When Nothing You Do Feels Like Enough · The Coat Pt. 3 LIVE

0:00 I like, you know, I like ESPN. That's not true. I struggle with being obsessed with ESPN, okay? Like, I love ESPN. ESPN, I feel like ESPN raised me. ESPN is the white noise of my life. ESPN has to be on and it soothes me. When I'm in another country, recently, I was in Morocco and I was in Portugal, I don't mean to brag, and I was there with my wife and I left my phone at home and I was three weeks without talking to any of you and it was wonderful and we were over there, but I kept flipping the channels and I couldn't find ESPN. I felt unsettled. I felt lost. I felt displaced. I love ESPN. Did you see the interview that Stephen A. Smith had with Jalen Brunson? Did you see this? Well, I'm going to tell you. Chelsea said, no, babe, I know you didn't watch this. So Stephen A. Smith on his show says to Jalen Brunson, I need to apologize because when we traded for you, when we acquired Jalen Brunson from the Dallas Mavericks. I doubted you, Jalen. And if you know Stephen A., he sounds like a preacher. I doubted you, Jalen. And I was wrong. You're the greatest dick of all time. And I just want to say I apologize, and I will never speak ill of you again. Jalen Brunson in his understated way, which I just really like. It's awesome. I just like him. He said, he went like this. He goes, Yeah, we'll see about that.

1:22 And I think that sums it all up. Let's pray. God, I love it. Sums what up? Life. Do you feel successful right now? Do you feel significant? Do you feel seen? If you do, congratulations. Get you a cake tonight, put some candles on them and blow them out. Because you feel successful and significant and seen. But for many of us, that is elusive. In fact, some will tell you for a moment, for a chapter, for a season, they felt seen. They felt significant. They felt successful. And then, for the rest of their career, they chase that season over and over and over. I can tell you about music artists who never felt like they ever. Michael Jackson went on record to say he was always chasing thriller.

2:20 So even success as we define it is very elusive. And tonight I want to talk to somebody in the auditorium who maybe, maybe right now, I know you will soon, but maybe right now you don't feel so successful. You don't feel so significant. You don't feel seen. And what I love about Jalen Brunson, other than 45 points he dropped in a game five deciding game in the finals. I think the number 11 is a sick number, by the way. I like how it looks on the jersey. But I just love what he said to Stephen A. because it sums it all up. I will never speak ill of you again. Jalen Brunson looks up cool, calm and collected and says, yeah, we'll see about that. Because Jalen Brunson knows that success is a moving target. And the moment you reach it, it's now moved again, which of course reminds me of my basketball career. I don't want to get into all the minutiae and all the details, but obviously you can tell by my build, I'm an athlete.

3:24 Six foot two and a half with shoes on, pretty much kissing 6'3". And, yeah, I played varsity. Of course I did. Of course. Played varsity. Played varsity my sophomore year. It's unprecedented. Junior year, senior year. Led my junior varsity team in double digits points per game my freshman year. We went 16-0.

3:50 So obviously I was looking into my future, and I felt like Judah Brunson was kind of like my future. And we get into the county, the King County in Seattle. It's a county. And we are in the championship game. and countless people are in the Juanita Field Center. It was the home of Juanita High School, but that night Mercer Island was playing Issaquah High School. I played for Issaquah High School. Mercer Island was our rival. They were the number one team in the state. We were top five in the state. I wore number 32, Magic, and I played power forward, obviously. You know what? I hate you guys. I feel like I can't see you, but I can see you, and I just want to, and I don't appreciate it. As fate would have it, as God would have it, I got a breakaway. Early in the game, the ball just seemed to drop in my glove, came to me on the court, and all of a sudden the entire, maybe you've heard me tell this story before if you had, just act like you haven't.

4:54 Whole court is open to me. All I can see is open court. And so what do I do? I do what every trained, diligent, experienced, seasoned athlete does. I'm a senior. It's varsity. It's the city championship. I drop my head. No reason to even look at the hoop because I know where it is. I know what it feels like to cross the court. I know how many dribbles it takes. Played organized basketball since I was eight years old. Played on all kind of teams. Been on court for countless hours. I was prepared for this moment. I was built for this moment. Pressure is a privilege.

5:33 Start doing all the statements, you know. So I take off. I'm dribbling. I'm not even looking. And I can feel the fans. I can hear the ladies saying, Judah, Judah. It was a thing. It was a whole thing. And I just started dribbling. And I never looked up, Acho. I didn't even have to look up because I know where the hoop is. it took me, typically I was, I got the ball at our free throw line and I was at their free throw line and I was going. I knew about three big dribbles and I would be right where I need to be to kiss the ball right off the glass and do what they call the layup. Now I would have dunked it, but my knee was bugging me that particular game. But as, as it would unfold in front of me, when I picked up my dribble and went to lay up the ball, it was at that very moment I looked up and thought to myself, why, oh, why is the hoop so far away?

6:35 I had literally picked up my dribble at the free throw line and was now attempting to win the dunk contest like Michael Jordan, and I took off on the free throw line. And I'm like, oh, oh, oh, no. And I remember, like, just play it off, try to do a big old finger roll over the top of the rim, doink and bounces behind. My coach was so thrilled. He called me out to tell me how thrilled he was. He explicitly shared his irate, what is wrong with you? What is wrong with you? But I want to say something, something that is the truth of this story. The Juanita Fieldhouse was by definition a Lark court than we had played all year. Now, if you grew up like I grew up, high school gyms can be small. We had great stands, but they were, and I promise you, and I'll stand before God to tell you, that court was probably 15 feet too long. At least it was that night. That stupid little story about my sparkly basketball career only proves the point.

