ONE ACT OF BETRAYAL

0:02 One act of betrayal almost broke the back of Fellowship Church. We began in 1990, as many of you know. I just want to give you the receipts of a little bit of the back story of how we got to where we are. Lisa and I drove up, again, 1990, one car, one kid.

0:34 And we had a little place we rented with 30 families. The MacArthur Commons office complex in beautiful Irving, Texas, right across the street from MacArthur High School. Do you know where that is? Yeah. It would be the last place on earth that you would start a church like this. it would be the last place on earth that you would start a church like this and it would explode in growth the way Fellowship Church had. We had no idea. I still don't really know what I'm doing but we had no idea what the situation was really pastoring a church because we'd never pastored before. God began to bless it. The church began to grow.

1:27 And after five or six years we started talking about about getting some land. You know, every Sunday, we had the 18-wheelers and we had volunteers. We would set up and tear down church. Set up and tear down church. Set up and tear down church. And finally, after a while, that really will wear you slap out.

1:52 Let's find some land. So I began to talk to some people about land and what kind of land and the size of land and different tracts of land. And everyone wanted to go to Dallas. Did you know that? Not here. We wanted to go to Dallas. Maybe a little bit of Irving in us, you know. 635, MacArthur, Roger Stalback owned all of that land. And one of our board members was good friends with Roger, but Roger wouldn't play. That's okay. It's okay. No disrespect to Roger. I wouldn't do that here. Not in Dallas. No, Roger's a great guy. I played basketball at his house years ago. He's a really good guy. He just wouldn't deal with the land. So we looked and looked and looked, and my friend said, you know, the Resolution Trust Corporation is dumping a bunch of land. The Resolution Trust Corporation was an entity He said it by the government because the economy was bad.

2:59 And they were just pretty much, I say giving away. They were just, here's some land, here's some land, here's some land. And there was a tract of land, 159.2 acres right here in the heart of the Metroplex, right by DFW. And my friend who's on our board, he was like, Ed, this could be our spot. I go, Grapevine? Now at the time, you've got to realize, nothing was here. I'll repeat, nothing.

3:33 So my friend goes, you know, it's going to be interesting to get this land. It's going to be a challenge. Because, let me say again, we had as a church, let me say the word again, nothing. We didn't own anything. No credit, no credit cards. We put a little bit of money in the bank. That was how we were rolling. My friend goes, there's going to be a bidding war where we submit bids to the government, and the best bid will get the land. I'm thinking, oh, man. I mean, we don't have anything. Here are these big guerrilla companies are going after this tract of land. they can write a check for it like I would buy you a latte in the source. No big deal.

4:28 God always puts people, doesn't he, in the right spot at the right time. God always works through a remnant. You won't believe this. The guy from the government that made the call on the bid, what's a follower of Christ?

4:50 Government? Christian? Man, that's oxymoron, isn't it? I'm kidding. You know that. So we thought, okay, let's bid 2.5 million. We didn't have it. We didn't have anything. Again, the key word, nothing. Okay? So we bid 2.5 million, and they chose us Fellowship Church. And they were like, okay, you can have the land, but show me the money.

5:29 Well, we scrambled and scraped up enough money. I'll never forget this to put a down payment on the property, but listen to me very carefully and share stuff with you that I've not really shared before ever in my life. And it'll help you to understand how God has done fellowship church, God and God alone. So we put down enough money to tie the tract up and we owed, here's the key, $1.875 million. So here we are, a little church, you know, six years old, five years old, whatever it was. oh, we got some land, and we owe $1.875 million. Now, obviously, we wanted to build on this land, but are you kidding me? Well, without a sign on the property several months later, we sold 22 of the $159 for $1.875 million.

6:30 That's a golf clap. We sold 22 of the one. Oh, yeah, okay, that's what I thought you said. That's what I thought you were clapping. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, we got some land. What's the next thought? Let's build. So we got together, groups of people in the church, our board of directors, our staff, and we're like, okay, we are going to build. Let's build, let's build, let's build. So. we talked to some architects. Here's something about architects you'll learn. This is free advice. Architects chase infinity. Some of you will get that later. You gotta have them. But oftentimes, they draw these sexy drawings and no one can pay for it. So they drew this incredibly complex, beautiful facility,

7:22 but it came back at the cost of over 14 million dollars. That's a lot of cheese. We're talking in the early 90s, okay? You got to work with me here. Oh, 14 million. Wow. So we do a fundraiser, our church.

