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See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:30.080 UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:32.800 We're so glad to have you with us on the 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:36.480 podcast today. Twenty nineteen is going to be an awesome 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:37.720 year in your life. 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:39.840 When you're finished listening, I hope. 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:42.200 You'll take a minute and write a quick review. Your 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:45.840 encouragement will help others to be inspired and encouraged. 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:58.919 Enjoy the message now. 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:02.840 God bless you and thanks for letting us come into 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:05.600 your homes. We love you, and if you're ever in 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:08.240 our area, please stop by and be a part of 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.080 one of our services. These are the finest people in 0:02:11.120 --> 0:02:13.960 all of Houston, Texas, right here at Lakewood, and I'll 0:02:13.960 --> 0:02:15.960 promise you we will make you feel right at home. 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:18.640 I like to start with something funny. 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:21.960 And one day Jesus and Satan were having a contest 0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:26.320 to see who was better with computers. After six hours 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:30.480 of making spreadsheets and designing web pages, a thunderstorm knocked 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:34.799 the power out. When they rebooted their computers, Satan started screaming, 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:39.120 it's all lost. All my material is gone, while Jesus 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:42.280 quietly walked over and printed his out turned it in. 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:46.120 Satan complained, it's not fair. He must have cheated. How 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:47.679 come he didn't lose his material. 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:51.640 God smiled and said, Jesus saves. 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:55.680 Jes say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:57.480 I am what it says. I am. 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.440 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:03.120 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:07.160 taught the word of God. I'll boldly confess. My mind 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:10.480 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:15.799 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:17.639 to talk to you today about. 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:18.400 It's a setup. 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:22.920 Everything in your life has been carefully orchestrated. 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:27.600 God is strategic. Before you were born, he laid out 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:29.400 a specific plan for you. 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:35.440 Nothing randomly happens, not just the good breaks, the promotions, 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:39.160 the times you've seen favor, but even the closed doors, 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:41.840 the disappointments, the betrayals. 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:45.360 That's all a part of God's plan. It may not 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:48.200 make sense, it wasn't fair, but. 0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:50.800 God wouldn't have allowed it if it wasn't going to 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:54.320 work for your good. And if you don't understand that 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:59.760 nothing randomly happens, then you'll be frustrated when things don't 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:04.240 go way, and upset because somebody did you wrong, bitter 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:08.840 because a person walked away, when in reality, it was 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:13.800 ordained by God to move you into your destiny. You 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:17.960 are not at the mercy of luck, of fate of 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:22.120 other people. The God who causes the earth to rotate 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:25.680 down to the exact millisecond. 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:26.680 Has ordered your steps. 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:31.000 Do you think another person can stop what God has 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:34.400 ordered for you? Do you think a bad break, a 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:38.760 closed door, a jealous coworker can change what God has 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:42.640 spoken over your life. The people coming against you, the 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:46.599 negative circumstances, they are pawns in the hands of God. 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:50.359 The enemy thinks he's using them to hold you back. 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:54.320 The truth is God is using them to push you forward. 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.680 In the Scripture of Joseph's brothers threw him into a pit. 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:03.000 They thought they were stopping his destiny, but God used 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:08.200 them to push Joseph into his destiny. God ordained them 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:11.200 to betray Joseph. It was a part of the plan 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:14.839 that God laid out for his life. Without that betrayal, 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:20.640 without Potiphar's wife falsely accusing Joseph, without him spending time 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:25.599 unfairly in prison, Joseph would have never fulfilled his destiny. 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:28.480 It wasn't random, it wasn't bad luck. 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:30.080 It was strategic. 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:35.400 Are you fighting what God has ordained? Frustrated because a 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:40.200 door closed, or bitter because somebody walked away. Without that, 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:44.520 you couldn't fulfill your purpose. The enemy didn't come in 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:48.080 and somehow take the steering will, and now he's in control. 