Family Reunion | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

Hey church family, I pray that you all are doing well and that you enjoyed this time of worship that we've had together.

I'm I'm excited to be with us today because I have a word that I really believe that God wants me to share with us that's going to encourage us.

Here's what we know.

We are in the throes of the holiday season, and for some of us, it has such a variety of the ways that we respond to moments like this.

For for a lot of us, we're we're going to be doing some traveling, we're going to be around family members and friends.

Others, we're going to be staying put, we may be hosting, and then others, we may be just be playing it low-key.

But the reality of it is that the holidays have a way of generating a lot of different things, whether it's emotions of excitement or even sometimes some moments of just disappointment because of maybe some things that we're experiencing, sadness.

Maybe this is the first year that you're going through without a loved one or a reminder of something that you once had that you no longer have.

Just as a church, I want you guys to know that we are with you no matter where you may find yourself.

If there's anything that we can do as a church family, we would love to come alongside, to pray with you, and just walk with you through this season.

I believe that this word that God has placed on my heart to share with us is one that can serve as encouragement for all of us.

If you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to join me in Genesis chapter 50.

Genesis 50 · chapter mention

There's a very brief passage that I want to read to us, and I want to give us some context as to what's going on that leads us up to the moment we may find ourselves in.

We're talking about Joseph.

He's one of the patriarchs, he's such an incredible uh person that we can look to and how he navigated through some challenges.

But we're at the point where he has this encounter with his brothers.

Now, if you don't know the background, it'll be a little bit, you may not understand what was leading up to this moment.

But for Joseph, he had been separated from his family for quite a bit of time.

There's been some conflict in his home, and as a result of that, he ends up in Egypt.

He ends up going through some difficult times, but now he's in a position of influence.

And now his brothers are coming in, and this is a great opportunity for Joseph to have some revenge, so to speak.

It's a great opportunity for him to kind of exert his power and authority, but but Joseph shows us something a little bit different.

Looking here at what the Bible says at verse number 18, let's look at how Joseph responds to this moment with his brothers.

Then his brothers came to him and threw themselves down before Joseph.

They said, Look, we are your slaves, they said.

But Joseph replied, Don't be afraid of me.

Am I God?

Can I punish you?

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.

He brought me to this position so that I can save the lives of many people.

So no, don't be afraid of me.

I will continue to take care of you and your children.

So he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

I believe when we look at the story and the life of Joseph, it gives us a glimpse into how we can navigate through some difficult times when we are reunited with people that may be the source of some of our disappointment and pain.

Today that's what I want to talk to us about about how can we respond, or more importantly, recover from offense and when things have been done to us.

If you're taking notes, and of course, the celebration Orlando, we take notes.

I want you to write this message title down Family Reunion.

Let's pray and let's get into it.

Lord, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for this opportunity for us to come into your presence and gather with our families and our friends in the comfort of our homes.

Father, I just pray over the next few moments that you give us open eyes that we can see you, open ears to hear you, and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

All right.

I want to take you guys on this exercise, and the exercise is simply this.

I want you to close your eyes.

If you're driving, don't do this.

But but for the rest of us, if I want you to close your eyes, and I want you to envision your dream home.

Now, when I say that, I'm not specifically talking exclusively about the layout.

You know, maybe you're thinking of different um decorations, and some of that stuff plays a part, but more importantly, I'm thinking about the experiences that are happening in your dream home.

Is it a home that's filled with people?

Is it a home that has a family and friends?

Are you are you having a cookout?

Are you in the backyard?

Are you are you having a movie night?

I want you to envision this and the atmosphere that's being created and the moments that you're experiencing in this dream home.

Now I want you to put a bookmark in that, and I want us to rewind time a little bit, and I want to ask you to now envision the home that you grew up in.

Thinking about the experiences that you had, some of the formative moments that you may have had, the conversations you've had, the interactions maybe that you've had.

Now, I want you to take those two experiences and compare and contrast them.

Are they the same or are they different?

