WEBVTT - Surviving Your Prison -- Part 1 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:04.120 Are you struggling to break free from a spiritual prison? 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:07.120 Is there a door that just won't open? Mark Jobe 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:09.719 has a message for you today on Bold Steps. 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:13.840 I believe that one of the greatest ways to overcome 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:17.840 your prison is to stop acting like a prisoner. And 0:00:17.840 --> 0:00:20.480 even in your prison, start acting like a person that's 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:24.599 walking free. Moving in your calling, seeing that other people 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:25.919 have needs around you. 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:41.600 Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is founding 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:45.400 pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:48.879 Let's continue. Our new series called life, interrupted with a 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:52.760 message about surviving your prison and Mark. Prison can mean 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:54.360 many different things, can it? 0:00:54.400 --> 0:01:00.480 That's right. Wayne. It's not always physical bars that confine us, 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:03.880 But a prison is any place in life where we 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:08.600 feel forced into and have little control in a place 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:13.040 that makes us put other things on pause, and we 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:15.440 look for the escape route. And some people are in 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.640 situations right now that they would like to be out of, 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:21.920 that they feel like they have little control and they're 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:25.360 looking for that door out. I believe that God can 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:30.520 use these quote unquote prisons, uh, in our life to 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:35.679 form our character and to do some extraordinary things. If 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:37.480 you take on the right mindset. 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:41.080 As I mentioned, the message is titled Surviving Your Prison 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:43.720 and were in Genesis chapter 40 today. So let's get 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:47.039 started with Mark's message right now on bold steps. 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:51.080 I know what some of you are thinking right away, pastor. 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:55.000 You have the wrong crowd. I've never been to prison. 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:57.040 Some don't raise your hand if you've been to prison 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.720 or been to jail. Don't raise your hand. I know 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:03.090 some of you have. But how many of you have 0:02:03.090 --> 0:02:05.410 been close to going to prison or close to going 0:02:05.450 --> 0:02:07.850 to jail, or maybe should be in jail? Raise your 0:02:07.850 --> 0:02:13.810 hand if you've been close. I was thinking about that. 0:02:13.810 --> 0:02:16.049 You know, we have to survive our prison. And I'm 0:02:16.050 --> 0:02:20.210 not talking about a physical prison with bars because there's 0:02:20.210 --> 0:02:22.010 a lot of types of prison, and we're going to 0:02:22.010 --> 0:02:25.649 get into that in just a moment. But I remember 0:02:25.650 --> 0:02:29.090 the closest I've ever been to going to jail was 0:02:29.090 --> 0:02:35.769 on my honeymoon. Love will drive you to things. No, 0:02:35.770 --> 0:02:38.690 I was on my honeymoon, and I just scraped up 0:02:38.690 --> 0:02:42.570 enough money. I was really, really poor. Really, really poor. 0:02:43.210 --> 0:02:45.769 When I got engaged, I didn't give her a ring. 0:02:46.169 --> 0:02:48.570 I don't even think I gave her a rubber band. 0:02:48.570 --> 0:02:53.250 But I gave her my love and eventually got her 0:02:53.250 --> 0:02:57.169 a ring. But I