Shane Idleman delivers a powerful sermon titled 'What the Enemy Intended for Evil,' focusing on the story of Joseph and the themes of humility, repentance, and God's redemptive power. He emphasizes how Joseph's time in prison prepared him for his role in saving many lives during a famine, illustrating that our struggles can serve a greater purpose beyond ourselves. Idleman highlights the importance of genuine repentance over mere sorrow, encouraging listeners to seek restoration in their relationships and lives. He also discusses the spiritual battle against pride and the need for the church to awaken and unite in humility before God. Ultimately, he reassures that what the enemy intends for evil, God can turn into good, urging believers to trust in God's sovereignty and timing.

So the title of the message this morning is, What the Enemy Intended for Evil. How many of you are familiar with that verse? If not, that's okay, that's why we're here. What the Enemy Intended for Evil. So, of course, we've been talking about Joseph, and this is going to be the last message. Joseph was in prison, then he goes to the palace, and I think the prison humbled him. Joseph, to be able to fulfill what God's called him to do, and prison humbles you. I mean, we've had four felons give their testimony. And I'm so excited. If that bothers a person, please talk to me afterwards, because I would love to talk to you. God's in the business of redeeming. And you might see a national figure be arrested Tuesday, so keep that in prayer. Hope it breaks him. I don't know if you saw it, but former President Trump tweeted out on True Social that he thinks he will be arrested on Tuesday with the things going on. I'm not surprised. And so we will be praying for that. I don't care if you like him or not. I'd pray for Biden if he was in a pickle where people are coming after him. The deep state is deep and it's real. I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I know people who know people in the FBI and CIA, and it's deep. Because why? You have kingdoms colliding. You have a liberal agenda that's wanting to groom children. And you have others fighting that. You have those moving towards a one-world system and America is bad, and let's all come together and let's re-event America. We don't need the Constitution. And then you have others standing. So there's kingdoms are colliding. This is real. This is not pixie dust. And it cracks me up when people say, oh, you're a conspirator. No, this is the truth. Unless you have your face buried in CNN 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you don't know what the truth is. So you've got to look everywhere. I'm not just putting them down. I'll put down anybody. But look everywhere. Look at what is really going on. Then Joseph could not restrain himself. I better give you a little background. I know what's going on in my mind because I've been looking at it all week. But Joseph is in prison. Gets out of prison. Stands before Pharaoh. And there's a great famine in the land. Joseph is in charge now because he was able to interpret Pharaoh's dream. So now, the famine is here. Joseph's brothers, what, 17 years later or so? Come and they're coming to buy grain. They think he's dead. He sees them. Oh my goodness. I don't want them to recognize. He's probably dressed like an Egyptian and walks like an Egyptian. You remember that song? I'm dating myself. And so I couldn't resist. He spoke in their language and not Hebrew again, even though he could. So they didn't really recognize him. I don't think he's playing games with them. He's probably testing their heart. He sent them away and then put things in their bags to make them get caught. And then he wants them to bring back Benjamin, the youngest son. And Judah intervenes and intercedes. You have to listen to last week's message about that. And he goes, no, I can't let Benjamin come here. And my father, I promised my father. So could it be that Joseph now is seeing genuine repentance in Judah? I'm sorry, in Judah? He's seeing that and that's why it says, then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him. So he hears the cries of his brother and mainly of Judah. And he cried out to everyone, get out of here. Leave me alone. So no one stood with him while he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud and even the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. And again, Judah's signs of genuine repentance may have sparked this. It may have sparked this. I know I've talked about this before and I've done sermons on it, but you need to know there's a difference between sorrow and repentance. We see this a lot at the church. Many people are sorry. Right? Sorry I got caught. Sorry my name is being rung through the mud. Sorry that this happened. My reputation. But they're not genuinely repentant. Because sorrow comes from self-preservation. I'm trying to preserve my image of myself and I want to get things back on track, and okay, I'll tell them what they want to hear. Where genuine repentance comes from the opposite of self-preservation, but of humbling ourselves and admitting that God, I need You. I need You to fix this. I need to own what I did wrong, whether in what I said or what I did. And I'm going to make restitution for what I did. I'm actually changing what I'm doing. It's a