LEMONADE IN THE PIT

0:03 Lisa was taking a frozen lasagna out of the fridge and dropped it a little bit. Nothing serious. And she heard a crack. So she goes, honey, I think I've cracked this Pyrex bowl. So we looked at it and sure enough, there were some superficial cracks. And she goes, do you think I should still serve this? I go, yeah, warm it up. It'll be great. So we examined it again. Looked great. She served this lasagna. So people were gathered around the table. We had some friends over. Mm, mm, Lisa, this is so, so good.

0:52 And then suddenly, crunch. Suddenly, crunch, and one of my sons-in-law said, there's glass in the lasagna. And Lisa said, stop eating. Put your forks and knives down. And so we tossed the lasagna out, ordered pizza, and had a great meal. But you know, there were shards of glass in that lasagna.

1:30 It could have been pretty tough. I mean, it could have sent a number of us to the hospital, but thankfully, it didn't. I have news for you today. every single one of us has glass in our lasagna.

1:55 Oh yeah, you do. So do I. We've been living life and all of a sudden we've bitten down on the glass of betrayal. Betrayal. When I say the word betrayal, many of you, because you're like me, do the pushback. You go, I've not been betrayed. Are you kidding me? We don't call it betrayal because that's too personal. It's too much in our grill. We say things like, they were idiots.

2:34 Crazy. Backstabbers. I'll get them back one day. And then the new phrase is just a whistleblower. Betrayal. betrayal happens when there is a relationship where trust is involved. You take that trust, you turn it, you twist it, and you breach the truth. so if you have any sort of relationship or friendship you have the ammunition to betray someone and so do I and what happens to us is when we've been betrayed we say to ourselves you know I'm not gonna trust anyone anymore and we build these walls around us and we live life in a pit.

3:47 I think betrayal is big business. Maybe billions, it could be trillions of dollars are spent on betrayal each and every day in our world. I know that's a big statement, but think about our media. Most of it is betrayal. Trace back the stories and the half-truths, the exaggerations, and it's betrayal. Then social media. Are you kidding me? You're talking about betrayal. Because envy and jealousy would be gasoline. Betrayal is the match.

4:22 When I scroll through social media, oh, they travel there? I deserve that. They bought this? They're driving that? She married him? and we start those engines of envy because I deserve what you have. I want what you have and I'm gonna be jealous and protect what I have and then it segues into betrayal. I just wanna show you how ubiquitous betrayal is. So a lot of us, we've never really said we've been betrayed but we have.

5:11 A divorce situation. How many people have been through a divorce situation here? Lift your hand. You've been betrayed. How many people have had a family issue that's just difficult? Betrayal. How many of you had something happen to you that you felt like, man, that's totally and completely unfair? we would say that's betrayal. So we have the effects, we have the residual effects of betrayal, and how we respond to betrayal really sets the die and the course for our lives. This is a very, very personal subject that I'm talking about.

6:10 This is not Christianity 101. one. This is some deep stuff because a lot of the way we act and react and live is based on betrayal. Joseph was a guy in the Bible. I mean, he is like the card-carrying guy who dealt with betrayal. You're talking about stuff that was unfair. I'm talking about Joseph in Genesis chapter 37. And we're going to look at him a little bit because he had betrayal on another level. I want you to notice several things about betrayal. Number one, I've already said it, but let me repeat it. betrayal is inevitable and surprising. Just like that glass and lasagna was surprising. Hmm.

7:02 Orange. You don't plan for betrayal. Okay, now, I do A, B, and C, and then I'll be betrayed so I can plant on it. No, no, no. It just happens. Joseph was born in a family, a large family. He had 12 brothers, and he was the favored child. I'm talking about Joseph, the guy I mentioned a second ago. How do I know he was the favored child? Because I've read the Bible and his father gave him a Gucci robe. That's right. It stood out and he pretty much said, you are the apple of my eye. Well, you can imagine what his nasty band of brothers did with that. They hated Joseph. And Joseph shared dreams with them, what he was gonna do one day and they hated him more and more. His father, Jacob, don't let the names confuse you, was a betrayer.

7:57 He betrayed his dad and his brother and now his sons feel betrayed by their dad, which they were, and they are going to betray Joe. Sweet Joseph. in his sweet Gucci robe. Here's what the Bible says. Remember, betrayal is inevitable and surprising. Genesis 37. I mean, Joseph's just walking along. 23 and following. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe. It's a little extreme. The ornate robe he was wearing, and they took him and threw him into the cistern. I mean, some of you right now have been pushed into the pit of betrayal for no reason.