scraped up enough money. My dream 0:02:57.169 --> 0:03:00.330 was to be able to go with my bride to Europe, 0:03:00.330 --> 0:03:03.890 because that's where I grew up. And my father left 0:03:03.889 --> 0:03:07.810 us a car. And, uh, you know, we tend, we 0:03:07.850 --> 0:03:10.649 we slept in tents along the way one night at 0:03:10.650 --> 0:03:14.290 a hotel, ate ham sandwiches. It was the cheapest, uh, 0:03:15.210 --> 0:03:17.290 honeymoon that you could imagine, but it was a lot 0:03:17.330 --> 0:03:19.650 of fun. And so I was driving the car with 0:03:19.650 --> 0:03:23.889 my wife, excited. We drove up through Spain and France 0:03:23.889 --> 0:03:28.450 into Italy and all the way up to Switzerland. And 0:03:28.450 --> 0:03:31.570 so I'm driving in Switzerland with the tent in my trunk, 0:03:31.770 --> 0:03:34.169 showing my wife around. And you know, how many of 0:03:34.169 --> 0:03:36.410 you know in Europe there's a lot of roundabouts. You 0:03:36.410 --> 0:03:39.890 know what a roundabout is? It's just a big circle 0:03:39.890 --> 0:03:43.290 that everybody gets in and it's very, very confusing which 0:03:43.290 --> 0:03:45.370 way to go. And you have to get in that 0:03:45.370 --> 0:03:48.650 roundabout and then spin out into another street. Well, I 0:03:48.650 --> 0:03:51.610 was in that roundabout back in the days when we 0:03:51.610 --> 0:03:53.650 had maps. I know some of you millennials are like, 0:03:53.650 --> 0:03:56.330 what's a map again? No, no, it's like a big 0:03:56.330 --> 0:03:58.650 sheet with, uh, well, I'm not even going to go there. 0:04:00.290 --> 0:04:03.540 And we are looking at a map. And I turned 0:04:03.540 --> 0:04:07.980 a little bit abruptly and I heard a thump and 0:04:07.980 --> 0:04:11.940 my wife said, you just hit someone. And I looked around. 0:04:11.940 --> 0:04:15.460 I said, I don't see anybody. And she said, look better. 0:04:15.460 --> 0:04:17.500 And I looked and it was a motorcycle. I just 0:04:17.500 --> 0:04:21.620 hit a motorcycle in a roundabout. And when I looked 0:04:21.620 --> 0:04:23.860 a little bit better, it wasn't just a motorcycle. It 0:04:23.860 --> 0:04:28.420 was a policeman on a motorcycle that I knocked down. 0:04:29.100 --> 0:04:33.940 Suddenly they stopped. Traffic lights were swirling. Cops came from everywhere. 0:04:33.940 --> 0:04:36.180 They got me out of the car. They were talking 0:04:36.180 --> 0:04:39.540 to me in French and I was like, uh, English, please. 0:04:39.540 --> 0:04:41.620 They dragged me over. The guy was on the floor. 0:04:41.620 --> 0:04:45.180 His motorcycle was broken. I started to think, okay, what 0:04:45.180 --> 0:04:50.060 are Swiss prisons like? How is my wife going to 0:04:50.060 --> 0:04:52.700 get home? She's going to send me cards and letters 0:04:52.700 --> 0:04:55.820 from the US while I'm in a Swiss prison on 0:04:55.820 --> 0:04:59.260 our honeymoon. I hope they're not dungeon like. I hope 0:04:59.260 --> 0:05:04.979 they treat me well. I'm going to prison. The man 0:05:04.980 --> 0:05:07.260 that had been knocked off his motorcycle when he found 0:05:07.260 --> 0:05:09.980 I was on my honeymoon. How many of you know 0:05:10.020 --> 0:05:15.740 the grace of God sometimes changes people's hearts? He looked 0:05:15.740 --> 0:05:18.700 at me and he said, I'm not going to give 0:05:18.700 --> 0:05:22.700 you a ticket. I'm not going to just go, please, fast. 0:05:23.940 --> 0:05:26.460 I got on my car and I went the speed limit, 0:05:26.460 --> 0:05:28.660 but I went fast and got out of that place. 0:05:28.660 --> 0:05:31.900 But I thought to myself, I could be in jail. 0:05:33.820 --> 0:05:37.619 Some of you are in jail right now. You're not 0:05:37.620 --> 0:05:41.339 in a handmade prison, not a jail where there's actually 0:05:41.380 --> 0:05:44.779 security guards there with bars. But you're in a jail 0:05:45.540 --> 0:05:48.100 because a jail in life is any kind of place 0:05:48.100 --> 0:05:51.179 where we're forced to be in that we don't want 0:05:51.220 --> 0:05:54.779 to be in, and we have little control and we 0:05:54.820 --> 0:05:57.140 want to get out of it. We're looking for the 0:05:57.140 --> 0:06:02.469 door of escape, but it's not coming yet. That could 0:06:02.470 --> 0:06:04.909 be the prison of a bad marriage that you say 0:06:04.950 --> 0:06:07.830 have no control to change this marriage. I'm stuck here. 0:06:07.830 --> 0:06:11.029 I'm hoping it's going to change, but it's not right now. 0:06:11.029 --> 0:06:13.550 It could be the prison of a bad job that 0:06:13.550 --> 0:06:16.270 you're just like, I have no options. I'm stuck here. 0:06:16.270 --> 0:06:19.550 I'm hoping that the door is going to open another opportunity. 