Unrecognizable, Part 3 (cont'd)

You ever had those countdowns go on in your life, in your heart, in your mind?

Countdown when it looks like, okay now I see the light at the end now and you create this little timeline. What do you do when God has not met your deadline? Nothing tests our faith quite like unmet expectations. Hello and welcome to another week of teaching from Pastor Paul Shepherd here on Destined for Victory. When we put God on a deadline and the deadline comes and goes, the enemy shows up and says, where's your God now?

Why is he silent? If you've ever been there staring at the tunnel at the end of the tunnel, you'll want to stick around for today's message from Pastor Paul as he takes us to the life of Joseph to show us the healthy way to handle our challenges. Stay right here or visit pastorpaul.net to listen anytime on demand.

That's pastorpaul.net or be sure to subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, at Spotify or wherever you get yours. Now here's Pastor Paul with today's Destined for Victory message, unrecognizable. The Bible is wonderful in showing us how God sets things up. Before the king is going to have his dream years to come, before that, God is setting something up. So the cup bearer and the baker have dreams in prison. And they wake up and Joseph's taking care of them.

He's an excellent servant. And so he notices they're not, something's wrong today, checks in with them, what's up? And they both say, we had this dream, can't figure it out. Man, we're puzzled, we just can't believe this happened, that same dream, we don't know what it means. And Joseph said, well, I got y'all covered. But now, baker, you sure you want to know the interpretation of your dream?

Yeah, go on, tell me. Well, in three days you're going to be dead. So you know that call they give you?

You need to make sure your family knows what insurance papers are. You're going to be out of here in three days. Cup bearer, in three days, your dream means you're going to be restored to your position. And I love this, and Joseph said, and when you get there, because you're going to be back in the throne room, when you get there, remember me to Pharaoh.

See, you never have to stop wanting justice, you just can't be preoccupied with it. Here's an opportunity, he said, okay, here's a shot. He can do this. Remember me to Pharaoh. Tell him about me, tell him I'm a man of God, tell him I didn't do anything to deserve being here. And do what you can to get me out of here.

Cup bearer, oh, man, I'd be glad to do that. All right, man. Just like the people in your life. Three days later, they send word, he's out, and he and Joseph hug, all right, man, see you, take care. Now you can imagine what's happening. As soon as this dude leaves, in Joseph's mind, a new count has started. You ever had those countdowns going in your life, in your heart, in your mind?

Countdown when it looks like, okay, now I see the light at the end now, and you create this little timeline. Y'all ever done it, see you looking holy. You single people ever said, I'm going to be married by? Oh, yeah, no, we're going there, yes, we're going there.

No future in front, we're going there. All right, I believe that by such and such that God going to hook me up. You set your date, and that date comes and goes. What do you do when God has not met your deadline? Let's look at what Joseph did. Joseph is thinking, he sets his little, okay, cool, cup bears up there right now, he probably telling Pharaoh about me right now. All right, so that mean either later today, tomorrow, they going to come send for me. You know that's the kind of way he would likely be thinking, oh, we're not toted in the text, but you know that's easily something you can assume a guy in his position, he just asked for a favor by somebody he served very well, and he gave good news to.

Why wouldn't you want to hook him up? So he's thinking, all right, he got me up there telling him. So Joseph, it's very easy to imagine Joseph starts packing up. I'm out of here, only man of time.

He probably going around encouraging other folk. All right, man, get ready, go. Now I'm going to be here to help y'all like I've been doing.

It had been a privilege to serve y'all, but now you're on your own. Y'all got to take care of each other. All right, man, don't get down. Look at somebody who's prone to despair. All right, man, I need you to be strong. Come on, look at me, look at me. Be strong, man. You do this time, don't let this time do you. He think he can ready to leave.

Imagine how he felt. Next day, nobody's coming to get him. Next week, nobody's coming to get him. Next month, nobody's coming to get him. Next year, anniversary of the cupbearer leaving. And then they're having cake.

I remember the cupbearer left this time last year. No sign of his deliverance. What do you do when there's no sign of your deliverance?

You wait on the Lord because he knows why it hasn't happened. God has a thing the scriptures call in the fullness of time. You know what we hate about in the fullness of time? It doesn't give us details. Every time you read in the fullness of time, you know what that means?

When God's purpose was lined up with your circumstance. And we don't like that. We want God to send us a five-year plan. We want God to send us, okay, here's what's going to happen. Send us some memos, send us some updates. Have you ever prayed and tried to pray up on an update?

Okay, Lord, so just explain to me what's going to happen the rest of this year. And he says nothing. See, it's one thing, we always talk about trusting God's word, that God will bring his word to pass. That's a great level of faith, learning to trust his word. Take him at his word. But you got to go past trusting his word and you got to learn to trust his silence.

You missed that. I said you got to go past learning to trust his word and learn to trust his silence. I got to learn to trust God when he's saying absolutely nothing.

