Escaping the Pit of Betrayal

Genesis 37:2-4   Joseph was tending the flocks with his brothers, and he brought their father a bad report about them. Now Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age.  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.

Here’s what we know about Joseph…..

*He was the first born son of Jacobs’ true love, Rachel.  *He was his father’s favorite.  *Part of a family that included 12 brothers by 4 different mothers.  *Had the God given ability to interpret dreams.  *He made things difficult by snitching on his brothers.  *He boasted about how his brothers would someday have to submit to him.  *His brothers resented and hated him for it.  *His brothers sold him into slavery.  *He finds success in the house of Potiphar.  *He is thrown in prison due to false accusations by Potiphar’s wife.  *He was chosen to interpret the dream of the Pharoah of Egypt.  *He rose to second in command over all of Egypt.

Joseph’s whole life was in preparation to do something great.  Everything that happens to a child of God is in preparation for something.  The scriptures are filled with examples of God using hardship to shape and mold his people to do something great.  These hardships are used to build character and faith.

In James 1:2-4 the scripture tells us to Consider it pure joy, whenever we face trials of many kinds, because we know that the testing of our faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The first lesson for Joseph was overcoming betrayal.

Genesis 37:23+24  And it came to pass, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, And cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

The word betray means to violate allegiance or trust.  The reason that betrayal hurts so bad is because it usually means that the person who betrayed us was someone we trusted or even loved.

Jesus knew this better than anyone....."Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him." Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him."  Matthew 26:48+49 

Betrayal often comes from the ones that are close enough to kiss you.  Betrayal can be purposeful or accidental but it still hurts the same.  It leaves people feeling violated and disillusioned.  Have you ever been betrayed?  By a spouse or a parent, a pastoral figure or other church leadership, a friend or a co-worker.  It can really through you for a loop.  The other reason why it hurts so much is because we often don’t see it coming.  Why would we ever expect to be hurt by people who were supposed to care about us.

There are 2 ways to handle betrayal.  We can either build up walls or we can forgive and let go.  It’s so easy to use betrayal as an excuse to start putting up walls.  These walls keep people and God at a distance.  They become a protective mechanism that keeps us from getting hurt again.  The problem is that they also isolate us and keep us from being loved and from receiving the support we need. 

The four walls of betrayal:

Self Pity
Fear of It Happening Again
Hardness of Heart
The Victim Mentality

People who live in pits think everyone is out to get them.  People who live in pits don't like to be down there by themselves.  What I mean by that is that people who live in pits have a habit of dragging other people down there with them.  They tend to be negative and critical.  Those attitudes can be very contagious if we're not in a good place ourselves.  Be careful not to spend too much time with people who live in pits.  Betrayal can make it very difficult to have faith in God. 

I John 4:20 says that if anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

I would say that this principle applies not only to our ability to love, but also our ability to trust.  This is our nature.  Those who were supposed to protect us and take care of us let us down.  When we are betrayed our nature tells us not to trust anyone and we begin to shut people out.  Now when this trans-lates into us having to put our trust in God, we hesitate and withdraw.  We must be careful that betrayal does not become your companion.  I have met so many people that have been held on to bitterness and unforgiveness for so long that it has become their identity.  God doesn’t want us to live in the pit of betrayal, He wants us to escape from this it.

The answer is found in Psalm 40:1-3  I waited patiently for the LORD; and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, and he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth.

How does a person escape from the pit?

We have to want out.  -  V. 1  -  I waited patiently for the LORD; and heard my cry.  

We must be willing to cry out to God.  Cry out to God in repentance.  Ask God to forgive us for allowing bitterness to get a foothold in our life. 

The scripture tell us to "Be Angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the Devil a foothold."  Ephesians 4:26+27

Cry out to God for deliverance.  He will set you free!!!

Lamentations 3:5+56 says, "I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears to my cry for relief."

Only the power of the Holy Spirit can set you free.  – V.2  -  He lifted me out of the slimy pit.

