narrative based on what we're going through. Joseph had a dream, a word from God that he was going to be in this position of authority. So even when his brothers hated him, he did not walk around saying, man, I'm just hated. Nobody likes me. I can't believe I'm going through all of this. When he was put in the pit, his inner narrative did not change to, this is it for me. I thought God had a plan for me, but now I'm just in this pit. So I guess this is where I'm supposed to be for the rest of my life. When he was sold into slavery, he never had the inner narrative of, I'm a slave. I was sold out by my brother and I'm just a slave. And so I'm just going to, I guess I'm just got to have the slave mentality because I'm a slave.

I mean, look, I'm literally a slave. So I must be a slave. No, he never let go of what he had on the inside of him, which was, I am loved by my father and I have a purpose from God on this earth. So even though this is my reality, it is not my mentality. I hope this is helping somebody. You can be in a situation that is the worst of the worst of the worst, but you have to remind yourself of what the word of God has been spoken of over your life. And you have to stand on that word, even when all your circumstances are saying the contrary. Joseph never took on the mentality of what was happening to him. Hated, he never felt hated, even though he was hated. Betrayed, he never let that become his narrative. Pitted, he never let that become his narrative. Enslaved, he never let that become his narrative. Being told he was a rapist, he never let that become his narrative. Forgotten for two years, he never let that become his narrative. Whatever the situation was, he was still like, I'm a child of God. I'm a child and favored of my father. And it doesn't matter what you say about me, to me, or put me through,

it'll never change what I know is on the inside of me. I think this is a good place for me to explain what plot armor is. Plot armor is a term that I think is specifically assigned to Gen Z. I never knew what this word meant until my sons were talking one day. My sons are into anime, and they're into all of these different type of cartoons, and they would say things like, oh my goodness, that person has plot armor. And I'd be like, what is that? And they'd be talking about another scene. They'd be like, oh, dude, that dude should have been dead, but he got plot armor. So, I had to go look it up. Whenever my sons use something I don't know, I have to go Google it because I refuse to be left out. It doesn't have to become part of my vocabulary, but I will indeed figure out what they are talking about. Let me tell you what plot armor means. Oop! After I explain this, I think 100 of y'all are going to lose your minds. Can I tell you what plot armor is? Plot armor is when the author of the narrative deems a character so important that even though there are situations and circumstances that come up that should have killed them, because the author deems that this person needs to live because he has a purpose for him later in the story, if they get shot, they can't die. If they get lied on, they can't get in trouble. If they fall, they got to get back up. If they go down, God's got to bring them out.

And when I saw the definition of plot armor, Charles, I said to myself, now, wait a minute, if that is the reality of what's going on in anime, I've already received too many scriptures in the Word of God that let me know that I've had plot armor the moment he spoke me into it. Do I got anybody that's getting the revelation that there's a plot armor on my life? Because I should have died when I went through what I went through last year. I should have lost my mind when I went through what I went through, but God must still have a purpose for me because I'm still here. High-five, at least, three people and tell him, I'm still here. I'm still here. I'm still here. The enemy tried to take me out, but I'm still here. The enemy tried to wipe me out, but I'm still here. The enemy tried to find me out, but I'm still here. The enemy tried to blind me out, but I'm still... I'm still here. I'm still here. With nothing around me, I'm still here. With everybody against me, I'm still here. In front of my haters, I'm still here. Betrayed by my family, I'm still here. I'm still... I'm still here. I got to have the plot armor of the Holy Ghost because there's no way being sexually abused at the age of eight, I'm not making that up now, that's my life. There's no way I should have been sexually abused at the age of eight and still here. Porn addicted and still here. Low self-esteem, still here. Suicidal ideation, still...

All of hell has to be scratching their head when they look at you, like we threw everything at her, but she's still. We threw everything at him, but he's still. How are you still? How? How? There's no way you should be still. Joseph becomes second in command to Pharaoh, and he understands he has plot armor. He knew, hated, this wasn't going to be the end of this story. He knew, betrayed, this can't be the end of my story. He knew in the pit, this can't be the end of my story. He knew when he got sold into slavery, can't be the end of my story. But Joseph, it's your reality. It's my reality, but it's not the end. I wish 100 people really got that. It's your reality, but it's not the end. I'm going through. Psalm 23 says, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art... Here's the key. Yea, though I go... This is a real prophetic gesture. Somebody do this. So do it again. Do this. One more time. Do this. That's what you're going through. I know it's the reality of your situation, but you're going. I'm not staying here, but I am going.

I'm going to take pictures of what it looks like. So when I get out... I can show you what I made it. The devil is a lie. I don't live at this address. I'm just going. I came up in poverty, but I came up. Yes, I was abused, but that's just something that I went. Joseph, Joseph is second in command to his brothers. I mean, second in command to Pharaoh and the famine gets so bad that his brothers show up. His brothers have to come down to the place that he ended up based on what they did. And when they get down there, Joseph has changed so much that he recognizes them, but they don't recognize him. Can I just say, you don't have to look like what you've been through? I don't know who I'm talking to in here, but you don't have to look like what you've been through. I want your testimony to be so plot armored that when you tell it, people don't even believe you. When you give your testimony, people are going to say, stop lying. You didn't go through all that. You're making some of that up. You don't look like what you've been through. Oh, I'm trying to quit. Joseph got there. Good.