7:46 And the fundraiser was we committed as a church. to give 9 point whatever, $1 million for this facility. So the cost, are you ready? 14, but we commit, the 9 million didn't come in, just committed over three years,

8:12 and we were like, dang, we're short, way short. So we talked to the architects and contractors, let's just back off this puppy. This room was supposed to seat 4,300. We ratcheted it down to 2,800. Still a lot of people, but it's not 4,300. The children's buildings that we were going to build, I mean, phenomenal, huge, incredible. We had to back off on those two.

8:50 The money just wasn't there. so I hope you are running with me now aren't you you following me this is insider information and I have all the receipts this is not me making stuff off I can introduce you to people who are there in this whole scene a lot of people are still here with us some have passed on but but this is like the real deal the raw and the real stuff you might not even have thought about before. There was a guy who became a part of our church after we've been going on for like maybe a year. He was awesome. He was like the volunteer of volunteers. Amazing guy. MBA from, I won't mention the school, blah, blah, blah. So one day with tears streaming down his face. He met with me in my office. I think I want to go into the ministry.

9:49 Hey, what do you think? I go, that's great. You have the gifts and the abilities, and I believe God's calling you into the ministry. So we hired him. I mean, our staff, we had four or five people. It wasn't like we had some massive, massive staff. And so we brought him on, and he helped us with the design of the building, working with the architects, and he really helped us with the money, the financial piece of it. One day, I'm sitting in my office and I'm a little bit down.

10:28 You know, 14 million, we only have committed nine. I'm thinking, man, we have to back off on everything. Well, this guy runs into my office crying, Ed, you won't believe it. My wife has a distant relative. This guy's super wealthy. He's just transferred like $5 million to our church. Here's the wire transfer and the bank numbers and everything, I'm like, whoa!

11:00 This is incredible! Forget 2,800 seats, 4,300 seats. That's what we have now. Forget the small little Quonset hut for the kids. Let's build a big kahuna. Man, we were going for it. We had to cash money because remember cash is king. I just made that statement up. Anyway. Anyway. we start building. We expand this building. The balcony, you know how many people have the balcony seats? 1,200. That's a lot of folks.

11:45 Our seats were supposed to stop. I don't want to run you over, my man. Our seats were supposed to stop right here. But no, no, no, no, no. We had cash money. let's go ahead and expand it and we have more and more seats back there Woo, man, we were cooking with fish grease, growing thousands and thousands of people. Everything was rocking and rolling. I found myself at a camp that our church had for the students, you know, in the Redneck Riviera, Panama City. I'm just talking about myself because I love Panama City. I mean, when I was at Florida State, Lisa and I went down to Panama City all the time. And you know what was crazy? I remember going to Destin, 30A, and all that. There was nothing there. I mean, I didn't have any money, but man, can you imagine if you'd bought some land there? That's a whole other subject. So I was at this camp, and I was getting ready to speak, and that morning I began to pray, and it's like the Holy Spirit just came over me. I was just like hit with a wave.

13:10 it was like something's wrong. Something is not right. But think about it. Everything was right. Church is growing. We're getting national attention. I mean, in Irving, Texas. Come on, somebody. Irving. It's like growing a church in Egypt. but something didn't seem right and I started thinking about this guy, this superstar guy who was helping with the architects and contractors and the finances and I just said, Lisa, I need to call this guy because I know this seems crazy, honey, but I've got to see the money. I mean, he told our board about it. he's shown it to me and our board we're talking about some smart people one guy owned a bunch of hotels another guy was a Cornell graduate making seven figures I mean you know we're talking about guys who were smart big time real estate guy major attorney so we're not talking about lightweights here people who are much much much much much smarter than me so I called this guy I go you think I'm crazy and and let me apologize up front but I've got to see the money I mean I know I know it sounds crazy, but I want to see the money, the accounts in the bank. I want to talk to our bankers.

