NOVEMBER 8, 2020 SUNDAY MESSAGE

Transcription Notes:

My name is Serena Acker, and I am an elder here at Common Ground Northeast. As we begin this

morning, I have a question for you. Have you ever been in a pit? I don't necessarily mean a physical

pit, although if you have been, I bet that's a really great story. When I say pit, here's what I mean.

A pit could be any one of life's trials. It's when things may be out of control. And you don't think that

life could get any lower. In other words, it's the pits. Maybe your pit has been poor, health friends

turning against you, rebellious children or an unfaithful mate.

Maybe you are responsible for being in your pit. Or maybe you are the victim of the sin of others.

Maybe for you like me, you've been in a pit that just seemed to be getting deeper this morning. I'm

going to be vulnerable and share with you about a pit that I've been in. It's a period of my life that

admittedly, I don't talk about very much because it's painful.

When I was 21 years old, I married my College sweetheart, a man named Erin, who quickly thereafter

became abusive. I won't get into a lot of the details other than to say that he was emotionally and

sexually abusive. If you've been in an abusive relationship, then you'll understand what I'm about to

say. I felt myself dying inside. After two miserable years of marriage and failed marriage counseling, I

chose life and I filed for divorce.

I was in a pit. I was in the middle of said divorce when I started being sexually harassed at work. I

went to my boss several times with my concerns and she dismissed them. The harassment got so

bad that I went to HR, which made my boss look bad. In the end, she ended up building a case against

me and fired me.

My pit just got deeper. Most people who know me now would never have guessed that I survived an

abusive marriage, endured sexual harassment, or had been fired from a position. And that's because

of God's redemption in my life. Today we are going to be focusing on the story of another person that

God redeemed from the pit. Joseph, his story pretty much a roller coaster over the course of many

years and twists and turns.

God ultimately redeemed his life from the pit as well. If you've been with us the last few months, then

you know that we are in the Gospel Story series, as Eric mentioned, during which we've looked at

creation and then man's rebellion. And now we are moving into God's promise to restore us. It's a

thread that runs through the Old Testament with stories of our spiritual fathers like Moses and

Abraham and David. All of these stories point to the ultimate story of redemption in the New

Testament with Jesus.

If you have your Bibles with you today, we are going to be in Genesis 37 before I start. I do want to

offer a caveat. During our time together, I'm going to be sharing bits and pieces of my story from the

Pit as we look at Joseph's story, but in no way am I comparing my life to his. I have had a really easy

life compared to our friend who was a slave and who spent time in prison. My intention in sharing my

story is to give a modern day example and to share some of my observations from my time in the pit.

Okay. As we pick up in Genesis 37, Joseph is 17 years old and he is a shepherd. He's one of twelve

sons of Jacob. But Joseph happens to be the favorite and so much so that his dad gives him a

beautiful coat of many colors. Here's where I'm going to resist singing that it was red and yellow and

green and Brown.

It's a song from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, which happens to be

one of my favorites. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it, but I digress Joseph's dad gives him

this coat, which makes his brothers jealous so much so that his brothers conspired to kill him. Now I

think Joseph's brothers went a little too far plotting Joseph's murder, but Joseph wasn't completely

innocent in this whole thing. The story tells us that he, like most teenagers, taddled on his brothers to

his dad, and Joseph had prophetic dreams, which certainly aren't a bad thing, except he was young

and annoying and flaunted them in front of his brothers, especially the ones where his brothers are

bowing down to him.

So one day Joe is sent by his dad to check on his brothers, who are grazing their flocks far from

home.

Let's pick up here at Genesis 30, 717 to 20. So Joseph took off, tracked his brothers down and found

them in Dolphin. They spotted him off in the distance. By the time he got to them, they had cooked up

a plot to kill him. The brothers were saying, Here comes that dreamer.

Let's kill him and throw him into one of these old cisterns. We can say that a vicious animal ate him

up. Then we'll see what his dreams amount to. One of the brothers. Reuben convinced the others not

to actually kill Joseph, but they did strip him of his ornate robe and threw him into the empty cistern

or a pit.

