- Man, that was great. (congregation member cheers) Boy, that's good. I'm about to get me feelings hurt. Nobody asked me to do
nothing, but praise God. (congregation laughs) Did you get that last line? - [Congregation Member] Amen. - Phew, I felt something on that. (congregation murmurs) "I got Jesus. (Joe laughs)
"How could I want more? (congregation murmurs excitedly) Well, glory. (congregation member shouts) That oughta make a Presbyterian shout. Praise God, the Lord is good. Genesis chapter number
41 in your Bible tonight. Dr. John, thank you so much. Julie thanks you so much. You've done a great favor to her. You got me out of the house. (congregation laughs) Her mother's coming. You did a great favor to me, praise God. (congregation laughs) And thank the Lord. I love this church. I've been coming since '94, and I've grown old and fat and
bald-headed with you people. Some of you's come with
me, say amen right there. (congregation laughs) And we love you, love you
in the Lord, Brother John. I mean that, from the depths of my heart. And it's always, always good
to be with Brother Harold and his family, and we
thank the Lord for them. It's just amazing to me that
his children turned out right, and that their children turned out right, and looks like their children's children's gonna turn out right. - [Congregation Member] Amen. - Oh, if God would ever
get a hole of Becky, wouldn't that be an awesome thing? (congregation laughs) Amen, Scott. (congregation laughs) He'll be in a cast tomorrow night. (congregation laughs) Brother John, I wish
you'd look over there. There sits Dale Vance. It's very unusual that a
big-time evangelist like that will come where he's not preaching to hear a young fellow like me. (congregation laughs) God bless you, and if you
don't have anybody to pray for, you pray for that young man right there, 'cause only God knows what he lives in. May the blessings of God be upon them. (congregation laughs) Scott, you're gonna get slapped before this night's over with. Somebody gon' hit that boy. Well, I'm glad. The Lord's people, you're right, Seth, oughta be a happy people. - [Congregation] Amen. - Brother Billy Kelly was
telling some funnies at a church one time, and everybody in
the whole church laughed, everybody laughed, but this one lady, and the more we laughed,
the madder she got. She walked up to him
after church, she said, "Hey, I don't see nothing funny." He said, "When I look
you, I don't either." (congregation laughs) She said, "If you was my
husband, I'd feed you poison." He said, "If I was married to
you, ol' girl, I'd eat it." (congregation laughs) (Joe laughs)
Whoo! (congregation laughs) (Joe bangs on podium)
I'll tell you, there's enough places to
cry and weep and be sad, so take advantage of a good
laugh every chance you get. (congregation murmurs) You say, "Well, I don't
see nothing funny." Look at the person beside of you. That'll help you. (congregation laughs) And the Lord is good. If you're saved tonight,
raise your right hand. If you know it, raise your left hand. If you don't know your
right from your left, just say, "Praise the Lord." (congregation laughs) There's some Kentucky
fans in here tonight. I see you back there. (congregation laughs) God bless you. Brother Andy, the great violin player, his mother-in-law is watching tonight. She's been having a little health issue, and I just wanna say to her what you've said to me many times, "Keep on the sunny side,
always on the sunny side. "Keep on the sunny side of life." Aren't you glad the Son
of God still shines? Well, glory, praise God. I feel a shout coming on. (congregation member shouts) Genesis chapter number 41,
and look what the Bible said in verse 51 and verse number 52. Genesis chapter 41 in verse number 51. "And Joseph called the name
of the firstborn Manasseh, "for God, said he, hath
made me forget all my toil, "and all of my father's house. "And the name of these
second called he Ephraim, "For God hath caused me to be fruitful." Now, if that was the
only line in that verse, I could understand it, but
notice the rest of the verse. Not just fruitful, "but
caused me to be fruitful," here it is, "in the land
of mine affliction." I can understand the Lord
blessing me in the good time. But Joseph said, "He did it for me "in the land of mine affliction." I'm glad tonight where
I'm at does not diminish God's ability to meet my need. - [Congregation Member] Amen. - For the same God that's