7:43 And it's a great little illustration of how life feels sometimes. You feel like, okay, this is right where I'm supposed to be. And you ever, oh, okay. So you've never told yourself, if I could just, if I could, I'm gonna get this job and then I'm, you know, I grew up in a broken neighborhood with broke families, and we were all talking about all we needed was a BMW. If you grew up in my neighborhood, a nice car, wealthy, period. End of story. There was no, I don't care. No, if you had a BMW or a Mercedes, which Chelsea's family did have, that's why I married her. We had Ford Aero Stars in my family used with the tinted windows that turned purple. If you know what I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking about. They were purple windows. And I told my friends, those are tinted, bro. They look purple and warped and swollen. So So I used to, we used to have conversations as kids, well, when I go pro, it's all going to be good.

8:51 I'm going to ride. Maybe right now you're trying to get that job. Maybe right now you're up for an interview, and you're telling yourself, once I get that job, I'm going to feel successful, significant, and probably seen, probably. only to arrive having acquired the job. I give you about two and a half weeks and it'll feel the same way the Juanita Fieldhouse felt for me that night. You'll be like, here I am.

9:24 And the target will have moved. Success feels a lot like, wait, okay. And now, and it's just the way our culture is built. I'm not saying right, wrong, or indifferent. It just is what it is. You do one thing, now the expectation has grown, and now we expect you to do another thing. We are traveling so fast in this modern age that everybody's goalposts and markers move. And now, I have experienced at 47 years old, I got a lot of friends who seem to have a lot of money. And you know what I have discovered? An ancient text. Biggie won one. More money, more problems. like it's it's true the thing you think that will make you successful and and seen and and significant um i just want you to that at the very minimum tonight i want you to question the validity of that perspective because i can tell you even when you have success now now you will be held to it. I had a book that some people bought. And so the publisher said, we want to, we want to do two more books with you. I said, so do I with you. And they said, here's how much money we'll give you. And I said, when do we start? And the first book didn't sell what they did not tell me they wanted it to sell. And it had, they told me, I would have said, I can't sell that many books. I don't think without literally selling my soul and it didn't sell.

11:00 and they called and said, brother, we got to break contract. This isn't working out. We had expectations that your last book was a bestseller. And so we needed this to be a bestseller. And, you know, at Christian to Christian, he said, Christian to Christian, I'm a brother as well. We're going to have to break contract. And I said, okay. And people said, are you going to get a lawyer? And I said, I'm tired. I don't want to do that. But that's life, friends. You get one success, and then it's, and if you don't meet that, you're, so do you feel successful? In fact, I want to take it further. I don't think God's plan for your life is oriented around success at all.

11:39 It's kind of a bummer, though, a little bit, right? When I said that, you're like, oh, kind of the reason I'm here. Judah, what about Joshua? It says, you know, God is going to prosper you in good health and good success. Okay, so that's an ancient Hebrew word that definitely doesn't mean money and stocks and big Instagram followers. Success in scripture is not how we define it today. Success in scripture really is more along this line of word we use today called productive. That's sexy, isn't it? When's the last time you met someone you're like, super attracted to that person. Why? They're productive. a person oozes productivity nah not usually man she's hot why productive i just honestly i just i love i love watching these these reality shows why the people are so productive they just seem so productive love island productive I've...

12:38 No, no, I've never... I've been doing this for 30 years. I've met with probably millions of men. Judith, there's no way that's true. But like a lot of guys, typically a lot of single guys looking for the love of their life and not one guy has ever listed productivity, non-negotiable. Non-negotiable, right? Because we are a successful driven culture. Now I want to say this. This is not a message against success. I'd like to think that I've had some success, even in modern terms by definitions. I got nothing wrong with your success. But if you start to connect and orient your existence and your identity and your daily routines around success, good luck. You might go right into your layup only to discover the rim is still 15 feet away and the target has moved. Doink. And all of a sudden, honestly, sometimes your success can haunt you the rest of your life. I don't want you to hitch your wagon to success. I want you to find a settled soul that is content with productivity and purpose. Somebody that can weather all kinds of chapters and seasons.

13:51 Somebody that can weather the good times, sure, sure, but also the bad times. But can I say this? You know what's really attractive to me? Not just people who can weather the good times or the bad times. At least those times are acute. At least those times are dramatic. At least those times have demonstrative days in them that you can kind of commemorate and remember. The bad are bad, and the good are good. I'm talking about people who can weather neutral days. You know what I mean? How you doing? Show me the guy or the gal who can go, but it's going to be a good day. It's just one of those days. You know what I mean? Listen, I know people who have really bad Monday mornings, if you know what I mean. And I know people who have really good Friday nights. But I kind of, as I'm getting older, I'm like, I just kind of want to be a Tuesday afternoon kind of guy that's like, it's going to be all right.

