Teaser to Episode 10

Justin 0:00

Don't fast forward the process . You could potentially be walking in the greatest days of maximizing the assignments that God has on your life Everything in God's eyes , is a five-star assignment .

Rhett 0:12

I'm in a pit , but yet I know that I have a calling .

Justin 0:15

In those moments there's still a ton of wrestling , wondering why am I in this condition or position I choose to ?

Rhett 0:23

see the perspective that God is with me . Your best is not behind you , it's right before you . And it's not tomorrow , it's today .

Intro to this Episode

Rhett 0:41

What's up everybody ? Welcome back to another episode of Armchair Authentic , a podcast with Rhett and Justin trying to help you fulfill your God assignments by having real conversations about real life with real people , and Justin really excited about the conversations that we've been having lately and specifically when it comes to this episode .

Justin 1:02

Yeah , you know there's something to be said for making the most of every opportunity . I think it's a superpower If you can recognize the ordinary and see how fully packed it is , that it's not just something to throw away and try to pursue to get to the next thing . That seems really epic . These are the moments where you're really constructed into the building that God's building up .

Rhett 1:26

Yeah , absolutely , and we live in a microwave society , but we serve a crock pot God when it comes to development , when it comes to process , when it comes to us fulfilling the purpose and assignments that he has for us . And we really delve into a lot of this today on this podcast and really excited to jump into it .

Justin 1:43

Yeah , I really am too today on this podcast and really excited to jump into it . Yeah , I really am too . This is something you and I have both experienced as being a secret sauce as we've progressed in our life and ministry and in our family . When you buy into the power of the ordinary , some extraordinary things await .

Rhett 1:59

And so if you find yourself today in the middle of the mundane , in the middle of the ordinary , working your nine to five , working at the restaurant , wherever you might find yourself today in the middle of the mundane , in the middle of the ordinary working your nine to five , working at the restaurant , wherever you might find yourself in life , and you find yourself at maybe a stalemate , going man , why am I here and am I ever going to get out of this and onto the next , whatever that next might be , for what you're dreaming about , what you're hoping for for your family , for your finances ?

Rhett 2:21

This episode's for you , man , because not only do we look at what the Word of God says about how we can get through these situations , we also speak about our own life and about the process of just the things we've gone through and developed to make the most of every single moment , even if it is mundane . Right now ,

Everything In God's Eyes Is A Five Star Assignment

Rhett 2:42

everything in God's eyes is a five-star assignment . In our eyes , according to what people aren't seeing or are seeing . We might believe we're that one-star review on Google , right , right , but God sees that one star and says no man , I see five stars , I don't see the one .

Rhett 2:59

That's right In that process in that season , in that moment which takes me to Joseph's life , and I know that's a story that resonates with both of us , because God gave a dream to Joseph . You can read about in Genesis , right , and Joseph and all the Bible scholars out there I'm a pastor but in conversations sometimes I might not get all the stats right but I believe Joseph was about 16 or 17 years old when he was given the dream by God and that dream was oh man , you're going to do great things . Here's the paraphrase All your family's going to bow down to you . Everybody like you're going to do something so great that , like all these things are going to happen and people are going to come to you and bow at you . Because it just represented greatness , yeah , and Joseph , in his immaturity , was out running his mouth . Two brothers he was already the baby , already had favor from the father . His father has already kind of showed a lot of this favoritism to him by making him this incredible coat that made him stand out . And he was the baby .

Rhett 3:55

And , of course , if you've got multiple kids , the baby's the one that's always like gets away with everything . My son's an only child and I was the only child . So I didn't get away with nothing . It was all my fault . Where's the remote Rhett ? I didn't touch it , I didn't move it . You know same thing with the only kid .

Rhett 4:11

But when you've got , you know several brothers and you're the baby and you , just you have that favor from , from of an immature way , open his mouth and sharing this dream , and probably in in a little bit of immaturity mixed in a lot of zeal , not a lot of wisdom . You know , what happens next is his

Facing A Setback

Rhett 4:33

brother's like well , we're going to take this kid out . He thinks he's going to be something I'll show you . You know we won't kill him . But instead of killing them , they throw them into a pit and sell them into slavery . Now , if I'm Joseph , I'm thinking okay , was that dream from God ? Because this is not a moment that I would have ever thought , that would have ever set me up for success , for that dream that I thought was from heaven .

