The Thing You’re Chasing Can’t Give You This · The Coat Pt. 2 LIVE

0:00 You ever had haters and you ever told yourself, I'll show, I'll show. And what you're saying, of course, is there in the mantra of the culture. When you feel insignificant, when you feel insufficient, when you feel like you don't measure up, when you have a case of the smalls, traditionally and typically our approach is what? I'm going to work harder, I'm going to try harder, and I'm going to prove them wrong. So much so, we have more documentaries than we can count dedicated to that mantra. Well, good evening. Anybody here for the very first time? You don't have to wave or anything, but maybe make a noise if you're here for the very first time. Come on. We're so glad you're here. Welcome to the Saban Theater. Welcome to the story of God.

0:51 We're so excited and grateful that you made it. I was watching YouTube the other day. It's what kids do. so I've been kind of getting into it. And I know this is going to sound hilarious, but this is a true statement. This is embarrassing, but it's very, very true. I have just discovered that you can go on YouTube and it will just like, it'll like read your mind and it will start just feeding you videos. That's everything you've ever wanted to watch. So mine range from YouTube. YouTube assumed that I'm really into track, like running. I don't know why, but come to find out I am. And I'm obsessed with these clips. I mean, obsessed. And YouTube was like, you love the Olympics. And I'm like, do I do? Right? So it's like track. It's like design. It's like kids saying silly stuff. And of course, it's like everything on hip hop, obviously.

1:48 And but I can't remember what I was going to tell you guys because I got caught up in track. But oh, that's right. I was watching a clip from Family Feud. and it came up on YouTube, Family Feud. And I forget the host's name and I love him so much. The new host, Steve Harvey, of course. Hello, Steve Harvey. I love Steve Harvey. And he's hosting, you know, the best host that's ever been on Family Feud. Family Feud's existed for 250 years. Happy birthday, America and Family Feud. But Steve Harvey's the greatest host of all time. And YouTube knew that I wanted to see this because it came up. And the question Steve Harvey asked these two families is, other than Michael Jordan, who is said to be the greatest basketball player of all time? And, oh, you guys want to play Family Feud?

2:40 I thought this was a monologue. Not a problem. And so LeBron James survey says, ding, LeBron James. Kobe Bryant survey says, ding, Kobe Bryant. And then one of the sweet ladies, she goes, ah, Scottie Pippen. And Steve Harvey goes, he was the second best player on the Chicago Bulls. But I hear you. Survey says, and they guessed every single name except. And I found this interesting. And this is not totally related to my message, but we're here, aren't we? So let's get into it. He says, you're not going to believe this. And no one said it. He goes, here is, out of the entire survey, this was the other person. They said it's the greatest basketball player of all time. And it flips, and it says Shaquille O'Neal. Yeah, I was surprised too.

3:34 I mean, I love Shaq. Don't get me wrong. Which leads me to his rookie year, which is also my rookie year, going to games. And the Sonics were a team that Seattle used to have. Allegedly, we're coming back. Very, very excited. and I got tickets for the Supersonics that night in Seattle versus the Orlando Magic because Shaquille O'Neal, who had just been drafted number one in the overall draft, shout out to the NBA draft last night for those who care, and which by the way, I love watching the NBA draft because I love seeing the parents now because that's my age, and hearing the moms and the dads like cry and like talk about the dedication of their son, I love it, I cry, we get it. All right, point is, Shaquille gets drafted number one from LSU to the Orlando Magic. And I got tickets, but not good ones, because I still believe in God for money in my life. But I was like, I got to go see Shaq.

4:29 And as God is my witness, I can't remember who came with me, because relationship is what matters. And but I told my friend, we got noseweeds, but I told my friend, let's go down. This is this is back in the day you could do this. We went down and we just circled the court right on the right on the floor. And I said, while they're warming up, let's just keep walking. They'll just tell, and we'll just keep walking, and we'll get close to the Giant from Louisiana State University. I want to see Shaq in person. I want to see Shaq. Now, you've got to understand something. When Shaquille O'Neal came into the NBA, it was the biggest draft pick in the history of the National Basketball Association at that time. Shaquille was going to change any city that he went to, and we knew it. They knew it. Orlando had won the lottery, if you know, and they were thrilled. And then Shaquille, and I love that era. Shaquille O'Neal, Anthony Hardaway, Orlando Magic, 90s. Do you guys?

5:21 Right, you're 19. All right, so, but the point is, I'm walking around the court, and I'll never forget. Your very first time I had watched Shaquille and March Madness, LSU, and I get down to the court, and I probably from here to that speaker, there is the seven foot four, seven foot two, whatever. just a massive human being. And I'll never forget the feeling of standing next to Shaquille O'Neal. That night we'd go to dinner. I'm kidding. I just like how this, I'll never forget when I first was next to Shaquille O'Neal. Like I couldn't stop for too long because I had to keep walking, but he was so massive. And I remember turning to my friend who I can't remember who it was saying, I feel so small. I feel so small. And he's like, well, yeah, like this, I'd never seen a human being. Truth is, to this day, I've been around a lot of athletes, a lot of football players and basketball players and golfers. I have never had that same phenomenon. There has never been, I've never been closer to a larger human being than Shaquille O'Neal. Have you ever felt small? Like small? You raised your hand. Thank you. That's odd participation. I appreciate that.