14:49 It's going to work out. How you doing? Good to see you. You good? All right. Wow. Isn't it wild the older you get? I said this so many times. talking on platforms, the older you get, man, Sexy Steve is not so sexy no more. and old Steady Eddie comes around, and you're like, oh, no, I like you more. What's happening to me? I'm getting old. I'd call it wise. I'd call it wise. So tonight, if you feel unsuccessful, if you feel insignificant, there is a key. There is an essential. There is a position. There is a blessing. There is a favor that comes from God. It's available to you, and it will make you twice as productive as you are right now. And I want to show you this story.

15:42 It takes us thousands of years back in time. Joseph is the character we are looking at going through the entire Bible. I'll be here for many, many years trying to get through this. But Joseph is probably the clearest type or shadow, metaphor, portrait, or picture of Jesus Christ in all of the Old Testament. Many argue that more text is given to Joseph than nearly any other Old Testament character because he is a perfect portrait of Jesus. His life, they took Jesus' cloak and they gambled over it. They took Joseph's cloak. Jesus is the favored son. Joseph was the favored son. Jesus goes into the grave. Joseph goes into the pit. Joseph has three distinct seasons in his life. And the third one, he rises from the pit into rulership and lordship under Pharaoh. Jesus is dead in the grave. On the third day, he rises again, and he is king of all. It is a type of Jesus, a picture of Jesus.

16:37 Joseph is saying it's not about Joseph, it's about Jesus. There is coming a superhero. There is coming a main focal point. There is coming a main character, and all of life will be seen through him and by him, and he will change human existence as we know it. Tonight, I want to take you to a very underrated little moment late in Joseph's life. You know the story? Joseph's father is Jacob. Jacob's father is Isaac. Isaac's father is Abraham. Joseph, if you remember the story from last week, by way of review, I'm going to have to go very, very quickly, or we will be here, as they used to say in church, till Jesus returns. Okay? But Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers because they're jealous, and he also has no discretion, and he always tells people he's got these dreams and everybody's bowing to him.

17:30 And so he's kind of a nightmare and he's kind of intolerable and it's kind of a problem. And so anyways, they throw him in a cistern and a water well and they sit around and have lunch. And one of the guys is like, yo, we need to sell him into slavery. Let's just make some money. I see a caravan coming right now. And they're like, no, we shouldn't do it. And one of the brothers is like, no, don't do it. Don't do it. They're like, ah, we're doing it. So they sell him and he goes off into Egypt. He gets over to Egypt and he's really purposeless and doesn't know what to do. And then this guy Potiphar hires him to be working in his house. and over time, Potiphar is like, yo, this guy, Joe, is absolutely amazing. By the way, he's also easy to look at and he is handsome. And so Joseph, it says everything Joseph did for Potiphar at an Egyptian man's house, everything prospered, everything blessed, everything he touched, everything, the grocery list, the vacuuming, the cleaning of the chimney, everything he did in the house just worked, everything worked. And so finally Potiphar's like, listen, I got a lot to do with Pharaoh. Potiphar was very close to Pharaoh at the time, who's the most powerful man in the whole wide world. He's like, listen, I'm going to spend time with Pharaoh. You take care of everything. I'm not even going to look at my bills. I'm not even going to look at the, you can clean the car, you can clean it. Everything is yours. Everything is yours. And so Joe's like, man, this is working out. It's kind of a nice life. Wearing a lot of mascara, but not a big deal. And he's in there and he's doing his thing. Until one day, if you know the story, Potiphar's wife is like, I like Joe too. I like Joe like a lot, a lot. And she's like, listen, my husband has gone on a long trip with Pharaoh. He's not coming back for a long time. How about you and I just console each other?

18:41 I need some comfort. I need some warmth in my bed. And Joseph's like, I can't do that. She goes, yes, you can. He said, no, I can't. He said, yes, you can. No, Potiphar said, the only thing I can't have is you. I can't do this. She said, yes, you will do it. And she grabbed him to try to take his clothes off and he runs out the door and she's holding his jacket. Potiphar comes back and she uses the jacket as proof to say, he tried to rape me. Potiphar gets really upset. He walks out, puts Joseph in basically a firing line in front of all the staff. And he says, this man has embarrassed me. And he sells him back in to slavery, if you will. And he puts him in a dungeon in the palace. The dungeon in the palace is a unique dungeon. It's a torture dungeon. It's a bad dungeon. It is basically the dungeon where all of the enemies of Pharaoh exist. If you know Joseph's story, he's in the dungeon, but the same favor that's on his life is even in the dungeon. He gets a baker and a cupbearer to be his friends. The bakers had a rough deal, and the cupbearers had a rough deal. If you know what a cupbearer is, he drinks the stuff before Pharaoh drinks the stuff because if it's poison, the stuff will kill him and not Pharaoh. But he did something dumb and stupid, so he's now in the dungeon. And then I don't know what the baker did. He had a bad day bacon and made some bad cookies. And so he's in the dungeon. He makes friends with the cupbearer and the baker, and they start talking. Cupbearer and the baker, people in the dungeon start having dreams. Joe's like, I can't interpret dreams. Dreams is kind of what I do, so I tell him about the dreams. He didn't know why, but he got the interpretation. This is what's going to happen to you. He tells the cupbearer, it's not going to be good for you. He says, the baker, the baker, it's not going to be good for you. Cupbearer is going to be really good for you. As time would have it, sure enough, cupbearer gets promoted. Pharaoh likes him again, brings him back. He becomes the official cupbearer, the baker he does not like, and he cuts the baker up, and he puts his head on a steak at a party, and Joseph said he would do that. When the cupbearer realizes Pharaoh's now having dreams, and nobody can interpret the dreams, he says, oh my gosh, two years later, he says, whoa, I forgot about Joe. Joe, listen, Mr. Pharaoh, sir, let me talk openly, please, sir. There's a guy named Joseph, and he does dreams, and we can bring him up right now. And so sure enough, the Bible literally says they cut his hair, they put the mascara on, they clean him all up, they put him in the Egyptian garb, set him in front of Pharaoh, and he's like, can you interpret my dream? Joseph says, no, I can't, but God will, because God does it to me, and this is what I do, so what's the dream? He's like, skinny cast fat castle. Oh, no problem. It's going to be seven years of feasting, seven years of famine.