14:36 I was on the phone with him for eight hours. He lied over and over and over and over and over again. So finally, I said, you know what? I'm going to fly in tomorrow morning. Let's go to the bank. He goes, okay, let's do it. And you know, I love the Lord and love the church and love fellowship. The money's there, man. It's there. Next morning I got the phone call from hell, literally.

15:28 Hello? The guy said his name. Ed, he said, I lied about the money. I said, what? He said, the money's not there. What? Are you serious?

15:52 I was talking to a world-class, hellacious betrayer. You can betray a lot of people, but you mess around with God's church. Wow. I see some of these accounts on Instagram and stuff, people making fun of the church and messing. Good luck with that one. I had the guy on a silver platter.

16:23 I could have taken him out. Prison. We had the goods, the receipts, as we say on it, but we talked about it and we prayed about it because, you know, when you're betrayed, don't strike back, strike up a conversation with God. That's easier said than done because if I saw him right now, I'd want to punch him. I don't like the guy. I take him out and beat him up.

16:50 When someone betrays you, you don't have to become their best buddy. We loved him in the Lord. I love the guy in the Lord, but I don't like him. He is the best pathological liar I've ever seen. No doubt about it. The devil himself tried to take down Fellowship Church. So what do you do? Oh man, all of a sudden we got 4,300 receipts. We can't pay for it.

17:14 All of a sudden we're getting ready to break ground on the children's ministry. Some of you remember in April of 1998, when we moved into this building, the children met in tents. Do you know why? Betrayal. See those modular buildings out there out back? I never wanted modular buildings. Do you know why we have to have the modular buildings?

17:43 Betrayal. Betrayal. oh I've been there when it comes to betrayal and so have many of you your spouse has left you your business partner ripped you off. A relative sexually abused you. We've all been betrayed. Micro-betrayals. and macro betrayals. Thankfully, our church continued to grow. We moved in. Thousands and thousands showed up.

18:23 And we were able to pay off the debt. Praise God. What I'm saying to you today in this message called glass in your lasagna, because Lisa served lasagna, I told you a couple of weeks ago, and it had glass in it. She dropped the bowl, and it was a long story, but we started eating it. Crunch, crunch. You don't want glass in your lasagna, But we all have glass in our lasagna. We've all bitten down on betrayal. Number one, if you're taking notes, betrayal is destructive.

19:12 It's destructive. It'll mess you up. And really what I'm getting at is revenge. I'm a competitive guy, so are you. And, you know, somebody messes you around, you want to get them back. That's the natural thing. Remember that? You're pushed in the pit, you either become an adder, poison everybody around you, or you become a ladder. You help others up.

19:38 But it is, I'm telling you, it's deceptive. It's also destructive betrayal. You know what I'm talking about. Oh, I'm going to make him pay. I'm going to make her pay. It'll mess you up. You remember Joseph? We've been talking about him, Genesis chapter 37. Joseph, 17 years old, brilliant guy. His brothers betrayed him for no reason whatsoever. He interpreted dreams. He shared his dreams with his brothers, and they just, boom, kicked him in the pit. Ah! What did Joseph say? God, why me?

20:23 Well, he might have said that, but he really said, what now? so he was sold, talking about betrayal, into Egyptian slavery, so he's in the pit, and now he finds himself making a 250-mile journey to Egypt. He's bought by Potiphar, who was head of the CIA in Egypt. He worked in Potiphar's house, and Potiphar was married to Hotiphar. His wife was Miss Egypt 500 B.C. tempted Joseph daily to have relations with her.

21:02 He said, no. I'm not going to commit this sin against God. That's what he said. For 10 years he worked in Potiphar's house. Then she accused him of messing around with her. And guess what? They threw Joseph in Folsom Prison. Johnny Cash reference. Anybody pick that up? I hear that train a-coming. It's rolling around the bend. Come on. I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when stuck in Folsom Prison. I'm sorry, Egyptian Prison. As the time keeps dragging on. he's in prison.