6:39 But your hand didn't just go up. You were like, thank you for jumping in. That means the world to me. Yeah, have you ever felt small? Like one time I was shopping. This is early on in Chelsea and I's marriage. And I hadn't written a book and none of you had bought it yet. And I think we were overseas somewhere. It might have been Australia. And I really like watches. And so I was really excited. I'm going to buy. I was like, baby, I'm going to buy a watch. You know, like we're here speaking at this thing. I think they're going to give us an honorarium. Like, I want to buy a watch. And so we went shopping and I found the watch. And, you know, when you're shopping, you got to be, you can't like, you know, how much is that? You just got to check it out. And then while you look at it, you know, you kind of try to see if you can kind of see under the tag. But you can't make it obvious, you know what I mean? Because I'm fine.

7:31 I'm fine. I'm just shopping. The price is price. I got whatever it is, I got it. Right? So you got to play it cool. You kind of look at the watch like, wow, look at the strap. This strap is genuine leather. Where is the price? I find the price, $250. Not a problem. I'll pay cash. I'm not even going to put it on layaway. I'm not even going to put it on a credit card. $250, not a problem. We get to the register. I'm like, I'll take it. And she's like, okay. And she rings it up. And she says this. She says, that'll be $2,622. That was with tags. And evidently I had missed a zero. And so I was like, ah, what was that? Did you say $2,600? Yeah, that's what I thought you said. Yeah.

8:22 Yeah, I might get more than one. That's a great deal. That's a great deal. Wow. Wow. And that's plus tax. Wow. Wow. What's the exchange rate in Australia? I forget what is down under. You know, what is it? You know, and I said, you know what? You know what? I got to look at some other watches. You guys got a lot of watches. I'm going to look around. I say, can you hold it? Because that's what you do. When you can't afford it, tell somebody to put it on hold for you. Mess up somebody's life. The whole day, they put this watch on hold thinking you're coming back. You ain't never coming back. $2,600 and something. Might as well have been $260,000 as far as my bank account was concerned. I was like, yeah, I'm going to put it on hold. I'm going to think about it. Y'all just looking at me like, oh, you're not going to think about nothing. My babe, just trust me. Just trust me.

9:15 You ever felt small? Ever felt small? That's a moment, you know? Not just Nessa Shaquille, but that's a moment when you're standing there and you're like, oh, this is awkward. Have you ever felt small? Recently, I went to Morocco. I don't mean to brag. Went over there just to kick it. That's what rich people say. Why are you in Morocco? Just wanted to see it. Whoa. Okay. Yeah, I just felt like going to Morocco. I said, babe, tomorrow, let's head out to Morocco. I'm just kidding. We planned for a long, long time. But anyways, and we did it on points. We have air miles. But what the point is, and most of the flight was coach. Are you proud of me? That was a big step for me. But anyways, we get to Morocco and Chelsea says, I'm very excited to take you to the largest, oldest functioning market in the world, in Marrakesh, Morocco. It's called the Souk, S-O-U-K, the Souk. And the Souk, from best we can tell, is the longest functioning market on the planet today. That's why we went. We wanted to go there. I like to shop, buy watches, things like that. That's a whole other story. I got so many stories, but I'm not doing it. I'm I'm staying focused and I want to respect you and our marriage.

10:38 But Chels gave me a budget. But the point is, I wanted a budget. I'm in charge. And so... and I by the way I started looking at watches and I didn't know like none of them are real so I'm looking at like Rolexes and these things and I'm like three three hundred dollars for a Rolex yeah just is like you can't have a fake I'm like why why not that looks amazing but anyways she didn't let me buy one I mean I didn't want to buy one and I chose not to buy one but I could buy one. I could buy two or three probably at that price. But the point is we're walking around the market and it's huge. I mean, it's huge. It's like never ending. We had a host on one day, probably because the hotel we were staying at, we're like, you're not going to be okay by yourself, sweetie. So they sent somebody from the hotel to kind of walk us around the first day to get our bearings. And I kept coming around a corner talking about, oh, I remember this. And he, He, no, this is not, we're not going to go to any corners you've been to before.

11:41 It just went on and on and on. Fascinating, compelling, intriguing, extraordinary. If you ever get a chance to go over there, you should. It was extraordinary. It was amazing. But it's definitely one of those experiences. There are so many people. There's so much going on. Every vendor. I mean, it would be, in my mind, impossible to count the vendors we saw. All the different people selling. I mean, guys, I'm talking about like, like you can get like a leather bag. You can get an animal. You can get like dough. You can get like, like marbles. You can get puppies. Like you can get anything at the soup market. It was, was endless. And maybe I'm just in my feelings. Maybe I'm just emotional. Maybe I'm just unhinged and unsettled.

12:33 I don't know. But I'm walking around this market and suddenly the world just got bigger. You ever have those moments? Which is like just so many people. There's so many. And if you're like me, like, you know, you see people and you're like, is everybody OK? Like and then like you walk by all the vendors and the guy warned me. He said, listen, you can't stop when somebody asks you if you want something. You've got to keep walking. We're going to be here all day because this is how the souk happens. People are going to try to sell you everything. and you know I don't want to be rude and whatever and so people be like hey sir you you want to see this and I'm like yeah no I always wanted to ask Trey yeah no that looks amazing and he's like sir and I'm like he came out in the middle of the street and showed it to me what am I supposed to do like it was just overwhelming emotionally mentally socially and I just felt small the world is just so vast it's so big this is just one market in one city in one place of the world and I got back to the hotel room.