change of mind to repent, but it can't just be that. Because if we change our mind, because so many times we've counseled people and we've told them what needs to happen. And like, yeah, I got it up here. I need to do that. But then, they don't do it. Has that person repented? Not at all. It's called lip service. But be encouraged, God is in the business of restoring those who truly repent. As a matter of fact, that's all He wanted the nation of Israel to do. Throughout all of the Old Testament, many times those prophets, they called them major prophets, the minor prophets, they would just call the nation to repentance. Change what you're doing. And again, put Yahweh on the throne. Serve Him. Follow Him. Humble yourself. And they would not. And another point to remember here, you'd be amazed at what repentance can fix. You'd be amazed at what repentance can fix. It can fix the broken, fractured marriage. It can fix the relationship you might have with your kids or your spouse. Or it might be able to fix something at work. Or in your own personal life. Repentance. And I don't want to get too deep on this. Maybe I'll talk about it in the health seminar, but there's amazing things coming out about how toxic emotions can really affect us. There's even studies where epigenetics, it'll study how your gene can switch and how it can affect your mood and gut microbiome and anger and what angry does and speaking anger and light and being critical and what that does to the body. And repentance frees you. Haven't you seen that before? You're kind of hard and rigid until you repent. And then there's a softness. There's a glow. There's a skip in your step. There's a joy. We get the emails, when's morning worship again? What time do you start? When's the Wednesday service start? When are the Saturday services again? There's a joy to get back to God. That's what repentance is. Repentance is amazing. Without that, we will not see change. And that's why I keep sounding this alarm for our nation. For our nation. Because we don't realize, I mean, in the church what I'm talking about, socialism isn't our biggest problem. Communism. Wokeism. The biggest problem right now is a church that's asleep. She's not repenting. She's arrogant and boastful. And proud. Not humble. And pliable and usable from God. Can you imagine if the call went out to 5,000 churches? God was moving. I mean, that's what they think now is left in America, about 6,000 Bible-believing, Christ-centered churches, if you can believe that. If they would just get on their knees before God and say, God, I want to say what You want me to say. I'm going to repent of pride. We don't want to jockey for position. If You use me cleaning toilets. If You use me in any... Just God, this mighty moving of people repenting. That's why after, if my people, it says, if they repent. If my people humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways. And I think that's why a lot of strongholds stay in the lives of many people. Because there's sorrow, but there's not repentance. Or they're fighting it, but then they compromise and begin to open that door up again. And they start to justify things. They start to blame their spouse, or blame others, or blame the situation. We love to run back to our addictions by blaming someone else. I'm preaching to somebody. Then Joseph said to his brothers, I would have loved to be here. There's some things I would have loved to have been at. You know, the party in the Red Sea, that would have been pretty cool. And I personally loved when Jesus opened up the scroll of Isaiah and read it out and He said, today the Scripture is fulfilled and you're hearing He sat down. I mean, the magnitude of what that must have been. And I don't even think I could have stood the cross, but where Joseph revealed himself, we thought you were dead. I'm Joseph, does my father still live? But his brothers could not answer him for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said, please come near. So they came near. Then he said, I am Joseph, your brother, who you sold into Egypt years ago. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry. And some of you may live there grieved, bitter, upset at God or at the situation, or angry. Angry, upset at things. He said, don't do that because you sold me. God sent me before you to preserve life. Joseph repeats this. I don't know how much longer, but it's quite a bit longer because the father Jacob has already died. You've got Abraham. The twelve tribes of Israel didn't come from him. They didn't come from Isaac. They came from their lineage, but then Jacob had the twelve tribes of Israel under which Joseph was. And now after Jacob dies, Joseph goes back and reminds them, don't worry now that our dad is dead, because they're thinking, okay, dad's dead. Joseph's going to come back and get us because of what we did to him. But he said what you meant for evil against me, God has meant it for good. For what reason? In order to bring about, to this day, to save many people alive. You know, I thought if I added this just I think this morning, and it really struck home that sometimes it's not all about me. What I'm going through, right? What you're going through. Come on, let me make this applicable. Sometimes it's not all about me. How it's affecting me. I don't want to go through this. I