21:48 Why me? No, no, no, no. What now? So he's with a couple of guys in prison for two years. And one guy was the wine taster. Isn't the wine taster kind of a sommelier? Is that right? Did I pronounce that correctly? Anybody? It's okay. How do you say it? You know how I say it? You nailed it. Thank you. Because sometimes I say these words, I'm like, oh, no. That's totally wrong. And later people will text me like, you idiot. You didn't. So this wine taster, I don't want you to think about this. And Joseph, we're in prison. And he has this weird dream. And Joseph goes, I know the deal of the dream. You're going to go back to working with Pharaoh.

22:46 But hey, my man, remember me. And please just remember that I interpret dreams. The wine taster was like, I got you. Well, he forgot about Joseph. This guy, from bad to worse. Pharaoh is having a bad day. He needs some Ambien.

23:12 He can't sleep. Maybe Tylenol PM. This dream is dogging him out. he calls in his magicians and the gurus. He even called Dr. Phil. No one could find the meaning of his dreams, and it frustrated him. Then the sommelier goes, oh, yo, Pharaoh, I was in prison with Joseph, and this guy is gifted by God to interpret dreams. Pharaoh goes, bring him here. So Joseph goes from prison to facing Pharaoh. Pharaoh tells him about the dream. Joseph goes, oh, here's what God says. We're gonna have seven years of a bull market. That means it's going up, bull.

24:05 Think about that. Bull market. Because remember, grain was more valuable than money. Then he said it's gonna be followed by seven years of famine. of drought. So Joseph submitted a big, beautiful bill. He said we're gonna save grain. And he put tariffs on it and everything, and he knew the neighboring nations during famine would come to him, and they would make a lot of cash money because of this big, beautiful bill and because of the tariffs.

24:47 So sure enough, that's what happened. Famine hit after seven years of plenty, and people are coming before Joseph, asking him, begging him for grain. Did I tell you revenge is deceptive and destructive? Did I tell you revenge is diabolical when you try to play God? You're not God, I'm not God. Joseph didn't play that game, did he? He didn't strike back, he struck up a conversation with God.

25:26 And take a wild guess at who visited Joseph. Yeah, the neighboring nations, but his band of nasty brothers, the guys who had pushed him in the pit. Their father said, guys, what are you doing? We need some grain. So they made the 250-mile journey, Same journey that Joseph had taken decades ago. Don't you know they were thinking about him? Don't you know whenever they went shopping and saw a cool outfit, they thought about, oh my gosh, that's the robe that we ripped off of Joseph and lied about as we put animal blood on it to our father. Oh, no, I'm telling you, man. And when you're a betrayer, it'll dog you out. Reminders constantly of your betrayal. Constantly. You can't get away from it. You're in the pit. You're not looking up.

26:18 You're looking down and around. It'll mess you up. And people who betray want others to feel as bad as they do. The guy that betrayed our church, he's a betrayer. He wanted us to feel as bad as he did. And when people betray you, that's what's going on. It's a demonic thing. How can you say demonic? what sin did the devil commit when he was lucifer against the throne of god betrayal this is nasty stuff man i can tell a lot of you think well i've never been betrayed you're not thinking deeply enough oh you've been betrayed or you will get betrayed you know a leadership coach told me that the average person is betrayed seven times in their lives.

27:22 The average person. Then he said, Ed, the average pastor is betrayed seven times a year. So I kind of have my PhD in betrayal. And see, some of you are going, what? That doesn't make sense. Oh, yeah, think about it. Just think with me. Think. Oh, yes, it does. Sin is my business.

27:46 And one of the number one sins is betrayal. So Joseph's brothers come before him. and they're asking, paying for grain. And I'll say it again. Joseph had them on a silver platter. Come on, Joseph, make them pay. Take them out. Torture them. But see, they didn't recognize Joseph because he'd immersed himself in the Egyptian culture. number two most powerful man in Egypt. and in a couple of weeks I'll continue this story but let me just stop right here because it gets even better Revenge, remember this, is deceptive and destructive and diabolical. We play God.