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:53.640 He superseded God's plan. He overpowered the creator. He doesn't 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:57.720 have that kind of authority. The God who breathed life 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:00.560 into you, the God who is number your. 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:02.800 Days, the God who is for. 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:07.200 You and not against you, is in complete control. You 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:10.760 may not understand what happened. It may not have been fair, 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:14.520 but if you'll stay in faith, one day you'll see, 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:18.839 Like Joseph, it wasn't random, it was intentional. It was 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:22.919 a setup. God used it to push you forward. But 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.760 when we isolate a negative experience and look at it 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:28.479 on its own, it may. 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:29.159 Not make sense. 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:33.120 If you have a large puzzle, sometimes you'll find a 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:36.520 piece that doesn't look like it fits. You're sure the 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:38.360 manufacturer has made a mistake. 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:40.720 It's an odd shape, a. 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:45.240 Strange color, But when the other pieces come together, there 0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:48.680 will be a perfect fit. The colors will match, the 0:06:48.800 --> 0:06:52.599 edges will line up. Without that piece, the puzzle wouldn't 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:55.600 be complete. Now you may have a peace to your 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:59.920 puzzle today that doesn't make sense. You could think God 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:04.160 didn't ordain this. I lost my main client, a relationship 0:07:04.200 --> 0:07:06.600 didn't work out, my child got off course. 0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:07.920 This doesn't fit. 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:10.960 You may not see it now, but God is not 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:11.880 through working. 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:14.080 You don't know what he's up to. 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:18.160 You're looking at one piece like Joseph, you're looking at 0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:18.880 the betrayal. 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:22.040 What you can't see is the throne is coming. 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:26.920 Instead of fighting it being bitter, turn it around, God, 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:30.320 My life is in your hands. I know your plans 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:34.400 for me are for good. I may not understand everything. 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:36.880 But God, I trust you. I believe you'll get me 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:38.400 to where I'm supposed to be. 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:44.000 The scripture says God has ordered your steps, doesn't say 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:45.800 he has suggested them. 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:49.120 Maybe this will happen, maybe that will happen. 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:53.040 Your steps have been ordered. But here's what I've learned. 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:55.680 When God ordered my steps. 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:59.400 He didn't check with me. He didn't ask for my opinion. 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:02.320 If he would have, I would have told him I 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:05.160 don't want to go through that disappointment. I don't want 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:07.640 those people to talk about me. I don't want that 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:10.280 company to file a lawsuit to try to keep us 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:13.679 from moving into the Compact Center. I would have said 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:18.000 no to all the difficulties because I couldn't see where 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:23.000 they were taking me. You can't reach your destiny without opposition, 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:28.200 without betrayal, without criticism, without things you don't understand. 0:08:28.960 --> 0:08:31.320 When my father went to be with the Lord, I 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:33.160 didn't see anything good about that. 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:37.080 I lost one of my best friends, somebody I admired 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:37.880 and looked up to. 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:40.520 I wanted him to live another twenty years. 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:44.200 But it was that loss that pushed me into what 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:48.400 I'm doing today. On the other side of the difficulty 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:52.240 is a new level of your destiny. If you'll keep 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:56.079 the right attitude, all things will work for your good, 0:08:56.720 --> 0:09:00.200 not some things, not just the good breaks, the promotion, 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:04.559 but even the loss, the disappointment, the person that walked away. 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:09.720 It wasn't random, It was ordained by God. John chapter eleven. 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:14.320 Lazarus was very sick. His two sisters, Mary and Martha 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:17.400 sent word to their friend Jesus to come to their 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:20.800 house and pray for him. Jesus was in another city. 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:24.880 He waited four days, and Lazarus died. There were all 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:28.160 these people gathered at the house to pay their respects 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:32.439 and comfort the family. Then Jesus showed up. He raised 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:36.960 Lazarus from the dead. Most of the people there were excited, 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:41.079 and they believed in Jesus, but some of them were cynical. 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:45.160 They couldn't deny his power, but they weren't for him. 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:49.080 They rushed back to tell the Pharisees, the religious leaders, 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:54.400 what happened. The main priest called the council together, said 0:09:54.400 --> 0:09:55.800 if we let Jesus. 