0:06:19.550 --> 0:06:23.469 But until then, I'm kind of waiting in this difficult place, 0:06:23.470 --> 0:06:27.710 hoping to get out of it. It could be the 0:06:27.710 --> 0:06:30.230 jail of being in a living, a single life. But 0:06:30.230 --> 0:06:32.190 in your heart you want a marriage, you want to 0:06:32.230 --> 0:06:34.990 be married and you feel like, hey, I'm in this place. 0:06:34.990 --> 0:06:37.150 I really want to be married. I feel like it's 0:06:37.150 --> 0:06:40.070 the desire of my heart, but I can't seem to. Yeah, 0:06:40.070 --> 0:06:44.790 it's just not happening. And I believe that some of you, 0:06:44.990 --> 0:06:48.990 we all go through states of prison sentences in life. 0:06:50.550 --> 0:06:52.710 And there are some people right now that you are 0:06:52.710 --> 0:06:56.390 in your season of being in your prison or jail, 0:06:56.390 --> 0:07:00.029 you're waiting place your difficult time where you are waiting 0:07:00.029 --> 0:07:02.390 at that place, waiting for a door to open, feeling 0:07:02.390 --> 0:07:06.790 like you have limited options. And often times we either 0:07:06.790 --> 0:07:09.790 blow it, we make it, or break it during our 0:07:09.790 --> 0:07:14.350 prison times. And so I want you to listen well, 0:07:14.390 --> 0:07:16.830 because the Holy Spirit wants to speak to some people 0:07:16.830 --> 0:07:19.750 today about what it means to survive your prison. And 0:07:19.750 --> 0:07:22.510 so I want you to take your Bibles and turn 0:07:22.510 --> 0:07:27.670 to Genesis chapter 40 and and chapter 41 as we 0:07:27.670 --> 0:07:29.510 look at the life of a young man that was 0:07:29.550 --> 0:07:34.070 actually in a physical prison. We've been studying the life 0:07:34.070 --> 0:07:37.950 of Joseph. And as I said last week, Joseph's life 0:07:37.950 --> 0:07:42.190 reads like good news, bad news, good news, bad news, 0:07:42.190 --> 0:07:45.270 really good news then bad news, good news, bad news. 0:07:45.270 --> 0:07:47.750 And we happen to find him right now in the 0:07:47.750 --> 0:07:53.710 bad news phase. He resisted the advances of his boss's wife. 0:07:54.070 --> 0:08:00.310 She was aggressive. A cougar said no, no. And in reward, 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:05.320 He ended up in prison. He's been in prison for 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:11.120 a while now. Maybe two, three years at this stage 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:15.840 is about 28 years old at the prime of his life. 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:20.120 A lot of energy, dreams, visions, what life could be. 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:26.040 And he never, oh, never, ever imagined that at 28, 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:30.600 he would be serving a sentence for something that he 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:38.440 did not do. It's at those times that you become cynical, bitter, resentful, 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:44.680 broken or better. And so I want us to look 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:50.079 at what we see in these chapters. In Genesis chapter 39, 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:53.199 verse 20, it says, Joseph, master took him and put 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:58.560 him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:01.320 So I'm going to I want you to jot this down. 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:05.040 I want to help you understand. Three keys to surviving 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:08.679 your prison time. If you find yourself in one right now. 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:14.559 Number one, don't put your life on pause. Live your 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:22.400 calling while you wait for open doors. You know, when 0:09:22.400 --> 0:09:24.600 we go through our prison times, I've seen a lot 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:28.199 of people do this. They put their life on pause. 