Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III | "But God: A Consecrated Conjunction" 6PM 09/20/26

56:31 And the people of God who love God may say, Amen. I want to invite everyone, if we may, turn to Genesis chapter 50, beginning with verse 19. I'm going to read from two different translations, verses 19 through 21. I'm going to read from the Message translation and also the New King James translation. It'll also be on the screen. Whatever translation you have is certainly the word of God, but it reads as follows. I'm going to begin with verse 19. Verse 19 reads as follows. Joseph replied, don't be afraid. Do I act for God? Don't you see?

57:25 You planned evil against me. but God use those same plans for my good as you see all around you right now life for many people easy now you have nothing to fear I'll take care of you and your children he reassured them speaking with them heart to heart the New King James translation reads this way Joseph said to them do not be afraid for am I in the place of God but as for you you meant evil against me but God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive but God but God but God May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of God's holy word at this moment.

58:53 You may be seated in the presence of the Most High God at this time. We have been in the book of Genesis for the last several weeks. We have been looking at the story of Jacob. I would invite you to examine the extraordinary, unique story of Jacob and Jacob's family with all of their challenges and blessings and the strange and securitous route that they end up taking in terms of moving to wholeness. And we want to continue this conversation of Jacob's family, of his descendants, one of his descendants being Joseph. We want to look at this idea of simply, but God. but God a consecrated conjunction but God if you would be so kind as to turn to your neighbor and just look at your neighbor and just say neighbor oh neighbor but God now find another neighbor and say, neighbor, oh neighbor, you have no idea what God has done in my life.

1:00:19 But God. But God. But God. But God. Thank you. His name is Bob Duro. He was raised in Texas and eventually graduated from Columbia University in New York City. He began his life as a jazz musician. Brother Bob even worked with the likes of a person many of you have heard of by the name of Sugar Ray Robinson. Sugar Ray Robinson took a pause for a moment during his boxing career and decided that he wanted to be a musician. And then pulled in Bob Duro to be his coach and composer for his very brief musical career. Brother Bob's talents came under the gaze of one of the most brilliant trumpeters by the name of Miles Davis.

1:01:26 Miles Davis heard Bob Dura and said, I need you to work with me as I'm putting together a Christmas album. I want you to compose and to write songs on this album. And they worked together to create this classic jazz and Christmas album, Miles Davis and Christmas. But what truly launched his career and placed him in the annals of history was when an advertising executive by the name of David McCall heard his music and hired him to assist him in helping his son and other children across the United States understand math and also grammar. Brother McCall noticed his son struggled with math, had difficulty with addition, subtraction, division, and especially multiplication. He noticed his son could remember any popular song's lyrics, but could not remember his multiplication tables.

1:02:30 David McCall hired Bob Duro to create a song his son could memorize, along with a song that any child across the United States could memorize. David McCall pitched this idea to television executives at ABC to air a cartoon that was actually like a commercial in between Saturday morning cartoons. This pitch or idea eventually became what is known as Schoolhouse Rock. If you were a child, any time between 1971 and 1985, and I might add, they even resurrected it in the 90s, the Schoolhouse Rock. But Schoolhouse Rock is what Monica has shared on several occasions, is public civic collective education. Many of these songs live in our public consciousness.

1:03:27 Now, for those of you who are much younger, this was like B.C. This is like before your time, Schoolhouse Rock, such a long time ago. But it lives in our consciousness on so many levels. We grew up during this time period, Derek. You know, songs such as three is the magic number. Or a noun is a person, place, or thing. Or the song, I like the song, Lolly Lolly, get your adverbs here. Oh, one of my personal favorites was this one. I'm just a bill. Yes, I'm only a bill. And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill. Well, it's a long, long journey to the capital city. It's a long, long wait while I'm sitting in committee. But I know I'll be a law someday. At least I hope and pray that I will.

1:04:20 But today I'm still just a bill. I love that song. Love that song. The one that seems that everybody knows is this one. Conjunction, junction, what's your function? Hooking up words and phrases and clauses. A conjunction. It says here, you planned evil against me. Wait a minute, conjunction. But God, use those same plans for good. But God, the conjunction. And if I may just place class into session right now, that I may share different types of conjunctions with you. That there are several different types of conjunction. There is the correlative conjunction, where words or phrases have equal weight or importance. A correlative conjunction is when you say both and, or you say either or.