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:58.240 Continue, the whole nation will believe in him. 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:02.440 Verse fifty three said, as from that time on, the 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:08.679 religious leaders began to plot Jesus' death. Lazarus being raised 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:12.480 was a strategic part in the plan of God. It's 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:16.680 set into emotion all these other events that eventually led 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:21.760 to Jesus being crucified. That's why Jesus waited on purpose 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:23.080 for Lazarus to die. 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:24.880 He could have gone. 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:27.800 There sooner and healed him, or he could have spoken 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:31.800 healing from another city like he'd done and healed other people. 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:36.040 But he waited for Lazarus to die so all these. 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:37.240 People would be gathered. 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:41.120 It would create such a commotion a man being raised 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:44.120 from the dead, that the critics would go back and 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:47.280 get the council all stirred up. What am I saying, 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:51.480 What may look like a crisis to us can still 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:55.920 be the plan of God. Mary and Martha were upset, weeping. 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:59.960 They couldn't see it at the time, that crisis was 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:04.160 ordained by God. Jesus being delayed was in an accident. 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:09.760 Him not coming when they asked, was divinely orchestrated. Nothing 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:15.480 randomly happens, even the crisis, the bad breaks, the things 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:16.600 that don't make sense. 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:19.800 We can't see it. But God is still on the throne. 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:24.199 Thoughts will tell you it's never gonna work out. There's 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.600 no purpose to this. You just have bad luck. 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:31.080 Don't believe those lies. God is up to something. God 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:35.000 is strategic. Things are in motion right now that you 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:36.079 can't see. 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:37.480 Behind the scenes. 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:41.160 God's moving the wrong people out of the way, lining 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:44.439 up the right people, arranging things in your favor. 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:46.960 It's in the process of coming together. 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.559 We may not understand it all, but I can assure 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:56.120 you nothing is random. The delay was on purpose. The 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:59.720 betrayal was ordained by God. The person that turned on 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:03.520 you wasn't supposed to be for you. It may seem 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.920 like it's out of control, but God is still. 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:07.960 In complete control. 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.120 The plan He's laid out for your life is right 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:15.040 on track. Now, keep doing the right thing when you 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:19.600 don't understand, Stay in faith when people betray you, do 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:22.720 the right thing when the wrong thing is happening. Your 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:27.640 time is coming. What God ordained will come to pass. 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:32.080 No person can stop him. No bad break, no crisis, 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:37.040 no people, all the forces of darkness cannot stop what 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:40.080 God has purposed for your life. Now, you have to 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:43.800 be so convinced that God is for you that you 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:46.080 don't fall apart when life. 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:47.440 Is against you. 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:51.360 You don't get bitter because things didn't work out your way. 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:53.640 You don't give up on a dream because you had 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:54.439 a setback. 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:57.000 You know it's a setup. 0:12:57.160 --> 0:12:59.960 That God has the final saying that he didn't bring 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:02.720 you this far to leave you. That him being for 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:06.320 you is more than the world being against you. The 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:09.840 High Priest wanted to get rid of Jesus. He started 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:13.040 coming up with all these plans and all these schemes. 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:16.840 He needed somebody that would betray him, needed people that 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:21.800 would falsely accuse him. What's interesting is God didn't stop 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:25.439 their plans, but he used their plans. 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:29.559 To fulfill the purpose of Christ. God is all knowing. 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:31.520 He has an advantage. 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:35.000 He knew everything the enemy would try to do in 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:39.680 your life. He's already taken that into consideration. 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:40.840 When he laid out your plan. 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:45.120 Now, he may not stop every plot of the enemy 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:49.199 against you. He won't stop every bad break, every betrayal, 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:53.800 but he will use that to move you into your destiny. 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:57.240 He didn't stop Joseph's brothers from throwing him into the pit. 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.000 He didn't stop them from selling him as a sling. 