don't want to put up with it. Me, me, me, me, me. God, it's all about me. The center of the earth revolves around me. But sometimes God says, I'm going to take you through that for someone else. And I often wonder, I've got another one coming up Saturday when I speak at memorial services. The person passing away is a terrible thing, but it caused others in the family to come to the Lord. So at the end of being made for evil, could something good come of that? Now people are open. They're receptive. And he might use a difficult situation. Why am I going through this? Maybe to reveal something in someone else. Maybe to help them get through their situation. Maybe as iron sharpens iron. They have to be tested and tempted and tried. And that really just stood out. You know, I'm sure Joseph's thinking, okay, that's great. I'm glad I went through years in the prison so these people could be saved and not starve. I might have to process that one for a little bit. But it's a good reminder of what we're going through. What we're going through. The challenges, if we rely on God, could have amazing fruit even though we don't like the pain because the pain will have a purpose. And then of course, this is important for us, conviction is good. Conviction is good. But he didn't want his brothers to feel shame and guilt. Here's the difference. Conviction. Man, this isn't right. I'm convicted. I get my heart right with the Lord. I repent. I apologize. Whatever. And that drew me to a fresh relationship with God. Where shame and guilt, like I'll never measure up. I keep blowing it. Man, I'm back. I did that again. It's been years or months. I'm living in the shame. And now I'm guilt. And God, I can't ever serve You. And You just stay stuck. That's where the enemy wants You to stay. Look at my past. Look at what I've done. And that's why it's hard to talk about sometimes is when women or men who concede to an abortion, what they have to deal with in their heart for years. The conviction is good to get our heart right and to repent. But you don't want to stay in the shame and the guilt. Because when there's shame and guilt, that's where we don't do much for God. Correct? I'm just stuck in this cycle. And I can't come out of it. I don't really want to go to church. I don't want to be around believers. You know those people that make you be quiet. They're so happy all the time. Yeah, I know you love the Lord. Blah, blah, blah. Don't keep sending me worship songs and Scriptures. Right, because we're in shame and guilt. And it's good to break out of that and repent. And then experience the joy of the Lord. The refreshing that comes from the presence of God. Then they went out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. Again, this is now when Jacob's living. I just fast-forwarded to show you that the famous verse, what you meant for evil, God meant for good, actually comes towards the end of Genesis. Again, he says it in chapter 45 and again in 50 reassuring them. And they told their father saying, Joseph is still alive. He is governor over all the land of Egypt. So once he told his brothers, now the brothers go back and tell the father, can you imagine Jacob's heart? He must have stood still thinking your child that was dead is now alive. And I thought of the prodigal too. They threw the big feast when he came back and he said my son that was dead is alive again. The joy. And Jacob's heart stood still because he did not believe them. I bet he didn't. But when they told him all the words what Joseph had said to them, and when he saw all the carts that Joseph had carried with them, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. Then Israel, whose name is Jacob, it's used interchangeably, then Israel said it is enough. Joseph, my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die. I hope this is for someone this morning, but God can and often does resurrect dead dreams. Now, I'm not going to turn into some motivational speaker this morning. All of you can get your dream back. Just think it and believe it. That Ferrari dealership that told you no? You just name it and claim it. And I hear a lot of those guys sometimes, like you can't just make a blanket statement because what about if a person's not a believer? What about if they're in a prodigal state? God's not going to revive that dream until they repent. You've got to work through some things. You can't just throw a blanket statement out there. But it is true, I believe, that God often resurrects dead dreams. Have you ever had God deposit something into you that's powerful and profound and say, Lord, Your Word confirms it. You put that in my heart. I prayed about it. I thought about it. But it's not happening. It's not happening. And of course, that would be a whole other message between is it my will or God's will? Anybody else have their will get in the way of their prayers? Yeah? Lord, I just want to retire at 50. I just want to retire at 50. And we'll get started. But He knows what is best. He knows the waiting time is not wasted time. And I would take it to the Lord. Sometimes He's readjusted my dreams. And maybe yours is for a son or daughter or grandchild. And I pray for people. I'm talking years. Years I've been praying for people in our prayer room. And the husband or the spouse, wife or the kids or the grandkids have not