Justin 4:54

Well , it's humility and humiliation . They very much go together , and sometimes it will manifest itself through humiliation . I can only imagine , yes , it would have been scary you just got taken away from your family . But if you were aspiring to be the next big thing and you just got sold to slavery , in those days , huge humiliation factor . Because he's thinking okay , I thought this was going to happen a certain way , and let's put a less serious touch on it . It's you , right now , who's listening , and you're sitting in your cubicle Exactly , and you're thinking at what point did I lose control ? At what point did the dream die ? Potentially , you're not recognizing that God is at work right now .

Rhett 5:40

Or you're a student who's working at a fast food restaurant , thinking what in the world I want to become ? All these things and I've got these gifts and these aspirations and inspirations . And here I am , you know , having to work , you know , not a nine to five , but probably weekends and nights , or it could be any situation where you feel like you're stuck and like , okay , this is not what I thought life was going to be . It's in those moments where , when we look at Joseph's life , who was solid and knew he had heard from God and knew that he had an assignment on his life and didn't quite understand what that dream was all about , but knew he had something , that he was called to greatness .

Rhett 6:17

But yet he's in a pit and for him it was a literal pit , with brothers who were trying to kill him . By the grace of the Lord , the older brother stood up , said no , let's not do that . And so they ended up selling them to slavery , and in every moment . Here's what I think is just so incredible . It was like , of course , we had the beauty of hindsight when we read this story , because we look back and go oh well , I mean , of course it all worked out in the end , which we'll get to , but it says in every moment the Lord was with him .

Rhett 6:42

In other words , he had , even with the immaturity , he had the trust in his father to know that , okay , I'm in a pit , but yet I know that I have a calling . And in this pit I choose to see the perspective that God is with me .

Finding God in the Mundane

Rhett 6:57

Being sold into slavery , you would have thought , okay , all right , well , that's the worst , right . But then he's like no , I choose to see God in these moments and he made the most of every moment , so much so in his faithfulness . As a slave , he became the greatest slave , which was the right-hand man to Potiphar , which basically he ran his whole house . He managed everything . Now he was a slave , but yet here he is , living his best life , even as a slave . I know that's hard to understand in our culture and our mindset today , but it was a high-ranking position for a high-ranking official at that time . But why ? Because he chose to see God in those mundane , hard moments the nine-to-five , the fast food restaurant , the moving truck .

Justin 7:41

And we can speculate safely . The Bible doesn't go into this , but we know human condition . He trusted God , but we know if he's anything like me in those moments . There's still a ton of wrestling . You're at your desk right now wondering why am I in this condition or position ? Or why ? Why ? Why ? There's no telling the mental anguish he was going through , but it's what he did . In the mental anguish he came to a resolve at some point where he didn't give up and he decided to see God in his current situation .

Rhett 8:20

In his mind he probably , I would think , right-hand man to Potiphar , at a high position . Maybe this was the dream , because I have people coming to me , all these things right , but the family dynamic part of the dream where this family's coming to him , that's obviously not happening . You got to think . I mean , he's human , so he's probably processing this , but we know that his faith and trust in God is huge and a part of his life because he's faced even at that moment with you know , potiphar's wife comes and tries to make a move on him and he is such , his eyes are so set and focused on who his God is and who he is and his identity in those moments that he was like , how could I ever do such a simple thing in the eyes of my God , or even into my you know master , which was Potiphar at the time ? But he was faithful and he ran and he fled from what could have been a disastrous end to hit the dream and even saving ultimately the you know a nation .

Justin 9:11

And he probably , as you heard in episode seven , he probably had that word in his mind akhmalatizo , akhmalatizo , yeah , which is the tip of the spear when you execute that thought . Yep , when it comes in . He had a practice of executing negative thoughts for years , I bet from the sense of feeling abandoned from the people he trusted the most . And now , when she makes her appearance , I can imagine , as beautiful as they come , that's what she probably was to Joseph , but because his mind was in that state of not weakness , akmalatiza .