28:46 So when you are facing revenge, what do you do? What do you do? Well, before I answer that question, I want to tell you another story about my life. I grew up in a home and we were pretty much a sports family, if you know what I'm saying.

29:17 We started playing basketball, my brothers and I, at a young age. And I was good. I'm not bragging. I'm just, I mean, I was a Division I player. It's good. Not great. It's good. So I played in this district in South Carolina,

29:38 high school basketball, that was really amazing. Numerous guys from our district have played in the league, the NBA. After my sophomore season, I was one of the top 250 players in America. Got invited to this camp where over 300 college coaches and scouts would watch us play six games a year. So I began to get contacted by Villanova, Notre Dame, NC State, all the big schools, hundreds of them. And I'm thinking to myself, wow, I'm something else. right before my senior year which is your most critical year dad walks in and tells us we're moving to Houston a thousand and three miles away from where we lived now I was devastated because of Lisa number one because you know we were talking and we became official See you next time.

30:45 So we moved to Texas. Now I want you to work with me here and think with me. I'm playing with this team against guys who could absolutely play basketball in South Carolina. In Texas, basketball at that time was like, what? Let's play football. First school cowboys, they didn't know a layup from a dunk. So I found myself at this school in Houston,

31:34 and I was a part of the basketball team there, and it was a bunch of little white boys. go ahead and laugh. Little white boys, they couldn't play. My brother told me this week, he goes, Ed, you could beat every guy on that team left-handed. And it's true.

31:56 Now, I couldn't back in South Carolina, all right? But in Houston, Memorial High School, are you kidding me? It was a joke. so on that team i was way above way the best player on the team so we're playing against this team and i was uh picked by dave campbell top 10 most recruited uh player in the state of texas my senior year so we're playing thank you for that brag so we're praying i'm just telling you the facts no i'm not bragging this is just i'm giving you the receipts here okay so so so the The media got into it. We were playing against Milby High School in a big arena. Rob Williams, some of you remember him. Five Slamma Jamma played for the Denver Nuggets. I was guarding him. He was 10 times better than me, but we were one of the top 10 recruits. So the papers are talking about it, whatever, whatever.

32:50 So the game starts. He's shooting. I'm shooting. He's doing better than me, but I'm doing well. All of a sudden, guys, in the middle of the game, the coach just wants to be on the bench. No reason, we had no altercation, no issues.

33:13 I'm thinking, what? It was so bad, after the game, my father went looking for the coach to kick his butt. Let's be real. So this happened after, I don't know, maybe 15 games. I was devastated, depressed.

33:39 Basketball is my God. I got a severe case of mono, had to stop playing. All the schools backed off from me, except Florida State. So I thought to myself, oh man, when I sign that full ride at Florida State, man, I'm going to shove it in my coach's face. I signed. Nothing.

34:09 Revenge is deceptive. It's destructive. I was playing God. It's diabolical. Then I thought, oh man, if I start, if I win the starting position at Florida State, oh man, that will put it in his face. Welcome to this game. the Florida State Seminoles are playing the Auburn War Eagles slash Tigers, whatever that means.

34:38 Starting at guard, 6'2", from Houston, Texas, number 12, Ed Young. And I remember running out with my little shorty shorts and tube socks and saying to myself, This is it. this is it. And at Florida State, that is when God helped me and taught me about priorities. And during that tough time, that is when God deposited the vision of this church in my life. so what the devil meant as evil, God meant as good. Had I not been betrayed, listen to me, I would not be where I am today. And I'm not saying I'm great because I'm not.

35:34 I'm just here because God has done it, period. But I want you to know what I've gone through. I want you to know even the beautiful side, the beautiful side of betrayal. Okay, now let's go back to school real quick. Here's some application points. Here's my response, okay, to betrayal. Because you will get pushed in the pit. You're either pre-pit or post-pit or in the pit. Number one, number one, serve grace, not glass. Matthew 5, 44 says, Jesus said, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. Wow. serve grace, not glass.

36:26 Don't spit the glass out and throw the plate. Number two, save your fork for the feast. I like that. Romans 12, 17 says, never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. People are watching. You know, one of my Florida State teammates called me this past Monday, not heard from him in a long time. And he said, I've had some struggles in my life.