I want you to think back into a time in your life when you were in a pit. What was it like for me? It was

a low, dark, lonely place. One of the pitfalls pun intended of being in a pit is that it's easy to fall into

hopelessness, bitterness and despair. After my divorce, I was there.

I swore that I was never going to get married again because men weren't trustworthy. I was bitter and

angry that I was the one who did nothing wrong from being sexually harassed, but somehow I was the

one who got fired. Life wasn't fair, and frankly, it seemed pretty hopeless. Although the Bible doesn't

say it. I imagine that Joseph was there in his pit.

After all, he had these dreams of greatness, and it wasn't his fault that he was his dad's favorite. But

now he was left to hunger and thirst, not at the hand of his enemies, but of his brothers, his very own

family. I imagine that Joseph was crying out to God to save him. As difficult as it can be to be in a pit,

it often acts as an incubator for growth. Nothing can grab your attention quicker and pause us to seek

God than being in the pit.

Because really, when you're in the pit, your security has been stripped from you. You often don't see a

way out, and it causes you to be completely reliant on God. And really, isn't that where God wants us?

That's where Joseph finds himself? The brothers after they deposit him into the well see a parade of

Midianite merchants going by now.

The Midianites were a nomadic group that was known for caravan trading, so it's no surprise that they

were in the area or that the brothers even thought to barter with them. The brothers decided to sell

Joseph to the Midianites for 20 pieces of silver or the equivalent of about $200. Today, Joseph was

now a slave here's where I want to point out that it just so happened that the Midianites were traveling

by Joseph's Pitt at the exact time that he needed to be rescued. I don't know about you, but I don't

believe in coincidence.

God put the right people in Joseph's path at the right time, which ultimately got him out of his pit.

It's evidence of God's provision. God provided for me too. When I was in my pit, when I left my

exhusband, a coworker opened her home. I lived with her and her family for two months. When I

finally got my own apartment, friends gave me old furniture to fill it with.

When I lost my job, a friend gave me an old laptop so that I could job search from home. All of that

was God's provision when I was in my pit? Here's where we are going to take a moment and have a

time of reflection. I want you to think about or discuss with someone around you. The following how

did God provide for you when you were in your pits?

Were there people that helped you in some way reflect on God's provision for you?

This is your 32nd warning.

Were you able to think of some examples of how God provided for you in the pit? That's evidence of

God's provision in your life. Although you may have felt like you were all alone in that pit, you weren't

ever. And neither was Joseph. We will pick up his story in Genesis 39, verses two through five, the text

says, as it turned out, God was with Joseph, and things went very well with him.

He ended up living in the home of his Egyptian master. His master recognized that God was with him,

saw that God was working for good in everything he did. He became a very fond of Joseph and made

him his personal aid. He even put him in charge of all of his personal affairs. So things are looking up

for old Joe.

He was put in charge of everything in Potiphar's household, and that's a big deal. And quite the 180

from being a slave for us. It's a two chapters that go really quickly, so it's easy to look over. But reality

is that it was a long time that Joseph was in slavery. We don't know exactly how many years, and we

don't know exactly what those years entailed.

They may have been filled with backbreaking labor, or he may have had a more easy detail being in

serving the Royals, but he was in slavery nonetheless, which is its own form of a pit, one that God

clearly brought him out of. So things are looking up for Joseph as he's in a place of power running

Potiphar's house and farm. But that doesn't mean that it's smooth sailing from here on out.

Unfortunately for Joe, Potiphar's wife took note as of his rugged good looks, and she tried to seduce

him.

I love Joseph's response in Genesis 39, nine and ten.

My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do

such a wicked thing and sin against God? And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused

to go to bed with her or even be with her day after day, a lesser man would have given in and taken

advantage of that situation. But not Joseph. Potiphar's wife was relentless, however, and essentially

she frames Joseph, making it look like he was seducing her.