His brothers arrived. He knew them. They didn't know him. And they couldn't discern that it was him, because he was speaking a different language than them. He spoke to them through an interpreter. Joseph got down to Egypt and learned a different language, because the different language that he learned was important to the next level of promotion in his life. I don't know who I'm preaching to, but God is saying he's trying to teach you a different language because of the promotion he wants you to go into. You can't stay. I know you from the hood, and I know you like keeping it real, but God's trying to teach you a different language so you can get promoted in the place that he wants to put you into. I firmly believe, the text doesn't say this, but I firmly believe, if somebody would give me the theological freedom, I firmly believe that Joseph's only reason for the two-year stretch was for him to be fluent in the Egyptian tongue, so that when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, he didn't have to interpret it through a translator, because the translation could have given Pharaoh the off-putting idea of, like, oh, this is just some Hebrew dude that interprets dreams, but because he submitted to the place he was in and he never changed the mentality that he had, he said, oh, you need me to learn this new language?

Okay. Hola. Muy bien. ¿Cómo estás? Bienvenidos. Buenas noches. Buenas tardes. Me alegre de verte. Hola a todos. I mean, they didn't speak Spanish over there, but I'm just saying. I mean, they didn't speak Spanish over there, but I'm just saying. That's the language I'm learning, because God has an assignment for me in Latin America, and I'm going to be fluent in this language so I can be promoted to do the same thing I've been doing in English in North America and in English-speaking territories. I will be in Latin America. I will be in Latin America. Haré en Latinoamerica. Es mi pasión. Es mi corazón. Es mi propicito. My purpose. That word. I have class on Monday. Y'all chill. Joseph got two years. Give me two years. He saw them.

They didn't see him. And he put them through a series of tests. I don't have time to talk about that. But then it just got too overwhelming. He realized his brother Benjamin was still alive. He realized his daddy was still alive. He couldn't take it anymore. He kicked everybody out except his brothers, and he told his brothers who he was, and his brothers lost it. We did all that to you, and you still here? We thought you was gonna die in that pit. We sold you into slavery. We had an obituary for you in our hearts. We even repented to ourselves even after the fact. We knew we did wrong, but we knew you were dead. And Joseph is like, I had too much plot armor to be dead, baby. Do you actually think that you were behind this situation? Here's what scripture says. That's why I read you 45, verses seven and eight. Because Joseph literally looks at him and he says, hey, I just gotta let you know. You ain't the one that sent me down here. This how you know that he never changed his inner narrative. This how you know a negative inner narrative never compromised what God had purposed and planned in his life. Because he literally says, you didn't bring me down here. The Lord brought me down here.

And the Lord brought me down here to save your life. He was never bitter with them. He was never petty with them. He was never vindictive with them. Because if you're bitter, petty, and vindictive, God can't bless anybody but you. But when you choose to have a heart that's open and a heart that forgives people, even that despitefully tried to use you and terminate you, God says, I can now open up the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing. Not only you don't have room to receive, but nobody else around you can receive it. Joseph says, you didn't send me down here. The Lord did. And I had enough plot armor to deal with everything that was thrown at me between 17 and 30. And now here's what I want you to know. Go get the rest of the family. Because my blessing is not just for me and my kids. You wanna know why God gave me as much plot armor as he gave me? Because he wants me to be a blessing to generations. God just don't want me to be a blessing to my kids. He wants me to be a blessing to my kids, my kids' kids, my kids' kids' kids, you, your kids, your kids' kids' kids. Everybody's getting blessed. God didn't send you down here. God sent me down here.

And he just took what you planned. This is Genesis 50, 20. He took what you planned. Because this is what I love about Joseph. Even though he's forgiving them, he doesn't allow that to change the reality of what they did and how they did it. He said, yes, what you did was meant for evil. And I love how it's translated in the TLV. Because there's no but there. There's a period. What you planned was absolutely diabolical. Period. But God also had a plan. Now, I'm from the hood. And in the hood, we used to play a game called Big Bank, take Little Bank. And Big Bank, take Little Bank was basically like a little petty gambling game. And it was basically like, who got more money? And we're about to find out, okay. So here's what Joseph was saying to his brothers. You had a plan, you're so cute. Tried to kill me, throw me in a pit, sell me into slavery. But God had a plan. And if you weigh the plans, like your plan versus God's plan, God looked at what you did when you threw me in the pit and said, oh, you thought the pit would cause a problem.

