The Danger of Self-Made Favor: A Gospel Check

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Thank you for watching!
[00:09:50] Thank you for watching!

[00:10:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Come on kids and get your banners.
[00:10:40] We're going to worship the Lord this morning.

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Hallelujah.
[00:10:45] I want to share something with you.
[00:10:48] Everybody get ready to worship and we're going to sing this song.
[00:10:52] I want to speak Jesus.
[00:10:55] You know, we had a new student come in this week and
[00:11:05] Her grandmother texts me that afternoon after her first day here and she says, her mama and daddy says, that she says, Jesus is come.
[00:11:20] What does that mean?
[00:11:22] Pastor Tammy, what does that mean?
[00:11:24] When a child...
[00:11:26] Jesus is calm.
[00:11:28] That means that child felt the presence of God in this place and didn't know how to express it or explain it other than Jesus is calm.
[00:11:39] I'm going to tell you, the presence of God is such a reality.
[00:11:43] All we need to do is reach out and touch the Lord.
[00:11:46] He is in this place.
[00:11:48] And I believe with all my heart that all we need to do is speak the name of Jesus.
[00:11:54] Over every problem, every situation in our lives.
[00:11:59] And I believe that Jesus is calm.
[00:12:02] And His presence, His Holy Spirit will come and minister to us.
[00:12:06] I want you to sing with all your heart.
[00:12:09] I want to see you raising your hands in worship today.
[00:12:12] I would love to see you get out with some banners and worship.
[00:12:16] But just let the Lord minister to you because Jesus is calm.
[00:12:22] Hallelujah.
[00:12:24] Hallelujah.
[00:12:25] We bless the name of the Lord.
[00:12:27] Let's worship Him.

[00:12:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Hallelujah.

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Oh, we worship You this morning, Lord, in Your house.
[00:12:54] Oh, we honor you, Lord.

[00:12:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
I just want to speak the name of Jesus
[00:13:06] Over every heart and every mind As I know there is peace within your presence I speak Jesus I just want to speak the name of Jesus
[00:13:33] Every dark addiction starts to break
[00:13:40] Declaring there is hope and there is freedom I speak Jesus Oh let's speak Jesus Your name is power Your name is healing Your name is life
[00:14:06] Break every stronghold Shine through the shadows Burn like a fire Declare this morning Your name is power Your name is healing Your name is life
[00:14:33] Break every stronghold Shine through the shadows Burn like a fire I just want to speak the name of Jesus
[00:14:54] Over fear and all anxiety To every soul held captive by depression I speak Jesus Let's go back to that third verse I just want to speak the name of Jesus
[00:15:21] Over fear and all anxiety But every soul will catch the depression I speak Jesus
[00:15:40] Your name is power.
[00:15:43] Your name is healing.
[00:15:47] Your name is life.
[00:15:53] Break every stronghold, shine through the shadows, the light of life We're going to shout Jesus this morning Shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the street, Jesus in the darkness
[00:16:16] Over every enemy Jesus for my family I speak the holy name Jesus Come on let's shout Jesus this morning Shout Jesus from the mountains
[00:16:36] Jesus in the street, Jesus in the darkness, over every enemy, Jesus for my family, I speak the holy name, Jesus
[00:16:57] Shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the streets, Jesus in the darkness over every enemy, Jesus for my family, I speak your holy name, Jesus
[00:17:23] Your name is power Your name is healing Your name is life Break every stronghold Shine through the shadows Burn like a fire
[00:17:50] I just want to speak the name of Jesus Over every heart and every mind I know there is peace within His presence I speak Jesus

[00:18:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Can we just raise our hands this morning?

[00:18:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Whatever your situation is, maybe family or friends or problems or addictions or hang-ups.
[00:18:41] Speak Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
[00:18:42] We speak your mighty name, Jesus.
[00:18:46] Your name is power.
[00:18:47] Your name is healing Your name is life Break every stronghold Shine through the shadows Burn like a fire

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus.

[00:19:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus.
[00:19:22] Thank you, Lord.
[00:19:23] Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus.

[00:19:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Oh, we bless you, Lord.
[00:19:27] Hallelujah, we bless your name, Jesus.

[00:19:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Oh, we worship you, Lord.

[00:19:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Thank you for your presence.
[00:19:32] Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus.
[00:19:34] Thank you, Lord.

[00:19:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Thank you, Lord.
[00:19:38] Oh, let's keep worshiping the Lord this morning.
[00:19:40] Hallelujah.
[00:19:41] We bless you, Lord.

[00:19:43] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Praise you, Lord.