13:33 You can imagine what it's like to be married to me. I'm constantly in my feelings and I was just like, I was trying to talk to God. I was like, I feel like a lot of people in the market are not doing good. Are you gonna help them? Are you gonna take care of them? Like, I felt like I saw families that need to make a sale and nobody's buying and like, man, there's just so much. Like, I was just overwhelmed at the scale of just the economy of the souk, let alone if you've ever been to Japan or Hong Kong or India. India was overwhelming to me. It was just overwhelming. If you've ever been to India, just so many people. You ever felt small? Just insignificant? Everything you do suddenly takes a scale of like, I think it's a drop in the bucket. Like what are we actually, am I making a difference? Now, if you're like me, you don't do what I've been doing for 30 years if you don't want to make a difference.

14:29 You don't do what I do if you don't want to make a ripple in the proverbial pond of humanity. But you ever had those? I had cashews. No, not cashews. What did I have? And they're just coming out. Nobody's close, so don't worry about it. What were the nuts that I had right before I went on stage? Who does that? I've been doing this for 30 years, but I had, what were they called? Cashews. Pistachios. I had pistachios before I came on stage, and I just feel like pistachios are part of my message tonight.

15:02 I'm really sorry for that, and I feel small. But, you know, let's be honest. I got some friends here. I got some people here who do big things. I got a lot of friends here who want to make a difference. I got a lot of friends here who want to help humanity and help people. I got friends here who do coaching for a living. I got friends here who do teaching for a living. I got friends here who do shows for a living. I got friends here who do music for a living. I got friends here who do acting for a living. You don't just do that for a buck. You don't just do that for a dollar. You do it because you feel like your art, your profession is gonna make a difference. It's gonna help somebody. It's gonna make them feel more valuable and more significant. But have you ever felt insignificant and insufficient? Insufficient. Now, some of you don't know what this is like. But have you ever gone to an ATM and you're like, we need $250.

16:00 And you put in your pen, you look both ways like somebody's going to watch you. And you put in your pen and you say, $250. No, $250. And it says, we don't got that. You do have $89. So what part of that do you want right now? Furthermore, it's going to cost you $22 to withdraw on your $89. I can't afford this ATM. you ever felt insufficient you ever had life come at you in such a way where you finally conclude I'm not up for this like I don't have the inward fortitude to stand up to this you ever had so many things happening one day I told you last week when my tire blew because I hit a drain God bless the drains in Los Angeles this is a not normal be built drains.

16:55 They're just like, it's like a curb, but the curb opens up. And if you hit your tire just right, it explodes your tire. And that's when I became an atheist that day. You ever had like, life just comes at you and you're like, insufficient funds, insufficient emotions, insufficient positivity, insufficient faith, insufficient mental fortitude. Insufficient attitude. Insufficient whatever it is. I was going to start making some jokes, but that's not fair. So we're going to keep it moving. But have you ever felt just like you don't measure up? You feel insignificant. You feel insufficient for what life is asking of you. My question is this. What is your cure? What is your cure? And I tell you what the culture. Now, when I say culture, I just want to say something.

17:55 Culture is what we cultivate as a group. So I want to say this. When I say culture, I don't mean them. I mean us. Okay? So I don't ever want culture to be like, well, you know, out there. No, we is the culture. Somebody say amen. We is the culture. So we, in our culture, have cultivated a mentality that was coined by Nike in March of 2013 when Nike came out with an ad about one of their golfers and the ad said, winning takes care of everything. There is the culture. And apparently we liked the commercial and it did well and it sold Nike's clothes. That's right. Winning takes care of everything. Now, I don't blame them for writing that. Seemed like it kind of worked. And in some senses, it kind of seems true. Suddenly everybody is a Knicks fan.

18:48 I mean everybody. I mean everybody, including me. You know, I mean, I always loved New York, man. Nah, nah, for real. Brooklyn, nah, nah, nah. The Nets, come on, man. Now the Knicks, that's my team. It's amazing what winning does, but does it take care of everything? Does it cure that insignificant, insufficient smallness? The title of my sermon tonight is the souk. No, I'm kidding. The title of my sermon tonight is The Case of the Smalls or The Case of Smallness. What happens when you feel small? I'll tell you what happens to me. Typically when I feel insignificant, sometimes it is a bad case of comparison. You start to compare yourselves to other people. We've talked about this before and we always will because it plagues all of us as human beings. We look at the proverbial Joneses and ask ourselves why.

19:46 We look at the Joneses and we feel we don't add up. We look at the Joneses and we feel like we don't measure up. We look at the Joneses with an evil eye of envy and we say, God, why do they get an eye and they have and why don't and they and you just feel small. To cure that, traditionally, most of the time, I am given to, I have to succeed. I have to get results. I have to dictate more outcome. You ever had just one of these moments where everyone has haters now? You know, everyone has haters, you know, the haters, which may not be entirely true, but it seems like everyone now has haters. Have you ever, are you okay? All right, you got to get it. It's a camera guy. You got to check on him. But you ever had haters and you ever told yourself, I'll show, I'll show.