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:04.440 But God took that into account when he laid out 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:09.000 Joseph's purpose. I can imagine God thinking, okay, they want 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:11.400 to sell him, they want to make him a slave. 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:14.439 That's fine. I'll turn it to his advantage. 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:19.000 I'll design Joseph's plan so that Potter for his boss, 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:23.560 will like him. I'll give Joseph the ability to interpret dreams, 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:26.760 and then I'll give the Pharaoh a dream. 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:27.720 That only Joseph can interpret. 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:33.000 God has designed your plan, knowing every plot against you. 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:38.359 He knows every bad break that will happen, every closed door, 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:42.920 every disappointment. And the good news is God's strategic plan 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:45.320 will override. 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:46.920 Every plan that was meant to stop you. 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:52.600 That's why Isaiah said no weapon formed against you will prosper. 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:55.080 Doesn't say they want form. 0:14:55.800 --> 0:15:00.560 Judas will show up, people will betray you, injustice will come, 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:02.120 but they won't prosper. 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:02.920 Why. 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:05.880 God has taken into account. 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:10.560 Their jealousy, their malice, their hatred, what they meant for harm. 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:14.000 God has already designed a plan to use it for 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:19.040 your good. You don't have to live discouraged when negative 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:23.480 things come against you, trying to pay people back, frustrated 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:25.200 because of a disappointment. 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:26.240 Stay in peace. 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:30.800 God hasn't all figured out. He wouldn't have allowed it 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:34.720 if it was going to stop you. If Joseph's brothers 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:38.960 throwing him into a pit was going to stop Joseph's destiny, 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:42.480 God wouldn't have let the brothers do it. God held 0:15:42.520 --> 0:15:45.120 back the Red Sea. He could have held the brothers back. 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:51.040 God allowed it because it was a part of Joseph's destiny. 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:55.880 Quit fighting what God has allowed. Without that happening, you 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:57.400 couldn't fulfill your purpose. 0:15:57.880 --> 0:15:58.760 It's a setup. 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.640 You may not like it, it may be uncomfortable, but 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:06.120 if you'll stay in faith, one day, you're going to 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:09.040 see what God was up to. Judas went in and 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:12.880 told the religious leaders that he would betray Jesus. They 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:15.920 were so excited. This was the big break they were 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:20.480 looking for. They didn't realize Judas was a pawn in 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:21.440 the hand of God. 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:23.040 Wasn't his idea. 0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:27.600 God was using him to move Jesus into his purpose. 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:31.880 We give our enemies too much credit. They can only 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:36.200 do what God allows them to do. Judas couldn't stop Jesus. 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:40.400 His betrayal, His disloyalty, couldn't keep the. 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:42.040 Plan of God from unfolding. 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:46.000 When people come against you, don't get bent out of shape. 0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:49.680 They can't stop you They think they're hindering you, But 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:52.640 like Judas, God is going to use them to move 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:57.520 you further into your destiny. But sometimes we make mistakes, 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:01.240 We bring the trouble on ourselves. We get off course 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.280 and do things we know that we shouldn't do. But 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:07.720 the beauty of our God is he not only designed 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:11.040 your plan knowing what the enemy would try to do 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:15.359 against you, but he designed your plan knowing the mistakes 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:19.399 you would make. God has taken into account the times 0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:24.040 we would fail, times we'd compromise given to temptations. 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:29.040 He's so merciful. He's already designed a plan to restore 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:30.919 us and get us back on course. 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:34.400 God told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:37.760 and tell the people to repent. Jonah didn't want to 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:41.160 go there. He got on a boat going the other way. 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:44.520 He went exactly opposite. 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:47.080 Of what God told him to do. You would think 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:50.760 he's done too bad. He stepped out of God's plan. 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:55.199 But on the boat a huge storm arose. They were 0:17:55.240 --> 0:17:58.480 all about to die. Jonah admitted to the crew that 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:01.720 he was the problem. He was running from God. That's 0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:04.959 why they were having trouble. The crew was so loving, 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:08.440 they said Jonah, thank you for being so honest. Then 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:12.640 they threw him overboard. This should have been the end 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:16.160 of Jonah's story. Out in the middle of the ocean 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:19.639 in a huge storm, but it just so happened. 