[00:19:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
All throughout my history
[00:19:52] Your faithfulness is warm beside me Winter storms may wait for spring And every season from where I'm standing I see the evidence of Your goodness
[00:20:19] All over my life, all over my life I see Your promises in fulfillment All over my life, all over my life Help me remember when I'm weak
[00:20:50] Fear may come and fear will leave You lead my heart to victory
[00:21:03] You are my strength and You always will be I see the evidence of Your goodness All over my life All over my life
[00:21:25] I see your promises in fulfillment All over my life All over my life
[00:21:39] See the cross, the empty grave The evidence is endless All my sins rolled away Because of you, O Jesus See the cross, the empty grave The evidence is endless All my sins rolled away
[00:22:05] Because of you, oh Jesus, I see the evidence of your goodness all over my life, all over my life.
[00:22:21] Oh come on, let's worship him this morning.
[00:22:24] And I see your promises in fulfillment All over my life, all over my life Help me remember when I'm weak Fear may come but fear will leave
[00:22:54] I lead my heart to victory You are my strength and You always will be I see the evidence of Your goodness All over my life All over my life
[00:23:26] I see your promises in fulfillment all over my life, all over my life.

[00:23:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Hallelujah.
[00:23:49] Hallelujah.
[00:23:51] Oh, we thank you, Lord.
[00:23:53] Hallelujah, Lord.

[00:23:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
We see your goodness, the evidence of your goodness all over our lives.
[00:24:00] Hallelujah.
[00:24:01] Hallelujah.
[00:24:01] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:24:02] Thank you, Jesus.

[00:24:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
I love you, Lord.
[00:24:09] Oh, your mercy never fails me all my days.

[00:24:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
I've been held in

[00:24:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
From the moment that I wake up Until I lay my head, oh I will sing Of the goodness of God Cause all my life you have been faithful
[00:24:44] All my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God I love you of all
[00:25:08] You have led me through the fire and darkest nights You were close like no other I've known you as a father I've known you as a friend And I have lived in the goodness of God Oh I praise you this morning Lord
[00:25:35] Cause all my life you have been faithful And all my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able Oh I will sing of the goodness of God Oh we're declaring this
[00:26:04] 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
[00:26:28] Your goodness is running after, it's running after me 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
[00:27:00] Your goodness is running after, it's running after me.
[00:27:11] Hallelujah.
[00:27:13] Because all my life you have been faithful.

[00:27:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Come on, sing it church.

[00:27:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
And all my life you have been so, so good.
[00:27:27] With every breath that I am able, Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God.

[00:27:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Has God been good to you?
[00:27:40] Has God made a way where there seemed no way?
[00:27:42] Has He answered prayer time and time again?
[00:27:45] Let me tell you, God's been faithful to you.

[00:27:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
His love is running after you because all my life you have been faithful.
[00:27:57] And all my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

[00:28:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God Hallelujah.
[00:28:27] Thank you, Jesus.

[00:28:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
It is so good to see you in the house of the Lord this morning.
[00:28:43] I feel the presence of God in this place this morning.
[00:28:46] Thank you for obeying God and stepping out in faith.
[00:28:51] I still want to tell you that Jesus is God.
[00:28:58] Whew!
[00:29:00] The presence of Almighty God will bring you peace in the middle of your storm.
[00:29:05] The calmness of the Lord will resolve the issues that we have in our lives.
[00:29:10] And even when things are so overbearing and overcoming that we don't know, just speak that name of Jesus.
[00:29:18] Because Jesus is calm.
[00:29:21] Hallelujah.
[00:29:24] I want to start.
[00:29:25] Oh, I don't even know.
[00:29:27] Thank you, Lord.
[00:29:28] Thank you, Lord.
[00:29:29] Thank you, Lord.
[00:29:32] We bless you, Lord.
[00:29:33] We bless you, Lord.
[00:29:34] Hallelujah.
[00:29:36] Hallelujah.
[00:29:37] Hallelujah.
[00:29:39] Thank you, Lord.
[00:29:39] You have been good to us.
[00:29:42] Hallelujah.
[00:29:42] And your goodness is following us all the days of our lives.
[00:29:46] Hallelujah.

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Oh, we bless you, Lord, we bless you, Lord, we bless you, Lord.
[00:29:53] Cause all my life you have been faithful.

[00:30:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
And all my life you have been so, so good.
[00:30:07] With every breath that I am able, Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God.

[00:30:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Hallelujah!
[00:30:19] We speak Jesus!
[00:30:20] We speak Jesus!

[00:30:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Because all my life you have been faithful.
[00:30:26] We bless you, Lord!
[00:30:28] Thank you, Lord!
[00:30:29] Every problem, every situation, you've been faithful.
[00:30:34] Thank you Jesus!
[00:30:37] Hallelujah!