And I'm here to tell you God can be more silent than anybody you ever met in your life. You pray and fast and I need a word. Oh, I tried to, as some of y'all have too, I tried to bargain with God. I tried to fast my way into the river.

I'm not eating till he say something. Just drink water day and night. Hold up in a hotel.

Oh, I've gotten dramatic. Hold up in a hotel. Pray and take nothing but water in there.

Big jugs of water. I'm going to stay in this room day and night. All I'm going to do is eat.

I mean not eat. I'm going to drink this water. I'm going to sleep and I'm going to pray. That's all I'm going to do. And I've done it for days. Nothing but drink water and pray.

When you get sleepy, sleep. Wake up, pray some more. Oh, God's going to be in here. God's going to say something to me.

He's going to come in this room. Probably an angel going to be standing in front of me giving me instructions. And I've left that hotel four or five days later and God has said nothing.

I'll never forget one time early in my California years when I was wondering where the people were that I came out here to pastor. I said I'm going to go up in this hotel and find out where they are. And my wife, little dutiful wife, she dropped me off, kissed me. All right, honey, I'm praying for you. Can't pick me up for five days later. She said what?

I said what the Lord say? Just drive home. Why don't you just drive?

Always asking questions. Why don't you just drive somebody off? You know, you get cranky when you ain't heard from God. Drive home. Let me get some soup so I can break this fat. At least I'm going to eat. Might not be talking, but I'm going to get me some food. And my wife just encouraged me. No, the Lord is, he's active. You know, he's active. I said, yeah, yeah, I'm just.

She was right. He may not come when you want him. And we got to understand he's God. You don't get to dictate destiny.

Destiny's not in your hands. Two years went by after the cup bearer had left the jail. Two full years. 730 days. Slow days.

Mundane days. No earthquakes, no words, no angels. No yea and the Lord would say unto thee, there remaineth yet 500 days. If you got that, that's good.

Now I got something I can check off. The Lord said, yay. And you know, it always sound more spiritual when you put it in King James.

Yay. People prophesying King and the Lord would say unto thee, you don't talk like that. What's up with the King James prophecy.

Why don't you just go on and put it in an IV. Still God, if the Lord gave you the word, he can speak in 21st century, but we let it yay. And the Lord would say unto thee, yay and 2521 more days and I shall deliver thee. You get that.

You're good. Cause then now you got something to check off. You get your little calendar.

I'm down to four ninety nine. Two full years went by with no word. Two years later, Pharaoh has this dream. You're listening to Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor of Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. And he'll be right back with the second half of today's message. Remember, you can always listen to Destined for Victory right in the palm of your hand by downloading our free mobile app. The app allows you to select from any of Pastor Paul's recent messages or contact us for prayer. You can also order resources from our online store and even take notes on the daily messages right on your mobile device. So they'll be waiting for you the next time you stop by.

Search Destined for Victory in the app store and download our free mobile app today. If you've ever been abandoned or forgotten by people you love, be encouraged today. God's plan for you without them is better than it ever would have been with them. Let's join Pastor Paul as he wraps up today's message, unrecognizable. He says, who can interpret it? None of the, none of the soothsayers, none of the sorcerers in the kingdom, none of the spooky folk have a word. And the cupbearer's standing there and he sees all these folk come in and Pharaoh's frustrated because none of them have a word and the cupbearer's just like people in your life. Oh, oh snap. King.

Oh man, so I was supposed to tell you two years ago about this dude in prison. You know why it wouldn't have mattered had he remembered? Cause the king hadn't had a dream yet. You, you all mad at the folk who haven't helped you out. They couldn't help you out of your destiny.

Give them a break. God needed them to be forgetful. God needed them to keep disrespecting you. God needed them to keep holding you back from that next promotion. God needed them to keep you from getting that mortgage.

God needed that to happen cause his plan was bigger than what you would have done with their cooperation. Best case scenario, had he been remembered, had the cupbearer remembered him, told him about the king, had the king been in especially good mood that day and decided to go against one of his chief servant's wife and let this guy out of jail. So what?

He's out of jail to do what? Go back and be a slave. Do you see what I'm saying to you? God's got your destiny in his hands. Quit tripping over folk who are mistreating you.

God uses their mistreatment for his own purpose. Quit tripping over your disappointers. Sometimes that's the best folk can do is disappoint you. They don't want to.

The ones that like you, they want to hook you up. They just can't. Just can't. Stop putting your hope in them. Get out of Diana Ross mode if you need me, call me no matter where you are, no matter how far, just call my name.

I'll be there in a hurry on that. You can depend and never worry. No wind, no rain, no winter's cold can stop me, baby. If you're my God, ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you. We love it when somebody thinks that way about us but you're going to live long enough to find folk who feel that way about you and you let the right mountain show up and they're not climbing that mountain to get to you.

They'll text you from the other side of the mountain. Yo, I wish I could be there thinking about you over here but I can't quite get across this mountain. Got some things I'm doing but you be strong.