1:05:18 In other words, both sides have equal weight. But there's another type of conjunction known as a conjunctive adverb or conjunctive adverbs. This conjunction is used to show a relationship or connection or contrast between two different clauses, phrases, or words. That's when you use the word however, therefore, or consequently. But for today's lesson, I want to lift up the coordinating conjunction, which connects words, phrases, and independent clauses that have equal importance. But the conjunction transforms the first statement into something else when you hear what the conjunction is about to lead you into. The first statement may make you think one thing, but when the conjunction shows up, it transforms the first statement into something else after you hear what happens after the conjunction. It clarifies the former statement.

1:06:21 Words such as a coordinating conjunction are words such as for, yet, so, but the most popular of all coordinating conjunctions is the word but. You see, life without a conjunction has the ability to turn a clause or phrase into a sentence with a period. When a sentence has a period, a little dot, it means that there is no more, that that is a complete statement, that nothing else is to be transformed afterwards. But when a period is placed at the end of a sentence, it is an indication of a conclusion or completion or the final chapter or thought that has gone forth. In other words, the book is closed. Nothing else is going to happen. It's done because a period has been placed there. Conjunctions often are connected to commas or semicolons, indicating the statement, thought, and speaker is not done. Anytime a conjunction comes about, it doesn't come after a period because a period means an end.

1:07:24 A conjunction always comes after a comma. A comma means you got to pause and get ready for the next thing that's about to happen. You see, Joseph's life was a word, and this word would have been magnificently different if there was no conjunction. Could you imagine if the word just said, you planned evil against me, period? It would mean that God is not about to do something else. You planned evil against me, period. That would be it. That's all. This statement offers theologically and rhetorically a complete statement and action. This statement without a conjunction makes the claim that God is not present. But when we remove the conjunction from our theological thought, we dismiss God's work. But not only does the conjunction work in terms of grammar, conjunction also works in terms of prose and understanding. That when a writer is writing a book to give you the fullness of the story, a writer will use a beginning conjunction that is known in prose as a prologue.

1:08:29 A prologue is what sets up the backstory to set you up for the story. It's not the whole story, though it may be a story, but it's not the total story because there are more chapters to come after that. But if you close the book on the prologue, you'll never see the whole story. You'll only get the setup, but never realize that the setup was for something else to happen later in the chapters of the story. But if you close the book in the prologue, you'll really never know what's really going to happen in the story, and you'll think the prologue is the whole story. A prologue is a separate introductory work designed to give back story and context. A prologue is a setup to assist the reader of understanding the fullness of the story they will experience. The writer uses a prologue solely as a setup to get you ready for future chapters. And Joseph found out early. Part of his life, the early sunrise when he was young, was just a prologue.

1:09:26 I'm pretty sure he was thinking that it was the final chapter when his brother sold him into slavery and put him down in a pit. But that was really a setup to get you ready for what God was going to do later. If he had put a period on his life in that moment, we would never hear anything else about Joseph. But you must understand that God was doing something amazing. That God is always writing a prologue, getting you set up for something later. And I'm here to let you know that you came here because you must understand that whatever has been happening in your life, that God is still writing some chapters in your life. that all of the stuff you thought was so painful was really nothing but a prologue. In other words, God's not done. Don't you know it's this way in scripture? When David was a young shepherd boy, he might have thought that that was the end of his life until a prophet showed up by the name of Samuel who anointed him to be king.

1:10:26 You would think that would be the end of the story when he defeats Goliath, but that is not the end of the story. That's really the prologue that he's about to be king and eventually be one of the greatest psalmists and writers that we know about. You still missed what I said. Let me help you out. There's a sister by the name of Mary who would have thought that there was a period at the end of her life when a gentleman by the name of Joseph dismissed her and said, I cannot marry you because you are pregnant. She thought it was a period. But guess what? God said, this is a prologue. I've got a conjunction and a comma next to your name because you have told salvation in your belly. you're still missing what I'm saying. When Jesus was born and was driven into the wilderness, that was just a prologue, a setup of what you're still missing. When Jesus was at Calvary, there were many people who thought it was a period. But God said, I've got a conjunction right here. Let me turn that period into a comma because I'm about to do something else.