[00:30:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
With every breath that I am able Oh I will sing of the goodness of God Oh I will sing of the goodness of God Hallelujah!

[00:30:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Thank you Jesus!
[00:31:06] Thank you, Lord.

[00:31:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Thank you, Jesus.

[00:31:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Thank you, Jesus.

[00:31:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Because all my life you have been faithful And all my life you have been so, so good

[00:31:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God
[00:32:18] Yes, thank you, Jesus.
[00:32:22] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:32:24] Hallelujah.
[00:32:26] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:32:28] Yes, hallelujah.
[00:32:30] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:32:31] We love you, Lord.
[00:32:33] Thank you, Jesus.

[00:32:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Oh, come on, let's stand up one more time and let's tell Him that we love Him.

[00:32:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Tell Him that we bless His name and honor Him.
[00:32:48] With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God Cause all my life you have been faithful And all my life you have been so
[00:33:17] With every breath that I am able, oh I will sing of the goodness of God.
[00:33:30] Oh I will sing of the goodness of God.

[00:33:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Hallelujah.

[00:33:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Thank you Jesus.
[00:33:42] Hallelujah.
[00:33:45] Yes!
[00:33:47] Hallelujah!
[00:33:48] Yes, Lord!
[00:33:49] Yes, Lord!
[00:33:53] Oh, hallelujah!
[00:33:54] Hallelujah!
[00:33:55] Hallelujah!
[00:33:57] Oh, we bless you, Lord!
[00:34:01] Oh, thank you, Lord!

[00:34:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Thank you, Jesus!
[00:34:17] Yes, thank you, Jesus.
[00:34:21] Thank you, Lord.
[00:34:27] Thank you, Jesus.

[00:34:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Hallelujah.
[00:34:32] Thank you, Jesus.

[00:34:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Hallelujah.
[00:34:37] We bless you, Lord.
[00:34:39] Thank you.

[00:34:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Cause all my life you have been faithful And all my life you have been so, so good