20:45 We got to prepare. You got to hire a staff. We're going to be the hope of the world. We're going to get all the grain. Everybody's going to come to us. And he says, well, if I'm looking for a guy, I'm looking at him right here. You're going to be the guy. Joseph's like, what do you mean I'm the guy? I'm not even really the guy. I'm just in the dungeon. He's like, you're going to be second in command. Second in command? Vice president of the whole world? Not a problem. So by the time Joseph is vice president, his brothers return because they're running out of bread. And yeah, this is your fault because you won't give me two hours and kidding and so the brothers come and they're like yo we need food and everybody met with joseph because of the mascara and the egyptian guard they didn't know it's joe and so he's like let's do it so they work it all out and if you remember the story remember at dinner last week they're like he's he takes off the headdress and wipes off the mascara he says it's me and they're like ah sorry and he said no no god meant it for good he weaves it all together for his purpose and his plan and his dad alive yeah dad's their life. Oh, this is amazing. And they all hug and they cry. And if you know Joseph, he weeps seven times. We'll talk about it next week. He's the weepiest person in all of the Bible. He just loves to cry. I can't relate to that. I don't cry. I'm a man. And so anyways, he, he, shut up. He, he brings all the family. In fact, Jacob, his father lives 18 years in Egypt. But Jacob said to Joseph, he says, I'm getting old. He says, promise me that you'll take me back to the place we came from and you'll bury me there. So sure enough, Jacob is on his deathbed. At this point, Joseph is ruling in Egypt with Pharaoh and Pharaoh has done everything for the family.

22:16 And one of the brothers or a servant comes and says, Joseph, your dad, he's got hours to live. He says, okay. He takes Manasseh and Ephraim, his two sons, Manasseh, his oldest, and Ephraim, his youngest. And he brings them for a very, very, very significant tradition where the grandfather will invoke the blessing of the family upon the grandchildren. And in those times, they literally likened this to adoption, that these boys will now be adopted into the lineage and blessing and favor in the family. And so Jacob understands what Joseph is doing. Joseph understands what his dad's doing. And so that's why he sent word, bring your sons. And so he brings his sons. And now the Bible says Jacob is so old, he can't see very well. And he's probably sitting up on the edge of his bed and he's sitting there and Joseph walks in. He says, hey, dad, he says, son, how are you? He said, this is amazing. And now I'm going to paraphrase. He says, I didn't even think I would ever see you again.

23:10 And now I get to see your boys. Are these my grandsons? Yes, sir. This is Manasseh, my oldest. And this is Ephraim, my youngest. He says, come on. Come on, boys. And they both sit on his knee. And he says, what's it like? Do you like living in Egypt? I had my doubts. I'm going to be honest with you, but I really did like it. Yeah, your dad's done well. Look at him. He looks good. well I'm proud of you both and they probably you know like old grandpas do you know he just kind of smells weird and pushing him around a little bit for no particular reason you know how grandpas do like hey it's good to see you why are you touching my hair you know grandpa and he can't see very well and so it's kind of a moment and all of its awkwardness and Joseph instigates the moment the moment they've really come for and that is that the grandfather would invoke the blessing on the grandchildren.

24:06 Now, to give you a proper understanding of antiquity, this would be one of the most important moments of their entire life. So whatever tradition you and your family might have, this is far more important than a birthday. This is far more important than holiday. This is a holy day. And it is here that these young boys will be adopted into the lineage and blessing and favor that is on Jacob and Joseph. It would be as if this was the baby boys, this was their welcoming party into the family. Now, according to natural law and order, the firstborn always received a double portion blessing. It was like, I try to think of laws and traditions in our culture that are so like, it was very much sacred and holy and was never doubted. It was believed that if you were the firstborn, that it was God ordained that you were the firstborn and you would receive double, like this is going to bug a lot of you, but like they would get double the money that the rest of the kids would get, the firstborn. Manasseh is the firstborn. So the text says in Genesis 48, it says And so Joseph takes Manasseh and puts him next to Jacob's right hand.

25:28 Now, the right hand was the great symbol of authority and transference of wealth and favor. So the right hand. By the way, this is all true. Like in ancient Egypt, like even in the tombs and stuff, like sometimes the right hand is just big. It's like weird. It's like, oh, they kind of didn't do the right hand to scale, did they? Okay, so it's like a thing. Like the right hand was the right. So he brings the oldest, Manasseh, to the right hand, and he brings Ephraim to the left hand. Natural order. This is how it works. And one of the strangest things in all of the Old Testament unfolds, keeping in mind, up to this, Genesis, we've had 48 chapters, we have already seen merit of the firstborn, the significance of the firstborn. We've already seen Jacob in his own way usurp firstborn. Don't have time, wish I did, to connect it all. But there have been these interesting moments around the firstborn.