1:11:26 I'm here to let you know we serve a God who's not through with you. We serve a God who is still writing new chapters. And if you showed up here today, if God woke you up this morning, you've got a comma next to your name that God's still doing some work. Is there anyone who is in here that can thank God that God is still providing conjunctions? The teen years of Joseph were nothing, were nothing but a prologue. It was the beginning of his life. And I was raising the question, Monica, I was trying to figure out as I was reading the life of Jacob and reading the life of Joseph, trying to understand when did Joseph begin to understand that this was not a period, but God is doing something unique in his life. When did it happen when he realized this is not the final chapter, that God is doing some work that I didn't even know God was doing the work.

1:12:34 When did it happen? And as I was reading, I want you to go home and read this thing messes me up. read the 41st chapter in Genesis. The 41st chapter is the chapter where he has a conversation with Pharaoh. Pharaoh does something amazing that he had not done before. He says to Joseph, he said, look here, based on the fact that you interpreted my dream, I am now going to make you second in command. When people see you, they will see me. As a matter of fact, I'm going to make sure that you've got a roof over your head, that you've got clothes on your back, that you've got food in your belly. As a matter of fact, he even arranged a marriage with an African sister, a sister who was part of one of the wealthiest families in Egypt. This is all for Joseph at this moment. Joseph who was thrown in prison. Joseph who thought that his life would be incarceration. And now Joseph is second in command. And I'm wondering, I'm wondering, I'm wondering what was going through Joseph's mind. I do not know. I do not know what was going through Joseph's mind at that moment.

1:13:49 But I could imagine, I could imagine that probably it was chapter 41 when he figured out that God is doing something unique. But here's the question that I have. Why did it take so many chapters? for Joseph to realize God's doing some work. Why do we have to go from chapter 37 then get to chapter 41 before his brother realizes that God's doing something? Why does it take all the way to chapter 50 for him to realize the magnitude of what God is doing? sometimes it takes time for your faith to grow let me help you out joseph would never have appreciated or understood what god was doing in chapter 37 sometimes we've got to grow into what God wants us to be. It will take time for us. And that is why during this elders month, I have to celebrate our elders because there are those who have some tenure here on earth who have seen the landscape of how God moves, that there are things that elders see that when you are a certain age, you will never see in your life. And that blesses me why I'm so blessed by elders. Those names I'm about to call some that you will know and some you will not know. Some who are part of our family and some who are part of this Trinity family. People like Clyde White and Jordan Wright and Esther Smith, George Lillian Jenkins, J. Alfred Smith, Josie Moss, my aunt, my aunt Callie Scott Moss, Charles Booth, Gardner C. Taylor, Samuel DeWitt Proctor, Grandma Bradley, Thelma Hogue, Alfred warned my own grandma, Alice Carmichael. And these women and men had a second sight. They shared pieces of wisdom. And I heard all of them share the same kind of wisdom, though they may have

1:15:58 shared it in a different way. But I heard most of these elders, when questions were raised about how God was functioning, where was God in our lives, they would answer with this answer such this, boy, keep on living. You are yet to see what God will do in your life. You see, I'm pitching my tent closer to the River Jordan, and I know how the Lord has moved. See, you're still in chapter 37. I'm in chapter 50. The book is about to close, and I've never seen the righteous forsaken or God's People begging for bread. I know what my God can do. And I stopped by here to find out if we have any people in this house who maybe are elders and you have seen God move in ways that you could not expect. You would not have understood when you were a young person.

1:16:55 But now that you can look back over your life and you can see how God was moving in and out of the shadows, orchestrating things to get you where you are right now. That is why many elders come into church and they have a smile on their face because you don't know what the Lord has done in their life. And I'm here to find out if there's anyone in this house who can simply acknowledge that God has been moving in your life even though you don't quite understand how God has been moving. but God has been moving. I believe it was chapter 41 that Joseph gained a new perspective. I believe it was chapter 41 when he looked around and witnessed the work of God.

1:17:53 Chapter 41, he had some tenure under his belt. But there is something that when we move to chapter 50, the 50, this chapter that I lifted up this morning, where it is Joseph who is before his family and his brothers. His brothers are bowing down before him because his brothers are nervous. Because his brothers, when they realize that it is Joseph who's actually saved them. Now let me help you out for those who do not know the story. There was a famine in the land. It is Joseph is the one who interpreted Pharaoh's dream and said, there'll be seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. we have to stock up during the time of plenty to ensure that we can handle things during the famine. And Jacob then takes his family to Egypt. That is Africa, for those who are confused.