This pit was a propeller for purpose. I'll raise your pit. This is Big Bank, take Little Bank. I'll raise your plan by my plan. And let's see who plan works. So do everything that you're going to do because everything you do, I have a plan on top of the plan that you had for this man. And what you saw at the end of Joseph's life was a man who was never jaded by the experience he went through to get to the place that he saw in his dream when he was 17. And we've already done enough shouting in this service to last us until next week. So I feel no pressure to end this on some, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. We already did that. My assignment was to come after your inner narrative. This is not even about what the enemy's doing in your life. It's about the story you're telling yourself. What are you telling yourself about this season of your life? God has abandoned me. God forgot about me. Nobody loves me. He's left me out here. He sent me through all of this. I can't tell you how many people have the craziest inner narratives that God is the one that made them go through stuff.

It's not the truth. But God can use it. He can repurpose the plans of the enemy. But God's not putting you through some American Ninja obstacle course to see if you had faith. No, you just live in a life. And some people's lives are more difficult than others. But to say that God has just upped their life, I just choose you to go through a bunch of hell. No, we're going through stuff. But that doesn't mean that stuff has to go through us. Yes, I was sexually abused. I don't live my life as one that's been abused. That's not the inner narrative I tell myself. Yes, I had a porn addiction. I do not live my life every day thinking about a porn addiction. I have low self-esteem. I don't live my life every day talking about I just got low self-esteem. No, these are things I've been through. It doesn't define who I am. Before the foundations of the world God called me to be his son. Hear me, not a preacher, not a pastor, not an apostle, a son. He didn't call me to give me a position. He called to give me a place. And my place as a son trumps any position

that he could ever give me. All those positions are temporary. Who I am is his son. And I've been able to resist the reality of my situation because of the mentality, I got too much plot on me. It's a bad season we're going through, but we're going through it. It's a bad thought I'm having, but it's just a bad thought I'm having. I am not what I am thinking. I am not where I am. I am not where I am. I am not what I currently have to do. I'm going through. I hope this just gives a new meaning to when somebody tells you, man, I'm just going through something right now. Get happy for them. Ooh, I'm so happy you didn't stop. Oh my God, I'm so happy you didn't stop. You still going through? Yeah, I'm still going through. I'm so happy you still going through. You didn't stop. You didn't make that place your permanent address. I'm so happy you still going through. But it's been two years. I'm so happy you still going through. You know God ain't gonna leave you right there. You know you're gonna be on the other side

of this thing at some point, but you're still going. Put your hand on your chest and just say, I got plot armor. Say it again, say I got plot armor. Say it with attitude, I got plot armor. I'm built to go through this. What I've been through should have already killed me. The fact that I'm still here means I got too much plot armor. There's too much purpose that he still has on my life. There's too much that he still wants me to do in the earth. When it's over, it's over. But the fact that it's not over means that there's still something that he wants me to do. Plot armor and so do you. I want this to be for somebody that's in this room that has not given their life to Jesus Christ. You might be watching online. You have not given your life to Jesus Christ, but you rock with us. Like you like what we do. You like y'all cool. I'm not down with all that. I don't know what y'all was doing all that shouting for, but like, I need to give my life to Jesus. And I need to give my life to Jesus because I can't act like it's been me

that survived all this. There's been someone greater at work, behind the scenes. I'm not that smart. I'm not that street smart. I'd be making moves but I could not have made all the moves I've made to be where I am right now. This has to be the work of someone greater and it has been. It's been the Lord. He's the one. You should have been dead. He's the one. You should have lost your mind. He's the one that has kept you sane, kept you here, kept you in your right mind. I know it's been rough but God's given you enough plot armor to make it through. If you are here under the sound of my voice and you have never given your life to Jesus Christ and you're like today's the day I need to give my life to Jesus. I just want you to stand to your feet. I'm one of those guys. We're not raising your hand. Stand up if you really want to give your life to Jesus. Like just take a stand for Jesus Christ. Say I want him in my life and I want to step into the plot armor that God has for me. I see you. I see you. I see you. Anybody else? I need to give my life to Jesus right now. Right now. Just stand right where you are. I'm not gonna have you to come up but wherever you are just stand because if you can't stand here you can't stand out there. Just stand. I need to give my life to Jesus right now. Now listen if you are around somebody that's standing I just want you to stand alongside them. I want them to know that they're not alone. If you're to the left or the right of that person would you just stand right next to them because I want them to know that they're not alone. That God has you surrounded. From the time you stood up you already had support. From the time that you stood up you were already in a family. From the time that you stood up there was already a purpose and a plan that God had for your life. You might be watching from home. You could just be standing maybe you were laying in a bed the whole time you're watching. Just stand up right in the living room right where you are and would you just repeat this after me and let's say it as a family shall we? Dear God, I admit I've made mistakes. I admit I need a Savior. I ask that you change my heart. That you change my motives. I believe you lived, you died, and you rose again just for me. Please change me. Renew me

and transform me. I'm yours in Jesus name I pray. Amen. Can we clap our hands for those that just came into the family? Oh come on you can do better than that. The family of God just got bigger. Somebody just decided to live a transformed life.