26:23 Joseph brings his two boys, and what he believes and knows is about to happen is that Jacob is going to put his right hand on his oldest, Manasseh, and his left hand on Ephraim, his youngest. Now, the left hand does not mean you ain't getting nothing. Left hand means you're blessed too, and we love you too, buddy. but this is the first part. Nowhere ever will we see this mysterious moment ever again in ancient scripture. But it literally says, in the moment, Jacob puts his right hand on Ephraim and his left hand on Manasseh, like this. Now, this is a very natural moment, meaning Joseph's like, oh, he really can't see. Oh, that's sweet. Look at him. He's missing, you know? And he literally, Jake, Joseph is standing there and he's like, oh, dad, dad, you missed. You know, he's like, no, it's actually on Joseph assuming that his dad can't see. And so he just is like, you know, missing it with his hands. And something very interesting and prophetic happens. And Jacob is literally, my collar's outside of my other collar, and I can't go on if we don't fix that.

27:38 So yeah, I'll just buckle your seatbelts. So Joseph says to Jacob, hey, no, no, no, dad, dad, you got it wrong. And Jacob looks up, and the way this scene plays out in my mind is like, like, in like a, in like a movie, you know, there'd be like smooth music, you know, playing. and he's like bringing the boys up and it's quiet and there's no no lines are read it's just a scene and the ancient Jacob is now about to bless the boys and all of a sudden the music starts to fade and like this and it's kind of a humorous moment and Joseph looks at the camera like dad that's not it and the music completely stops and Jacob says I know son I know and you're like oh okay jacob almost gets indignant now why is this happening i want you to remember the main reason joseph is in the book is to reveal to you jesus god is telling you about himself through the lives of ordinary men and women he is revealing his character his essence his intention, his motivation, and his plan.

28:55 As much as I would like to tell you tonight that you should be like Joseph or you should have the faith of Abraham, there's nothing wrong with that. That's fine and everything. But all of these Old Testament characters exist ultimately and most importantly to reveal the essence and character of God. Why is that important? Because when Jacob crosses his arms, it is a picture of what will happen thousands of years later on the cross of Jesus Christ. Now, if you're sitting here tonight, you're like, I'm not really a believer in the cross. Let me present you for just a moment that there are some 8 billion people on this planet, and at least 3 billion from last I heard, maybe 4 billion, orient most of their life around a Jewish man who was crucified on a middle cross and there was an earthquake.

29:51 And then he was put in a tomb, alleged to be resurrected and appeared to thousands of people. Ladies and gentlemen, do you know how many Roman, ancient Roman crucifixions there were? Weekly, friends, like daily sometimes. This cross is not a, this is a normal happening. You mean to tell me thousands of years later, the man on the middle cross still shakes continents and countries? There's got to be some reason for that. And yet thousands of years before he did it, Jacob crosses his arms. Cross-ses his arms. Cross-ses his arms. and Joseph says that's not how natural law, merit and order works and Jacob goes, I know, I know. Beckons to when Jesus is on the cross and he says, Father, forgive them, they don't know.

30:47 They don't know what they're doing and the father's response is, well, I know what I'm doing. This is a picture and a portrait of how God can give you a productive life. God's plan for your productive life. Judah, what do you mean? let me let's go a little bit further the name Ephraim and the name Manasseh Manasseh means to forget if you know Joseph's story when they had Manasseh he said I have forgotten all my trouble let's name him to forget and Joseph thought it was so cute because he thought he named his son after himself because he forgot all his problems but God named Manasseh for this moment specifically I believe. And you know what Ephraim means? Double productive. Double productive. God literally blesses these boys. Manasseh, who is in the natural law and order, is to receive a double blessing. Jacob, inspired by God, puts the double blessing on Ephraim. I want to say, okay, why is this significant? Because there is an order that God is putting in the universe and the solar system, and it is at play as it is as we sit here tonight.

31:57 Gravity is something you would probably agree with. Fire, water, oxygen, carbon monoxide. Like now, that's like everything ends there. That's all I got, guys. Molecules, particles. All right, what am I, the science guy? There are laws in this universe. We're talking about the sound barrier the other night. Sound barrier. There are laws in the universe. I want to introduce you to a law that you might not be aware of, and it was instituted by God, and it's called grace over merit.

32:31 And it will trouble you, or it can fuel you. Very early in the text, God seems to frustrate the natural law and order of things based on merit, because grace trumps merit. Grace over merit. Now, this picture of Jacob crossing his arms well and truly confuses Joseph, and Joseph is a good guy. We like Joseph. He's played a really key role in this story. We like, he's a good guy, but even the good guy in the story, Joseph goes, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

33:07 That's not how it works. That's not how it works. And I want to say this. If you give yourself to the transcendent truth of grace and God's plan for your life, your brain will play tricks on you and I want to warn you. It can't, it doesn't work like this. But I want to prove to you that it does work like this and all throughout scripture, it's proven that this is how God works. It is not by might, it is not by power, but it is by his spirit that God chooses who he chooses, that he disrupts natural laws of order and merit and earning and deserving. God transcends that. In fact, one scripture gives us a very mysterious insight into this phenomenon, this truth of grace, which is embodied in the person of Jesus, and it says that the gifts of God come without repentance, which is to say that even if you don't believe in God, by his grace, he still gives talents, abilities, and gifts, which is to say life's not fair.