20:42 And what you're saying, of course, is there in the mantra of the culture. When you feel insignificant, when you feel insufficient, when you feel like you don't measure up, when you have a case of the smalls, traditionally and typically our approach is what? I'm gonna work harder, I'm gonna try harder, and I'm gonna prove them wrong. So much so we have more documentaries than we can count dedicated to that mantra. I want to say this. I'm not sure that's wrong or bad. I'm just very sure that that doesn't work out for everybody. In fact, I'll take it a step further. Like as much as everyone tells me about the Mamba mentality, I look at the same people and think to myself, but you are not Kobe Bryant. I don't know how to tell you this. Like, I think it's adorable that you have the Mamba mentality. I think you have like the gardener snake mentality, but like not even a cobra mentality. But like, but because we have such outliers in our culture that tell us this mentality and approach will cure your smallness.

21:48 And of course, all the documentaries and all our entertainment and all our platforms are dedicated to the outliers. I want to say shout out to the outliers. I want to say shout out to these geniuses who are so incredibly dedicated and diligent and God gifted. One young man, he was my favorite basketball player that got drafted yesterday. He got to the little interview. You know, they got a little makeshift bedroom. It's kind of ESPN puts up. And he got there. And his first thing he said to the interview, he said, I don't deserve to be here. She goes, don't say that. You deserve it. And I thought, actually, he is on to something. And whatever team he's going to, Golden State Warriors, they're going to win again. I don't deserve to be here, but I'm blessed to be here. But our culture, we tell ourselves, earn, deserve, warranted. And the grace element is underplayed because it's not sexy and it doesn't sell. That, like, if Bobby Wagner was here, my dear friend who I love and one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history, if you looked at Bobby, you would be like, so God, when God made Bobby Wagner, He said, linebagger, Bobby's arms are the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen in my whole life.

23:01 You hug Bobby and it's like, I feel like I hugged a very, very close relative of God. Like there are things that are not fair about this life. And as much as I think you should work hard and you should be diligent and you should be excellent. I think if we're not careful, we just start handing this cure out to everybody and it typically doesn't deliver. In fact, in an ironic turn of events, typically that mentality is the most haunting. When you do the work, wait for it, and you get the success. And they put the mic in front of you and say, what do you feel? What do you feel like right now? You did it! And every single achiever the mic has ever been put in front of. They all say something effectively the same thing. Jalen Brunson said, it hadn't really hit me yet.

23:58 It's just because all of us, we think when I get there, I will float. My back won't ever hurt again. I'll never be up at night worried about anything. Why? Because I'm a champion. and once I win the championship, my marriage will be fixed. The cries of my heart that no one knows about will be fixed. Everything about my body will never hurt again. Why? Because I'm the GOAT. but even the goats wake up with a sore lower back or a kink in their neck. So even when you do deliver on, I feel small, I feel insignificant, I'm gonna work, I'm gonna work, I'm gonna work. Not so small anymore, I'm going to Disneyland.

24:49 They paid me for that and I hope it's not long because that'll be a nightmare when I'm there, but I'll go, it'll be great. You get home and you're like, all right, when does it hit me? So I'm asking you, if you've ever felt small and insignificant, what is your cure? What is your cure? What is your cure? YouTube recently read my mind and sent me this ad for sounds that heal you. Yeah, that is definitely up my alley. And it's like, and I'm like, I'm like in my bathtub. Yes. And like the ad gets over. I got to go back and find the ad again. Because I don't know how this works. And I'm like, do it again.

25:42 This will cure anxiety. I'm like, I think it did. I think I feel amazing. I'm not against any of it, man. I'm just asking you, what is your cure? And is it working? Is it helping you? One of my flawed cures is to fake it till I make it, baby. Fake it till I make it. When I feel small, I act big. What up? What up? you got a nice restaurant here this is cool it's pretty cool that's all right sorry it's like the nicest restaurant i've ever been to yeah it's cool it's cool this is 250 dollars is that just for the burger i take two you're like you ever been in one of those spaces in your life where nothing's that cool anymore because you're so cool you know me you're like got like a big world cup game, you're like, that's all right. It's not a big deal. You know, like that, those are one of the things we do to cure when we feel small, we feel out of place, we feel like we don't fit in.

26:50 What's your cure? And I'd like to give you tonight, by way of an ancient story, the greatest cure I have found. And if I'm honest, it's the only cure that sticks around. It's the only one that has delivered me any amount of lasting confidence, contentment, and assurance. Brings us back to Joseph. We're still on Joseph. Now imagine how long this is going to take. If we're doing multiple Wednesdays on one character and we're trying to get it through an ancient book, we're going to be here. It's going to be like America's 350th birthday. We're still going to be here. Okay. also family feud. Joseph, we've been talking about him. For those that don't know who Joseph is, he is what they call a type of Jesus in the Old Testament. This is in the book of beginnings, which is the word Genesis means beginnings. And there we see the story of Joseph. Interesting fact, Joseph is given more attention than nearly any other character in the entire Old Testament.