God in the land of Canaan, he's God down in the land of Egypt. The God that's God on the mountain high, he's God in the valley low. He caused me to be fruitful in
the land of mine affliction. Come to the last chapter
of Genesis, chapter 50, the last chapter in the
story of Joseph's life. The Bible said in verse number 25, "And Joseph took an oath
of the children of Israel, "saying, God will surely visit you, "and you shall carry
up my bones from hence. "So Joseph died, being 110 years old, "and they embalmed him, "and he was put in a coffin in Egypt." I wanna read one verse
out of the New Testament, Hebrews 11 chapter number
22, verse number 22. "By faith, Joseph, when he died, "made mention of the departing of Israel, "and gave commandment
concerning his bones." And the Bible said that
he did that by faith. And the Lord being a helper,
I wanna preach for a while tonight from the life of
Joseph on this subject: "Faith Always Wins." Now, not sometimes. - [Congregation Member] That's right. - Not a few times. But faith always wins. (congregation murmurs excitedly) I love the Old Testament
characters, and I love the New Testament verses
that exemplify their life. And if there's a verse
in the New Testament that to me exemplifies the life of Joseph, it's in I John chapter
five and verse number four, where the Apostle John,
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, makes
this emphatic statement: "And this is the victory
that overcometh the world: "even our faith." And I believe tonight if
you know the life of Joseph, he was an overcomer. In a world that would
overwhelm most of us, he turned the tide and
became an overcomer. No matter where life lead him, or the hand that life dealt
him, Joseph was an overcomer. Now, he did not overcome
because of his talents, because of his ingenuity, because of his wisdom, or
because of his ability. He overcame the world by faith. (congregation cheers) Now, what is faith? Faith in the life of a Christian is living by what God
has said in his Word, and not what we see with our eye. Can I say that again? Faith in the life of a Christian is living by what God
has said in his Word, and not what we see with our eye, because I promise you this
tonight, ladies and gentlemen, that if you live by what
you see and what you hear and what you feel, there
will be no overcoming victory in your life or mine, because
no matter what it looks like, no matter what it sounds like, no matter what it even seems like, that doesn't always match
up with what God has said. If God said it, it doesn't
matter what it looks like. If God has said it, it doesn't
matter what it sounds like. If God has said it, it doesn't
matter what it seems like. (congregation murmurs) Because I'm not saved
tonight by how it looks. I'm saved by what God has said. (congregation murmurs) I don't have victory in my life tonight because of how it looks. I have victory in my life
because what God has said. I'm not going to heaven
and live in the mansions and walk the streets of gold
and go through the walls of jasper, not by the way things look, but because what God has said. Tonight, if we will
live by the Word of God and not by our feelings, there will be overcoming victory
in your life and in mine. You say, "Well, all right, Brother Joe, "where in the life of
Joseph did he live by faith, "and faith won the victory in his life?" Well, number one tonight,
think about this. When life takes a detour,
faith always wins. Lemme say that again. When life takes a detour,
faith always wins. Notice Joseph is over here on the plain. Now, Joseph has a nickname. Does anybody know what
Joseph's nickname was? He was called "Joseph the Dreamer." Now, this is neat, but
I believe you'll get it. You know what they called
Joseph "the dreamer"? Because he dreamed. Now, the dreams that Joseph had was not because he ate too much pizza and drunk too much
Coca-Cola and went to bed. That's indigestion. That's not a dream. The dreams that Joseph
had were words from God. They were prophecies of God. They were predictions and promises of God, "that I'm going to bless your life, "I'm going to exalt your life, "I'm going to anoint your life. "I am going to use your life
to save much people alive. "I'm gonna take you from
the plain to the palace." Now, that's what God said. But Joseph no more awoke from his dream, and he did not find himself walking the ivory halls
of an Egyptian palace. He found himself in a