34:14 Have you noticed? Life's not fair. I watch Messi have a hat trick. He's like my age. He's a lot younger. But, you know, he just kicks three goals in the World Cup. God, I fall over sometimes when I'm tying my shoes. Like, you couldn't have given me a little bit of that sauce? Get out there on the world stage?

34:43 Grace. Grace is so transcendent, it is your origin story. We get so insulated and insular about merit and the laws of natural existence, we forget that, do you know how we got here?

35:05 Well, yeah, Judah, my mom and my dad, you know, you know. but but where did you how did you like nobody chose your birthday a lot of babies don't even make it you're a miracle you ever been to one of those weird like I feel like it was Disneyland where they would show you like how sex works but they turn it into an animation feature did you ever watch this and like the sperm thousands of sperm and you are the lucky one and you're like I don't know if this is okay Disney but like the chances of your arrival, you're a phenomenon.

35:47 Your body not exploding and blowing up right now still baffles people. The human body in and of itself is still this wonder. You sitting there right now is like, how do you work still? Especially after all those Celsius. How do you work? grace is everywhere once you see it it's everywhere your arrival was a gift as much as moms and dads we want to take credit especially us dads we didn't do a whole lot it's it's grace so much of this life is grace the old saints used to say I woke up in my right mind. That's great.

36:41 You ever been disoriented? Yeah. You ever been just disoriented? I know where you are. Woke up one day after preaching so many sermons for so many years, so many in a row. I didn't know what city I was in. I didn't know what year it was. I was like, what is going on? Somebody take me to the soccer field and put me in the World Cup. I was just disoriented. And you realize even your awareness, orientation of your body and your brain and your words.

37:10 Grace. Grace. There is a transcendent truth at play, and it is grace. Now, this grace that God illustrates through Jacob is what we call in the theology world imputed righteousness. which is to say, thanks, which is to say God gifts you forgiveness.

37:37 That the work of Jesus on the cross, now friends, I really mean this when I say this, if you can find another worldview, if you can find another doctrine or dogma or idea that can transcend this one and outdo the most mystical, magical book ever compiled, Somebody call me up and let me know. But in my experience, there is one story that transcends them all, and still today, billions of people swear their life to it. There was a man who died on a cross between two thieves, and he was not like any other man. He was the perfect man. Not one sin ever committed, not one error. and yet he who knew no sin took within his body all of the sins of humanity. In fact, the scripture tells us the reason the sky went dark and the veil in the temple torn, the ancient practice of the Pharisees and Sadducees, which kept them out of the holy place, which is indicative and representative of God's immediate presence, it tore the earth, rocks split open.

38:48 Dead people got out of graves. I mean, this is like a full zombie apocalypse moment, because even the ground and the elements and the earth and the soil seem to respond to its creator, relinquishing his life at the hands of his creation.

39:12 And for seven, six to seven hours, he hung on the cross and he had seven cries. We'll talk about that next week. And the last one was, it is finished. Well, what's finished? The separation between the creator and the created. What separates us? Us. Self-serving, self-absorbed. My friend texted me yesterday and said, how you doing? I said, I'm teetering on the verge of self-loathing and self-pity. And he's like, dear God. And I was like, did I overshare? you ever just feel bad for yourself I don't feel successful I don't feel significant Messi got three goals what's wrong with my life yesterday I'm driving my mom home from a doctor's appointment she found out she had breast cancer we went to the breast cancer place and I saw all these ladies sitting there waiting to get their inspection and their checkup and I just thought this sucks man this sucks This is hard.

40:19 And I'm trying to smile at all these ladies, and that's weird when you're in a breast center, you know, and you're like, how are you? Hey. All right. My mom goes, you're the only guy here. I'm like, that's true, Mom. That is true. And I'm starting to feel awkward. But my heart went out to these ladies. I ain't done right about any of this. Nothing fair about any of this. This place is broken and fragmented, diseased and selfish and self-serving. Like, you ever just like, ah! And then you have friends that you think have it all, and then they're not happy. And you're like, well, what do I have to look forward to? You got the house, you got the car, you got the... Ah! Right?

41:06 Because that aspiration sometimes can just get you through a day. that's why you know once you fulfill those aspirations it's not just people's perception of the target moving, your desires move the target now that's not enough I need more you ever have afternoons where you're like is it ever enough? those real introspective you know where you are kind of proud of how deep you feel and how deep you think, you're like this is terrible where are you? and so there is one transcendent truth that helped me keep going after taking my mom to the breast cancer center. And it's what I'm sharing with you. Grace over merit. Gift over earning and deserving. Jesus said, it is finished.

41:58 The separation between me and you is now closed. I have become all the error and the wrong and the sin you've ever committed. And if you'll simply believe in me, not earn it, but receive me. Not deserve it, but receive me. not warrant it, but receive me, not merit it, but receive me, just receive me, just accept me, just open your heart up to me, you will be gifted a perfect, right relationship with God that cannot be removed, and you are now right before God. You are literally Ephraim. And because of the grace of God, he says you'll be double productive. Double productive. Here's what I mean by that. Because if you're like me, I think double productive. I'm like, yeah, let's sell double books.