And as you can imagine, that didn't really go over well with Potiphar. So he sends Joseph to prison yet

another pit. But God didn't leave him there in verses 20 through 23 reread. But while Joseph was there

in the prison, the Lord was with him. He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of

the prison warden.

So the warden put Joseph in charge and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The

warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and

gave him success in whatever he did. Though Joseph was in a pitch. The verse tells us that the Lord

was with him. If you think back to the pitch that you've been in, can you see that the Lord was with

you?

Like with Joseph looking back now, I can absolutely see that the hand of the Lord was on me, even in

the pit. The Lord showed me kindness, and I wonder if Joseph would have said the same thing if we

move on to Genesis 40, Joseph is still in prison. It would have been easy, I think, for Joseph at this

point to have a pity party. And if he did, the Bible doesn't document it instead. What it says is that

Joseph continued serving God and using his gifts.

Joseph was still leading and dreaming and interpreting while in prison. Genesis 40 tells us that

Joseph interprets some dreams for some of his cellmates. One of those was for the cupbearer to the

King, who later was restored to his position in the palace. Fast forward a few years and he overhears

the King talk about a troubling dream that he had the cut bearer approaches Pharaoh. Hey, remember

that time that you threw me in prison?

Yeah, well, there was this guy there who interpreted some of our dreams so quickly. Joseph is

rescued from prison and put in front of potafar. Oh, the Pharaoh. Sorry. Part of Joseph's interpretation

of Pharaoh's dream was that they were going to be seven years of amazing harvest, followed by

seven years of famine.

Pharaoh is so impressed that he puts Joseph in charge of the entire land of Egypt to strategically plan

for the whole thing. Now, once again, do you think it's a coincidence that Joseph happened to be

thrown in prison with the cupbearer who just happened to overhear Pharaoh agonizing over his

dream? God provides the right people at the right time to restore his people. The years of feast and

famine came exactly as Joseph predicted. In the midst of the famine, people flocked to Egypt from all

over to purchase food.

The famine also hit Canaan Joseph's hometown as well. And so Jacob sends ten of his brothers to

get some food. It fascinates me that Joseph pretends not to know them. At first he devises a plan

and there's too many details for me to get into this morning. You can read them in Genesis four to

two, if you want, he gives them food and crafts a plan for his brothers to eventually return with

Joseph?

S younger brother Benjamin, which they do when they return. Joseph is now face to face with his

brothers, the very men who left him for dead. And what does he do? He throws them a feast, forgives

them, and invites them to all come live with him in the palace. I don't know about you, but if I came

face to face with any number of people from my past, I don't think I would respond so gracefully.

Joseph could have just politely thrown some food at them so they didn't starve to death. But he takes

it a step further. He lavishes them the very people who tried to kill him. Wow. Can you imagine not just

forgiving your enemies, but offering them all that you have?

It blows my mind. The brothers naturally are also stunned. Genesis 45 three says that his brothers

were speechless because they were terrified at his presence. I'm sure they long assumed that Joseph

was dead or still serving in chains somewhere, and now that he was alive, I can only imagine that they

expected Joseph's wrath. Instead, Joseph embraces his brothers with hugs and tears, reassuring

them that God sent me ahead of you, to preserve for you a remnant on Earth and to save your lives by

a great deliverance.

So then it was not you who sent me here, but God, if we fast forward to Genesis 50, Joseph is

reflecting again with his brothers, and he says, this what you meant for evil. God meant for good. I

know I've shared previously about my involvement with a Ministry called Allworthy of Love, which

ministers to victims of human trafficking. My burden from these prostitutes stems from the sexual

abuse from my ex husband. I know what having sex with a man that you don't want to does to your

soul.

For years, I deeply struggled with how God could allow my abuse and how he could possibly use it for

good. Seeing now that it has opened my heart to prostitutes feels a little bit like redemption. What

man meant for evil God used for good. We are going to pause here for another moment of reflection. I

want you to think about.