Rhett 9:48

Well , it says that there were moments where she would . Obviously he could tell that she was trying to make moves on him and he never found himself alone with her . And then there was that moment where the house was empty . He's in there managing the household , whatever At that moment . If you think about it , he probably in hindsight would have I should have never walked in the house .

Justin 10:04

I should have had somebody with me and she's all singing the soundtrack in her head , like he's playing hard to get Right .

Rhett 10:10

And so in that moment of nobody's there , which is a lesson to be learned always have an accountability around you . And so he runs for it when she tries to make a move on the house by themself and then she grabs onto that darn coat . It's that darn coat that gets into trouble , got them in trouble with his brothers and trouble with a lady , and gets accused . So , by the way , back up .

Justin 10:31

Different coat , to be clear . Yeah , we all have . It's a different coat because they put blood all over the other one . It's true , but it's just the coat . Something about that coat Something about that coat man .

Rhett 10:41

But if you think about it though , it's like we go through hard times in our life . But at last time I checked I haven't been sold into human trafficking and slavery , you know , and I know some people have . But I'm just going , man , when you think of the perspective that he's gone through to keep God in the front forefront , to keep his perspective on God and in the dream and knowing that , no matter what moment he's in , he just makes the most of it . And those are the assignment . And some people are like well , god didn't , his assignment wasn't the pit and wasn't that . Well , are you ? God used it , god did . And that goes back to me on the moving truck I realized , if we maximize every moment to learn in this season , where I'm at .

Rhett 11:18

And I think if we're helping people fulfill their assignment in life , where they are right now might not be their ultimate assignment , but there is something to be learned . In the misery , in the mundane , in the ordinary moments is where we become extraordinary , when we walk humbly with our God and deny ourself and just make the most of every moment . And when we do that , of course we see this in Joseph's life . He does get falsely accused , he does get put in prison . One step forward , two steps back . You got to be thinking , oh man , I had it well . And then I get accused and now I'm back in a prison . And here I am and we see God with him in every mundane moment . But then God obviously uses his gift , which was what Interpreting dreams and the moment came ?

Justin 12:02

Yep , the moment came . He's now put in prison , probably in a worse condition than it was when he was a slave , being sold to Potiphar's house and somewhere in there , the supreme leader , two of his chief guys , the cupbearer and the baker get thrown into prison .

Rhett 12:17

We know that at some point Joseph had also built the same favor he did with Potiphar because , he was over the prison , basically , I mean he made the most of being in prison , falsely accused , going hey , you know what ? I'm not blaming God , I'm not getting mad , I'm just going . All right , you know what , god is with me . And it says that Everywhere he went , god because he chose to see it , because he did he made the most of that . What people would go ? That's not an assignment . Well , it was a season . He learned and he learned and he grew and learned how to take care of you know , prison guard .

Justin 12:51

That's right . And can you imagine the Bible doesn't say this , to be clear . But can you imagine the ego that would have been on any official of the supreme leader ? Yeah , can you imagine the cupbearer and the baker ? I imagine they're probably in jail or in prison when they get thrown into there , still waiting for the verdict of if they did something wrong or not . They were probably the most egotistical maniacs to Joseph when they pop in there too , thinking that it's just a matter of time before I'm back and Joseph even moving up the rankings , if you will , within the prison , he still had to humble himself again to these guys

Joseph Uses His Gift Of Interpreting Dreams

Justin 13:29

, totally , ultimately willing to interpret a dream for them of what they had , which , if you go on and read the story , one ultimately had a dream that Joseph interpreted they were restored to their position . The baker had a dream that ultimately meant you're going to be killed .

Rhett 13:46

Yeah .

Justin 13:47

And that's what happened . He told the cupbearer don't forget about me .