42:47 But it's it was deeper than that. Bible says that God's domain, where Jesus is king, there will be three characteristics that will tell you he's king there. There will be an evidence. There will be an awareness of righteousness. That's exactly what we're talking about tonight. The gift of being right with God. That will be a theme. That will be in the conversations. That will be in the discussions. They might even sing about it. They might even talk about it. They'll revel in it every day. Wherever Jesus is king, everybody will be rejoicing that they're righteous. Like they're not righteous, but they're righteous. Like they're not good, but they're good. They're not complete, but they're complete because of what Jesus did, not because of what they did. So they'll have meals about this. They'll sing about this. They might even make movies about this.

43:39 They might dance about this. They're going to write about this. Like this will be kind of a theme. And then there will be two predominant emotions in that environment. And it will be shalom, peace, and joy. And then you'll know that's where Jesus is king. there'll be a a cool, calm, and collected element about who they are it'll work out God's in control now, when I drove home from the breast cancer center and I hit a curb, but I hit one of those drains and so it hit my tire and exploded my tire, I felt like we hit a deer God forbid and the tire just exploded and I literally drove home not knowing zero PSI, I don't know what PSI stands for but my car said zero PSI and I was like, zero cannot be good and we drove on the rim and got home and I got out and I can't remember if I cussed but anyways I was exasperated I mean I was so mad I was like really so I gotta go prepare my mom for breast cancer surgery and I'm trying to turn right in a turn lane I hit a drain and I'm like, God, is there something I'm missing?

44:56 Like, what do I need to be? Do I need to check out Scientology? Like, what do you want me to do? Like, I'm down. I got so many jokes about that, but it's offensive. We're going to keep moving. It's all good. We're all trying our best. I really mean that. But I was. I was just mad. I was just like, God, what's going on?

45:19 And so what snapped you out of it? A couple things. Here's how my train of thought went. Well, this isn't my fault. What do you mean? This life? I didn't choose to be here. I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be so handsome. God gave me that. Judah, that didn't come up. Sorry. I thought that would be humorous and a difficult time for some of you. But I just started telling him. I really mean it. It's like, I didn't choose. It's like, this is on you. I did not ask for this, sir. I didn't ask for this I don't know what to tell you but you got me here and all I got right now is talking to you about this because if this was a natural law of merit and order I'm going to unravel right here I'm done two months ago my mom got diagnosed with Parkinson's and then she calls me and she goes guess what, I have breast cancer And I'm like, all right, all right, all right, all right.

46:20 I'm out. Like, this is insane. I already lost one parent. I'm exhausted. This isn't fair. Why does Jalen Brunson and Messi get everything good in life and not me? You know, like, silly as that sounds, right? Man, how do you snap out of that? What do you do? Our culture today tells you, I bore down. I pulled up my bootstraps. I decided to work harder. I started to work smarter. I decided to earn. I started to get outside of myself. And that's how I make $3.2 million a year. I don't. That's just an ethereal story. That's how I make money. And we all go to these seminars. And I'm not saying anything wrong with those seminars. But there's a big gaping hole in the message of success. It's never enough.

47:12 Don't we know by now? It's like ice cream. It's never enough. you eat too much one night and the very next day you think to yourself I could have some more I could have some more it's not a problem it just never ends it never ends it's an insatiable appetite for meaning significance I want to be seen and then if you taste significance or if you taste what they call success, if you're not careful, you'll chase that feeling the rest of your life. and then our culture who hold you to that standard if you chase it too long they'll go look how much work they've had done oh my god hello you're not 20 and all of a sudden the way it's all baked and built in is we say you got to chase it but if you chase it too hard Ooh, you're like desperate.

48:26 Oh, what are you going to do? How are you going to age gracefully? How are you going to phase out? There was a speech one time, and in the speech they said, the saddest man in America is an ex-president. And I thought, what? Because it's only downhill from there. You go from the most powerful man, because that's how we built it. And so tonight, if you're like me, and you struggle with stuff that I struggle with, which is wondering, am I doing enough? Am I, should I, I need to accomplish more. Nothing wrong with accomplishment, nothing wrong with success. I'm asking you, what do you anchor your life to?

49:11 And that blessing that came on Ephraim, it is not an accident that his name means double productive. and the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard and keep your mind in Christ Jesus. Now, now, now, now, now. In light of all that, this is my closing scripture. I'm going to take you to arguably one of, if not the most famous portion of the entire New Testament. Jesus has now come and his earthly ministry has been fulfilled and he has died a criminal's death. Earth has shifted as we know it. He has resurrected to prove that he has power over death, hell, and the grave. He has told everyone it's all different now. It's changed now. It is no longer over. It's no longer about merit and natural law. But grace has now been given freely to all who believe. So in Romans chapter 8, decades later, after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, Paul writes to a group of Jesus adorers in ancient Rome.

50:20 And he says this about our God. God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings. He knows fully our longings. We talked about this last week. He knows your longings. Everything we talked about tonight. I'd like to have some money. He knows your longings. I mean, I'd like to marry somebody sexy. He knows your longings. I mean, I'd like to walk into a room and people be like, Whoa, I'm a big fan. He knows our longings. I'd like to, you know, just be healthier. I want to get out more. I want to change jobs. He knows your longings.