[00:34:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

[00:35:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Thank you, Jesus.
[00:35:19] Walk in in the favor of God in 2026.
[00:35:21] You can be seated.
[00:35:24] Oh, there's nothing like the presence of God.
[00:35:26] Isn't it awesome to be able to have that freedom to feel His presence in this place?
[00:35:33] You know, the favor of God will...
[00:35:36] Produce a supernatural increase.
[00:35:40] And it will produce a promotion over your life.
[00:35:44] We can't explain these blessings, these goodness that comes from God other than God is blessing us and He's blessing us.
[00:35:53] Sometimes we sit back and we say, God, we don't even understand why you're doing this for us.
[00:36:00] But yet...
[00:36:02] There are times that things just line up and you stand back amazed and you say, Thank you, Lord.
[00:36:08] Thank you, Lord, for your favor.
[00:36:10] It's because the favor of God is on your life and it's because you have made a choice to put God first in your life.
[00:36:21] You know, as I said last week, and we'll probably define it many times over the weeks ahead, favor is defined as the blessings
[00:36:30] The protection, the support and supernatural empowerment that comes from God.
[00:36:38] He gives this to His faithful followers out of love and out of grace.
[00:36:45] It's also described as the divine kindness or approval or blessing that God shows to those who follow Him.
[00:36:55] In Genesis 39 and 21 it says, But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
[00:37:09] Now, I want you to do something with me this morning.
[00:37:12] I want you to say when it comes to Joseph and him, don't you say me?
[00:37:18] And when it says gave him, I want you to say gave me favor inside of the Lord.
[00:37:24] And your name where Joseph is.
[00:37:26] Everybody hear me?
[00:37:28] We're going to do this.
[00:37:29] But the Lord was with Tammy and showed her mercy.
[00:37:35] and gave her favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison let me tell you something the enemy is the keeper of the prison and i've got favor with god and he's not gonna touch me because i'm standing in the favor of god
[00:37:55] but the Lord was with Tammy and showed her faith showed her mercy and gave her favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison hallelujah hallelujah I didn't hear y'all that second time so that means we got to say it a third time so it gets in our spirit so we're gonna put our name where Joseph is and a him or a her wherever that may be but the Lord was with Tammy
[00:38:21] and showed her mercy and gave her favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison walking in favor in 2026 today I want to talk to you about the supernatural increase in your life with God's favor is with you it will be seen just as in the story of Joseph
[00:38:48] Let's talk about Joseph.
[00:38:50] Most of us have heard this story, Joseph the coat of many colors.
[00:38:54] We know this, so we're just going to grab pieces of it to bring this together.
[00:38:59] Joseph was his father's favorite child.
[00:39:02] Now we know we're not supposed to do none of that, right?
[00:39:06] And naturally, his brothers, he had eleven older and one younger of him.
[00:39:12] And his brothers was extremely jealous over him.
[00:39:16] Why?
[00:39:17] Because Joseph was the favorite child.
[00:39:20] So much so, they were so jealous of Joseph that they threw him in a pit and they was determining how they was going to get rid of the problem any way they can.
[00:39:34] They thought about ending his life.
[00:39:36] They was going to kill him.
[00:39:37] Remember the story?
[00:39:39] But in the end, here came a caravan that came by them at that exact moment and they decided they would make some money off their brother so they sold him into slavery.
[00:39:51] And when they got home, they lied to their father telling him that Joseph had been eaten by a wild animal.
[00:39:59] In today's times, a disappearance of a child would be very alarming, as we have seen in Statesville this last week.
[00:40:08] And all the agencies and all the family, all friends around, even people who didn't know them, would come to help locate this missing boy.
[00:40:17] But in that time, it was nothing common for that to happen because there was in that area wild animals and animals that would come through.
[00:40:26] And his father, Jacob, believed his sons.
[00:40:30] He thought that they were telling him the truth, so why would they have to lie to their father?
[00:40:35] But anyway...
[00:40:37] But while his brothers hated Joseph, and I use that word loosely, the hate and jealousy was stronger than the love that they had for him.
[00:40:49] And while they didn't kill him, they sold him instead.
[00:40:53] They wanted rid of him.
[00:40:55] Thinking that he was forever out of their way, they never had to look at him again, they never had to even really, after they grieved for him, they wouldn't even talk his name no more.
[00:41:04] They would just be a memory.
[00:41:07] But it was God's favor that sent that caravan down the road at that exact moment to pick Joseph up, to take him to start his destiny.
[00:41:19] God was watching out for Joseph.
[00:41:22] His favor was on him from even an early age.
[00:41:24] And he saw what his brothers had done to him.
[00:41:28] But remember, when God is first in your life, He will fight your battles.
[00:41:34] God placed the right person in his path at the right time.
[00:41:39] So the caravan took him back and sold him again.
[00:41:43] They sold him.
[00:41:44] But they sold him this time to someone in the personal staff of the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt at the time.