37:14 He said, but I've become a Christian. He said, I'm so thankful that I met you at Florida State. I wasn't a superstore. For the most part, I was a bitch warmer there.

37:36 But that shows you the power of influence. People are watching you and me, and especially, oh yeah, when things are good, they're like, yeah, okay. I want to get envious and jealous when things are good with other people, but when things are bad, oh man, how is she going to respond? How is he? how The third thing, and this is going to mess a lot of people up here, hire a lawyer. I'm serious.

38:13 You're going, what, that's in the Bible? Okay, look at this right here. Okay, Jeremiah 51, 36. This is what the Lord says to Jerusalem. Now you gotta realize that God was talking about Babylon, and he was gonna open a can up on Babylon. He was gonna avenge what they had messed Jerusalem around with. So he says, this is what the Lord says to Jerusalem. I will be your lawyer. That's scary. To plead your case, and I will avenge you.

38:54 You know, lawyers, so unique, because no matter what happens, lawyers always win. They always get paid. Have you ever noticed that? They're in bed with other lawyers and judges and things. It's kind of a wicked game, but the lawyers will get paid. And you've got to have lawyers, but this is pro bono. Free 99. You think God's billing you by the hour? What are you smoking? He's working on your behalf and my behalf right now behind the scenes, and you don't even realize it because he is taking care of those people.

39:33 Oh, you know what? God has taken care of that betrayer at Fellowship Church. God took care of my coach. He had a pathetic existence. I guarantee it's because of that. So I can go down the list over and over and over again. It's like you go to the Source Cafe. You order coffee? They normally say, do you want any room in the coffee? That means room for cream, right? Leave room for the wrath of God. Revenge is when I play God.

40:22 Revenge is when I give it to God because God will always do a better job than you and me. one act of betrayal almost, almost did Joseph end. But that one act of betrayal, follow me now, was the salvation for the Hebrew nation. Because as you press the clock forward, the Hebrews moved into Egypt, and then we have our man Moses leading him out of Egyptian slavery. So that act of betrayal, God used it. Are you feeling me? One act of betrayal where a guy tried to take down Fellowship Church led to tens of thousands of lives being saved.

41:19 All the stuff you saw at Alas Arash, All the things you're seeing right here happened because the devil meant it for evil God. Meant it for good. But it even gets better. one act of betrayal, his name was Judas,

41:44 led to the salvation of the world. The creation betrayed Jesus. He gave us grace and mercy. Any glass in your lasagna? take care of it God's way because he is going to take care of you as you trust him and move along with him.

42:25 And over the ensuing weeks, we'll continue to talk about Joseph because this story has so many twists and turns. It's pretty amazing. Would you bow your heads with me for a moment? Every head is bowed and every eye is closed. God, thank you so much for this message that we all needed to hear, that I need to hear. I thank you, God, for working behind the scenes and working overtly in our lives when it comes to betrayal. I pray that we get serious before you about betrayal and process this and do it your way. Do it your way. If you're here and you've never ever asked Jesus Christ to come into your life, you can make that decision right now.

43:19 I was talking to a guy yesterday on the phone who thought he was a Christian, but I don't believe he is. he told me, oh yeah, I've always been a Christian. I said, hey man, I've always been married. What? No, no, no, no, I've been married 43 years. I said, I do, I made a decision. Have you made that decision to receive Christ?

43:45 The bad news is, and the Bible talks about that, you're a sinner, I am a sinner, separate from God. The worst news is we deserve eternal separation from God. As I told my friend yesterday, God does not hurl anybody to hell. That's your choice. You choose it. But the good news is God sent Jesus Christ to live a sinless life, to die a sacrificial death and rise again. And number four, the great news is you can make the decision. You have responsibility. You have a freedom of choice to say, Jesus, come into my life. And I'm praying. that you would make that decision. Just simply say, Jesus, take control of my life.

44:31 Lord, we thank you for our great church. It's all about you, and you've done it all. And we look forward to seeing what's going to happen in the future, in Jesus' name.