27:54 There are more chapters and verses dedicated to Joseph and his life and everybody around Joseph. And I think the reason for that is not an accident. It's because so much of Joseph's life parallels the life and ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Keeping in mind, this mystical, magical book is about one main character. Just like your favorite movie, there is a main character. and the main character of the book or the Bible or the story of God is Jesus. An interesting observation you'll discover about ancient Joseph, ancient Joseph is the weepiest character arguably in the whole Bible. He's my guy. He likes to cry. He's not afraid to cry. Fun fact, we talked about this these last few weeks. If you know Joe's story, he has a tough one, all right? He's got some obstacles.

28:49 His brothers turn on him. He is a little arrogant and cocky. He doesn't have a lot of discretion and decorum. And they throw him in his cistern in a well and they sell him to. So people come and buy on their way to Egypt. They sell him. He ends up going to a foreign land. His brothers sell him out. He ends up at a guy named Potiphar's house. I'm not going to go super fast like I went last week because we're going to make it really, really quick. And Joseph has a great success there until finally Potiphar's wife is like, I need you. And I don't just need to talk to you. Like, I need you. And he's like, no, no, no, no. And she's like, oh yeah. And she grabs his jacket. He runs away. She says, he tried to rape me. When Potiphar comes back to the house, he's like, here's the proof. Here's his jacket. He started took it off and he was trying to, you know, and he's like, whoa. So then he kicks Joseph out of the house, puts him in the dungeon in Pharaoh's palace. He's in the dungeon. And so Joseph goes through a lot of dark seasons, a lot of difficult times. What you'll find interesting is we never have a record of Joseph crying when things are bad.

29:47 He never cries. Never cries when he's in the well. He never cries when he's sold to slavery. He never cries when he's in the dungeon. He never cries when things go wrong. He never cries when he's mistreated. He never cries when he, but by the time we get to the end of this story, he will cry seven different times, seven different times. The Genesis account will say he wept. So it should be also noted that Joseph doesn't just like shed a tear. Joseph ugly cries. You know what I'm talking about? There are, there are sexy, cute cries. This is one of those ugly cries. You ever had a friend who started crying so bad, you're like, I don't know if this is going to work for me. This might change the definition of our relationship. You're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, this is unsettling, unhinged. I got to go. Talk to God. Joseph ugly cries seven times. Which is interesting because when Jesus is on the cross, it's not a weeping, but it's a crying.

30:47 Famously, for some six and a half hours, Jesus is on the cross. He will speak seven times. These parallels throughout Joseph and Jesus are all throughout. Jesus is sold by his own people, if you will. Joseph is sold by his own brothers. Jesus spends a night in a dungeon. Joseph is in a dungeon. Joseph has threes throughout his story. Threes, threes, three days Jesus was in the tomb. On the third day, he rose again. There is resurrection, there is death, there is weeping, there is crying. The parallels are endless, and we could go on and on and on. But what I'd like to do to show you the stickiest cure, the best cure I've found for a case of the smalls, I want to start in the very first weeping moment of Joseph. And I'm going to do my best to tell you this very briefly.

31:42 Then we're going to parallel it to one of the first cries of Jesus on the cross. and then I'm gonna take you to the weepiest New Testament verse in, I was gonna say all the Bible, New Testament, all the Bible, if you get that, but it is the weepiest verse given to Jesus. And in this, I think you and I can together discover the cure when you feel insufficient, small, and insignificant. The Bible records, if you remember the story of Joseph and what we've talked about, and again, I won't go over it again, but by the time we pick up our story and what is Genesis chapter 42, Joseph has effectively become the prince of Egypt. Check it out. Great film. Prince of Egypt. What does that mean? Well, it means he's second in command, second most powerful man in the known world, but it also means that the dream he interpreted of Pharaoh, remember Pharaoh has a dream, they bring Joseph out of the dungeon because the baker and the cupbearer remembered, or the cupbearer specifically remembered that Joseph is good with dreams and no one could interpret Pharaoh's dream and Pharaoh had seven really, really thick, chubby cows and then really skinny ones.

32:45 And Joseph's like, oh, that's simple. There's gonna be seven years of feasting and seven years of famine. You've gotta store up. So in the seven years, you will survive. Well, sure enough, by the time we get to Genesis chapter 42, everything Joseph has predicted according to Pharaoh's dream has come to pass. And now the entire world is in a massive famine. And the only place that has grain is Egypt. And now it is the prince of Egypt's job, the governor of Egypt's job to sit on a throne and people who need grain from other countries will line up to get an audience with the governor or the prince of Egypt, Joseph, with a headdress and mascara on. He's a Hebrew guy, but he's full Egyptian at this point. He's sitting up there and as the story goes in Genesis 42, Jacob, the father of Joseph, who's still after all these years mourning the death of his favorite son, Joseph, finally realizes that where they are, so many, many, many, many miles away from Egypt, they're out of food.

33:49 Jacob says to his sons, he has 11 at the time, he says, I'm gonna keep Benjamin back, but 10 of you, I want you to go to Egypt and barter. Get us some grain or we're gonna die. The boys make the trek, they get to Egypt, and they stand in line. I want you to see the image. In the hot sun, they're standing in line. God only knows what they were doing standing in line. But if you've been to Disneyland, you can relate. Standing in line. Making up games, rock, paper, scissors. Standing in line. Who's the best looking? Standing in line. Who's losing their hair? Standing in line. And they finally get to the front. And now they have audience with the Prince of Egypt.