Rhett 13:51

Yeah , which I think is really interesting . I heard a pastor . He said it's not in the Bible . You know it's speculation , it's a thought . And every moment that Joseph found himself in he never tried to manipulate himself out of it , he was just faithful . He was just faithful with what was in front of him , keeping God right and doing his best . But this is the one moment we at least see recorded where we see him actually trying to manipulate something in his favor , because he said hey , when you go back , have favor on me and tell the Pharaoh , tell the king right , tell him about me . And if you think about it , it was two more years until Pharaoh had the dream . And Pharaoh could have had the dream the next day . Two days , seven days , but somehow , some way it was almost like I'm not saying it's there , but I . This is how I read the Bible and how I see things .

Rhett 14:33

There's a lesson to be learned , it's almost like God was like you know , okay , you're not quite ready , you didn't pass that test . You kind of took things in your own hand at this moment . It's a great thought and I'm going to just let another two years go by to process this . And two years went by . He was still faithful to what he did . The cupbearer forgot about him until .

Justin 14:53

Pharaoh had the dream and he worked out that little extra agenda that pops in to try to climb a ladder .

Selfish Agenda Attempting To Force The Promise

Justin 15:00

I love speculative thoughts like that , where you can't prove it , yeah , but there's enough there to look at the story and say whether that's what happened or not . I can relate to it , Rhett , because I have seen God give me victory after victory . Promotion after promotion .

Justin 15:19

where it is clear and so many of you can relate to , it's clear . It wasn't me , it was hopefully integrity that I walked in . Try to stay competent , but it wasn't completely me , it was a favor . You can't explain , and then I can remember maybe a next season of that . Oh , I need to say something here . Try to help give that little boost of recognition . I could easily see Joseph being in that weak moment of hey , now don't forget about me . How could he forget about you ? I mean , you just interpreted a dream . Let it take care of itself . He's going to remember you . But it could have been you just not making something happen .

Rhett 15:55

Trying to force the promise , trying to force a dream .

Rhett 15:57

Hey , if I get favor here and get out of here , maybe I can elevate myself . The reason we can relate to it is because we're human and we've experienced these things in our own life , in our own story , and I just think God is faithful enough to love us to the place , to where he wants to platform us . We'll platform him and if we're not ready , character wise , he'll leave us in that crock pot a little bit longer to work out those , to let the cream rise to the top , or , I think , like the refiner's fire . You know , when you're purifying gold it's like , yeah , it's not completely pure , let's turn the heat up a little bit more here to let some of those impurities rise out that truly need to be out of this thing , so that way we can really make a difference when I need you to make a difference , so that you don't make it about you or try to manipulate another situation , so that you'll just truly trust me , have faith in me as a father who's gonna take care of you .

Justin 16:41

This dream come to pass in your life without you really doing anything other than just resting in me yeah , because there's no arrival yeah it's just a constant state of finding rest in jesus , yeah , staying obedient to the voice of jesus , not being distracted by the foreign voices that constantly bombard us , but being obedient , not trying to force our own agenda to happen , so that we can recognize one day . I'm so glad I didn't try to make that happen because what you had in store , god , was so much better . Not because it was possessions that you got , not because it was wealth or some kind of accumulation , but because it was peace of knowing I am in the condition I'm in right now only because of Jesus .

Rhett 17:30

Reminds me of . I think there's a country song . They thank God for unanswered prayers , and I think about moments where I even tried to manipulate heaven , not knowingly . I had a good heart . But , God , if you'll just change this , then this will happen , and then this work in my faith , and then we can get this show on the road or whatever it might be , and God's like yeah , I'm like , yeah , no , I think it's best that I don't answer that , cause it's like .

Rhett 17:52

It's like Jesus on the cross looking down like they don't know what they're doing bro , you don't know what you're praying for right now . If I gave you that right now and answer that prayer in this moment , with where you are in this season , that thing would crush you . You're not , your character's not ready , your development's not right , like yes , one day , you know , but that might come 20 , 30 years from now . And if it does , great .

Justin 18:14

If it doesn't , the things you learn through waiting and , at his mercy , the refiner's fire you're talking about the stuff that's from him is just going to be refined and turn more pure , but by his grace , he will burn away the stuff that we thought was so important , and he will burn away and it will disappear and we will get to see the benefit of realizing .