Now, this is a hypothetical scenario, but what I've learned is that even if we had an amazing upbringing and everything was great, there's aspects of that that we want to add on to it to continue to perpetuate and share with our family.

There's others that may there's some tweaks that we want to make that, hey, this was okay, but this wasn't, and that's certainly okay, and so you want to kind of chart your own path.

But then there's others who've had experiences that they just want to have a completely different direction than the home that they were brought up in.

Here's the lesson that I want us to get.

That when I'm talking about our dream home and the homes that we came up in, I'm not really talking about the structure.

I'm more so talking about the experiences that we had.

Because what I know is that our experiences have a way of shaping us, of molding us.

In fact, our experiences become the blueprint that allows us to create our worldview, the way that we see things, our experiences when we were being brought up.

It shapes the way that we understand relationships, it shapes the way that we understand finances, it shapes the way that we understand even God to a certain extent.

So when we consider all of these variables of how we have these different experiences that shape our worldview and the way that we interact with things, we kind of have a better understanding when we have interactions with people of how their views of things are so different than our views may be.

Now, take all of this, and I want us to look at this biblical narrative again.

Because when I look at the experiences that Joseph had, I can understand why this brother may have had so much anger and bitterness that was built up on the inside of him.

But but I also have a little bit more empathy for how he ended up there.

Because what I've learned is we see in scriptures this idea of generational curses.

The Bible often says that, hey, the sins of the father are going to be visited upon the children, that certain things are being passed down.

So let's look at the life of Joseph, but let's back up a couple of generations to understand some of the nuances that have brought us to the place that we are in the text today.

Here's what we see: we know that Joseph is the great grandson of Abraham.

And here's what we know about Abraham, that Abraham has a wife, but with his wife, he ended up functioning with a little bit of deception.

He denied that it was his wife.

Um, he ends up having two kids, um, Ishmael and Isaac.

There's a lot of tension conflict that exists there.

So what we're seeing from a family blueprint model is we see a father who operates with deception.

We have a father who doesn't know how to resolve conflict well.

So then when he has his children, and now we zero in a little bit on Isaac, we see some of these same behaviors perpetuated in Isaac.

You know that Isaac denied his wife the same way that he saw his father do it?

The same patterns beginning to emerge once again.

Not only that, but we also begin to see a little bit of favoritism being extended.

That literally Isaac shows favor to Esau and not much favor towards Jacob.

He begins to show favoritism, and now we see this conflict between siblings beginning to emerge again.

The same way we saw conflict with Ishmael and Isaac, we're now seeing the same thing happen.

And with Esau and Jacob, the same family patterns are beginning to repeat themselves where there's deception, there's manipulation, and there's unresolved conflict.

So now let's zero in a little bit more.

We now see that Jacob now really takes on this body of being a deceptive person.

This is the thing that he's seen from his grandfather all the way down to him now.

We see that he doesn't have uh a great relationship with his siblings.

And now when we look at Jacob, we see the way that he interacts with Esau.

He literally stole his brother's birthright.

That deception is still there, and the conflict that is unresolved with his brother continues to perpetuate itself.

So now that Jacob, even though his name is changed to Israel, he has his own family unit, those same behaviors continue to repeat themselves over and over again.

Deception, manipulation, unresolved conflict with siblings.

Are you seeing where I'm going with this?

A lot of times the fruit of what we're seeing now is because of a deeper root that happened generations ago.

That these things continue to find themselves, rushing themselves into our family.

So now we have the 12 sons of Israel.

We see this tension that exists between them, that Joseph has been the favorite son, and as a result of him being the favorite son, it creates conflict within the family.

They end up selling him into slavery as a as a form of just anger.

He gets up in slavery, he ends up in bondage, he he ends up going into all these difficult locations, and it's all just these same behaviors that are being perpetuated over and over again.

But when we fast forward time, we get to a place where Joseph is looking at his brothers.

He's in a position of power and authority, and he certainly could have used this as a moment to exact revenge.

He could have used this as a moment to show the upper hand, but what he chooses to extend is grace and forgiveness.