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:23.439 A big fish was swimming by at the right place 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:24.440 at the right. 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:28.840 Time, feeling hungry, and it swallowed Jonah up. He spent 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:31.720 three days in the belly of the fish. On the 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:34.000 third day, the fish came up from the bottom of 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:37.400 the ocean and spit Jonah out on dry ground. 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:41.200 Hundreds of years later, Jesus would say. 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:44.199 As Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:47.520 three days, so shall the son of Man be in 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:48.000 the heart of. 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:49.800 The earth for three days. 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:55.000 Jonah was a picture of Jesus. God knew that he 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:58.720 would get off course. He had already planned how that. 0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:01.080 Would foreshadow what Christ would do. 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:06.760 What am I saying? Nothing randomly happens. Your mistakes have 0:19:06.880 --> 0:19:11.040 been taken into account in God's plan for your life. 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:14.440 And I don't say that so you can live loose good. 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:16.600 I'm gonna do whatever I want to do. Joel said, 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:17.679 God's got me covered. 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:18.800 No mistakes. 0:19:19.359 --> 0:19:22.919 They cause heartache, They cast pain. Three days in the 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:26.720 belly of the fish. That sounds exciting now, but that 0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:31.040 was not a cruise liner. It was dark, dirty, smelly 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:35.240 seaweed all over his head. When the fish spit Jonah out, 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:39.440 the first thing God told him was go to Nineveh 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:42.399 and do what I ask you to do. God didn't 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:45.760 change his mind, but he gave him another chance. 0:19:46.720 --> 0:19:48.680 When we make mistakes, when we. 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:53.720 Fail, the accuser keeps whispering, You're done. God is finished 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:55.040 with you. You had your chance. 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:58.720 You'll never accomplish your dreams. No, get back up, Jonah. 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:03.240 Your mistake not a surprise to God. He's already designed 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:06.880 you'll come back. He's already laid out your new beginning. 0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:10.640 Why don't you get back in the game, get your fireback, 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:15.119 get your passion back, Start dreaming again, start believing again. 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:18.480 That mistake didn't cancel your destiny. 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:23.080 God still has a purpose for you to fulfill. When 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:26.560 God told Abraham that he and his wife Sarah were 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:29.959 going to have a baby in their old age, years 0:20:30.040 --> 0:20:34.280 went by and nothing happened. So Abraham decided to help 0:20:34.359 --> 0:20:38.560 God out, and he slept with Sarah's maid. They had 0:20:38.600 --> 0:20:42.119 a son, a boy they named Ishmael. They were so 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:45.800 excited they finally had their baby. God said, that is 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:47.080 not the promised child. 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:50.600 That's the arm of the flesh. That's something you made happen. 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:56.240 Ishmael, in one sense, was considered a mistake. He was 0:20:56.320 --> 0:21:00.840 the child that Abraham had out of wedlock. Abraham is 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:03.760 the father of our faith. You would think he would 0:21:03.880 --> 0:21:07.080 know better. Surely this wouldn't be in the plan of God. 0:21:08.080 --> 0:21:12.760 Four generations later, when Joseph's brothers threw him into a pit, 0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:15.840 they were going to leave him there to die, but 0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:19.720 they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming. 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:24.720 They decided instead to sell Joseph to them. The Ishmaelites 0:21:25.080 --> 0:21:29.800 were descendants of Ishmael. What once was considered a mistake 0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:35.080 was actually a part of God's plan to save Joseph's life. 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:39.080 Only God, in his amazing wisdom, can take what was 0:21:39.119 --> 0:21:42.760 a mistake in one generation and use it to be 0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:44.639 a blessing in another generation. 0:21:45.640 --> 0:21:51.280 Nothing randomly happens. Even your mistakes are a setup. 0:21:52.160 --> 0:21:55.879 Why don't you quit beating yourself up for past failures. 0:21:56.040 --> 0:21:57.480 Quit living in regrets. 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:01.080 Nothing you've done is too much the mercy of God. 0:22:01.480 --> 0:22:02.160 Let that go. 0:22:02.359 --> 0:22:05.760 Start moving forward into the new things. God has in store. 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:09.359 A few years ago, Victoria lost her ring. 0:22:10.080 --> 0:22:13.120 It was a diamond band that her mother had given her, 0:22:13.600 --> 0:22:17.320 been in their family for several generations. Sometimes when we'd 0:22:17.320 --> 0:22:20.280 go on a trip, Victoria would hide it in the house. 0:22:20.800 --> 0:22:25.320 So for months we searched everywhere, every drawer, every cabinet, 0:22:25.359 --> 0:22:26.160 every pocket. 0:22:26.400 --> 0:22:28.520 That ring was nowhere to be found. 0:22:29.160 --> 0:22:32.240 About three years later, we were driving home late one 0:22:32.359 --> 0:22:35.600 night from out of town. It was after midnight and 0:22:35.640 --> 0:22:39.200 I was tired and ready to get home. Victoria said, Joe, 0:22:39.280 --> 0:22:41.760 you better slow down. You're going to get a ticket. 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:45.359 I was going about seventy five and the speed limit 0:22:45.440 --> 0:22:50.520