Justin 18:35

Thank you , lord , for not giving me what I thought I wanted , and that's our hope , guys . Our hope is that you would continue to walk in the assignment that God has placed on your life , and

Setbacks Have Potential For Significant Gain

Justin 18:46

today's episode really was the purpose of recognizing that , no matter what state you're in , you're in an assignment and , if we can be aware of that , it allows us to draw into the pit moments , to the prison moments , and realize there's something to be gained , because with God , nothing is wasted and we can take exactly what we've been given and we can fulfill that particular God assignment and it will lead to the progression that comes next , that , had we not passed that test , we might not get it . But because , thank you Lord , because we humbled ourselves , we put our agenda to the side and tried to help others also achieve their God assignments Wow , I am making more progress than I ever thought .

Rhett 19:32

And if you fast forward , Pharaoh had the dream . Cupbearer's like hey , I remember this guy , he's an interpreter of dreams . They pull up old Joseph from prison , get him cleaned up , put him right there in front of Pharaoh . He addresses the dream . Hey , the dream is one and the same , basically seven years of abundance . We're going to have seven years of so much blessing Our land has never experienced before Good news . The bad news is we're also going to have seven years of famine . It's going to be so desolate , like nothing's going to produce , and it's going to be a hard time to get through .

Rhett 20:02

So here's what I would encourage you to do , Pharaoh you need to find a wise man who knows how to manage things in a way to take that years of abundance so that not only are you blessed , but that you use it and you store it and you save it to get you through the years of famine . And Pharaoh's like well , there's no man who can hear from God like you . And he gives Joseph favor and he makes him basically his right-hand man . I mean , the only thing Joseph wasn't over was just the fact that he wasn't Pharaoh . He was given the entire authority .

Justin 20:32

Can you imagine ? If it would have happened the two years before . I wonder if Joseph would have said I think that I could be the great guy to take it on , and Pharaoh may have still put him in charge , but he would have always wondered is there an agenda ?

Rhett 20:45

Exactly , but he didn't .

Rhett 20:46

He just said may Pharaoh be wise to choose a wise man Like hey , I serve you , I'm here and look at what happened .

Rhett 20:52

And so that's where , ultimately , here's what I think is so interesting about the dream . Of course , seven years of abundance happened , seven years of famine happened , and then it ties back to how his dream became a reality because in that seven years of famine , it was affecting his family , which ultimately became the nation of Israel , and in that seven years of famine , his family came and they bowed down to Joseph , not recognizing Joseph , because it's been 30 something years by this point , which is a whole nother story of how long it takes the process , sometimes from immaturity to maturity , for things that crockpot to work , don't rush it of all the pain , yeah , that turned into purpose and the character , the perseverance , the time , the things he's learned and how to manage and how all these things he's operating in these gifts because he made the most of every moment . And here he is and his family's bowing down . They don't recognize him at all because he looks like an egyptian , he walks like an egyptian , cue the bangles right right , and so in , in , in , in , in .

Justin 21:48

at 16 years old , he thought the dream was about him .

Rhett 22:11

But 30 years have passed and here he is at this point and the dream came to fruition . But it was never really about him . It was about saving his family and , ultimately , god's people and an entire nation as well , as you know their enemies at that time , if you think about it .

Justin 22:28

Absolutely .

Rhett 22:28

And so I think I tell young people this you know , the

Your Dream Is Not For You, It Is For Others

Rhett 22:31

dream that God always gives you isn't I know you think it's about you becoming great , but really it's about God using you in a way that he can trust you to . When you get to a place , you'll realize it was really never about you , it was always about others . So true , and that's where the beauty and the fulfillment comes .

Justin 22:46

The fulfillment is actually watching someone experience the fulfillment of their assignment , which , ironically , would be them experiencing others their fulfillment , and then , if you were to draw a picture of that , you see a body being formed , actually doing its work and carrying out the glorifying of God and the pointing people to the love and grace of Jesus .