34:30 They said, sir. And immediately, obviously, Joseph knows. these are my brothers who sold me into slavery. He's surprised that they do not recognize. He shouldn't be surprised because they never seen him with makeup on before. But they don't know it's Joe.

34:53 As the story goes, we can talk more about this, but he is harsh with them at first. He says, you're spies. You guys came to spy Egypt. You're trying to rob and steal. No, no, no, Prince of Egypt, sir. No, we just need some, we're dying. We came from our dad's place and we have, there was 12 of us. This really happens. There was 12 of us. Now it's only 11. The 11th, he's at home with dad. And the one, the 12th, he's no more. Talking about him. But we need grain. He says, no, you're spies. I'm putting you in jail. They're in jail for three days. Another parallel, three days. third day brings him out of jail and in a moment joseph will weep for the first of seven times in just a few chapters says he brings him back out of prison and he says you are spies and the only way i know that you you won't be spies is one of you can go back and you got to prove there's another brother and you bring him back joseph knowing that jacob would not want benjamin to come but he's also testing these brothers wondering have they changed at all then he says you, you, you, you, you, your spies, I'm going to put you in prison, but why don't you go? And he's like, no, please, please. And something very strange happens while Joseph is sitting there.

36:14 He's been talking through an interpreter, by the way. He's bilingual now, my man. so they don't think Joseph can understand them and a little squabble breaks out amongst the boys one of them says this is the judgment of God because we sold our brother to slavery they don't know Joe's sitting right there and they start fighting and Reuben if you know the story Reuben was the one brother who was like yeah put him in the well and Reuben had said to himself when we leave I'm going to come back and I'm going to save my brother because I'm not selling not my brother. And Reuben was never for it, but it happened. And so then Reuben steps up in the fight. He says, I told you guys, I told you not to sell him. Now look. And what these brothers don't realize is while they're fighting, squabbling, they're on the verge of starvation, annihilation and they see the prince of Egypt as a source to get grain small these brothers have never been smaller insignificant never been more insignificant insufficient completely their life is on the line but what happens is interesting they do not recognize that the prince of Egypt is not merely a source of grain. He is their family who can restore them and heal them from their worst act. The Bible says for the very first time, Joseph slips backstage and he weeps. My question to you is, why is Joseph crying? Why is he crying? Well, he's crying because the pain and the agony that his brothers can't even see him. They don't even recognize him.

38:11 They think they're here for grain. And Joseph's crying because what Joseph wants to give them is so much more than some grain. He wants to heal them. He wants to restore them. He wants to soothe their soul, not just fill their bellies. He goes, the Bible says, and he weeps. He says he puts himself back together, probably has to reapply his mascara. And he comes back out and the story continues. You'll note that, of course, later the story will end in full restoration. But it reminds me that is the first weep of Joseph. and if that was to propel you into the New Testament and you asked yourself, what is the first cry that Jesus cried while on the cross, you would know that the first time Jesus spoke in the process of the crucifixion was when undoubtedly they had the cross on the ground and they had stripped him naked after beating him mercilessly and they laid him on the cross and the story records that while Jesus is being nailed to the cross, He says the unimaginable and the unthinkable, but listen closely.

39:24 It beckons to very similarly to the emotion that Joseph felt. Jesus says, and I quote, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. Now, I've had trouble with this passage for many, many years, and I've shared it here before because it sure looks like they know what they're doing. It sure looks like they know where to put the nails. It sure looks like they know what to do with the cross. It sure looks like they know how to name him king of the Jews over his head on the cross. So what could Jesus possibly mean? They don't know what they're doing. He's not just talking about the act of elimination by crucifixion. He's talking about they don't see me. They don't recognize me. They don't realize what I have and who I am. father forgive him i believe very similarly the emotion that joseph felt is the emotion that jesus felt in front of his own he could not be recognized and what they thought in the crucifixion of jesus if you know the crucifixion of jesus and the story make no mistake much of the crucifixion on a very practical level was done because of economy yeah because Jesus was disrupting an economy he was a disruption to the synagogue and the temple if his way becomes the way nobody will come to temple anymore it won't work like it used to work and so even his own Jewish brothers and sisters were scared because he was unsettling the economy so you could say that the crucifixion of Jesus in its simplest natural form was an effort to preserve life, economy.

41:25 These brothers have come before the prince of Egypt and all they're trying to do is preserve life. We want to live. We need grain so we can make bread, so we can make tortillas, so we can make tacos. That is not accurate. But all kinds of things you can do with grain. It's that simple. They stood in that line, not just for a thrill or a ride. They stood in the line because they want to live. They crucified Jesus because they want to live. Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. That cry seems to mirror the weeping of Joseph. Now Joseph and Jesus know they're going to change everything for these people craving life. The result is going to be incredible.

42:22 My question is, why does Joseph weep when he has the power to change everything? because there is a cry in God and he desires that his own would recognize him and realize who he is. And so I end with this. Pretty much ahead of schedule, by the way. It should be added. so I'd like to having established that I'd like to conclude this presentation with the weepiest verse in all the New Testament now if you grew up in church if you grew up in some sort of religious school you grew up Catholic or Christian you most doubtedly know this verse because if some schoolmaster told you you had to memorize a verse you chose this one because in John 11 and verse 35, it says, and I quote, Jesus wept.