pit, begging for his life. When Joseph awakes from his dream, why, nobody is bowing down to him. He's bowing down to everybody
else, because his own family had sold him into slavery
for the price of silver. When Joseph awakes from his dream, he is not on a throne
as the lord of the land. He is in a nasty, deserted prison for something that he didn't do. I mean, common sense tells
me, if you're in the plain, and you got a dream you're
going to the palace, just walk from the plain a
straight line up to the palace. Oh, but in the real world, there are no quick paths
from the plain to the palace, for life takes unexpected,
life takes unexplainable, and life takes unwanted detours. I mean, Joseph would
have never made the cover on a success magazine, because
the success magazine says, "You take step one, and you take step two, "and you take step three, "and you climb up the chutes
hoping you'll get a ladder, "and one day you will step into success." Why, Joseph did it all backwards. Every time he took a step
forward, he took 12 back. I mean, he's on his way to the palace, but life takes a detour, and
he finds himself in a pit. Well, common sense tells me, "Crawl out of the pit and
go on up to the palace," but he makes one step out
of the pit, and life takes another detour, and he
finds himself at Potiphar. Well, common sense tells me you survive the Potiphar experience,
walk out of Potiphar's house, walk up to the palace, and get your dream. He makes one step out of Potiphar's house, and life takes another detour, and he finds himself down
in an Egyptian prison. But I've come to tell you,
that's not the end of the story. He didn't die in the pit. He doesn't die at Potiphar's. He doesn't die in the prison,
for there's a phrase used over and over again in the
life of Joseph, and it's this: "And the Lord was with Joseph, "and the Lord was with Joseph, "and the Lord was with Joseph." You know what Joseph learned? He learned you can't go anywhere where God's not already been. You can't go anywhere where
God is not already at. You say, "Brother Joe,
I don't understand it. "How can life take me
here and life take me here "and life take me here
and life take me here, "and I wind up in the right destination?" I can tell you how, because up on the main high roads of life (Joe claps)
is a sovereign God that's directing traffic,
in your life and in mine, and the Lord knows the way
through the wilderness. Aren't you glad tonight,
(Joe claps) when life takes a detour, faith always wins.
(Joe bangs on podium) Faith always wins when
life takes a detour. (congregation murmurs excitedly) Boy, I don't like detours. I don't like slow drivers. There's some people that
have no business at all with driver's license. Move over, there are places to go. There are revivals to preach. There's food to eat. There's souls to win. We don't have time to follow
you while you sight-see. (congregation laughs) What you're looking at
hadn't changed a bit since God created it; move over. I don't like slow drivers. I'll run over you in
the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. My children gave me a bumper
sticker one time that said, "If you don't like the way our dad drives, "get off the sidewalk." I mean, I make Jello nervous. Coffee trembles in my presence. Do it yesterday, and quit messing around. I don't like detours, but
sometimes in the real world, and by the way, the
only world you live in, 'til you get to the glory
world, is the real world, and sometimes life takes a
detour down by the hospital, down by the divorce court,
and down by bankruptcy, and down by the funeral home,
and down by the cemetery, and down by the weeping places. But I've come to tell you, hallelujah, when you've rounded the last curve, (Joe claps) and you've topped the last
hill, you walk into the palace, 'cause John's already seen us there. I'm gonna make it to heaven,
saved by the grace of God, washed in the blood of Jesus,
(Joe claps) because when life takes a
detour, faith always wins. - [Congregation] Yes. - Faith always wins (congregation murmurs) when life takes a detour. Number two tonight in the life of Joseph, when life tempts to
defile, faith always wins. I believe if you study the life of Joseph, I believe you'll come to this conclusion: he was a good-looking man. In modern vernacular, we
would say he was a "hunk." Now, some of us in this
room tonight remember having vague memories of