Rhett 23:09

But Jesus came to reveal the love of the Father . He revealed the love of the Father by serving others . He served us , he imparted and developed into 12 people who then in turn , took that and developed into others in which we you and I are beneficiaries . I mean , we benefit from the product of development that happened , and so Jesus poured into others . Those 12 poured into others .

Rhett 23:35

And there's something powerful that happens when we begin to take our eyes off ourself , put it onto others through the filter and lens of a relationship with God , ultimate assignment and the relationship with others , loving God , loving people the way he's loved us in every moment , in every season . And there is truly an incredible joy , in a miracle that takes place not only in our heart and our soul , but even in our situations . Our perspective shifts and we see things differently through the pain and , just like Joseph , you know what God is with me in the mundane . God is with me in these moments . And where can I learn ? How can I learn from this , because I know I won't always be here . What can I take away from this so that I continue to move forward toward all that God's called me to as I serve other people ?

Don't Shortcut The Process Or Shortchange Purpose

Justin 24:20

So college students , 20-somethings , don't fast forward the process , and I understand your temptation to do so . I've been there and I see what's out there that's getting the attention to want to become what you think this is . It will be short lived and it's a promise . It's not what you think For our 30s , our 40s , our 50s , our 60s . You have not missed it .

Justin 24:45

The time has not passed you by . You have not missed it . The time has not passed you by . You could potentially be walking in the greatest days and the greatest potential of maximizing the assignments that God has on your life right now . But you can look to say God , redeem some of the stuff that I've overlooked so that I can recognize that developed something , so that it developed something and so that it developed to where I'm at now , and help me see how I can redeem and let this become a God assignment so that I can fulfill it , that I can bring you the greatest glory that you gave a capacity for me to give you and that I can point as many people to your glory so that they can fulfill their capacity of being carriers of your glory , Jesus .

Rhett 25:33

Your best is not behind you , it's right before you . And it's not tomorrow , it's today . And if you're in your 60s or 70s and you're listening , or even 80s , man , what I would give and what people would give to cherish the wisdom that we can learn from you and you might be thinking , well , I didn't do everything right Exactly , there's so much that we could learn from you being able to take a moment in time to go , look , here's where I got things wrong and here's how it sidewinded me to all these different places . But , god , and oh , the things I would do to give back the time to be where you are in 20-something , 30-something , 40 , 50 , 60 , even .

Rhett 26:11

It goes back to what you said , I think , in one of our other episodes . It really stood out to me , justin . You said in your story , rhett , it was maybe one step forward , two steps back , but the one step forward is so much bigger and greater than we could ever take on our own , because it was a God step and that's the redemption and the beauty . And I just believe that if I were the enemy , I would do everything I possibly could to create isolation or silos between old , middle-aged and young and disconnect . You're young and you can't connect to the 30 or the 80 or vice versa . And if I were the enemy , that's what I would do . And God said no , we need each other and we can learn from each other and we're a body and there's wisdom to be had in both , the zeal of a youth in that . Oh man , just give me a minute .

Rhett 26:53

Let me lose . I don't want to go through the , I want to be the microwave let's go , let's go . I got this Right . And then the older person who sit there and have a conversation for three hours and talk at this pace and be able to enjoy how to slow down and the zeal

Rate, Review, Reach Out

Rhett 27:10

is important , but the wisdom of how to implement that zeal in a way that will sustain you in your life and your family for generations to come . Well , all right .

Rhett 27:13

Thank you so much for joining us on another episode of Armchair Authentic , a podcast with Rhett and Justin . It really is our hope to help you fulfill your God assignments through having real conversations about real life with real people . Well , we're looking forward to next week's episode , but before we get there , we wanted to take a moment and say thank you so much to every single one of you who have taken the time to rate and review the podcast . Man , it means so much to us because it really does help us serve people well , and especially for those who have yet to join us on this journey . As always , please follow us on formerly known as Twitter , now X , at Armchair Auth Pod , or you can follow us on Facebook or Instagram at Armchair Authentic and , as always , we want to hear from you and we want to include you in on this podcast , and the best way we can do that is for you to email us at info at armchairauthenticcom .