[00:41:51] And when he got to the house, he began to recognize there was potential in Joseph.
[00:41:58] He was a hard worker and he continued doing the job.
[00:42:01] He did what was asked of him.
[00:42:03] And he says, you know what?
[00:42:04] This guy's doing a good job.
[00:42:07] Eventually, Joseph became the head of the household and everything that he did prospered is what the Word of God says.
[00:42:16] So think about this.
[00:42:18] The caravan was there right on time.
[00:42:21] He got to the place of being sold.
[00:42:24] He was sold to the right person right on time.
[00:42:28] So often the enemy will bring havoc in your life to try to get your guard down.
[00:42:33] And I don't know about you, but he does it.
[00:42:35] He'll fight you.
[00:42:36] He'll try to destroy you.
[00:42:38] He'll do anything He can to discourage you.
[00:42:41] He can cause arguments and fights and He can cause people being mad at you.
[00:42:45] Whatever the enemy wants to do to start up havoc in your life, He's going to do it.
[00:42:51] Why?
[00:42:52] Because He wants you to think, well, maybe God don't care.
[00:42:59] If all this has happened to me, maybe God don't care.
[00:43:02] That's what he wants you to think.
[00:43:04] But he also wants you to do something stupid in front of somebody else where they can say, and they call themselves a Christian?
[00:43:13] Mmm.
[00:43:14] But here's what happened.
[00:43:16] The enemy was trying to destroy the destiny of Joseph.
[00:43:21] Here, in this chapter that we're talking about, Joseph has moved up the ladder.
[00:43:27] He has found favor of those who's in charge of him, and so much so, they put him in charge of other people.
[00:43:36] Matter of fact, he was in charge of the whole household, and he began getting promotion after promotion.
[00:43:44] well you know the enemy didn't like that the enemy would try to destroy Joseph one time before what's he gonna do he's gonna try to do it again and here's where the problem began the second round that he had the queen of the house found him very attractive and thought mm-hmm and she wanted to become Joseph's mistress but Joseph
[00:44:06] rejected that really fast and that would be another topic and another message all together and he said uh-uh this is not happening first of all my master trusts me I'm not going to go against the one who has given me promotion after promotion after promotion but second of all my God is watching and it would be a sin to him so I can't do this thing that you want me to do
[00:44:37] But rather than her face the rejection, the mistress of the house accused Joseph of attempted rape.
[00:44:44] In spite of how the character everybody had seen, this is not like Joseph.
[00:44:49] He's not acted anything like this.
[00:44:51] We can't imagine him doing this.
[00:44:53] He was presumed guilty rather than innocent.
[00:44:57] And he was in prison for attempted rape.
[00:45:01] Wow!
[00:45:02] Isn't that like the devil?
[00:45:04] Isn't that just like the devil?
[00:45:06] Joseph stood up for what was right and he ended up being punished for something he didn't even do.
[00:45:12] But God allowed Joseph to be placed in jail because it was aligning him to his future.
[00:45:21] See, sometimes we see God as not hearing our prayers.
[00:45:26] Sometimes we say, God, do you not see I'm being faithful?
[00:45:30] God, do you not see I'm doing all I can, but yet this thing has happened to me?
[00:45:35] We've all been there, but we've got to change it in 2026 and say, I might have to fight a battle.
[00:45:43] I might have to go through some mess, but you know what?
[00:45:46] I am going to put God as my priority.
[00:45:49] I'm going to be obedient to God.
[00:45:52] I'm going to follow Him and He will lead me to my destiny.
[00:45:57] Sometimes God needs to see our faith is from our heart and not our mouth.
[00:46:03] I think we have a lot of mouthy Christians in this world today.
[00:46:06] They say I'm a Christian but it's not in their heart and they're not living it.
[00:46:11] Our Bible story tells us that God was with Joseph in prison
[00:46:18] I said this last week and please know that I will be repeating this for many weeks to come.
[00:46:26] When you are obedient, when you walk and talk with God, when you make God your priority, His favor will flow off of you and other people is going to notice it.
[00:46:40] See, the same thing had happened to Joseph.
[00:46:43] He could have gotten discouraged and said, God, why?
[00:46:45] Why?
[00:46:46] Here we go again.
[00:46:47] Why?
[00:46:48] But Joseph remained faithful.
[00:46:50] He remained obedient.
[00:46:53] He maintained that God was his priority.
[00:46:57] And what happened?
[00:46:59] While he was thrown in prison, he gained favor of the warden.
[00:47:03] Right there in the middle of those prison walls, the warden says, You know what?
[00:47:08] Joseph, there's something about you.
[00:47:11] You're trustworthy.
[00:47:12] I think I could use you in this prison.
[00:47:17] He gives Joseph favor and places him in charge of the other prisoners.
[00:47:24] What did he do?
[00:47:25] Here God has given him another promotion.
[00:47:28] That favor of God is still on Joseph.
[00:47:32] and people are responding to it not only was it running of the prison but he trusted him that he was going to live that life he had been living behind bars he was going to be responsible with everything was asked of him
[00:47:50] If we read on, we'll see that one day would come when the king's baker and the cupbearer were imprisoned.
[00:48:01] And Joseph was the very one taking care of them.
[00:48:05] Joseph had a unique gift from God, and it was interpreting dreams.