thinking we were such, oh, but tonight, time has made a change, and we have gone from being
a "hunk" to being a "chunk." (congregation laughs) A chunk, a chunk of burned-out love, can I get a witness in the church house? Evidently, Joseph was a
real good-looking man. I believe tonight, Brother
John, that Potiphar, even though he's a heathen, an Egyptian, I believe he is a good, moral, honest man. But oh, Potiphar's wife, whoo! That old gal was off the chain. I really believe, as John the
Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus, Potiphar's wife was
the forerunner of Jezebel. Oh, she saw Joseph, and
she lusted after Joseph, and you know what her problem was? She did not have Joseph's
best interest in mind. By the way, lemme say this to every young person
in this room tonight. The devil will be sure that
there'll be people in your life that will not have your
best interest in mind. The only interest in mind she had was to fill her own
illicit, unbridled lust, and boy, she laid her eyes on him, and she bated and set the trap. I mean, every day, she
would elicit that affair. Every day, she would woo, she would tempt, and finally one day,
she catches him alone, and she grabs him by the
coat and makes that ungodly, illicit proposition one more time. But way down in the heart of Joseph, there was this unleashed power called the power of faith,
called the power of faith, and faith is the victory
that overcometh the world. All of a sudden, Joseph taps
into the power of faith. My God, I feel like preaching. And he is not living by
what he can see and feel. He's living by what God has said, and he looks at that ol' gal, and he said, "No, not today, and not tomorrow." He said, "Number one, "I can't do this 'cause my
master has been too good to me. "Number two, you don't even
belong to me, and number three, "how can I do this and
sin against my God?" Can I tell you where Joseph is? Well, before I tell you where Joseph is, let me tell you where Joseph is not. He is not in the land of Canaan under the watchful eye of his father. He is on hell's front
porch, downtown Egypt, where there are no morals
and there are no rules and there are no standards. But I wanna say this. He may be far from home,
but home's not far from him. He may be far from father, but
Father is not far from him. And faith kicked in,
(Joe claps) and Joseph walked out
of there with his dream (Joe bangs on podium)
and his testimony and the touch of God upon his life. Aren't you glad tonight,
in this world of sin and ungodliness and temptation, faith always wins?
(Joe bangs on podium) Faith always wins. Faith always wins.
(Joe shouts) (congregation murmurs excitedly) Boy, you know the story. She grabbed him by the coat, and he ran. But let me say this about Joseph. He lost his coat, but
he kept his character. (congregation murmurs) He lost his robe, but
he kept his reputation. Potiphar comes in, she
gives them that line, and the Bible said that he
believed the words of his wife more than the words of Joseph. Boy, they put him down in that prison. But Brother John, I believe
when that door clanked shut behind him, there was something
that went off in his soul. He knew he didn't do it. God knew he didn't do it. And no matter what it looked like, no matter what it smelled like, no matter what it sounded like, no matter what it seemed
like, faith always wins. Faith always wins. Faith always wins.
(Joe shouts) (congregation murmurs excitedly) I've preached for 40 years
all over this country, and I still believe it tonight,
that it pays to serve God. (congregation murmurs) Let me tweak that just a moment. In the glory world, in that
land that's fairer than day, when we see Jesus, whoo! Man, it really pays. But can Brother Joe be totally, explicitly honest with you tonight? In this world, if you
do right in this world, if you have convictions and
standards in this world, and you raise your family like
the Bible says in this world, it may cost you something in
this world to live for God. It may cost you positions at your job. It may cost you political
clout in the community. It may cost you being the blunt end of all the jokes at the family reunion. But write this down. Whatever minuscule price you and I may pay in this life to do what's right, it is not worthy
(Joe bangs on podium) to be compared
(Joe bangs on podium) with what we have on
the other side of glory, because faith always wins.
(Joe claps) Faith always wins.