8:56 You could say it's unfair. Why me, God? You've been pushed into the pit. Joseph was just walking along and his brothers, as you keep reading the text, they were thinking about killing him. Yeah, I don't like him. Let's just kill him. That's a Netflix special, isn't it? Cooler has prevailed. They stripped him of his robe, told his dad that a wild animal had eaten him because they, you know, dripped blood on it and all this. And the Bible says they were eating chipotle or kava at the mouth of this pit, just looking down at Joseph. And finally they go, you know what, let's don't kill him. I mean, they're talking about it just casually.

9:50 Bunch of serial killers. Oh, let's don't kill him. Let's just sell him into slavery. One of these caravans that cruises by. So there's Joseph in the pit. The pit of betrayal. What's he thinking? What's going on? I'm sure he's probably going, Wow, I was the toast of the town, and now I'm in the pit. I'm in the pit. Here's the second thing I want you to notice about betrayal. Betrayed people betray people. I want you to feel as miserable as I do. I want you to feel as envious as I do, as jealous as I do. I am going to get you back. That's sweet revenge.

10:44 you show me someone who is a betrayer and I'll show you someone who's been betrayed. All of us are betrayers. Did you know that? Just say it, one, two, three, I'm a betrayer. One, two, three, I am a betrayer. Say it again because some of you didn't say it. One, two, three, I am a betrayer. We've betrayed the God of the universe. So let's get that out of the way. Don't act like, oh, I've never betrayed anyone. You betrayed God, and so have I. So now we can talk on a level playing field. The Bible says in Genesis chapter 37, verses three and four, now Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because his wife and Joseph's mother was Rachel. Jacob only had four wives, so you don't think there was any drama, do you?

11:44 You know the guy was broke. Now Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. This is Netflix City right here. Because he had been born to him in his old age and he made an ornament robe for him. When his brothers saw, I want you to remember that, they just saw him. They saw that their father loved him more than any of them. They hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Horrible environment. Third statement about betrayal. Betrayal is either a pitfall or a pit stop.

12:30 You're either kicked into the pit of betrayal. it's a pitfall and you can become a pit viper You know, pit vipers bite at anything. No!

12:52 I was betrayed one time, and I did not handle it the way I should. I thought I could get sweet revenge on someone. I waited and waited, and I became a pit viper. telling my friends about the story. Oh man, this guy messed me around. This guy did this or that. Poor pitiful me. And then you get in that pit and you have a black tie invitational pity party with a bunch of... Pit vipers. And your identity becomes that. On the other hand, a pit can become a pit stop. Think about NASCAR, Formula One. That's really big.

13:43 Pull over. Well, Joseph had a great pit crew. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. So what's it going to be for you? Because how you react to betrayal, I'm telling you, sets the die, sets the course for your life. Now Joseph, Genesis 39, had been taken down to Egypt. That's what betrayers do. They want to take us down. That's what I want to do when I betray you. Potiphar, an Egyptian, who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, those are the slave traders, who had taken him there. the Lord was with Joseph. Verse two. Let me say that again. The Lord was with Joseph. Third time, the Lord was with Joseph. Say it with me. One, two, three. The Lord was. The Lord was with Joseph.

14:49 Here's what we have to understand. And I'm going to unpack this in a second. God is with you. are you with God? But God is with you. Sometimes, you know, I have prayed some prayers that are dumb prayers. Have you ever prayed a dumb prayer? Here's a dumb prayer I prayed the other day. And Lord, be with them. with them? God's on my present. I mean, God didn't look down and go, that was dumb, but I mean, it is dumb. See what I'm saying to you? But God is with us. In other words, God is loyal to you and me. And we're gonna find out when you're in the pit, you either become a pit viper or it's a pit stop. You either become bitter or you become better. You either continue to get poisoned in your betrayal or you do the opposite.

15:48 you advertise your loyalty to God. The Lord was with Joseph, so he prospered. And this word prosper is not material or it's not financial. I mean, this guy was a slave, yet he was successful. He prospered because he was walking in the will of God. So verse 3, when his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. And Potiphar put him in charge of everything. And I don't want to keep reading, but the only thing the Bible says Potiphar had to worry about was the food he was eating. Potiphar was married to Hotiphar.

16:43 Miss Egypt 500 BC. Potiphar was a power broker in Egypt. And if you know anything about the architecture, there were three levels to Potiphar's home. The help lived on the bottom. Started from the bottom, now we here. And then... Level two. Joseph wrote that song, not Drake. Dre just ripped it off from Joseph. There's a lawsuit somewhere. The lawyers are like, really? Really? Really? I'll sue. I'll sue. So, and then the second and the third level is where the family and everyone lived. Joseph did not, like, become head of Potiphar's household in a day, in a nanosecond. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. 10 years, a decade of discipline and loyalty. But go back with me for a second.

