FROM PIT TO PURPOSE

0:03 We were having a bunch of guests over at our home and Lisa was cooking lasagna. Everyone likes lasagna. I mean, if you don't like lasagna, something's wrong with you, you know? So as she was preparing this, she inadvertently dropped the lasagna, I mean, just a little bit. And she said, honey, there are cracks in the bottom of the Pyrex bowl. so I went into the kitchen looked and I go yeah yeah yeah there's some cracks but I said it's fine she goes I think it's okay don't you yeah so she carefully transferred the lasagna from one pan to another no big deal threw the pan away the guests came over we were having conversation and the salad, and then Lisa served the lasagna.

1:01 Oh, boy. It was a cozy night, a little cool outside. Mmm, this is great. Oh, Lisa, this is awesome. and then suddenly, crunch.

1:25 Suddenly, crunch. And one of my son-in-law said, there's glass in the lasagna, and he held up a giant shard of it. Lisa said, stop eating. Stop. put your forks and knives down there's glass in the lasagna and to our shock we looked and glass was glistening all throughout the lasagna we threw it away, ordered pizza.

2:06 It was Campizzi's. And had a great meal. Today, I want to make a statement about your life and in my life that might seem a little strange. here's the statement,

2:31 you have glass in your lasagna. And so do I. everything is going smoothly everything is going great and all of a sudden you bite down on glass, the glass of betrayal.

3:06 Betrayal. Betrayal is like glass and a lasagna. It strikes when you least expect it. All of us here have been betrayed. we're being betrayed, or we will get betrayed. What is betrayal? Betrayal is when I trust someone, and that someone takes the trust and turns and trashes me. We've all been betrayed. Every single one of us. maybe you shared something confidential with someone and they've posted it online maybe you discovered that your spouse has been sleeping in the wrong bed maybe someone you started your business with and you're you're you're growing the business has has taken half of your client base and your capital, and they're gone.

4:23 Betrayal. We all deal with it. Betrayal from our parents. Betrayal from siblings. Betrayal from friends. I don't like to talk about it, but it's a reality, isn't it? If you really consider betrayal, our creation has betrayed our creator. We have betrayed our Lord. And think about what God did, what Jesus did, by his grace and mercy, forgiveness and guidance. He's given us the power of the Holy Spirit to have that cleansing, but also to have the ability to move through, through betrayal. Because betrayal shouldn't be just a stop where you don't go anywhere anymore.

5:32 It's got to be a process. betrayal, it's a, oh, well, people make a lot of money off betrayal. Have you ever thought about that? Look at our media. So much of it is about betrayal. Take a glance at social media. Betrayal.

5:57 And when someone betrays another person, there's lying involved and all sorts of dark stuff. But I want to give you the good news. I know this is kind of a downer. You're like, oh man, I didn't know we were talking about betrayal. Oh, please. I want to give you some good news. The whole gist of this series is about the beautiful side of betrayal. There is a beautiful side to betrayal Let me say it a third time There is a beautiful side to betrayal I enjoy making up words And when I was studying this topic years ago I said to myself Betrayal is brutal There is a brutal side to it Don't get me wrong But if we do it God's way, there is a beautiful side to it.

7:02 Think back in your life To maybe some significant moments Some defining moments when you were betrayed I'll give you just a couple of moments to think about that My first episode of betrayal happened when I was 17. Then the second one, I would say that was significant, happened in my mid to late 30s.

7:41 And then the third one is when I was in my, this is going to shock you, in my early 50s. I know you thought I was like 30, but no. And as I think about those times, those markers in my life,

8:07 yeah, I kind of get down a little bit, but then I think, look what God has done. Look what God, I'm talking about myself personally, Look what, and I'm talking to myself now, God has done in my life through that, through taking away and chipping away and building stuff that obviously God wanted to build. I would not be the man I am today, not that I'm anyone, because I'm not. I'm a sinner like everyone else. I'm just saying to you, this is me just kind of confessing here on this platform. I would not be the man I am today, the husband I am today, the father I am today, the pastor I am today, the grandfather I am today, without betrayal.