(Joe bangs on podium) When life tempts to defile, faith is the victory
(Joe claps) that overcometh the world. (congregation murmurs excitedly) When life takes a detour,
when life tempts to defile, and I love this one, when life
turns into disappointment, faith always wins. (congregation murmurs excitedly) You say, "Brother Joe, I'm here tonight, "and I have never been disappointed." You lie. (congregation laughs) You say, "I'm here tonight, "and I've never been disappointed." You've never been married. (congregation laughs) "Well, I'm here tonight, and
I've never been disappointed." You've never had a mother-in-law. I got one better than that. You say, "I'm here tonight, "and I've never been disappointed." You've never raised teenagers. - [Congregation Member] You got it right. - I don't understand. A kid can go to bed at 12
years old perfectly normal and wake up 13, crazier
than a football bat. (congregation laughs) You say, "I'm here tonight,
and I never been disappointed. You've never pastored a Baptist church. You say, "I never been disappointed." You've never even
attended a Baptist church. (congregation laughs) In the real world where we
live, sometimes life stinks. (congregation murmurs excitedly) You get disappointed in your family, in your friends, in your
job, in your career, in your marriage, in your
ministry, in your children, in your health, and in your wealth. Sometimes things just
(Joe bangs on podium) don't turn out
(Joe bangs on podium) the way that we want them to. I wanna tell you, when Joseph dreamed, he didn't dream about the pit. He dreamed about the palace. He didn't dream about Potiphar. He dreamed about the palace. He didn't dream about the prison. He dreamed about the palace. I'm sure it's a disappointing thing to be in that pit, knowing
your brothers put you there. I'm sure it's a disappointing
thing when you find yourself sold into human slavery
by your own family. I'm sure it's a disappointing thing when a man you've worked for believes a lie on you,
and you lose your job. I'm sure it's a disappointing thing to be good to the baker and the butler, and they don't even remember who you are. But I just wanna say this tonight. He may got disappointed in
the pit and in the prison and at Potiphar's, but standing (Joe claps)
somewhere in the shadows was a sweet God that never let him down, (congregation murmurs excitedly) that never forgot him, that never failed him,
that never forsook him. I'm telling you tonight,
I've never, ever, ever, ever, never, ever, ever been
disappointed in Jesus. He's everything that he claimed to be (Joe bangs on podium)
and a whole lot more, and faith always wins,
(Joe claps) (congregation cheers and applauds) when life turns into disappointment. Well, we come to this text tonight. Joseph is in the palace, and
God blesses him with two boys. You two young men, come up
here and help me real quick, right here, and if you'll help me do this, Brother John'll give you $100 apiece. - [John] Hey. (congregation laughs) - Don't hold your breath. God blesses Joseph with
two and a half boys. I mean, God blesses Joseph (congregation laughs) with two boys. Brother John, he looks
over there to that one boy, and he said, "Son, I got
a name for you, Forget It. "I'm gonna name you Just Forget It, "'cause every time I look at you, "I'm reminded that God
has been so good to me, "it caused me to forget "all that stuff that happened in my life." Every time Joseph looked at
that boy, he went, "What pit?" - [Congregation] Amen. - "Who's Potiphar? "What prison?" God was so good in the present (congregation murmurs excitedly) that it just like wiped it
out, way back there, oh, Lord. Thank you, son. Hold on, I'm talking to somebody tonight, son, you've took some detours. The devil's assaulted and assailed you. You've had to face some disappointment. But you wait on God,
(Joe claps) he'll step into your life,
and God'll do something so great in your life,
you'll forget the toil. You'll forget the struggle,
it'll be so far behind you. (Joe bangs on podium)
I just tell you, somebody tonight, you
just need to forget it. - [Congregation] Amen. - And wave goodbye to it. "Get outta my life. (congregation murmurs) "Forget it." Oh, but he turned around
to that other boy, (Joe slapping man's back) and said, "I'm gonna name
you Don't Ever Forget It. "I'm gonna name you Fruitful." I think I got the right one for that one. (congregation laughs) "And not just Fruitful, "but Fruitful in the
Land of Mine Affliction." He said, "Boy, every time I
look at you, I just think, "In spite of what it looked
like, God's been good to me." - Amen. - [Congregation] Amen. - "In spite of what it
sounded like, whoop, "God's been good to me. "No matter what it felt
like, God's been good to me. "I know I lost some things,
and there was a subtraction "in my life, oh, but
look what God has done. "He has given me so much
more than I've ever lost." - Amen. - "God blessed me." Hold on, come back up here, son. I wonder if there's anybody
in this room tonight, God's been so good to you,
(Joe claps) God's poured it in your life, God's blessed you, God's
abundantly blessed you. I just wanna say it once in a while,
(Joe bangs on podium) we need a little Dottie Rambo. "Roll back the curtain
of memory now and then. "Show me where you brought me from "and where I could have been." I'm preaching to a
crowd of people tonight. (Joe claps) In spite of all the hell
that's been against you, God's been good to you, (congregation cheers and applauds) and faith always wins.