17:42 Here Joseph is. He's had this nomadic existence, and now he's in Egypt, a very sensual and sexual culture. These sphinx-guarded gates and ponds and lakes and architecture. And the Bible says Joseph was handsome. You might be going, well, who cares? Well, you better pay attention because only three people in the Bible are called handsome. David, Solomon, and Joseph. So Joseph is a long way away from home. A single guy.

18:21 You know, a red-blooded Hebrew. and the Bible says, Hotifer tempted him day after day after day. It wasn't just one and done. And Joseph remained pure, remained loyal to God, which brings me to my fourth statement. Betrayal will show our loyalty. Betrayal will show our loyalty. You know what Joseph said when he was tempted? Ultimately, he said, I will not sin against God.

19:15 Sinning is cosmic treason before God. Sexual sin, premarital sex is sinning before God. Pornography is sinning before God. You go to a strip club, sinning before God. It's really stunning how he lived such a pure life, isn't it? The secret is loyalty. He understood God was loyal to him, and he was loyal to God. He was loyal in every season. You could say, to stay with the lasagna metaphor, he was loyal in every slice, in every level, in every layer of that lasagna. No matter if it was unfair, no matter if it was like a promotion, he was loyal.

20:11 Also, he remained loyal even when tempted. I just taught you that. When you are successful in any realm, when God blesses your life on any level, you will be tempted. And loyalty is not developed on the pinnacle. It's developed in that dark and dank pit.

20:40 You know what Hotifer did? Potiphar said, Potiphar, the Hebrew tried to attack me. And Potiphar, are you ready for this? Potiphar, you've got to be kidding, Potiphar. You're going to trust your wife? It's just crazy. Potiphar throws Joseph in the dungeon, in the prison. He's back in the pit.

21:09 It's so unfair. Did Joseph say that? I can't believe that. Yet God was with Joseph to such a degree, the warden put him over all the prisoners. But he was in prison for a couple of years. I hear that train a-coming. It's rolling around the bend. I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when. Stuck in Egyptian prison as the time keeps dragging on. He didn't sing that. No, no, no, no, no. He was loyal to God. He was like, God, what do you have for me? I lean in to you. What are you doing? Where are you taking me?

22:01 I trust you. So he waited on God's timing. I love Genesis 41, 14, and I'll talk about this more next week. They tossed him in Folsom prison. He was there for two years. He interpreted this guy's dream, and he was delivered out of Folsom Prison in one day. He goes from the pit to the pinnacle of Egyptian leadership.

22:32 You know when the dungeons give you lemons? Just make lemonade. Is Forrest Frank here?

23:01 Is that awesome? And you know, Forrest Frank, he broke his back and was miraculously healed. You ought to check him out on Instagram. Unbelievable. What a great guy. So, yeah, Jesus can give us the ability to take lemons and make lemonade from them. so man is loyal to God. We should be loyal to God. Joseph was loyal to God. But let me change subjects a little bit, a different angle. God is loyal to man.

23:54 God is loyal to Joseph. God is loyal to you and to me. God is loyal even when we're not. I love that, don't you? 2 Timothy 2, verse 13 If we're faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself. Also, God's loyalty is proven through his presence. There is not anywhere where God is not. He's with you in the present. He's with you in the pit. He's with you going through that horrible business situation where someone betrayed you. He's with you in the divorce. He's with you when your best friend turned his back on you. He's with you when you shared a secret with someone, and now it's on social media.

24:50 God is with you. so God is loyal even when we're not God's loyalty is proven through his presence and this last one you might not have paid attention the whole message but don't miss this okay here is the key point God's loyalty is ultimately displayed at the cross that is the ultimate symbol of victory we have over betrayal. I'll say it again. Jesus did not die on the cross for loyal followers. He died on the cross for betrayers like me and like you. You're in a pit. you've been down on some glass in your lasagna?

25:53 Look to Jesus. Look to that bloodstained cross. Look to his resurrection. Because he, only he can give you the ability to take lemons and make lemonade. Would you bow for prayer? Father, we've all betrayed you. and we've been on the receiving end and, yeah, the giving end of betrayal.

26:28 I thank you, God, for your graceful and merciful response as you, in the face of betrayal, lived this perfect life, died this sacrificial death, and rose again. And right now, if you're here and you want to ask Jesus Christ to take control of your life, just reach out to him and just simply say, Jesus, come into my life. I turn from my sins, my betrayal. I turn to you. I believe in your death, burial, and resurrection, and I appropriate that into my life. You might be in a pit right now.

27:25 You might be bleeding from the glass lasagna. Just ask him to take control and lean into him with loyalty. we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.