yet come to the Lord. So I don't need a lecture on being frustrated. Because I see them, sometimes I feel bad. Like God, please. God, this has got to be tough. Lord, please. And I don't know, but I do trust in God's timing. And I've known people on their deathbed crying because of their son or their daughter. But remember, your prayers outlive you. Many times, Pastor Abramson, I've seen the kids give their lives to the Lord in memorial services. The parents don't know. Now, they didn't know. But now they knew. Eventually, someday they will in heaven. Right? But it took that brokenness, that losing someone and realizing, look at what I had and look at what I didn't appreciate and why have I drifted from God? I knew God had a calling on me at a young age. And they turned back to God. Or there's many dreams for ministry. I truly believe you're not just called to come in here on Sunday and hear the message and worship and go home and wait for next Sunday or Wednesday. God can birth things inside of us. Maybe in your workplace, a Bible study. A ministry to whoever. But again, you have to shift your motives. You have to make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. Because I remember when God first called me to preach, there was a training ground for it for sure. And back then, I was going to Calvary Chapel. And they would have me as a traveling pastor for churches that need a pastor maybe for that week or for that month from Tehachapi, North Edwards, out to Yucca Valley. Way out there. So I would go, and I'm saying the same thing I'm saying now. No podcast, no YouTube, nothing. Just this two-year-old guy and I'll never forget, I walk into Yucca Valley. I didn't sleep well because they put me in a hotel on the main thorough street there and it was a racetrack until 2-3 in the morning. And I get there and I hear the worship and I walk in, there's 12 people. And I didn't care. I didn't care. I was just excited to be there because see, so many people. How many are there? How many are there? I'll have a home group as long as there's 20. What about if it's two? Could it be that we don't see our dreams fulfilled because we're focused on the numbers? And God will take that from us. And I'll never forget, we see it sometimes here, but man, when I would travel sometimes, I mean, I don't know if they weren't used to my messages, but the front rows right there, I'm preaching this guy, he's probably 300 pounds, he just falls down on his knees and he's weeping during the Mass. I'm like, what do I do with this? And I just stop and we just pray for this brother. He just came back to the Lord after 30 years of, I'm like, whoa, this is incredible. And go to other places and speak in places and you'd see God just moving powerfully. And that's why I have a desire for the power of the Spirit, for the unction. I've seen it radically change lives. And people get excited at worship because God is breaking and restoring and renewing and rebuilding. If this is a church of the living God and his word is living and powerful and people are coming here with demonic bondages and strongholds, don't you think we should offer a source of life? And I know there's people who even feel called to like deliverance. Right? And what does that look like? Is there even a deliverance ministry? Aren't we all called to deliver? And I don't believe in that. I don't know. Well, I'll just tell you this. Take it to the Lord. Because every time I read the Bible, those who believe on me will speak in new tongues, they'll cast out demons, they'll lay their hands on the sick. I mean, what he did the most often was rebuking demonic strongholds. Demons. Now I'll say it's a little interesting. Correct? It can get really not too comfortable for a pastor. Let's say that. Because you want to keep kind things comfortable. You want people to even say, did you know what Shane allowed today? Oh my goodness. But if the person's getting freedom, and the lady I prayed for a week and a half ago wasn't anything profound, just blinding that darkness, that addiction, that demonic stronghold of alcohol, and we just trust in faith in what God... Sometimes it's not overly dramatic. Sometimes it's what does God want to do that day, but we have to be open. Open. A lot of people aren't experiencing revival because they're not open. Notice I didn't say gullible. And I just got hooked up to an app. I can't announce it right now with a lot of different pastors. We're going on this app. And it's going to be a revival resource. And God is moving in powerful ways all over the United States. I don't know what you follow. I don't know who you listen to. But God is doing amazing things. And it's a spot where we're all going to connect and watch what God is doing in our nation, in our homes, in our church. God can and often does resurrect dead dreams. Do you have a dream for your marriage? One piece of advice. You might want to make sure it's a realistic dream. I know Morgan was expecting the night riding on a white horse in armor. And I will do the dishes. And the laundry. And I will help with homeschooling the kids. But what happens sometimes? Unexpected expectations. Doesn't mean we continue with that. We work on it. I try to do all those things as often as possible, but it gets challenging. So here's a few things I want to pull. His name is Samuel