43:25 And you're like, boom, how you like them apples? Mrs. Johnson, I have memorized the whole verse. Okay, now for those of us that grew up like this, that is the thing we've been doing for hundreds of years. You need to, you are gonna be in study hall after school for an hour until you memorize a verse of the Bible. I already got it. Jesus wept. Except that one. That one does not count. But I want to go to that verse. I love how the Passion Translation says, and tears were streaming down Jesus's face. He's not just crying. He's weeping. And I think here we will discover in its plainest terms, the cure for your case of smalls or smallness, the cure for your insufficiency and insignificance, the cure when by scale you just feel small. I can't deal with this.

44:27 I can't face this doctor's discovery in my body. I can't face this resistance. I can't. I just got laid off. I can't. I can't shake this addiction. I can't. I think right here, and the cool thing about this message is if you forget it, just at least remember this verse, Jesus wept. And then if you can in your mind, when push comes to shove and life gets hard, try to remember my explanation or our explanation for why Jesus weeps. Because that's my question. And the answer to that question is going to give you the greatest, most solid, dependable cure when you feel insufficient, insignificant, and small in this life. If you have never felt like this, you were born a couple of weeks ago.

45:26 But for the rest of us, this is part of life, isn't it? Isn't it? And if you've never compared yourself with someone, you need to get out more. That's adorable. But it's going to happen. Always somebody better looking. Always somebody with better hair. My friend Paul came to church tonight. I love him so much, but I hate his hair because it's perfect. Oh, okay, Paul, we get it. You have perfect hair.

45:57 There's always going to be somebody somewhere, faster, stronger, better looking, knows more verses in the Bible, a walking almanac. And you might feel small. Why did Jesus weep? well the answer is actually before John 11 35 and I'll let you go to John 11 in your own time but if you know the story they say that this family unit is the closest thing the closest family to Jesus in his entire life and ministry other than his own biological family In fact, someone argued he was at times closer to Mary, Martha, and their little brother, Lazarus. We've talked about this before, but there is a famous, powerful, perfect picture and a portrait in the living room of Mary and Martha.

46:56 Martha's the oldest. Mary is a classic middle, and Lazarus is a classic baby little brother. well by the time you run into Jesus crying in John 11 you will soon discover when looking in the context and the verses around it before it and after it it's because Lazarus has died now if you go too far back at the very tippy top of the chapter in John chapter 11 you will discover that before he died, Mary and Martha sent word. Hey, Jesus, our little brother is sick. He's not good at all. Can you please come? And something very odd happens in this passage.

47:49 If it was visual, you know, you couldn't send like, there was no UPS or FedEx or anything. It was just people. So somebody sent word and they came in and they found Jesus and they said, Hey, I had brought word from your friends and Mary and Martha, their little brother, Lazarus is really sick. They need you to come. And they said you could heal him. Okay. I've done my job. Thank you, sir. Nice to meet you. He's like, okay. And the next scene, you see Jesus just like reclining, you know, back then that all the cushions were on the floor. And you see Jesus just like relaxing in the cushion. And you're like, that is not my Jesus. He's like, yo, give me some more of that pita. who ate all the hummus? Peter, if you keep eating all the hummus, I'm going to send you to hell. No, I'm kidding. He didn't say that. That's terrible. That's terrible.

48:40 I added that. It's not in the Bible. It's not even there. Don't tell nobody I said that because they'll kick me in, you out of their church. That would be crazy. But anyways, over hummus, Jesus just, he has no urgency about him. And you're like, ooh, I thought he kind of liked Las Vegas. Apparently not. he um he waits and the text will tell you this in john chapter 11 he waits he enjoys water and evenings with the guys. And now Lazarus, the text will tell you, Lazarus is now dead. And Jesus says, it's time to go. Now, evidently, none of the young guys that roll with him, they call these guys the disciples. Not one of them was like, it's too late now, bro. They're all like, yeah, yeah, for sure.

49:34 That's cool. That's good, yeah. But they all got questions. why are we not this is your guy you love Mary and Martha why are we not moving but nobody asked according to the text they get up it's like three miles away I think might have been more than that but it's not like it's like a day's walk maybe less so it's that's equally hurtful isn't it just a few hour walk Jesus you could have been there and so naturally this is before Jesus wept. He arrives and Mary is still with the mourners because back then mourning was like a, it was like a really ornate tradition. And it was a way to show honor for the dead. And so people would dress in all black and the mourning was days, sometimes weeks. So the mourners have been there now. He's been dead for four or five, six days. I can't remember exactly, but it's been a while now. Martha hears that he's finally arrived, the oldest sister.

50:43 She comes out and she says what you think she says. She says, hey. He says, hey, Martha. if you would have been here, you could have, if you would have been here, he wouldn't have died.

51:05 He wouldn't have died. And Jesus says, no, I got this. I could fix this. And Martha goes, yeah, I know everyone's going to rise. on the resurrection day. I've read the story. I've heard. If Jesus says this, says to Martha, in this tense moment, her feelings are hurt. Mary hasn't even come out to say hi yet. Mary is definitely a middle child.

51:40 The firstborn is like, I don't want to see him, but I got to do what's right. I'm the firstborn. She comes out and says hi. Mary's still inside mourning, talking about, I don't even want to see him. Jesus says this to Martha. Listen closely. you don't have to wait until then. You don't have to wait until then. I am the resurrection. I am life eternal. Anyone who clings to me in faith, even though he dies, will live forever.