We do not have the power to lift ourselves out of the pit of betrayal.  Only God can do that. 

In Zechariah 4:6 , When Zerrebubal could not get the work done on his own the Lord reminded him that it's 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.

We must become people of the word.  - V.2  -  He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Psalm 119:89  Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

We must become worshippers.  -  V. 3  -  He put a new song in my mouth.

Isaiah 61:3 tell us to put on the Garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

There will always be that part of you, that every once in a while, will try to drag you back into the pit.  We have a tendancy to want to go back to what's familiar.  The people of Israel were constantly telling Moses that they wanted to go back into the bondage of Egypt rather than face the hardships of the wilderness.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3:13b+14  that we should be "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Sometimes we just have to fight it off.  Faith is not an emotion, it is a choice.  There are times when we must choose to be free.

Psalm 71:20+21  You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.  You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again.

The Importance of Doing God's Will

Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Jesus is making a statement about religious people. It’s not enough to just know he is. The scripture teaches that is this going to be a problem in the last day church.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.

Just a few verses prior to Matthew 7:21, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the road to heaven would not be heavily traveled.

Matthew 7:13+14 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

This leads us to ask a question. How easy is it to get into heaven? I think by the time we’re through the answer will be pretty clear. Being born again and initiating a relationship with God is easy. Maintaining that relationship over a lifetime is a little more difficult.

Jesus does reveal 2 requirements for entering the Kingdom of heaven. Citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven requires doing the will of the Father.

1 John 2:17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Jesus claimed kinship with those who were doing the will of God

Matthew 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.

Jesus taught us that God answers the prayers of those who do the will of the Father.

John 9:31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.

What is Jesus referring to when speaks of the will of the Father?

1 Thessalonians 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

It is God’s will for us to give thanks to the Lord no matter what the circumstances. It is God’s will for us to be a people of praise and thanksgiving in all circumstances. God is worthy of praise regard-less of what may be going on in our lives. In the good times and in the bad. Faith is revealed in the heart that can continue to praise God even when life is stinks. Perhaps that what Paul meant when he said…..

Hebrews 13:15+16 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Paul continues on with an interesting, but important truth. In verse 17 when he says, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

It is God’s will to obey those who are in authority over us and to do good.

1 Peter 2:13+14 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.

It’s God’s will for His people to be Holy.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 God’s will is for you to be holy.

1 Peter 1:15+16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

What does it mean to be holy?

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore come out from them and be separate and holy, says the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

This passage of scripture suggests that holiness requires us to separate from certain people. The words “unequally yoked” suggest a binding together. Therefore the scripture would seem to be warning against getting into relationships with an unbeliever where the unbeliever would influence the believer rather than the other way around. It is not a command to alienate yourselves from unbelievers, which would be a contradiction considering Jesus spent a great deal of his time with sinners. I think the best way to sum it up would be found in…

Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

A person who is doing the will of God is some one who does not love the world.

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

So the question we ask now is…..What does it mean to “Love not the world”?

Romans 12:2a Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

This scripture suggests that there is a “pattern of thinking” that has “Worldly origins”. It goes on to tell us that our minds need to be transformed and renewed. Being holy is not about actions alone, it’s about attitude. Holiness is about our mentality, and our way of thinking. Holiness is about forsaking a worldly pattern of thinking and embracing a Christ like mind. If we embrace the mind of Christ, godly actions will follow.

Ephesians 4:23+24 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.

How does this affect our ability to do the will of our Father? Let’s go back to Romans 12:2
Romans 12:2a Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2b Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Whatever it may be…Being thankful in all circumstances, Obeying authority, Being Holy as God is holy. They all require us to do one thing. SUBMIT. Living out the will of God requires a heart that is totally submitted to His Word and His Spirit.

Hearing God in the Whisper

1 Kings 19:11  The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

The first thing we want to look at is Elijah being called to the mountain of God. This was not any ordinary mountain, but Mt. Horeb, the same mountain that the Lord revealed himself to Moses.