Amedi. Lessons from Joseph. And a couple things we can glean from this morning. Instead of getting revenge, Joseph reconciles with his brothers. And he restores the family by extending forgiveness. Wow! Is that tough for anyone? Me? You? Yeah? There are some people you just want to keep that grudge. But let me tell you, it's beautiful and there's times of refreshing come also from the presence of repentance. Hey, I just want to focus on unity. I forgive you. Let's move forward. Because somehow, in some way, that bitterness and that pride keeps you bound to your past or to the person who's done you wrong. And let me tell you, I'm not excusing anything, but people will hurt you. Amen? Sheep bite. And if we're not staying close to the shepherd, humble, broken, our words can hurt. I've learned a lesson many years ago. It doesn't always happen, but I try not to meet with people on difficult things on like a Monday or Tuesday. But like right after service, let's talk about right after service, I'm just full of joy in the Holy Spirit. Let's whatever. I don't care. Repent. Ask for forgiveness. Great, but you let a couple days go by, the old shame comes back. But they did this to you. Yeah, that's right, they did. Thank you, defense attorney within. But it's such an important lesson. And I've seen, here's what I've told people recently too. Once we become the better person, not that we have to necessarily apologize or something, but once we take that initiative, like I shouldn't have to do this. Let me tell you, that happens to me a lot, a lot. I shouldn't have, why am I reaching out? I shouldn't have to do this. Well, somebody's got to step on the gas pedal to get the car moving. And God looks at your heart and honors your decision to fix that relationship. I'm reaching out to people every week for the last decade. Like, hey, how are you doing? Praying for you. I haven't seen you in a couple years. And I don't know if I hurt them. I don't know what I mean. But there's trying to reconcile and then leave the ball in God's court. Because I think that's the bottom line is God wants His children to be united. If we're truly believers, we should be united. There shouldn't be, oh, there's that person. Let me avoid that person. I am not talking to them. They don't know. What did they do to me? What did you do to Jesus? John Bevere said that on Facebook, so I can't take credit. It was a good clip. Joseph settles his family in Goshen, shielding them from foreign cultural influences so fathers, parents, we can learn this. Shielding them from cultural influences. You know, it's okay to do that. Your nine-year-old doesn't need a phone. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. They don't need to be hooked to YouTube. Shield. Oh, it's hard, isn't it? Oh, my goodness. Joseph preserves his family amid severe famine through wisdom, through wisdom and administrative genius. And where did he get that genius? From his own skill set. From God. So, I'm careful here on this, but I would encourage all of us to start using more wisdom right now during these times. Especially in your spending. I would be a little saver right now. Do you need it or do you want it? Because we may see times where things get a little scarce. And we need to be wise in this area. And then the next point, through Joseph, God is reversing the curse, unraveling violence through forgiveness, unrighteousness through righteousness, and hunger through wisdom. Joseph's story is the story of the whole Bible. It's the story of glory through suffering, exaltation through humiliation, and it's the story of the cross and the crown. And that part really stood out to me. It is the story of exaltation through humiliation. If you really want to go up in God's kingdom, you need to humble yourself. Let God promote you. Let God promote you. And it's hard. We all go through these, you know, we want to promote ourselves. Here's what I do. But when I don't even promote anything, anything, God begins to raise up. And you can't be false humility. You know the false humility. Oh no, Lord, not me. Little old tiny me. No, I'm just a worm. I'm just dust on Your scale of the earth here. But saying, Lord, I don't want to go beyond what You want me to do. I want You to elevate me. I want You to promote me if it's what You want. I want to walk within Your will. Walk within Your ways. God, I don't want to be seen. I don't want to be recognized. And that's hard because, not everyone, but there's a lot of people that like that, you know, that recognition or that name dropping. And the, look at me, I've arrived. And you watch these guys now, they're all trying to be billionaires or millionaires. And it's just so, or sports figure. If I could be the next LeBron James, thank you. Sorry, don't follow a lot of that stuff. If I could be the next Mike Trout or LeBron James or Colby, and see, that's their whole life. If I could just be, look at how, like this amazes me. Just because somebody has a million followers to YouTube, why are you getting advice from them? That just means their algorithms are good. Their title popped and they were able to get it out there. They're not the voice of truth now. Like that little guy who's dressed as a girl who went to the White House with Biden. Dylan, just, I crack up sometimes like, oh man. But now, so he's the influence, he's the