52:09 Amen. And the one who lives by believing in me will never die. Do you, Martha, do you believe this? Do you believe this? Now, and look at the next verse let's keep reading i just then martha replied yes lord i do i've always believed that you are the anointed one the son of god who's coming to the world for us then she left and heard off to her sister mary and called her aside from all the mourners and whispered in her ear the master is here and he's asking for you so when mary heard this she quickly went off to find him and what does mary says for jesus lingering outside the village at the same spot where Martha met him. And watch this, Mary. Now, when Mary's friends who were comforting, they noticed that they thought she was going out to the tomb of brother to mourn. Next verse. When Mary finally found Jesus outside the village, she fell at his feet tears. And what is Mary say? If you had only been here, my brother would not have died.

53:09 Now, to give you a little backstory. The reason Martha and Mary say this, they say almost the identical thing. It's twofold. Yes, it's because they're going to miss their little brother and that is their brother. But you got to understand something. There is a wrinkle here that you may not translate in modern culture. Lazarus is their livelihood. Lazarus is the money that's going to pay for their food and their house. women could not have jobs back then lazarus was their grain lazarus was their economy lazarus was their future oh yeah love of their life their brother for sure yes yes of course but they don't got a job they don't got money they're not gonna be able to eat if you had been here you could have fixed the problem next verse when Jesus looked at Mary and saw her weeping at his feet and all her friends were with her grieving he shuddered with emotion and was deeply moved with tenderness and compassion where did you bury him? Lord come with us and we'll show you they replied then tears streamed down Jesus' face now Now, if you were writing a script and I was writing a script.

54:40 the teary part is kind of a weird part. Cause like, do you know what I mean? Like if I was writing the script, I would have Jesus finally arrived. Like, yo, sorry, I'm late. I know it's crazy. I know we got hung up. We're eating my bad. And when Martha approaches him, he's like, oh man, I'm so sorry. And then when Mary comes out, he's like, I'm gonna cry again. but he has these mysterious exchanges with him. They both express the natural conclusion that your delay has cost us everything. and then it says jesus says where is he buried and they're like over here and then the next scene is him crying that's a bad placement of that scene in logical human emotion like he he gave him an explanation in the plan why is he crying now i'm dead serious why is he crying now if i wrote a script and put the character crying then you'd be like yo that's not even normal bro it's not natural to be like like he should cry when he when they see each other he should be like oh i'm so sorry like that works in the story but after they have this real mysterious exchange and you're definitely not supposed to cry after you ask for directions over here Oh, God.

56:12 that's not a good timing but it would tell you something if you listen and then tears stream down Jesus face so my question to you is why is he crying because the answer to that will tell you the cure to your smallness. Jesus cries, not because Lazarus is dead. That can't be it, because in a few verses, he's going to fix that.

56:48 And by the way, if he's going to fix the death, why cry before the death? Twofold. Number one, he cries because when you're in pain, he's in pain and he feels your pain because he loves you that much. Even though your pain is like, you know, God could tell all of us that our pain is, how should I say, cute.

57:10 God, she got another promotion. I've been at the job two years longer than her. I can't handle that. And God's like, oh my gosh, try the cross. You know, like, but he doesn't do that, does he? He meets us. And he says, I know, and he cries. It's mysterious. It's beyond my understanding. But I think he's crying for the same reason he cried on the cross. And the same reason Joseph cried in the lineup, handing out grain.

57:47 Because that's the only, when I look at the order of events, the sequence of events, and when he cries, it'll tell you. He sees Martha. He sees Mary. He sees the mourners. He gets directions. And he finally can't take it anymore. And he cries. Why?

58:13 They don't even recognize me. they don't even recognize me. They think I'm just another teacher. They think what they think about me, but they don't know who I really am. And he just told Martha who he is. When Jesus says you do not have to wait until then, do you know he's not talking about a few verses later when he resurrects Lazarus, that's not what he's talking about. He's talking about you don't have to wait to then. You know what then is? The then is what you keep telling yourself that will cure your smallness. When Jesus says you don't have to wait until then, what he means is you don't have to wait until your promotion.

59:04 You don't have to wait until your healing. You don't have to wait until your freedom. You don't have to wait until you're not addicted. You don't have to wait until you're not. You don't have to wait until then. I am right now. What are you right now? Yeah. So here we are. It's 8.53 p.m. on a Wednesday, and I am about to land this plane on a runway you and I might not prefer. But this is where the message ends, friends. There is no indication in Scripture whatsoever that God will give you the results you want. I can't find the verse where God signs on the dotted line and promises you career and cash.

59:57 If he did, I would have preached it by now. What do you want? You got it. I have learned the mysterious ways of Jesus, so much so that my favorite prayer in my 40s is don't you give me what I think I want. Give me what I really want. Don't give me what I temporarily right now in linear time and space think I want more than anything because I don't think I really want that because sometimes I feel like I get that and then I get it and it's like gravel in my mouth and sour in my heart and I'm as empty as hollow as I've ever been. So don't give me what I think I want. I think I want results. I think I want outcome. I think I want career. I think I want status. I think I want, but I think, I think, I think none of that gives me what I really crave. And that is a soul at peace, content, trusting, and really, really alive.

1:01:02 I am so exhausted with my need.