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.640 They just say, I'm going to wait here until the 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:37.640 door opens. I'm not happy. I don't have joy. I 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:43.319 don't have vision. I'm going to sit here pouting, sometimes 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:47.040 in self-pity, until something changes in my life. And some 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:50.160 of you have been that for five years. You're pouting, 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:55.920 so full of self-pity, unhappy with life. You're you're there's 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:59.760 no joy, there's no energy. And when someone tells you 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:01.610 what's the matter, you say, well, what do you mean? 0:10:01.610 --> 0:10:06.050 What's the matter? Look at me. Look at where I'm at. 0:10:06.330 --> 0:10:12.370 Look at my circumstances. When my circumstances change, then, yeah, 0:10:12.370 --> 0:10:15.970 then I will engage in my life. Then life will 0:10:15.970 --> 0:10:21.050 go on. Can I tell you something? What I notice 0:10:21.050 --> 0:10:27.050 about Joseph is that Joseph, even though he was in prison, uh, 0:10:27.330 --> 0:10:32.130 he kept growing and using his gifts even when he 0:10:32.130 --> 0:10:40.090 was in prison. Notice what it says in Genesis chapter 39, 0:10:40.090 --> 0:10:45.530 verse 20 through 23. I'm sorry, chapter 40, it says, 0:10:45.530 --> 0:10:49.090 but while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was 0:10:49.090 --> 0:10:53.449 with him. He showed him kindness and granted him favor 0:10:53.450 --> 0:10:56.330 in the eyes of the prison warden. This is chapter 39. 0:10:56.330 --> 0:10:59.010 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those 0:10:59.370 --> 0:11:02.530 he held in prison, and he was made responsible for 0:11:02.530 --> 0:11:05.290 all that was done there. The warden paid no attention 0:11:05.290 --> 0:11:09.089 to anything under Joseph's care, because the Lord was with 0:11:09.090 --> 0:11:16.330 Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. What 0:11:16.330 --> 0:11:19.730 I want you to notice is that even though he 0:11:19.730 --> 0:11:25.569 was in prison, he still exercised and used his gifts 0:11:25.570 --> 0:11:31.170 and pursued his calling. We have a lot of choices 0:11:31.170 --> 0:11:35.569 when life is on hold, don't we? I mean, I 0:11:35.570 --> 0:11:38.170 hate to wait. I know that God is working on 0:11:38.170 --> 0:11:42.410 my patience. He gave me three kids to accelerate my 0:11:42.410 --> 0:11:46.970 growth in patience. I'm not a great waiter. How many 0:11:46.970 --> 0:11:50.850 of you here have a hard time waiting? I know 0:11:50.850 --> 0:11:55.730 I do. You want to test me? Put me on. 0:11:55.730 --> 0:12:00.780 Hold on the phone. I was calling the bank the 0:12:00.820 --> 0:12:03.660 A a while back, and I was so aggravated that 0:12:03.660 --> 0:12:07.300 they had transferred me from one person to another. Hold on, sir. 0:12:07.340 --> 0:12:09.940 You got the wrong department. And the other one I. 0:12:10.179 --> 0:12:12.540 Can you hold on, sir? And I'm waiting with the 0:12:12.540 --> 0:12:14.980 little music in the background that's supposed to calm you. 0:12:14.980 --> 0:12:19.100 It's just agitating me. The longer I hear the music, 0:12:19.140 --> 0:12:21.820 the more agitated. I'm sitting at my desk and I'm 0:12:21.820 --> 0:12:25.860 just complaining. These bankers, you know, how come they're not answering? 0:12:25.860 --> 0:12:27.980 I'm going to switch banks. I'm looking right now to 0:12:27.980 --> 0:12:30.860 get another bank. I can't believe they're letting me on hold. 0:12:31.020 --> 0:12:34.059 And when they answered, I didn't feel like I was 0:12:34.059 --> 0:12:35.579 in the spirit. I felt like I was a little 0:12:35.580 --> 0:12:37.300 bit in the flesh. You know how long I've been 0:12:37.300 --> 0:12:39.579 waiting here? And, you know, can I talk to a manager? 0:12:41.300 --> 0:12:43.060 And I decided, you know, why am I going to 0:12:43.059 --> 0:12:46.260 let that really get me in the flesh? So I 0:12:46.260 --> 0:12:51.060 have a new system now. Now I just take my phone, 0:12:51.059 --> 0:12:53.260 I put it on speakerphone. I put the little music 0:12:53.260 --> 0:12:55.579 in the background, put it on the table, I go 0:12:55.620 --> 0:12:59.460 make my shake and you know, my breakfast, prepare my things. 0:12:59.460 --> 0:13:02.380 I let the music on the background. I live while 0:13:02.380 --> 0:13:11.580 I'm on pause. Hello. I continue to live while I'm 0:13:11.580 --> 0:13:13.900 on pause. And what happens with a lot of us 0:13:13.900 --> 0:13:18.780 is we stop living when we're on pause. We look 0:13:18.780 --> 0:13:22.140 at the door and we're just waiting for it to open. 0:13:22.140 --> 0:13:24.860 But we're not living. We're not enjoying life. We're not 0:13:24.860 --> 0:13:28.780 pursuing our call. We're not engaging in our God given 0:13:28.780 --> 0:13:36.340 mission and destiny. We're just anxiously, impatiently looking at the 0:13:36.340 --> 0:13:39.900 door and feeling like unless that door opens, I can 0:13:39.900 --> 0:13:41.380 never be happy. 