voice of truth. Let's see what he has to say. No, if you dress up like a girl and act silly, you might get a lot of TikTok shares. That's just how it works. The sillier you are, the more stupid you are. You get lots of likes and followers. Doesn't mean they're the voice of truth. So be careful when you follow an influence or make sure they're influenced by Christ and God's Word. Because that's the go-to. If I could just get enough subscribers, if I could just do this, if I could just get my platform and see, it's not, that really is dangerous. Because now everything is gauged on numbers, subscribing. What about if I gauged what I was doing on attendance? Did you know from one Sunday to the next, we can go up or down 200 people? Especially if the weather's bad. People think that's Mount Everest to drive over or something. Jeez Louise. I can't drive that mountain. That's not a mountain. Let me take you to Yosemite in a van when the brakes are going out. Morgan, remember that. I'm like, what is that noise? These brakes are not working. Down that big, that's a mountain. Okay? Bless their heart. Exaltation through humiliation. If you want to rise up in your marriage, humble yourself. And it's hard, isn't it? Because pride is deadly. Pride is damning. Pride is disgusting. When you see it in others, oh, God, I hope that's not in me. What's that saying I told you a few months ago? The pride in others I clearly see, but praise God, there's none in me. And the reason I bring this up so much is we actually do see it as leadership of the church. We actually see the ugly side of that a lot. A lot. Because most conflicts in the church are because of pride. Whether mine or someone else's. I'll own that one. Have I ever told you I'm very humble? Listen, I arrived at humility a while ago, so don't challenge me. Don't this. No, but it's in all of us wanting to rise up inside all of us. Remember the guy I told you gave me the finger when I was protesting the abortion clinic. And I didn't think gracious, loving, oh, hey, brother. Turn back around, hot shot. Let's talk about this. Come out of the car and do that. But see this, and sometimes that old man is inside of you. And I love people. I know their hearts are good, but they always say, but Pastor, that should be cleansed at the cross. Well, what do you say to Paul, O wretched man that I am? Who would deliver me from this body of sin and death? For with the mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. I have these members working inside of me. One to do evil, one to do good. That's biblical. The war within. What do you choose to follow? Repent, humble yourself, be filled with the Spirit of God, or continue to fuel pride and anger and angst inside of us. And you know what brings us out more? There's so many rabbit trails, but I think it's good for people to hear what brings out the most in us is often just two little letters. Tell somebody no. Watch what happens. No. No. No, you can't do that. No, I don't think that's going to work. No, that doesn't sound right. No, no, no. Why? Because they're being challenged. Me too, right? All of us can deal. What do you do with that no? And what the enemy intended for evil? What the enemy intended for evil? Romans 8.28 I want to get into Revelation, guys, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to finish this. I've been postponing it because it's a lot. It's some in-depth stuff. Romans 8.28 And we know that all things... Okay, look at this. We know. We know. So faith is involved. If you want God to work out all things for the good according to His purpose, it takes a certain amount of faith. We know that God is going to do this. Versus, nope, God can't even move in this. This person's belligerent. God's not going to move. God's not in this. And we doubt that this is going to work out for good. One of the... Well, I don't know if I should say this, but I mainly have a lot of weak points. My wife has stronger points. But one of those where I'm kind of, you know, helping like more, I guess more... I don't know what the right word is. But even with like raising kids, I'm like, God's got this. God's got this. And moms are supposed to freak out about everything, right? They're not getting good grades. They're not doing this. They're not dressing the right... She does not want me to dress our four-year-old because I don't care if their socks don't even match. Right? And so just everything will work out fine. Everything will work out. Look how I've turned out. That does not help things. Look how I turned out. Public school. Didn't even graduate. Barely, barely by cheating. I used to drink... Remember those days when you would drink out of the water hose? Yeah. You'd eat your, you know, you chew on your crib, lead-based paint. Tons of pipes and things with asbestos. Man, I walked a dangerous line there. I rebelled against God. See, I turned out fine. They'll be fine. But we don't want them to do that, right? But I think because God has brought me through hell and back, I'm not real concerned with things that might happen if it's not just the way we want it because I know all things will work out according to His purpose. But moms have that kind of that instinct, right? To nurture, make sure they're... I shouldn't tell you guys too much because I can get myself... Like if they miss breakfast, I'm