Every test that you’ve experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (GNT) FOUR INESCAPABLE TRUTHS ABOUT SITUATIONS THAT TEST AND TRAP US: 1. THEY ARE NORMAL. 2. GOD IS RELIABLE. He will use it to make me stronger. Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. James 1:2-4 (NLT) He will provide a way out of it. 3. MY FAITH IS ESSENTIAL TO MY ESCAPE. These are all warning markers—DANGER!—in our history books, written down so that we don't repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. 1 Corinthians 10:11 (MP) Who did God swear would never enter his place of rest? He was talking about those who didn't obey him. 19 So we see that they couldn't enter his place of rest because they didn't believe. Hebrews 3:18, 19 (GW) Through him we have received Gods kindness and the privilege of being apostles who bring people from every nation to the obedience that is associated with faith. Romans 1:5 (GW) JOSEPH DETAILS ON FINDING MY WAY OUT OF DYSFUNCTION… 1. HOLD ON TO THE DREAM GOD HAS FOR YOU. One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 6   Listen to this dream,& he said. 7 We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine! 8  His brothers responded, So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us? And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them. 9  Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. I have had another dream, he said. The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me! 10  This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. What kind of dream is that? he asked. Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you? Genesis 37:4-10 (NLT) 2. LET GO OF BITTERNESS THAT CAN CONTROL ME. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:20, 21 (NIV) Joseph had to deal with the memories of… - A father who favored him. - Brothers who enslaved him. - A lying woman who framed him. A boss who imprisoned him. A cellmate who forgot him. Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others… Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ. Ephesians 4:31-32 (CEV) NOTE: Overcoming bad relationships requires building good ones. Look after each other so that not one of you will fail to find God’s best blessings. Watch out that no bitterness takes root among you…for it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives. Hebrews 12:15 (NIV) 3. LIVE TO PLEASE THE PERSON WHO GAVE ME THE DREAM. Joseph was well-built and good-looking,  7  and his master's wife began to desire Joseph and asked him to go to bed with her. 8  He refused and said to her, “Look, my master does not have to concern himself with anything in the house, because I am here. He has put me in charge of everything he has.  9  I have as much authority in this house as he has, and he has not kept back anything from me except you. How then could I do such an immoral thing and sin against God?” Genesis 39:6-10 (GNB) Whether we live or die we make it our life’s passion to live our lives pleasing to him. 2 Corinthians 5:9

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love… 1 Corinthians 13:33 (NIV) Hope, the often misunderstood and misdefined word. Hope Is Not About… Hope is not about wishes. Wish: “to feel or express a strong desire or hope for something that cannot or probably will not happen,” Hope is not about my desires. I hope (wish) it doesn’t rain, I hope my team wins, I wish I were taller, etc. Hope Is… Old Testament Word For Hope Hebrew - Tiqvah means to expect. Root Word - Qavah, which means to wait for, to expect. or look eagerly. New Testament Word For Hope Greek Word - Elpis means expectation, trust, and confidence. Root Word - Elpo, which means to anticipate (with pleasure) and to welcome. Our Working Definition of the Word Hope Hope is confidently looking, expectantly, towards the future based on our faith in God in the present and His faithfulness in the past. What This Means For Me… I Can Find Hope For This Life And The next. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:19 (ESV) Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:18 (ESV) Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear. 1 Peter 1:3-4 (CEV) Hope means I can have a life of joy and peace. I pray that God, who gives hope, will bless you with complete happiness and peace because of your faith. And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope. Romans 15:13 (CEV) Hope means I can live a bold life. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD. Psalm 31:24 (NET) How Do I Find & Keep Hope? Hope is found in his Son & obeying His Will. Father, if you will, please don't make me suffer by having me drink from this cup. But do what you want, and not what I want; Luke 22:42 (NIV) “May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed! On account of his vast mercy, he has given us new birth. You have been born anew into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. You have a pure and enduring inheritance that cannot perish—an inheritance that is presently kept safe in heaven for you. Through his faithfulness, you are guarded by God’s power so that you can receive the salvation he is ready to reveal in the last time.” 1 Peter‬ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21 (NIV) Hope requires that I endure. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 (ESV) For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already haven't Romans 8:24 (NIV)

Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God. Hebrews 9:27 (GNB) NOTE: The mercy that God demands His followers to extend in this life is designed to allow God to extend mercy in next life. This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ. 2 May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. 3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to His holy people. Jude 1-2 (NLT) JUDE REVEALS 3 PEOPLE GOD CALLS ME TO BE MERCIFUL TO 1. I MUST BE MERCIFUL TO THOSE WHO DOUBT. Be merciful to those who doubt… Jude 22 (NIV) 2. I MUST BE MERCIFUL TO THOSE WHO ARE ENDANGERED. Save others by snatching them from the fire… Jude 23a (NIV) He will come with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. 2 Thessalonians 1:7b-8 (NLT) 3. I MUST BE MERCIFUL TO THOSE WHO ARE DANGEROUS. To others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. Jude 23b (NIV) JUDE’S DIRECTIVES TO BE A SUCCESSFUL MERCY PROVIDER 1. REMEMBER THE SCRIPTURES But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said. Jude 1: 17 (NIV) But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith… Jude 1: 20a (NIV) And we have been given the prophetic word—the written message of the prophets, made more reliable and fully validated (by the confirming voice of God on the Mount of Transfiguration). And you will continue to do well if you stay focused on it. 2 Peter 1:19 (TPT) Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to His holy people. Jude 3 (NLT)  “The salvation we share” is the result of someone sharing “the faith.” Yes, everyone who trusts in the Lord will be saved. 14   But before people can call on the Lord, they must believe in him. And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about him. And for anyone to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them…. 17 So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ. Romans 10:13, 14, 17 (ERV) 2. RECOMMIT TO PRAYER IN THE SPIRIT. Furthermore, continue to pray in the Holy Spirit. Jude 1: 20b (ISV) So he instructed them, “The harvest is vast, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into his harvest.” Luke 10:2 (GNB) 3. RETAIN YOUR FAITH AND BE FAITHFUL Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you. Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy is going to give you. Jude 1:21 (TLB) 4. RESOLVE TO BE CARING BUT CAREFUL. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners. Jude 23b (TLB) My spiritual brothers and sisters, if one of our faithful has fallen into a trap and is snared by sin, don’t stand idle and watch his demise. Gently restore him, being careful not to step into your own snare. Galatians 6:1 (VOICE) …hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of his rebellious flesh, in hope that his spirit may be rescued and restored in the day of the Lord.  6  Boasting of your tolerance of sin is inappropriate. Don’t you understand that even a small compromise with sin permeates the entire fellowship, just as a little leaven permeates a batch of dough? 1 Corinthians 5:5, 6 (TPT)