1:18:47 Takes his Egypt. They are an undocumented family. I'm so glad there were no border agents at the moment in this story right now. There were no ICE agents trying to take away the family. He heard that there was some prosperity in Egypt, that Egypt was the place if you needed some food and shelter is the place that you could go. But what Jacob didn't know is that his son is the one who orchestrated the entire economic plan for the nation. He was second in command in Egypt. And so Jacob brings his family and they do not recognize Joseph because he has his African garb and African outfit. And Joseph sees his family. He begins to weep privately in his quarters. He's like, my family is here. But what is interesting is Joseph's heart is moved.

1:19:44 It is not a heart that says, I want to do to my brothers what they did to me. my heart is moved because I have some tenure. I've been through some things and no longer can I just hold the grudge against my brothers. Because when you hold grudges, you can't hold grudges and gratefulness at the same time. You got to decide what you are going to hold. And Joseph said, I'd rather open my arms to gratefulness than hold my arms with a grudge. And so at the 50th chapter, this is the chapter of revealing where he is before his family and his brothers fall down and begin to say, do not treat us the way that we have treated you. We are your slaves. and his brothers are sure that Joseph is going to treat them the way that they have treated Joseph.

1:20:46 But Joseph says, no, don't worry about it. No, no, not at all. You see, you meant it for evil. I thought I had a period next to my name. But I realized that periods are dots. But if you want to put a comma, you got to put a tail on it. And when you have a comma, a comma just means that I've got to pause, I've got to breathe, and get ready for the next thing. That God is providing a conjunction. Let me help you out. That theologically, what is happening here is what is known as sacred serendipity and synchronicity. Sacred serendipity. Serendipity without the sacred is simply an event that happens that brings you joy that seems to be a coincidence, but you don't know how it happened. But when it becomes sacred serendipity, it means that you know that there was an invisible hand coordinating some things to put you in the position that you are in.

1:21:46 But synchronicity means that you can see that there is an alignment with everything. That if you go back far enough, if something had not happened the way it happened, you would not be where you are right now. That a door had to be closed, so you had to go around the other way. By going around the other way, you encountered someone else who opened another door that blessed you in ways that you would not have been blessed with if you had gone through the door that you wanted to go through. Because sometimes God's got to close a door in your face to get your attention so that you can move in the direction that God is calling you to move. That is sacred serendipity and synchronicity. Can you not see the work of God in this moment? Can you not see the work of God in the life of Joseph? Can you not see a formerly incarcerated young man?

1:22:43 Look at God. A man accused of a crime he did not commit. Look at God. A young man who was imprisoned and enslaved. Look at God. Look at God. Joseph has been elevated to second in command, and Pharaoh arranged even a marriage with the wealthiest family in Egypt. Joseph would bear children born of African descent. Look at God. God has been consistently coordinating, consecrating conjunctions in the life of Joseph. And oh my goodness, this thing gets me excited because when I read the text, it says what you meant for evil. but God, you missed your shout, what you meant for evil, but God meant it for good. What you tried to do, God had already orchestrated with some sacred serendipity and synchronicity to use what you were trying to use to destroy me, to actually bless me but bless you at the same time.

1:23:54 That when you tried to harm me, God was still using your harm to help me and bless me in the process. So I've got to thank God and I got to thank you. Because if you didn't do what you were trying to do to me, I would not be where I am right now. So I have to thank God for every hater, every enemy, every person who said I couldn't do it because you blessed my life. Because if you hadn't thrown me in the pit, I'd never be pulled out. If I was never pulled out, I'd never be sold into slavery. If I wasn't sold into slavery, I'd never work for Potiphar. If I never worked for Potiphar, I'd never be accused of a crime I did not commit. If I was never accused of that crime, I'd never be imprisoned. If I was never in prison, I'd never meet a cupbearer and a baker.

1:24:50 If I never met the cupbearer and baker, I'd never interpret their dreams. If I never interpreted their dreams, they would never tell Pharaoh. If they never told Pharaoh, then I would never be elevated to second in command. I would never bless you and my family. I'm thankful unto you and to God that God put a conjunction in my life. And I stop by here to let you know God's been coordinating some conjunctions in your life. Some of the conjunctions have been coordinating conjunctions. Conjunctions like for if it had not been for the Lord. That's a conjunction you missed your shout. Maybe it's the conjunction of yet.

1:25:42 I have been young and now I'm old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor its descendants begging for bread. Or maybe the conjunction is so. Is the mountains surrounding Jerusalem so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forever? Or maybe your conjunction is but. Even the youth shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall. But.