Exodus 3:1-4  Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush.

This was also the same mountain in which the Lord gave Moses the 10 commandments and the rest of the law.

 Exodus 24:13, 16+17  Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai (Mt. Horeb and Mt. Sinai are the same place). For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.


Now the Lord was going to reveal himself to Elijah, but in a much different way.  There are going to be different times in our lives where circumstances are going to result in us being called to the mountain of God.  In Exodus 3 we find Moses called to the mountain of God because he was going to be prepared for a great transition in His life and a great ministry.  In Exodus 24 we find Moses being called to the mountain to receive instructions from the Lord.  In 1 Kings 19 we have Elijah in a very fragile state and the Lord wants to teach him a lesson about hearing His voice.  The mountain of God represents a place where the presence of the Lord becomes tangible. In every instance we see God’s presence manifested in a visible or audible way. Clouds, fire, thunder and lightning etc. This is the kind of place that not everybody can go to.


Psalm 24:3-6  Who may ascend the Mountain of God? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

Clean hands - This represents our actions our deeds. We see all the through the scriptures that the blessing of God was on those who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

1 Kings 11:38  If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you.

A pure heart - This represents the  condition of our hearts. There are many people who are doing everything right, but their hearts do not belong to God. Do we love Him with all that is within us? Are we submitted to His Lordship no matter what? Do we have a heart that would seek after him? Do we truly love our brothers and sisters in Christ and put their needs before our own?


Matthew 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Whenever I think about the heart I think about the things that are hidden. The things about us and that are inside of us that no one knows about. We can say whatever we want. We can put on whatever facade that we want, but God knows what is truly in our hearts.


Psalm 51:5-7  Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

To me a pure heart means someone who is willing to allow God to do as deep a works as He desire to do. Nothing is too deep, nothing is too sensitive, nothing is too painful, nothing is off limits to the Lord. These are the ones who can ascend the mountain of God. This is where the Lord was calling Elijah to. This is where Elijah would learn a valuable lesson about experiencing the presence of God and hearing His voice.


1 Kings 19:12+13  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

So Elijah is on the mountain of God and here comes the tornados and then a great earthquake and then a fire, but unlike the other times, God’s presence was not there. Rather, God was in the whisper.  Human nature is drawn to the spectacular. Human nature is drawn to the fantastic. It is easier to identify God when he comes in an earthquake or a tornado or in the fire. It appeals to our unbelief. Maybe that is where the saying “Seeing is believing” comes from.


Matthew 16:4  A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign.

Remember, faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.


2 Corinthians 5:7  For we walk by faith, not by sight.

There is a time and a place for signs and the spectacular, but some of the deepest works that God will ever do in our hearts will be found in the subtlety of the whisper. When I think of God whispering I see someone straining to hear him. I know he is speaking, but I can’t quite make it out.  In that time it requires me to pay greater attention.  It causes me to quiet myself and quiet my spirit so that I can hear what He is saying.  So many of the deep things of God are just beyond our grasp, just out of earshot, just out of focus.


1 Corinthians 13:12  Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete.

Elijah had to be isolated from everyone. Brought to a place of complete quietness. It was here that God brought him to a new level intimacy. Elijah would never again run in fear because he had found that secret place where everything he could ever need could be found and the mysteries of God revealed.


Psalm 91:1+2  He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.


God has so many wonderful things that he wants to reveal to us, but we have to be able to hear Him in the whisper. To find that quiet place where we can hear His still small voice speaking the mysteries of God into our heart, minds and spirits.


Daniel 2:20-22  “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

Enough is Enough

　
1 Kings 19:1-4 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed, “Lord, I have had enough.”

How many have ever said that to the Lord before?