0:13:46.980 --> 0:13:49.580 You're listening to Mark Jobe here on Bold Steps. And 0:13:49.580 --> 0:13:51.980 before we get into the second half of today's program, 0:13:52.220 --> 0:13:53.900 I'd like to share something with you that came in 0:13:53.900 --> 0:13:57.100 from a listener named Leon. Mark Leon drives a semi 0:13:57.140 --> 0:13:59.860 truck for a living, so his paycheck isn't the same 0:13:59.950 --> 0:14:01.830 from week to week, and he gets paid by the 0:14:01.830 --> 0:14:04.270 mile and by the stop. And he wrote in to 0:14:04.309 --> 0:14:07.309 say this I tithe faithfully every check, but I get 0:14:07.309 --> 0:14:10.390 paid on Wednesdays and I can't actually see my exact 0:14:10.390 --> 0:14:13.630 pay stub until Friday. Some of my bills come out 0:14:13.630 --> 0:14:16.590 automatically before then. So on Wednesday I ended up estimating 0:14:16.590 --> 0:14:18.710 what to give. And depending on the week, I'm either 0:14:18.710 --> 0:14:21.350 a little over or a little short until I tune 0:14:21.350 --> 0:14:24.270 it up on, uh, on Friday. I know God sees 0:14:24.270 --> 0:14:25.910 my heart, but I still feel bad when I come 0:14:25.910 --> 0:14:27.470 up short, even by a little. 0:14:28.990 --> 0:14:31.670 Well, let me just say this, Leon. I love your 0:14:31.670 --> 0:14:35.270 heart of wanting to obey and wanting to do what's 0:14:35.270 --> 0:14:37.910 right before the Lord. And by the way, shout out 0:14:37.910 --> 0:14:40.230 to all the truck drivers out there, because once in 0:14:40.270 --> 0:14:45.070 a while someone will drive into Chicago on a Sunday morning, 0:14:45.070 --> 0:14:46.750 a truck driver will come up to me and say, 0:14:46.750 --> 0:14:48.670 I was in town and I just wanted to see 0:14:48.670 --> 0:14:50.990 you in person. And so that's great. If you're ever 0:14:50.990 --> 0:14:53.910 in Chicago, Leon, make sure you drop on by. Here's 0:14:53.910 --> 0:14:56.870 what I would say. Leon. God does see your heart 0:14:57.350 --> 0:15:01.560 and I appreciate your desire to to be sensitive to 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:04.640 the tithe. I think, you know, there's two things you 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:08.000 could do. You know, one is just estimate like you do. 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:10.520 And it sounds like it kind of evens out if 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:15.280 it's low or higher, or you can always retro, if 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:19.200 you realize that one week you get a lot of 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:22.080 money and you've given too little tithe, the next time 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:25.400 you tie, just add a little extra so it balances out. 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:30.280 But I don't want you to be bound by legalism 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:34.280 or condemnation. Um, God wants a generous heart and a 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:37.560 joyful heart. And it's a beautiful thing to be able 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:40.600 to give generously unto the Lord and tithe. But I 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:44.840 don't want you to be gripped by, uh, guilt because 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:48.400 you were, you know, a dollar short. And so I 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:50.800 think God loves, loves that heart. So that's what I 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:52.520 would encourage you to do. If you're a little short 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:54.120 and you feel like I need to make it up, 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:56.160 then the next time around, add a few extra dollars 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:58.760 to it and it would balance it out. But a 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:01.640 heart of obedience is what I love to see in you. Leon. 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:04.520 Yep. As Leon said, God looks at the heart, doesn't he? 