[00:48:10] And when men in the prison would have a dream, they would ask Joseph, Joseph, what does this mean?
[00:48:15] And he could tell them exactly what their dream meant.
[00:48:20] Here, two men that had just come from the palace, imprisoned, was troubled and they started having dreams.
[00:48:29] And they asked Joseph, Joseph, do you have any clue?
[00:48:32] What does these dreams mean?
[00:48:35] And Joseph says, well, here's what it means.
[00:48:40] The baker is going to be executed, but the cupbearer is going back to Pharaoh's house.
[00:48:48] So Joseph says, okay, if the cupbearer is going back to the Pharaoh's house where I once was, will you please tell the king of all these things that has happened to me, how I was a slave and I was sold by my family,
[00:49:05] And then Potiphar's wife tried to get him to sin against God but I wouldn't and now I'm in prison and I can't interpret dreams because that's what my God has given me to do.
[00:49:15] Would you please remember me when you get back to the palace?
[00:49:22] I guess once the cupbearer returned to the Pharaoh, he really didn't think about Joseph.
[00:49:27] Two years, two years Joseph waited and he remained in prison.
[00:49:35] But he knew that in God's time, things will change.
[00:49:40] Listen, it's not always going to be like this.
[00:49:43] If you're going through a hard time, if you'll hold on, if you'll put God as your priority, if you'll be obedient, walk and talk with God, it's not always going to be like this.
[00:49:54] So how does God show up?
[00:49:58] Well, the cupbearer, he remembers.
[00:50:01] You know, I met a man in prison and his name is Joseph.
[00:50:06] And let me tell you, Joseph can interpret dreams and they come what he says is a reality.
[00:50:13] I'm going to tell you all about it.
[00:50:16] The Bible tells us that God was with Joseph and made him successful in all he did.
[00:50:22] And yet, his life seems to be going in the wrong direction.
[00:50:26] Three steps forward and five steps backward.
[00:50:29] Anybody know what I'm talking about?
[00:50:32] He's been harassed by his family who didn't care about him.
[00:50:35] So he had went through junk all his life.
[00:50:40] His brothers didn't like him.
[00:50:42] Think about this.
[00:50:43] They aggravated him.
[00:50:44] They, you know, put him down or whatever.
[00:50:46] Then they tried to decide if they was going to kill him or not kill him.
[00:50:51] Then he gets to Potiphar's house and Potiphar's wife thought he was cute and good looking and all that stuff.
[00:50:58] Think about it!
[00:50:59] Time after time he's went through something.
[00:51:04] But you know what he does?
[00:51:06] He stands up for God regardless.
[00:51:09] How did Joseph measure God's favor?
[00:51:12] I picture Joseph in chains at one time, being led away from his father and his home.
[00:51:18] His future must have been scary and uncertain.
[00:51:21] He felt betrayed and broken.
[00:51:25] I think of him being in prison, punished for his integrity.
[00:51:30] Listen, church, if you don't go out in the rapture, you're going to be punished for standing up for Jesus Christ if you receive Him after that.
[00:51:40] Here Joseph was standing up for what was right and he was being punished.
[00:51:46] And his life was back in shambles.
[00:51:48] I can almost see this as a mental and physical draining if he sat back and thought about it.
[00:51:54] He could have said, what's the use to continue?
[00:51:57] What good is God doing me?
[00:52:00] The Bible never tells us that he felt that way.
[00:52:03] But guess what?
[00:52:03] Joseph was human.
[00:52:06] Think about that.
[00:52:07] He was going through some hardship.
[00:52:10] And I imagine the first two weeks he was probably happy.
[00:52:14] Oh, it won't be long every time somebody knocked on the prison door.
[00:52:17] Oh, that's Pharaoh.
[00:52:19] He's sinning for me.
[00:52:20] The cupbearer told him, I interpret dreams.
[00:52:24] Second week, his hope was getting dimmer and dimmer.
[00:52:30] What would have Joseph been thinking?
[00:52:33] What would have he felt?
[00:52:35] The future must have seemed hopeless.
[00:52:38] How did he go on in the midst of everything that had happened to him?
[00:52:44] He loved God.
[00:52:47] He set God as his priority.
[00:52:50] He talked with him and he walked with him regardless of what he was going through in his life.
[00:52:58] In prison, Joseph remained true and trustworthy.
[00:53:01] God's favor was coming from him.
[00:53:04] People favored him and gave him promotion not because of Joseph but because God's favor was on his life.
[00:53:14] He was committed to God of all and nothing was going to change His mind.
[00:53:20] I am determined to hold on to the end.
[00:53:25] Jesus is with me, on Him I will depend.
[00:53:29] Anybody remember the rest of it?
[00:53:33] Alright, so he was determined regardless of what he saw.
[00:53:40] Church, I want you to be determined to hold on regardless of what you face, regardless of the battles.
[00:53:49] And listen, the warden of the prison was affected by Joseph.
[00:53:56] He developed trust in Joseph in everything he did.
[00:53:59] Think about this.
[00:54:01] Here is the third time that he's arose from the ashes.
[00:54:05] This is the third time he has spent most of his life in prison or in a problem or situation.
[00:54:14] He has spent time with people fighting against him, being jealous of him.
[00:54:20] But the favor of God come from Pharaoh's hand.
[00:54:24] The favor of God came when he was sold into slavery.
[00:54:28] Time and time again, the favor of God was seen.
[00:54:32] But what did Joseph have to do?
[00:54:35] Joseph had to remain faithful.
[00:54:39] He had to make a choice.