What is strange about this is how easily Elijah was scared off?  One would think that if we had just called fire down from heaven, we'd have a little more confidence.  In fact a couple of the commentaries I read suggested that if Jezebel had tried to harm Elijah, the people would have revolted.  I guess not everyone can call fire down from heaven.  Nonetheless, we have Elijah running for his life and the only thing that happened to him was that he got threatened. 

This point of view says a lot about us and how we can sometimes be so easily intimidated by the enemy. The scripture reveals another time that this same kind of thing had happened before.

1 Samuel 17:8-11  Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

For 40 days Goliath did nothing but mock and threaten the people of God yet they were paralyzed with fear. Just like a deer in the headlights.  We must understand that there is nothing that the Devil can do to the child of God. He can talk, he can threaten, he can intimidate, he can lie, but he can do nothing.

Romans 8:37  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

1 Corinthians 10:13  No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

The word temptation in the Greek can also be translated to mean a testing or a trial.  There is no trial, no hardship that life can throw at us that we cannot overcome by the Spirit of God.  The Devil is a defeated foe.  He has no power over the child of God except what we give him. 

It just goes to show that fear and anxiety are powerful emotions and can be a powerful tool for the enemy to use against us.  This is true of any negative emotion. We all feel them. It’s what makes us human, but feeling them and allowing them to dominate our lives are 2 different things.

Ephesians 4:26+27  (I like the way the Living Translation puts it) And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

It’s not a sin to get angry or afraid or sad or jealous or discouraged but when we allow these emotions to control our lives, we open the door for the enemy to come in and wreak havoc in our lives.  This is where we find Elijah, dominated by his emotions at the end of his rope. Fortunately for us God knows exactly what we need.

1 Kings 19:5  Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him.

I would not have lasted 20 years in ministry without the touch of God on my life. Through life’s hardships and disappointments. The ups and the downs we need his touch.

Matthew 8:2+3   A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing.”

We serve a God who is willing. Willing to impart the love, joy and peace that we need to overcome the storms that will inevitably come our way.  A God who is willing and able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.  (Ephesians 3:20).  We serve a God that knows our needs before we do.

Philippians 4:7  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Not only does God comfort and minister to us, He also sustains us.

1 Kings 19:5+6  All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

We serve a God who not only wants to comfort us, but sustain us and build us back up.

We are sustained by the Word of God.

Matthew 4:4  Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

We are sustained by the Spirit of God.

2 Peter 1:3  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.

We are sustained by our brothers and sisters in Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:11  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Whatever it is you are going through or have been though the Lord will sustain you.

Psalm 54:4 Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.

He is faithful and is always on time.

1 Kings 19:7-9  The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The Lord will continue to minister to us, but eventually he’s going to ask.

1 Kings 19:9b “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

At some point we have to get back in the game.  The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:16 that necessity is laid upon us.  We need to learn to see things from God’s perspective.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 　

I got news for all the saints out there.  It may come as a shock to you, but God is not always interested in our comfort.  I remember in my first chapel service back at Zion, Dr. Crandall said something that has stayed with me all these years he said, "God is only concerned with two things;  Eternity and the ends of the earth." 

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Every circumstance and every situation is designed by God to affect eternity or the ends of the earth.  Either God is trying to work something out in us so that he may elevate us and make us more effective.  Or he's placing us in specific places, at specific times, to meet specific people.  Maybe people we woud have never met if we weren't going through whatever it is we may be going through.  I believe in divine appointments.  The trick is learning how to be content in whatever situation we may find ourselves in.

You see, I believe that "not lacking anything" is finding a place of contentment.  When the child of God reaches a certain level of maturity and wholeness they will find a place of contentment that sustains them regardless of the circumstances.
　
Philippians 4:11-13  I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Our joy, our peace, and our hope, are not dependent on the circumstances that surround us, but by the Spirit of God.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and  peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

We serve a God of restoration and renewal. His name is El-Shaddai (The God of more than enough), not El-Cheapo.  He desires to fill us with His Holy Spirit and empower us to overcome and advance for the furtherance of His kingdom and for His honor and glory.