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:07.280 Thank you, Leon, for sharing that with us. Thanks for 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.080 your faithfulness. If you've got a question or a story 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:11.720 of your own you'd like to share with Mark, we'd 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:14.680 love to hear it. You can reach us at bold steps.org. 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:17.360 Thank you. Mark. Right now, we're in the middle of 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:19.520 today's message, so let's get back to it. Here again 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:20.240 is Mark. 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:30.760 Joseph. We see something different. Not only did Joseph pursue 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:35.240 his call, he he was in prison. But even within prison, 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:37.680 he had the gift of leadership. And so he took 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:41.160 on responsibility. He began to do things in prison. The 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:45.200 warden gave him greater responsibility. He was in prison. He 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:48.160 wasn't out there in the business world. He wasn't out 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:52.080 there leading his own company, but he was in prison. 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:55.720 Within his limited circumstances, he was fulfilling his call. And 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:58.240 the other thing I notice about Joseph is this not 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:00.840 only was he fulfilling his call, but he had his 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.159 eyes open to reach out to others that needed to 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:07.960 be encouraged, even though he was in a bad situation. 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:15.200 It tells us in chapter 40 verse six, when Joseph 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:18.080 came to them the next morning, there were two men 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:21.240 who had been put in prison also. One was a 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:24.040 baker and one was a cupbearer to the king, to 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:28.960 the pharaoh. The cupbearer doesn't sound like a real important position, 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:32.760 but it was. The cupbearer was someone that was basically 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:37.040 an assistant to the king. He would test the food 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:39.840 before he was highly trusted. He would bear the cup 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.879 of the king. They had both been put in prison 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:46.959 with Joseph and they had been there for quite some time. 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:50.160 And I want you to notice this. It tells us 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:53.640 that it tells us that when Joseph came to them 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:58.280 the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So 0:17:58.280 --> 0:18:03.290 he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him 0:18:03.290 --> 0:18:09.530 and his master's house. Why do you look so sad? Now, 0:18:09.530 --> 0:18:12.010 you may miss this if you read this rapidly, but 0:18:12.010 --> 0:18:15.850 can I tell you something? When you're in the puddles 0:18:15.850 --> 0:18:20.129 of self-pity, you don't care about anybody else but yourself. 