[00:54:43] He had to stand and could not, said, I will not, I will not give in.
[00:54:49] See, he could have said, what's the use?
[00:54:56] But let me tell you something.
[00:54:59] Regardless of what we face in this life, God's favor is still with you.
[00:55:05] God will make a way for you regardless of what you go through with.
[00:55:11] But it's your choice to put Him first.
[00:55:15] He'll make a way for you regardless of your pain.
[00:55:18] He'll make a way for you regardless of your suffering.
[00:55:21] Listen, there is a plan for your life.
[00:55:25] There is a destiny.
[00:55:28] I don't want you to give up.
[00:55:29] I want you to fight harder and don't doubt God.
[00:55:34] The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.
[00:55:39] We don't understand some of the reasons of whys in our life.
[00:55:44] When you look at Joseph, we can't...
[00:55:46] This man was a good, godly man, yet time after time...
[00:55:53] But listen, when the favor of God is over you,
[00:55:57] Regardless of what you go through with, you will be restored.
[00:56:01] While Joseph had seen nuggets of God's favor, there came a time when he was remembered.
[00:56:07] Pharaoh had had some nightmares.
[00:56:11] They were tormenting him.
[00:56:13] And it wasn't until then, two years later, that the cupbearer said, You know, Pharaoh, let me tell you.
[00:56:21] I know somebody that can tell you about this dream because I had a dream and he told me I would be back here and here I am.
[00:56:28] So once again, the favor of God was given unto Joseph.
[00:56:34] The Pharaoh's dream was an important one.
[00:56:36] Seven years of prosperity was coming by seven years of famine.
[00:56:40] Y'all remember the story.
[00:56:42] Not only did Joseph interpret the dream, not only did he tell Pharaoh what the dream was, but he also says this is the way you can fix it.
[00:56:52] He gave him a solution to the problem.
[00:56:56] Joseph didn't take the, look what Joseph done.
[00:56:59] No, he put it on the king.
[00:57:01] He says, look what the king has done.
[00:57:03] It brought favor back to Joseph because he didn't want to take credit for it.
[00:57:08] He gave the credit back to the king.
[00:57:10] The Bible doesn't give us any indication that Joseph wavered in his priorities.
[00:57:16] We don't say that he questioned God or even doubted his faith.
[00:57:20] We don't read that he got down or even got depressed, but I'm sure he did question.
[00:57:25] I'm sure he didn't understand.
[00:57:27] Yet it's never indicated that Joseph blamed God or was angry at God for all that had happened.
[00:57:34] God was always first in his life even in prison even when it appeared that he had been forgotten he had no way of knowing think about that as he sat in that prison two years he didn't know that he would spend the rest of his life there but he kept on praying he kept on believing he remained faithful diligent and persistent in his relationship with God
[00:58:03] I want to ask you this morning, how do you measure the favor of God in your life?
[00:58:08] So many times, it's only when you can look backwards that you see God's hand was with you.
[00:58:16] Joseph didn't see God's hand right then, but in years to come, he could look back over everything that had happened in his life, and he says, I see the evidence of His goodness.
[00:58:31] All over my life But not in the middle of the trial Not in the middle of the jail Not in the middle of Potiphar's wife's situation None of that In the middle of his family hating him Not in the middle of being sold into slavery None of that Could he see it?
[00:58:49] But years later he would see God's evidence
[00:58:53] See, the Bible tells us because of Joseph's faithfulness, Potiphar was blessed.
[00:59:00] It's what the Scripture said.
[00:59:02] The Pharaoh, blessed.
[00:59:05] The cupbearer, blessed.
[00:59:07] The warden, blessed.
[00:59:11] All the people in jail that he witnessed to, all the people that he interpreted their dreams, was blessed because of Joseph's life.
[00:59:20] But he had to remain faithful to God.
[00:59:25] He made a choice to put God first in his life.
[00:59:28] You and I are at a time when God has to be priority in everything we do.
[00:59:34] Life as usual cannot continue to happen.
[00:59:37] It is 2026.
[00:59:39] We have got to take a stand and be determined that God is with us.
[00:59:46] His favor is on us because why?
[00:59:49] We're putting Him as our priority.
[00:59:51] We're putting Him first.
[00:59:52] We're being faithful.
[00:59:54] But when you read the rest of the story, God brings the family back again.
[00:59:58] Joseph could have been bitter.
[01:00:00] He could have been angry or mad at his family.
[01:00:02] Yet, because of his relationship with God, it was restored.
[01:00:07] Bless those who hurt you.
[01:00:10] Bless those who speak all evil against you.
[01:00:14] Don't want to get back at them.
[01:00:16] Don't want to be angry with them, but bless them.
[01:00:19] Joseph chose to remain faithful to God and true to his commitment.
[01:00:24] Look at it this way.
[01:00:26] Joseph didn't see the favor of God for years and years.
[01:00:30] He faced many battles, broken relationships, hurts and heartaches.
[01:00:34] And at the moment he had no idea how much God had favored him or was upon him.
[01:00:41] And he made a choice every day.
[01:00:44] Continue in faith or give up.
[01:00:46] Step by step, the supernatural favor of God was on Joseph, but that didn't mean he wasn't gonna face problems again.
[01:00:54] That didn't mean he wasn't gonna face pain again.
[01:00:56] It just meant that he knew whatever he faced, he had the favor of God on his life.
[01:01:05] The question this morning is are we committed to God?