Send. Best they can do. You got to get out of that mode. You got to get out of Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Elton John mode. Keep smiling, keep shining, and you can always count on me for sure. That's what friends are for. In good times and bad times I'll be on your side forevermore. That's what friends are for. Stevie stand up. I love that song too back in 85 when it came out.

I loved it too. We love it when people feel that way about us but I don't care who your friends are. They're not always going to be able to come through for you. They're going to be days your friends just can't cut it.

They love you and all but they can't do it. Fullness of time. Pharaoh hears about Joseph, sins for him.

Go get him. Joseph washes, prepares himself to enter the presence of the king. That's why you got to make sure no bitterness, no despair, no anger. That stuff is shaking off of you because God's going to bring you in front of some folk and they don't need to see that mess on you.

Got to get rid of that. God bring you in. God bring some folk into your life and you come up there tripping about everybody who did you wrong. Imagine now Joseph come up in there.

Yeah, I'm glad you finally sent for me. Go man, I'm telling you it just wasn't right what happened to me the past 10 years. I'm just saying, I'm just saying. Didn't nobody call you up here for that? He come up there like that, he came and said, go back to jail. Get out of my face.

He came up there ready. You called for me sir? I had a dream. Nobody can interpret it but I heard about you.

Heard you can interpret dreams. Joseph's so clear. He's giving God the glory. He's practicing God's prayer. He said, I cannot sir, but the God I serve, he can tell me what I need to know about what you dreamed.

King shared the dream. Joseph interprets it clear as a bell. Listen, I want you to know word of knowledge. Those kinds of gifts are still in the body of Christ. God can give you a word out of nowhere that comes directly from heaven.

You just got to practice his presence. God will tell you everything you need to know. God will tell you to don't take that plane.

Got the best fare. God will say, no, that's not, that's not yours. Don't drive down that street. Don't go there today. Not that store, not that mall.

You get home and they've been shot up and everybody's laying around. You gotta learn to follow where he leads. Joseph tells him the dream, not only tell him the dream, tells him the interpretation and gives him a word of wisdom about what to do. He said, you need to appoint somebody because seven years of plenty are coming. Appoint somebody over this so that you can budget your prosperity.

You know that's what you need. You need to learn how to budget your prosperity when God blesses you. You gotta learn how to budget that.

Not just financially, but it includes financial. You gotta learn to budget the time God gives you. You gotta learn to budget the energy.

It's a resource. We are learning. My wife and I compare notes a lot these days. We're learning in this season of life, you can't just go all the way to the end. You gotta hold you some margin. You gotta hold some reserve. I can't let y'all run me all the way raggedy.

I now got a raggedy boundary. You get my energy till I get up to that and then the next one ring the phone, pastor. At the limit, I'm gonna pray for you and I'll be there.

I'll be to you after a while. But I'm dying. No, no, no. You're gonna make it. You'll be all right. If I'm the one who's supposed to minister to you, that's not gonna be the day. I'm at the limit. Y'all gotta learn where your limits are.

That's why you're pushing past that and God's given you grace for what you need to do now. He's gonna give you some for later on but you gotta learn to reserve. And so he taught him how to conserve.

He said, you need to point somebody over that. Pharaoh looked at him and said, well, there's nobody in my kingdom as wise as you. And the Pharaoh then said, from this day on, you are second in command in Egypt. The miracle of that is he's not even an Egyptian but it's God's purpose that's prevailing. I wanna let you know the purpose of the Lord is gonna prevail in your life and when he gets you where you're going, he's gonna bless you so well that he will not only have developed focus in you but he's gonna develop in you forgetfulness. God so blessed this man who had been so apparently wronged for decades. God so blessed him that when he named his first child, got married in Egypt, he named his first child Manasseh which means God caused me to forget all of my trouble and all that I went through in my daddy's household. God will not let us take into the next level bitterness and anger and I'm sick of them folks.

If the last thing I do, somebody gonna pay for what I've been through. That doesn't belong in the place of destiny. Thanks so much for joining us for this Monday edition of Destined for Victory and Pastor Paul Shepherd's message unrecognizable. If you missed any of this important message today, remember you can listen on demand at pastorpaul.net.

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Our mistakes, our past pain are uniquely designed to bring us closer to Jesus and make us better able to minister to those who may be going through the same things. In this booklet from Pastor Paul, he shows you how your mess can become a message and how your test can become a testimony. That's turning your test into a testimony, our gift to you this month by request for your generous donation to Destin for Victory. Call 855-339-5500 or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to Destin for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont California 94538.

Again, that's Destin for Victory Box 1767, Fremont California 94538. Don't try to answer questions you don't have the answer for. Here's what you do. You affirm what you do know. I do know that His grace is sufficient. I do know that His peace will pass understanding. I do know that if I put my hope and trust in Him, I'm going to come out alright. That's tomorrow when Pastor Paul Shepherd shares his message unrecognizable. Until then remember, He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.