0:18:22.330 --> 0:18:26.170 When you're full of resentment or discouragement, you don't ask 0:18:26.170 --> 0:18:30.890 other people, hey, how are you feeling today? Because you 0:18:30.890 --> 0:18:33.570 don't care about how other people are feeling. You're so 0:18:33.570 --> 0:18:36.210 consumed with yourself. Have you ever been so consumed with 0:18:36.210 --> 0:18:37.930 your own needs that you don't even see the needs 0:18:37.930 --> 0:18:43.490 of people around you? Have you ever been so discouraged 0:18:43.490 --> 0:18:46.970 that someone has lost a loved one and going through 0:18:46.970 --> 0:18:49.130 a bigger crisis than you, and you didn't even notice 0:18:49.130 --> 0:18:55.490 it because you're so wrapped up in your stuff? When 0:18:55.490 --> 0:18:59.129 we get into our prison, I've seen so many people 0:18:59.130 --> 0:19:02.420 miss missed their calling. Missed their life because they're so 0:19:02.420 --> 0:19:09.300 consumed by how bad life is treating them and full 0:19:09.300 --> 0:19:13.660 of complaining about their circumstances. But I've seen others who 0:19:13.660 --> 0:19:16.700 are going through very difficult times, who lift up their eyes, 0:19:16.700 --> 0:19:19.780 and instead of looking at themselves, they start noticing that 0:19:19.780 --> 0:19:22.740 people around them also have needs just as big as 0:19:22.740 --> 0:19:25.820 they have. I believe that one of the greatest ways 0:19:25.820 --> 0:19:30.540 to overcome your prison is to stop acting like a prisoner. 0:19:30.540 --> 0:19:33.220 And even in your prisons, start acting like a person 0:19:33.220 --> 0:19:37.260 that's walking free. Moving in your calling, seeing that other 0:19:37.260 --> 0:19:42.820 people have needs around you. Joseph could have been saying, hey, 0:19:43.140 --> 0:19:45.899 how come no one's asking me how I'm feeling? I'm 0:19:45.980 --> 0:19:49.899 28 years old. I've spent three years in prison unjustly. 0:19:49.940 --> 0:19:53.220 My family betrayed me, sold me as a slave. Look, 0:19:53.260 --> 0:19:57.380 how come you're not saying. Why am I sad? But 0:19:57.380 --> 0:20:00.300 Joseph looked and saw the emotions of other men. He 0:20:00.300 --> 0:20:03.220 saw that these. Why were they sad? They answered him. 0:20:03.740 --> 0:20:07.540 They had both had dreams. The cupbearer had had a 0:20:07.540 --> 0:20:12.780 dream involving three. The baker had had a dream also 0:20:12.780 --> 0:20:16.580 involving three. And it says, why do you look so 0:20:16.580 --> 0:20:20.260 sad today? Verse eight. We both had dreams, they answered. 0:20:20.859 --> 0:20:24.220 But there is no one to interpret them. Then Joseph 0:20:24.220 --> 0:20:28.740 said to them, here we go. Do not interpretations belong 0:20:28.780 --> 0:20:35.139 to God? Tell me your dreams. Well, I don't know. 0:20:35.140 --> 0:20:38.660 You may have missed that. He said, do not interpretations 0:20:38.660 --> 0:20:42.739 belong to God? Then why does he say if they 0:20:42.740 --> 0:20:45.900 belong to God? Tell me your dreams. Because he knew 0:20:45.980 --> 0:20:48.700 he was a man of God. You see what you. 0:20:48.740 --> 0:20:51.620 What you may have missed in this is that Joseph 0:20:51.619 --> 0:20:54.379 felt even in his prison that God was with him. 0:20:55.580 --> 0:20:58.780 And so he says, hey, interpret. Dreams belong to God. 0:20:58.780 --> 0:21:02.980 I'm a man of God. So tell me your dreams. 0:21:02.980 --> 0:21:08.140 Maybe I can give you insight on your dreams. Now 0:21:08.140 --> 0:21:10.179 you could talk a lot about dreams. How many of 0:21:10.180 --> 0:21:12.260 you remember the dream that you had last night? Raise 0:21:12.260 --> 0:21:15.100 your hand. How many of you have no idea what 0:21:15.100 --> 0:21:19.379 you dreamed last night? Raise your hand. So here's what 0:21:19.380 --> 0:21:23.179 I want to say about dreams. Physical dreams when we 0:21:23.180 --> 0:21:27.740 go to sleep are a natural function of our mind 0:21:27.740 --> 0:21:31.940 that continues to operate even when we're sleeping. But like 0:21:31.940 --> 0:21:35.460 anything else, there are times in which the Holy Spirit 0:21:35.460 --> 0:21:41.660 of God speaks in supernatural ways through dreams. It's not 0:21:41.660 --> 0:21:45.139 the normative way that God works, but God can speak 0:21:45.140 --> 0:21:50.420 through dreams. All in Scripture we see that occasionally there'll 0:21:50.420 --> 0:21:53.980 be a dream that will pop up, that will, that 0:21:53.980 --> 0:21:57.100 will be a God dream. Now it's hard to distinguish 0:21:57.100 --> 0:22:02.510 what's a bad dream And what's a God dream? So 0:22:02.550 --> 0:22:05.470 don't just think that every dream you have has a deep, 0:22:05.470 --> 0:22:08.870 powerful spiritual significance to it, because it may just be 0:22:08.869 --> 0:22:11.429 that you just had a bad night the night before 0:22:11.550 --> 0:22:15.790 and you're just dreaming crazy stuff. But there are certain times, 0:22:15.790 --> 0:22:19.109 and it's happened to me very rarely, but certain times 0:22:19.109 --> 0:22:22.270 where you feel like, hey, there's a special significance to 0:22:22.310 --> 0:22:26.030 this dream. There's, there's this is not a normal dream. 0:22:26.030 --> 0:22:31.670 There's a power to this dream. Joseph said, hey, the 0:22:31.670 --> 0:22:35.109 ununderstood things belong to God. And he, they had a dream. 