[01:01:10] When struggles of life happen to us and we don't have the answers, are we committed?
[01:01:15] Can we stand?
[01:01:17] Can we be faithful?
[01:01:18] Can we trust in the favor of God when it's not always evident?
[01:01:23] There's some lessons right here.
[01:01:25] One, I want to tell you, and it's a very good book too, I read it, but this is the name, this is what I want to tell you.
[01:01:33] Bad things do happen to good people.
[01:01:37] Most people have an understanding if you do good, you're going to get good.
[01:01:42] If you do bad, you're going to get bad.
[01:01:44] But sadly, that's not always the case.
[01:01:47] Bad things do happen to good people.
[01:01:50] But where are you going to stand in the middle of the bad things?
[01:01:55] Joseph's story shows us that this is not always the case.
[01:02:01] I can remember times in my own life when I questioned God and said, I don't understand this God, why?
[01:02:07] Here we see that Joseph was a good person, had integrity, made God his priority, walked and talked with him, and God granted him favor in everything he did, yet his situation, according to human terms, didn't look like God was there at all.
[01:02:23] Thinking about this, there's no guarantee of a happy ending for Joseph's story.
[01:02:28] He didn't know how the end was going to be.
[01:02:32] As far as he knew, he was going to stay in prison the rest of his life.
[01:02:36] But he made a choice to continue with God, trusting Him, depending on Him, making his life meaningful, making the best out of a bad situation.
[01:02:47] Bad things are not God's intention.
[01:02:49] God's not sitting up in heaven and saying, every time you sin, I'm going to knock them down.
[01:02:54] That's not God's intention.
[01:02:56] He doesn't want to hurt you, but God does allow things to happen even in the life of His followers.
[01:03:02] Remember Job, who was righteous before God?
[01:03:05] Yeah, he lost everything he had until the blessing came.
[01:03:09] God does not want robots.
[01:03:12] God wants you and me that will willingly enter into a relationship with Him.
[01:03:19] People who want to be in His presence.
[01:03:21] People who want to be near Him.
[01:03:24] Listen, we've all sinned.
[01:03:28] We've all fell short of the glory of God.
[01:03:30] But today is a new day.
[01:03:31] Today is the day of salvation.
[01:03:33] Today is to say, I'm going to turn my life around.
[01:03:36] I'm going to give Him everything I've got.
[01:03:37] I'm going to make a choice.
[01:03:40] Because Joseph's story shows us God's favor.
[01:03:45] We cannot overlook the fact that in an instant of sin and wrongdoing towards Joseph, God took that sin and was able to change it around into good.
[01:03:58] What the devil means for evil, God can make it good.
[01:04:04] By Joseph's faith, his obedience, God worked through Joseph and touched many lives.
[01:04:09] Everyone that came in touch with Joseph, their lives was changed.
[01:04:14] Not because of Joseph, but because the favor of God was on his life.
[01:04:20] That supernatural favor of God running over Joseph is an example of His love for us all.
[01:04:27] While sometimes we're going through some stuff it may not look evident to the natural eyes and sometimes we're facing problems but I'm promising you if you will be faithful, if you will hold on, you can look back and see where the favor of God has been on your life.
[01:04:45] I want to encourage you.
[01:04:47] In 2026, I believe that the Lord is saying it's the year of His favor on this church and His people.
[01:04:56] As much as I've believed God many times before, I'm believing Him now.
[01:05:00] I speak life.
[01:05:02] I speak health.
[01:05:03] I speak needs met.
[01:05:05] I speak that addictions will break and relationships will be mended.
[01:05:09] I speak that the favor of God will cover and flow over you.
[01:05:13] But it's also your choice today Salvation is paid for But you have to make a choice to be obedient Putting God first in your life In every decision you make Is God the priority of your life?
[01:05:27] Are you walking in obedience?
[01:05:30] I want to ask you this morning
[01:05:32] Will you talk and walk with the Lord?
[01:05:36] Will you trust Him?
[01:05:38] Will you make Him as your priority?
[01:05:41] If you will, I promise you, you will see the favor of God in your life.
[01:05:47] Let's stand to our feet.
[01:05:50] Heavenly Father, I just love you so much.
[01:05:52] I'm still just overjoyed with your holy presence that's been in this house today.
[01:06:00] Lord, I thank you that even in the midst of our hardest battles, in the time when the enemy tries to tear... Hey, Shep, what are you doing?

[01:06:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
What are you playing with?

[01:06:22] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
You got a truck?
[01:06:25] Yeah?

[01:06:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
It always happens.
[01:06:45] One year ends, another one begins.
[01:06:48] We want to move forward and still, we just can't help looking back.

[01:06:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
It's so hard not to focus on all the ways we've fallen short.
[01:06:55] All our failures, all our sin.

[01:06:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
It's so hard to believe there's something else.
[01:07:01] Something more than just another year of mistakes and regrets.
[01:07:07] I'll always be an addict.

[01:07:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I'll never amount to anything.
[01:07:12] Why am I such a failure?

[01:07:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Will I ever be enough?
[01:07:16] Could someone ever truly love me for me?