He chooses to break the generational chains that have been connected to his family since his great-grandfather.

How does he do it?

What does he do?

I believe that we can look at Joseph and it's a description of some things that we can prescribe in our own lives so that when we have interactions with family members, that may be the source of our pain.

That when we have family reunion, so to speak, with people, that we have memories of experiences that are less than ideal, how can we still walk in peace?

Looking at Joseph, here's three things I want to share with us that I think are very practical but also very powerful.

Here's the first thing acknowledge the past.

You have to at least acknowledge the past.

I often see that whenever we have some moments, we can have this cognitive dissonance where we begin to separate the past from our reality, and we almost get to a point where we ignore that it happened in the first place.

And unfortunately, it can find itself perpetuating the same things over and over if we don't address it.

But what we see with Joseph is that while he's sitting with his brothers, he says these words to them.

What you meant for me was evil.

He acknowledges it.

He doesn't, he doesn't sugarcoat it, he doesn't redefine it, that hey, when you guys sold me into slavery, that was evil.

What you've done to me was wrong.

The experiences that I had as a result of that were wrong.

But what he was making a decision to, but I'm making the choice to forgive you.

I want us to understand that forgiveness is a choice.

That forgiveness is not forgetting, but it is absolutely saying that I won't be in bondage to what has happened in the past.

So when we take the moment to acknowledge it, we have to acknowledge and be real with what we've seen, what we experienced, so that way we can learn how to get healed up from it.

He acknowledges the past.

But the other thing that I see that we see in the life of Joseph is that he also finds hope in the present.

He finds hope in the present.

Let me give us some specifics of what I mean by that.

See, for Joseph, when he was sold into slavery, the Bible says that he goes to slavery and then he ends up going into the home of Potiphar.

He gets accused for rape, he ends up getting put into jail, he ends up interpreting some dreams, and then after he interprets some dreams, he's put in a position of authority, which then ends up being able to help his entire bloodline.

But let me tell you a phrase that continuously repeats itself when we're talking about Joseph.

It says that Joseph had favor.

So that means that even when he was in the pit, he had favor, that when he was sold into slavery, that he had favor.

That the Bible tells us that when he has when he found himself working in Potiphar's house, and his wife made a pass of him and he denied it, that he should have been executed.

But instead of him being executed, he was placed in the prison because he had favor.

That while he was in prison, he had favor with the other workers.

He had favor with the other prisoners, that no matter where he found himself, he recognized that he had favor.

And when you have favor, you understand that you can have hope.

Here's the thing I want you to hear, me friends is that maybe you've gone through some difficult seasons.

Maybe you have some memories and some experiences that have been less than ideal and you remember them.

There's scars that are there, there's trauma that's been experienced, there's things that you remember, and I completely understand it.

Let's acknowledge that it's real.

Sit with a therapist, sit with a counselor, sit with a pastor.

Let's process through what you've experienced, but also find hope in the present.

Here's the hope.

You are still favored.

That even though things are uncomfortable, you are favored.

You know how you're favored?

Because you're still here.

The very fact that you are still breathing air is evidence that the God of all, Lord of Lords, has favor for your life.

Here's the thing that I want us to recognize.

The Bible says, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

This is written from David while he's being pursued by Saul, but he understood that I still have favor.

I want us to connect to this story that maybe you've endured some difficult times, but you survived them because you have favor and let that give you hope.

It may be uncomfortable, it may be challenging, but never lose sight of the fact that you still have favor.

And when you have favor, it gives you a different perspective of your present season.

That when we're able to acknowledge the past but find hope in the present, it gives us a different perspective on the future.

Here's the third and final thing that I want us to walk away with.

The Bible tells us that as Joseph has this conversation with his brothers, he looks at them, he begins to talk with them a little bit about this favor that he has, he talks with them about these experiences that he has, he talks with them and says to them very clearly, like, man, you meant something evil for me, but God is using it for good.

Here's the third and final point.

Focus on the future.

We understand the past.

We can certainly find moments of hope in the present, but don't lose sight of the future.