0:22:35.109 --> 0:22:36.830 And he said, talk to me about this dream. And 0:22:36.830 --> 0:22:39.430 I want you to notice this, this other thing about 0:22:39.430 --> 0:22:41.990 the dream. By the way, I want you to notice 0:22:41.990 --> 0:22:46.750 that he discovered in his own prison a new dimension 0:22:46.750 --> 0:22:51.470 to his gifting dream interpreter. How many of you know? 0:22:51.470 --> 0:22:55.070 Sometimes we have callings and giftings, but when we're too 0:22:55.109 --> 0:22:57.430 mature to handle them, we don't know what to do 0:22:57.430 --> 0:22:57.990 with them. 0:23:02.109 --> 0:23:04.909 You're listening to Bold Steps, the Bible teaching ministry of 0:23:04.910 --> 0:23:07.070 Mark Jobe. And that's the first half of a message 0:23:07.070 --> 0:23:10.389 titled Surviving Your Prison. We'll dive into part two of 0:23:10.390 --> 0:23:12.830 this lesson when we return tomorrow. So make plans to 0:23:12.869 --> 0:23:15.470 join us then. In the meantime, take a moment to 0:23:15.470 --> 0:23:18.710 visit our website, Bold steps.org, and browse through some of 0:23:18.710 --> 0:23:22.230 the faith building resources we have available, including this month's 0:23:22.230 --> 0:23:25.750 unique Bold Step gift. Well, our friend Doctor Erwin Lutzer 0:23:25.750 --> 0:23:28.430 has a book called The Church in Babylon. And Mark, 0:23:28.430 --> 0:23:31.550 we're so excited to offer our listeners this timely resource. 0:23:31.590 --> 0:23:34.470 It unpacks some of the glaring parallels between the church 0:23:34.470 --> 0:23:36.710 in America and God's people in Babylon. 0:23:37.030 --> 0:23:39.790 Yeah, it's a great book reminding us that we're like 0:23:39.790 --> 0:23:44.990 Daniel in a very pagan culture, but we can survive, thrive, 0:23:44.990 --> 0:23:48.270 and influence, even in a pagan culture. 0:23:48.310 --> 0:23:49.310 God is with us. 0:23:49.310 --> 0:23:51.750 He is with us. But I love the fact that 0:23:51.750 --> 0:23:56.030 Pastor Lutzer points to the fact that we need a 0:23:56.070 --> 0:24:01.920 fresh encounter with Jesus to be able to face a 0:24:01.920 --> 0:24:07.240 culture that is sometimes really oppressive. He makes a point 0:24:07.240 --> 0:24:12.320 that an encounter with Jesus that fills us with a 0:24:12.320 --> 0:24:16.680 new boldness and a new sense of hope and a 0:24:16.880 --> 0:24:22.160 new courage to speak about who Jesus is, is necessary. 0:24:22.160 --> 0:24:25.440 And so we need to be encouraged by that. And 0:24:25.440 --> 0:24:28.600 maybe you've been someone who has allowed your voice to 0:24:28.600 --> 0:24:33.440 be silenced, and you feel the conviction that it's time 0:24:33.440 --> 0:24:36.720 to speak up and not be quiet. So we would 0:24:36.720 --> 0:24:39.160 love to put in your hand this book, The Church 0:24:39.160 --> 0:24:42.520 in Babylon, heeding the Call to Be a Light in 0:24:42.520 --> 0:24:45.960 Darkness by Pastor Erwin Lutzer. 0:24:46.200 --> 0:24:48.920 Well, you can easily give your one time gift online 0:24:48.920 --> 0:24:53.600 by visiting bold steps.org or call us at 800. D.L. Moody. 0:24:53.640 --> 0:24:59.560 That's (800) 356-6639. And you can also request your copy of 0:24:59.560 --> 0:25:01.640 The Church in Babylon and give your gift of any 0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:04.760 amount by writing to us. Just address your envelope to 0:25:04.800 --> 0:25:12.320 bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Remember, 0:25:12.320 --> 0:25:14.360 if you ever want to listen to these messages during 0:25:14.359 --> 0:25:17.000 a workout or a walk around the neighborhood, or simply 0:25:17.000 --> 0:25:19.240 at any other hour, you can hear each of these 0:25:19.240 --> 0:25:22.919 daily programs right from your phone by subscribing to our podcast. 0:25:23.160 --> 0:25:25.760 Simply open up your favorite podcast app and search for 0:25:25.760 --> 0:25:28.920 bold steps with Doctor Marc Jobe. And for even more 0:25:28.920 --> 0:25:32.160 bold steps content on the go, download our Bold Steps app. 0:25:32.920 --> 0:25:34.879 I'm Wade Shepherd. That brings us to the end of 0:25:34.880 --> 0:25:37.280 our program for now, but we'll see you next time 0:25:37.280 --> 0:25:40.600 for part two of this message titled Surviving Your Prison. 0:25:40.800 --> 0:25:44.320 That's coming up Thursday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. 0:25:45.760 --> 0:25:48.880 Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a Ministry 0:25:48.880 --> 0:25:50.440 of Moody Bible Institute.