not real concerned. Like, do you know they can go till later in the day? It's okay. Maybe they should. Yeah, fast. Okay, Donnie, you said it. But no, you don't want little ones to fast. But you know, it's just that all we know, we know that all things are going to work together for good. You see, I'm getting all that quick. To those who love God. So if you want something to work out, there are keys to this. You can't just quote the Scripture like it's a magic wand for you. And we know that all things work together for good to those who... See, if I'm loving God, I'm living a certain way. Aren't I? Because so many people claim this verse. You can't claim this verse. You don't love God. He's not the Lord of your life. He's a get out of hell free card. And you're doing whatever you want. And you're quoting this verse to me. Love God with all your soul, with all your heart. Because see, as you're loving him, now it directs my steps. So now when I'm doing things, although I mess up, I'm not perfect. God says, ah, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. He's going to watch out. He's going to pick me up. And now because of that, this can be true. He's going to work out together for your good. Have you ever seen court cases reversed? Real estate transactions? Whatever. I mean, this was so awesome what God did. Many of you know, but I have a background in when I had to go to real estate for a little while to pay bills when construction plummeted. And I was thrown right in to short sales, REOs, asset managers. I'm working on commercial land, everything. And I would get a short sale. And they'd have one loan, right? But then they'd have a second lien on it. Now both lenders have got to release that title. And this second lien holder would be, say, 30,000. They took out a whole equity line of credit. And the second lien holder is like, no, we're not letting go. We want our full 30,000. And this guy's saying, oh, we're not getting anything. You're not getting 30,000. We'll give you 3,000, 10%. What? Forget it. This is going to go to whatever, foreclosure. And I remind them, foreclosure's not going to get anything. Right, but it's like, forget it. This whole deal is falling apart. Lord, I just pray. And then the next day, you get an email. Okay, we decided this is fine. And how God can work behind the scenes on certain things. Or with medical issues and doctor's diagnosis. And we know that somehow this can all work together for good. But trust is involved. Lord, I know You can do this. I trust You. My trust is in You. And then there's relationship. I love God. And here we go, to those who are called according to His purpose. So that can have a couple different meanings. But obviously, it has to do with salvation. You know, you're called according to His purpose. Your election is sure. And so now you're a believer and you're walking. You're submitted to God. And though you're not perfect, though you try to get back up, you make bad decisions. Anybody make bad decisions out there? Invest where you shouldn't have invested? Nothing but God. And all that God can still work through it. Nothing is impossible if God lays the burden on your heart or you pray according to His will. Nothing is impossible. And I truly believe that. Now, that doesn't mean all things are going to happen that I want. Like I would love, I would love to go play for the Dodgers, even for a season. Now, technically, is that impossible? No, with God in it. Is that going to happen? No, I have to be practical. I have to be very practical. Maybe somebody will hear this down there and let me at least go to hitting practice or something. So the burden on your heart to pray, or you pray according to His will. Are you praying according to His will? God, get that difficult person out of my life. Is that His will? Or is He teaching you through this? In Genesis 18, we read months ago, is anything too hard for the Lord? Is anything too hard for the Lord? And I want to do a sermon once on nevertheless or but God. You see all these traumatic things happening. Nevertheless, God stepped in. All hell is breaking loose, but God. All throughout Scripture, but God, but God, but God, but God. Some of you need to leave here with a little but God. Yes, this is happening, but God. But God remembered Noah, but God came to Laban. But God did not permit him to harm him. But God will be with you and He'll bring you again into the land of your fathers and even Hezekiah. Look at this great army, but God. What army can stop Him? That's why I say that and get excited. What army can stop God? What plans are going to thwart His plans? What government is going to overrule Him? Nothing can overcome God Almighty. Nothing is impossible for God. You know, that's not going to happen. That this isn't looking good, but God. You'll never own a home, but God. You'll never get married, find the right, but God. Your life is falling apart. Look, there's no good come from this. You're in your fifth rehab home, but God. Oh man, just meditate. What can you feel in there that this doesn't apply to? Nothing. I tried all week. No, that's but God. Hmm. No, that's but God. I mean, is there anything? Doesn't mean He's going to do it, but is there anything God can't fix? It might behoove us to get our attitude right. Hebrews 7.25 This is important for many people. All of