Title:  We Shall Overcome
Speaker:  Reverend Sheryl Shipman
Date: 1.25.04

Verses:  Genesis 41:37-41

The third Monday in January has been dedicated as a holiday in honor of Martin
Luther King, Jr. He doggedly pursued his dream of peace. As he rose to noteriety,
 fame and popularity didn't come without a price. His nonviolent approach and 
compassion, many times, cast him into a pit.

Another dreamer, gifted by God to interpret dreams...Jacob's favorite son that wore
a coat of many colors. The dreamer was Joseph. All of us have dreams, but 
sometimes it doesn't pay to share our dreams with other people. Because of Joseph's
dream, his brothers plotted to kill him. He was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, 
betrayed by friends, all because he had a dream of a closer walk with God. 

Others will get jealous and try to put you into a "pit".  But like Joseph, God will be with
you at every turn. 

Like Joseph,  MLK's dream caused him to lose a home by fire, to be attacked by dogs, 
friends betrayed him, and eventually it killed him.

Many times we have dreams. Because of your faith and steadfastness, others will try to steal
& kill your dereams. They will try to hurt you. But they fail to realize that God is with you
and because we KNOW that, we shall overcome!

"overcome" - to defeat, to conquer

Because we belong to God we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and through our 
testimony. After all that Joseph had gave them, the chief butler remembered Joseph. The 
same Pharoah that had put Joseph in jail in the first place, called for him. Because Joseph
had an overcoming spirit, he didn't take his time...He hurried. He didn't drag his feet like we
do when someone who has betrayed us returns, needing our help. Joseph took off those
worldly thoughts. Everything that happens to us, happens for a reason. You can grow from it
or die with it. 

You can kill the dreamer, but you can't kill the dream. As long as the Spirit of God is inside 
of me, I can "shake it off" and overcome.

Sometimes, we can't get out of our situation because of what "was". We let the devil put 
negative thoughts in our minds. God is trying to bring us out, work something out. 

Joseph refused to dwell on what was and Pharoah recognized the Spirit inside of Joseph.
He went from a pit to prison to a palace. Sometimes, we have to go through a lot of hard
situations to make it to our "palace". It wasn't Joseph that was able to do all the things that
he did, but it was his overcoming spirit. Because God was with Joseph. 

God wants to take us from our "pit" to our "palace". Be we can not let the devil discourage
us. God wants us to overcome, defeat every snare that the devil has set for us. It is not 
what we go through, but HOW we go through it. Joseph, Martin Luther KIng, Jr., Jesus
Christ....all had overcoming spirits. Jesus overcame death, hell, and the grave. Because
He did  what He did, we will overcome. 


How to Get a Spirit of Overcoming:
1. Speak to Your Situation. John 6:63. Speak God's Word to the situation. When you are
    in Christ, you are a joint heir in Christ. What He has, you have also. He will supply all
    of our needs. "No good thing will be withheld from those that walk upright." He will 
    protect us. "No weapon formed against me shall prosper." Take authority over 
    whatever your situation is.
2. Realize that God is with You. KNOW it. In every situaiton that Joseph was in, the Bible
    repeatedly says that God was with him. You might not be all that God wants you to be yet, 
    but He looks past that. He is with you. He will NEVER leave or forsake you. 

Main Points:  Because we walk in Christ, God is with us. He will never leave or forsake us. 
                    Becuase we have God on our side, no weapons (or situaitons) formed against
                    us shall prosper. God is on our side and because of that, we shall overcome.