Can you say that about your pit as you look back? Can you now see that God has used it for good, that

he has brought beauty from these Ashes? Take a moment to reflect or to discuss with people around

you.

This is your 32nd warning.

Some of you may still be in your pit today, in which case it's hard to see anything good coming from it

right now. I get it. Maybe you are in a pit like Joseph, wondering, God, how are you going to get me out

of this situation? Maybe you are in a prison change to your addiction, wondering if you will ever be

free from it. Maybe you are in a desert starving for love or emotional or spiritual.

Nourishment, if you're there, I don't envy you. It's tough. And yet if you are there, you are ripe with

possibility, ready for God to show you exactly how he's going to redeem your situation. You might be

thinking, yeah, but you don't know how bad things are. Yeah, but my situation really seems

impossible.

But you didn't hear the doctor's diagnosis. I have a friend, Larissa, and she's one of those people who

just tells it like it is. And she has this phrase that she says it's, but God. And so whenever I'm talking to

her about whatever challenge it is in my life and how impossible it looks, she looks at me and says,

But God and what she means is, But God is bigger than this situation. But God is going to use this.

But God will provide. And so if your response to the idea that God might redeem your situation is.

Yeah, but my response back is but God because there is no addiction, too strong, no medical

diagnosis. Too bad, no pit is too deep that God can't redeem it. Admittedly, though redemption may

not look always like you want through all worthy of love outreach, we get to know a lot of our women

on the streets.

A woman named Amber is one that we visited each week. She frequently had bruises, and

occasionally she would share with us how she got them. One time she was thrown down the stairs by

her boyfriend. Another time she was kidnapped and repeatedly forced to do things she didn't want to

do. That's the nicest possible way.

I can say that for hours by her assailants before they let her go, Amber lived a life that seemed like it

was perpetually in a pit. We prayed with her regularly that God would bless her, provide for her needs,

give her strength and fill her with hope. Last December, Amber was hit by a car and left for dead while

walking through a dark alleyway. When I found out about her death, I cried out to God, how could you

let this happen to her? And I heard him say she had suffered enough.

The Lord heard Amber's cry. Unfortunately, her redemption didn't come this side of heaven. And yet I

believe it was the most gracious and loving thing God could do to end her suffering and take her

home. If you are in a pit, he will get you out. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow.

But I believe that he will. And in the meantime, remain faithful. Because how you handle the pit

matters. Did you catch that? How you handle the pit determines if you make it to the palace.

Joseph didn't just have the throne of Egypt handed over to him. He earned it by proving time and time

again, he used his spiritual gifts. He resisted temptation. He embraced, and forgave his brothers, it

was through faithfulness and suffering that God blessed Joseph, and he ascended to the highest

throne in the land. Stay faithful friends.

If you get discouraged, focus on these few truths that we can glean from Joseph's story. God is with

you in the pit. God will provide for you. God will bring the right people at the right time to help restore

you. And God can and will redeem your situation through all the ups and downs.

Joseph never turned away from God. He maintained his relationship, his Covenant with Christ, and

represented God well in the Kingdom. And in the end, God kept his promise to restore what was lost in

Joseph's life, just like he will do for you as well. Let us pray God. I thank you for Joseph and His life.

I thank you for the example that we can look to Him in our darkest times. For those that are in the pit

today. God, I ask for strength and encouragement and that you would send the right people to bless

them and walk with them through this time. Thank you. That you are a good God and that you do

promise to redeem us in your name.

Amen.


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COMMUNION:

 (1 COR. 11:23B-26)

“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”










ANNOUNCEMENTS:










PRAYER REQUESTS:

We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer. 











SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:

  • Coty Miller’s own “Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!









  • Bethel Music :

    • Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated

    • Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!) 










  • Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist

  • Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.) 

  • Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures. 

  • WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.

  • Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.










COMMISSIONING:

As Jesus said in John 20:21,

"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

Go, be the Church! 

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Amen.

Katie Erickson