9:06 It's really kind of paradoxical, isn't it? But it's an anomaly when all of a sudden life is going great and crunch. Stop eating, you know? Well, the guy that I want to talk about today, and I'm beginning this series, I'm going to take a deep dive into his life, is named Joseph. Joseph. Joseph is over in the Old Testament. Amen. This guy dealt with some serious, serious betrayal. Also, as you know about Joseph, or maybe you didn't know, Joseph was one of the great men of God who ever, ever graced this planet. Yet his life was full of dealing with betrayal. So I want to give you the trailer before we get into the movie today, okay?

10:08 Take your Bibles if you have them and turn to the book of Genesis, Genesis 37, verses two through 11. Now I'm gonna read you a section of scripture. And as I read this, you're gonna go, I thought my family was dysfunctional. I thought I was a little bit crazy. I thought I had some drama no he won't believe this this is the account verse 2 of Jacob's family line Jacob was Joseph's dad the word Jacob in the Hebrew means cheater so people hey cheater wouldn't it be great tell me your dad's name again cheater this is the account of Jacob's family line Joseph the guy we're going to talk about a young man of 17 was tending the flocks with his brothers the sons of Bila and the sons of Zilpah his father's wives Now that last line Tells us doesn't it about the issues And just some of the potential problems That was occurring in this family Wives And he brought their father This is Joseph a bad report about them.

11:51 He was a tattletale, a snitch. Can it get worse? Oh, yeah. It gets a lot worse than this. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

12:18 Joseph had a dream. Now, see, we all have dreams. Dreams are great. But you have to be very careful who you share those dreams with. Obviously, Joseph wasn't. He said, listen to this dream.

12:38 We were, I'm in verse seven now. We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field. Here's what I dreamed. When suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it. He's telling his 10 brothers that. his brother said to him do you intend to reign over us will you actually rule us and they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said then he had another dream and he told it to his brothers listen he said I had another dream and this time the sun and the moon and the 11 stars were bowing down to me. When he told his father, as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, what is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come down and bow down to the ground before you? His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

13:54 you're like no wonder this guy got betrayed i mean he was a tattletailer he had this gucci robe his dad made for him that said you're you're my man you're the favorite and and now he's telling these grandiose dreams to his brothers come on Joseph. several statements about betrayal. Number one, betrayal bites during great meals. Betrayal's not gonna happen when you're barely making it. Betrayal is not gonna happen when you're climbing the ladder. Betrayal happens in success. When you're flowing in the favor of God, there's a target on your back.

14:52 It's very important to remember that. so when the times are tough, yeah, you're not gonna be betrayed, but you wait. When things are rolling and you're on fire, watch out. Number two, betrayal comes from those who are seated at our table.

15:16 There are three types of people in life, the with yous, the for yous, and the yous yous. Betrayal happens when the with you's Begin to use you Oh I'm with you I'm with you I'm with you And then You used me You lied about me Betrayal I'll never forget I had coffee with a leader. It was like 20 years ago. I couldn't even believe this guy would have coffee with me, but he did. And he started talking about betrayal. And I was thinking to myself, surely this guy does not deal with betrayal. I mean, here's what he said.

16:10 He said, Ed, I want you to remember this. There's always a Judas at your table. And then he said, and he's close enough to kiss you. I've never forgotten that. Because if I said, okay, name a character associated with betrayal, we're all gonna say Judas.

16:39 Number three, envy and jealousy are baked into betrayal. This is so important. Envy and jealousy are like part of the recipe of betrayal. I can't betray you until I'm envious and jealous.

17:05 So I don't just go, oh, I'm going to betray you. No, no, no, I'm going to be envious, jealous, and now the activity from that is betrayal. Genesis 37, 18 through 19, they saw him at a distance and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. Here comes that dreamer, they said to each other. So now they're gonna kill him. A little extreme, the brothers. I just wanted to throw Joseph back into the mix. I mean, yeah, he was a tattletale. Yeah, he shouldn't have shared the dreams. Yes, he had the Gucci robe, but that deserves death? I mean, your brothers are gonna kill you? Let's go back to envy.

17:56 They had to envy and they had to jealousy before they betrayed, right? What is envy? I want what you have. Envy is resenting someone because of what they possess power, position, physique, or relationships? Don't we see this played out in real time every day as we scroll? It's just right there. I have to be very, very careful because I can feel those engines of envy revving up when I look at certain posts? Why did they get that opportunity?