50:57 I don't want to keep smoking, but I keep smoking. God, help me stop smoking. He knows your longings. I don't want to be such a gossip. I don't want to be the person always talking about somebody, but every time we get to dinner and I'm there, and it's just like, oh, I can't help, but I start talking about everybody. He knows your longings. And he also understands the desire of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for you. Translation, God prays to himself for you.

51:29 So much he loves you. He's literally like, God, be with old Teddy. Teddy, if you're here tonight, I'm praying for you. Be with Teddy. It's my Teddy, be with Teddy. He prays to himself about you. He says his holy ones in perfect harmony with God's plan and our destiny. So God is constantly thinking about his plan and the specific part you play. So we're convinced. So we're convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers and have been called to fulfill his design purpose. Keep moving, for we all know all about us before we were born and destined from the beginning to share the likeness of a son, to share the likeness of a son, to share the likeness of a son, to share the likeness of his son. over and over the scriptures say we are in Jesus. We're in Jesus. We're hidden in Jesus. We literally, his perfect performance on the cross becomes our performance as now God cannot see our error and our wrong and our sin. All he can see is the finished work of Jesus.

52:24 You have to understand something. There's a secret being kept and it shouldn't be kept from you. And that is the moment that you receive the finished work of Jesus the way God sees you is perfect friend. I'm not making this up. This is what helps me keep going. This means the son is the oldest among a vast family of brothers and sisters who will become just like him. Paul's talking about what I'm telling you. Will become just like him, righteous. Having determined our destiny ahead of time, he called us to himself and transferred and transferred and transferred and transferred and transferred and transferred and transferred his perfect righteousness to everyone he called. Transferred his perfect righteousness. Transferred his perfect righteousness. Transferred his perfect righteousness. Transferred, gifted. given his perfect righteousness.

53:13 Now those who possess his perfect righteousness, he will co-glorify with his son, which is to say there will be a reunited. I have been transferred righteousness from God. Now, so this is what keeps me going in this life. This is it. I'm going to be absolutely honest with you. Some days down here on this earth, it's just everywhere you look is just pain. This transferred righteousness has changed my life. It's kept me going in this life. So what does all this mean? Great question, Paul. If God is determined to stand with us, tell me, who then could ever stand against us? But God has proved his love by giving us his greatest treasure, the gift of his son.

54:05 And since God freely offered him up as a sacrifice for us all, he certainly won't withhold anything else that he plans to give us. Who then dare to accuse those whom God has chosen and loved to be his? God himself is the judge of those who issued his final verdict over them. Not guilty. Not guilty. Not guilty. Not guilty. Forgiven.

54:25 Accepted. Loved. you tell me what you got going in your life that's better than this i mean it i mean it because see i feel guilty all the time i feel broke all the time emotionally mentally physically spiritually god this is down here and you know what i do i start blaming him for everything I'm telling you the truth where are you man? and then it leads me down this little stream this little creek before I know it I start blaming him for everything like the beautiful things too You're beautiful.

55:15 My life is yours. I got nowhere else to go. Thank you for my wife. Thank you for my kids. Thank you for my friends. Most of all, God, thank you that you have forgiven me. And I'm right with you. So who can condemn me? Who can condemn me? You're not going to like this, but the worst people you can think of can be forgiven in an instant with you. yeah it's true the worst you can think of and i'm gonna say this when you start to accept that you are freely forgiven oh a chain reaction starts happening in your life and this will help you age gracefully you'll start forgiving people who hurt you because i got a dirty little secret i to tell you if you hold a grudge towards somebody i think you start to look like them that's my theory i'm being serious you ever notice you got hurt because somebody was mean to you and so you hold a grudge about how mean they are only to find out five years later you are mean as disorn it. How did you become the thing you loathe? Grudge. Man, if you can every day remind yourself that I'm not guilty. I know it's a scandal, but he forgave me. Somebody hurts you and you want to be like, hey, I forgive you. And all of the sudden you are positioned for productivity. What is productivity?

57:00 If you look it up in the definition in the Webster's, who thought I'd say the Webster's dictionary tonight? This is 2026. Who says Webster's dictionary? But I looked it up on ChatGPT. In the simplest of terms, productive means useful. useful. That was useful. Thank you. Just every day. God, he was my life. Results? Oh, friends, if I could dictate and control your results or mine, I don't know, I'd start a cult or something. Like, I ain't control no outcome. Like, control? it's the biggest illusion of all. I can't control nothing. What I can do? Make myself useful.

57:53 Hey, God, and I really mean this. Emotionally, this is what happens. I go from breast cancer center, pop tire, cussing in the driveway, walking in the house. I don't want to talk to my mom, which is really mean because she's going through a lot. I say, can I help? No. My son Zion goes, Dad, no. And I walk in the kitchen and I'm sitting there. and I'm thinking to myself, at least I have yogurt.

58:16 Don't laugh. Sometimes yogurt's enough to live. and I started having those thoughts so what's your plan here Judah you're going to be a man at the world you're going to ignore your mom who's fighting cancer you're going to ruin the rest of the night because you got it so bad because life is so hard you got this beautiful family you got this beautiful home Jesus has forgiven you and loved you given you a life and a career what are you going to do and all of a sudden you start thinking to yourself like golly gee whiz at least I'm hearing hey God