Joseph was able to recognize that I am exactly in the place that I need to be in order to preserve my entire family.

Here's what that means: that when Joseph was able to interpret dreams, that he was put in a position where he was now able to direct Pharaoh on what to do before the famine had hit.

He told him to prepare for it.

The famine is coming, you need to prepare.

And in your preparation, you're going to be able to help other nations.

You're going to be able to make sure you save all of Egypt.

He was able to use this insight and this wisdom.

So now, fast forward, the famine comes, and who do you go and see that's coming to now get resources from Egypt?

Those same family members, those same brothers who sold him into slavery.

Joseph was in a position to literally preserve his entire family bloodline because entire nations were being wiped out during this famine.

I have a hard time trying to wrap my mind around how God used the suffering to produce an amazing fruit that preserved people.

When I try to choreograph moments in my own life and I rethink things that I've gone through, I can't often see how I could have been in a position to help people if I wasn't hurt first.

This is a this is the declaration of God works all things together for the good.

Joseph was able to recognize that even though you guys did some terrible things to me, it seems as if God was able to put me exactly in the space that I'm in through those things, that I'm able to actually make a bigger difference and impact than I ever thought I could have.

Here's what focusing on the future is.

It means saying this.

I'm not just going to exclusively talk about what I'm what I've gone through.

I'm going to talk about what God is doing through me as a result of what I've gone through.

A lot of times it's through the pain, it's through the disappointment, it's through the suffering that a ministry is birthed, that birth purpose is birthed, that impact is experienced as a result of it.

Here's what I want you to hear, friends.

That maybe you have some pain in the past.

Let's acknowledge it.

That maybe you can just acknowledge and recognize that there is absolutely hope in the present because God is still with you and He is not done with you yet.

But I also want us to focus on the future.

What has God done since you've been through that pain?

What is God doing in you?

And what is the vision that God has shown you?

When you can keep those things at bay, it allows you to live a life of forgiveness because you recognize that your best days are still ahead.

You know, have you ever gone back and revisited an old childhood home?

Have you ever gone back, maybe gone to a school that you graduated from that you used to go to?

You know what one of the most resounding things that I hear and even experience myself when I've gone through those moments?

Wow, it's a lot smaller than I remember it.

Here's the thing though.

I assure you the building didn't get any smaller.

That nothing has changed structurally.

You know what's changed?

You.

You've gotten bigger.

What if we go into environments that once used to be the source of pain?

And instead of saying that this place is swallowing us whole, or instead of us being at a person that's trapped in the past, that we can say, hey, this is a lot smaller than I remember it because I have grown beyond it.

What if the Lord wants you to go back into the place where maybe you experienced some setbacks and some struggles with a new growth, with a new impact, with a new influence, and that you're able to say that, yeah, these things weren't good.

But I've seen the hand of God because there's favor on my life, and I know that my best days are still ahead of me, that God's working it all together for the good.

That's my encouragement for us.

Maybe you're going to be spending times with family and friends during the holidays.

Maybe you're going to be staying put.

Maybe you're avoiding people because you don't want to have that awkward family reunion.

But I want to be encouraging to you that there is yet hope.

You can go back into those environments, you can be around some of those people, and you can have a fresh perspective that, hey, what happened happened, but God is doing some powerful things in me and my best days are still ahead.

That's my encouragement for every one of us.

Let me pray for us.

Lord, we thank you for your presence.

We thank you for your grace, Lord, and we thank you for how you're able to work all the things together for the good.

Our highs, our lows, our disappointments.

So, Father, as we go into this holiday season, my prayer is that there's a supernatural peace that allows us to revisit some environments and even some people that may be the source of pain, but there's a fresh revelation that we have as a result of it.

That there's a fresh perspective that we have as a result of it, that we can recognize that there's grace and favor on our lives, that we can extend forgiveness, we can walk in peace, and we can focus on the future.

So bless us as we engage in community in Jesus' name.

Amen.

God bless you guys.

I love you.

Travel safe and cannot wait to worship with you in person soon.

Thanks again for listening.

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