18:47 Why did that book do this or that? Or why are they speaking over there? You can, there are millions and millions of different ways. So be very, very careful. I'm telling myself this before the Lord about how much you put in front of your face because it is, envy can really take us to some dark, dark areas. So envy is basically, I want what you have. Jealousy is, I'm afraid of losing what I have. Jealousy is an ugly brother of envy. Jealousy is the fear that someone will take what you already have, a position, a relationship, or an affection.

19:42 Again, that coupled together, the outcome of both is the action of betrayal. So that's getting deep about betrayal, but that's why we betray one another. So envy and jealousy are baked into betrayal. Remember that.

20:04 Genesis 37, verses 23 and 24. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe. That was his identity, right? This Gucci robe. I mean, that was supposed to be reserved for the firstborn. That was supposed to be for the firstborn as he received a double inheritance. But Jacob, the cheater, went around that system and gave the robe to Joseph. And Joseph, I mean, was like putting it in their face. Come on, man, you can't do that. But naively, he did. So he came to his brothers. He stripped him of his robe. of the richly ornamented robe he was wearing, and they took him and threw him, ah, into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty.

20:59 There was no water in it. Let me tell you something. The pit of betrayal is dry. It's dark. It's dank. You just want to look down and around. And then you begin to pull in your friends down into the pit, and you share with them all the negative stuff about how you were betrayed. Can you believe he did this? Can you believe she said this? Can you believe she said this? Can you believe he did this? Can you believe he did this? Can you believe he said this? And then your life begins to be about the pit.

21:38 Well, in life, pit happens. So instead of looking down and around, Look to Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. Because the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Jesus has been there, my friend.

22:09 He has taken betrayal like we can't even comprehend. So if you feel betrayed, if you feel like you've just been hammered and knocked down, turn to Jesus. He is the answer. Let me go to the fourth statement.

22:33 Betrayal can lead to chaos or calm. Isn't that a fact? It can lead to chaos or calm. Psalm 40, verse 2, He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Is that awesome or what? That needs to be our verse this week. So when you bite down, on betrayal. When you bite down on that glass, I want you to think about glass. G-L-A-S-S. G-L-A-S-S. This is kind of extra credit.

23:26 G, God is still good. God is good all the time, all the time. God is good. God is good when things are good. God is good when things aren't good. I love what Cliff Connectley said the other day. God is fair. life is unfair don't get the two confused L life is full of layers I love this one and seasons that's what I love about lasagna those layers and Joseph's life if you want to talk about layers guys you think okay he went to the pit alright Well, he's sold into Egyptian slavery.

24:27 He has to make a 250-mile journey walking with a caravan. Then he's on the trading blocks. I mean, totally humiliated. Bought by Potiphar, one of the wealthiest men in Egypt. He's such a great leader, he begins to run Potiphar's house. Then he is accused of rape, thrown in prison for several years.

25:02 He was supposed to get out because he interpreted some dreams. They forgot about him, betrayed again. And then, because a guy remembered him back in the day, he was promoted from prison to the second most powerful position in all of Egypt. And see, God was setting the stage hundreds of years later for Moses to come in, right? And to take the Egyptian slaves and to free them up. But that's another story. But those are just some of the layers. This is gonna be great. A stands for adversity. Adversity reveals what's on the inside. This morning I got up and squeezed the toothpaste, and toothpaste came out.

25:58 What happens? What comes out when you're squeezed? S, suffering can be redeemed. We are going to go through times of suffering, and we don't understand it always. Many times we don't, yet it can be redeemed. S, this is my favorite, savor the Savior, not the sauce. Savor the Savior, not the sauce. The pit process, biting into the glass of betrayal, is part of our human condition, friends. And if we allow the Lord Jesus to use it, I'm telling you, the development in your life and mine will be absolutely unbelievable.

27:04 but it's only because of Jesus and his precious blood. Would you pray? Father, I thank you for everyone here. And I pray for those, especially who are going through betrayal. I have no idea the situation or the circumstance, God, but you do. comfort them hold them minister to them reach out to them if only you can Others, God, are coming out of betrayal. continue to stimulate their growth and their discipleship development.

28:03 I thank you for the honesty and the openness of your word. I thank you that we can see betrayal from your perspective and that we can process it. as we move through it. if you're here and you've never asked Jesus Christ into your life, you can make that decision by just acquiescing and asking the Lord Jesus to infiltrate who you are. we thank you for this time, Lord. And we ask these things in Jesus' precious name.