(Joe claps) (congregation cheers and applauds) Whoo! - [Congregation Member] Amen. - Well, Joseph comes down to die. He pulls them boys up
next to him, and said, "Now, boys, I gotta tell you something. "I'm getting ready to die. "Before I leave this
world, I need to tell," now, if he was from the mountains,
he'd have said "you'ns." If he'd have been from Georgia,
he'd have said, "y'all," and if he'd been a Yankee, he'd have said, "I wanna tell you guys something. (congregation laughs) "Tell you guys, praise the Lord, amen. "Tell you guys tonight, praise the Lord." (congregation laughs) He said, "Boys." (men laughing)
Shut up. (congregation laughs) "I'm getting ready to
die, and before I leave, "I need to tell you'ns something. "The Lord is gonna pay you a visit. "What I'm trying to say is,
God's gonna come down here. "What I'm trying to say is,
the Lord is coming back." - Amen. - "He gon' pay y'all a visit, "and when he comes, y'all movin'. "Now, I won't be alive to see it, "but I don't wanna miss out on it, "so on your way out of town,
boys, stop by that cemetery "and dig up my bones,
'cause when you leave, "I'ma leavin' too." - Amen. (Joe laughs)
- You say, "What does that got to do with us?" The Lord's about to pay us a visit. (Joe claps) We're about to leave outta here. (Joe bangs on podium)
And on our way out, (Joe claps)
we're gonna say, "Goodbye, world, goodbye." (congregation murmurs excitedly) Thank you, boys. In closing, oh, glory, the first time you see
Joseph, what is he wearing? (congregation murmurs) - A coat of many colors, given
to him by his earthly father, stripped from him by his earthly brothers, dipped in the blood of the
beast and handed to his daddy with nothing but the
threads of past memories. Oh, but the next time. - [Congregation Member] Amen. - You see Joseph, he's not gonna be wearing
a coat of many colors. One color, wedding, royal white. (congregation murmurs) Not given to him by his earthly father, but by his heavenly Father. (congregation murmurs) And nobody will take that one away. (congregation murmurs) And they won't dip that one
in the blood of the beast, 'cause it's already been dipped
in the blood of the Lamb. (congregation murmurs excitedly) And when you run into Joseph dressed up
(Joe bangs on podium) in his brand new coat, I wanna say, "Joseph, come over here, boy, "and let me see that new garment." And I believe as he opens it up, it has written in gold letters, "Faith always wins." And I don't know what you're seeing, and I don't know what you're hearing, but don't live by what
you see and what you hear. - [Congregation] Amen. - Live by what God said.
(Joe bangs on podium) - [Congregation] Amen. - And faith always wins. - [Congregation Member] Amen. - Our Father, we love you tonight. (congregation murmurs) We thank you for your Son. We thank you Lord for the, whoo, the faith that he purchased
with his precious blood that's mine through the
redemption of Calvary. Help me Lord not to live by the ear nor by the eye, but by faith. Lord, the devil is working
overtime to beat down our nation, beat down our churches,
beat down the preacher, beat down the family,
just beat us all down. Oh, God, may we live by what you said, and what you said is we're
gonna make it to the other side. So help us to walk by
faith and not by sight, and walk in the victory you provided. Lord, when we see you face-to-face, (gentle piano music) we'll bow at your feet, and one mighty chorus will
say, "Faith always wins." What you do for us tonight,
we'll thank you and praise you, because we ask it in Jesus's
name, for Jesus's sake, amen.