us actually. Consequently, He's talking about Jesus. He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them. Jesus lives to intercede on behalf of His people. Jesus is interceding for us while Satan, whose name means accuser, is accusing us. So let me focus on this just for a minute. Is the Satan accusing you this morning? Is he trying to wear you down? You'll never measure up. You'll never be a good wife. You'll never be a good husband. You've fallen again. He's accusing you and accusing you. He does that to me sometimes. Who do you think you are to speak God's word to the nation? Who do you think you are? Don't they know what you did in your twenties? Oh, that's true. He starts accusing. You snapped at your spouse last week. How dare you come to church? You looked at something you shouldn't have yesterday. How dare you come to church? Accusing, accusing, accusing. Pointing out our sin and the frailties before God just as He did with Job. Again, from GotQuestions.org. But the accusations fall upon deaf ears. That just made me, I just got so excited this week. No matter what Satan does now as a believer, it doesn't matter. He can't say anything. He can't say anything. What's he going to say? God says, oh, you know what, good point. Nothing. Because Jesus' work on the cross paid our sin debt in full. Completely paid it. And this is what I try. When I try to tell Roman Catholics about purgatory, they get mad at me. Like, why are you causing division? Why are you talking about a purgatory place to go and experience torment to pay for our sin when Jesus said it's finished on the cross? That sounds like me getting mad at you, not you at me. I'm just speaking the truth. I love people enough to tell them the truth. Can you imagine, okay, after this, I'm going to have to go somewhere and just be punished for a while. You know how they built St. Peter's Cathedral? When a coin in the coffer springs or makes a noise, a soul from purgatory will spring. You can pay to get your loved ones out of there. Martin Luther challenged it. That's what prompted the Reformation of 1517 on the doors of Wittenberg, Germany. All these things. And it drives me crazy when people say, well, we're the real church. Protestants didn't start in 1517. They started when Jesus came in the power of the Holy Spirit in the upper room. We've been doing the same thing now for 2,000 years. You've drifted off course. We haven't went anywhere. And again, just speaking the truth in love. Sometimes you need to hear the difficult things to get you to wake up and say, I can't believe He said that. I'm going to go find out. And guess what? You'll find out. You'll find out that Mary was not immaculately conceived. We don't believe that Mary was a virgin and had no children. Or that she's co-redeemer. Or we go to her to pray. These things are blasphemous. Folks, I don't say that to be me. Is that not the truth? Jesus is going, hey, go ahead and go through My mom to get through Me. And you don't go through a man to get to God. You go directly to the throne room of grace. There's so many things here. And people say, we don't believe that. No, you might not. I got it. But go check the authority. While you're at it, read upon a papal decree. A papal decree that's above Scripture. Folks, it's dangerous. I don't know. None of that's in my notes. So I hope that's somebody... Oh, trust me, I'm getting chewed out on that one for sure. But it's okay. I've learned now, if you don't spark some type of conviction... Because here's the thing, what did I just say that is wrong? It's all true. I was an altar boy. All true. But that we don't want to hurt people's feelings. Okay, you're not going to hurt feelings as they're on their way to hell. That makes no sense to me. Now, I don't want to go out of my way to like, yeah, let me chew them out. Let me tell them off. But hey, I want to rethink this. Remember, I told you guys, I met with a priest over at that diocese in Santa Clarita, like 4,000 people. Somebody got us together for an hour. I said, explain purgatory. I'll never forget, he looked at me and said, Pastor Shane, but how do you deal with the sin and the guilt? Hold on, are we reading the same Bible? I mean, is that eye-opening? I don't deal with it. He dealt with it. When he said to Telestai, it is finished. It's done. And my concern is a lot of these people don't have saving faith, so they still have the shame and the guilt and they feel that need. I have to be punished because I'm not good before God. It's a false doctrine. God always sees His children in the perfect righteousness of Jesus. I don't know if you caught this. I shared it. A person I really like following and listening to is Alistair Begg. He gave this incredible story briefly of the thief on the cross. Like when he's in heaven, people are going to be like going, how did you get here? How did you get here? Did you go through the baptismal class? No, you weren't even baptized? You weren't even baptized? Did you go to the church of Ephesus? Klossy? Thessalonica? How are you here? I don't know. I don't know why I'm here. What do you mean you don't know? Did you, were you a Baptist? Pentecostal? Presbyterian? How did you get here? He just said, the man in the middle told me I could come. Jesus hanged between both thieves. He said, the man in the middle told me I could come.