This Month at PAYH: Monthly Newsletter, January 2022

The Pit Test

By Jeff Padgett, Ph.D.
Every person has a dream from God. Every person has a destiny from God. Most people live with the dream instead of in the destiny. There is one major reason that stops people from fulfilling their destiny; Character. Many people will not fulfill their destiny because their character will not support the destiny or fulfill the responsibility of the destiny.

We’re going to look at Joseph and his destiny. He had to pass 10 character tests to fulfill his destiny. The question I want you to ask yourself is, “What is the character flaw that God wants to shape in me to fulfill my destiny?”

Scripture Reference: Genesis 37:13-24

3 Things we need to see about the pit:

1. The Position Of The Pit. In other words, what brought you to this position? How did you get in this position? It is a wise thing when we’re in the pit to see if we did something to contribute to our circumstances. I’m not talking about condemning. I’m talking about soul-searching. Joseph could’ve easily said, “It’s not my fault. It’s my brother’s fault. It’s not the way I talk about my dreams. It’s not pride in me. It’s envy in them.”

When we go through a difficult time, often we’ll blame someone else. Listen to me. I’m sorry what your parents did to you, but get over it! You’re 48 years old! Stop blaming people and do something for God! It’s not the action that necessarily put us in a pit, but the reaction. We live in a blame it on someone else society.

Joseph’s brothers hated him. You ever thought about why he wasn’t tending the flock with his brothers in the first place? I believe there was so much division between them, Jacob had to separate them.

You ever thought about how they could see him coming from so far off? It was because of that blasted coat! What is so special about the coat? It shows that Joseph had his father’s favor on him. But he was prideful with the gift from the father. How many of us have been arrogant with the gift God has given us and we always somehow find a way to slip it into the conversation?

This arrogant pride is what got Joseph in trouble. It’s also what gets us in trouble. He got this gift from his father. We get gifts from our Father. Joseph was prideful with his gift. We can do that too. Because of his pride, he lost his gift. I know what you’re going to say, “Romans 11:29, ‘The gifts and callings of God are without repentance.’” God won’t take your gift back. This is true.

If you study the story, the father never took back the gift. Joseph lost it. We’ve seen a lot of high-profile ministers lose their gift because of their lack of integrity. You might ask, “What if that happens to me?” What if I lose my gift?” Joseph only had one coat. But remember where he ended up. the second in command of Egypt. He had hundreds of coats. If you lose something through foolishness, you can get it back a hundredfold.

You might be thinking, “Well, he didn’t get this coat back.” I’m not so sure he didn’t. Remember, he was restored to his relationship with Jacob. I would find it had to believe that Jacob threw his coat out after he lost his favorite son. Aside from that, whether he got that coat back or not, he got his relationship with his father back, which is more important than one gift. This is the position of the pit. What got me into this?

2. The perspective of the pit. When you get in this position, let’s get God’s perspective on the pit. Every time you get in a pit, who shows up first? You guessed it. Remember the difference between conviction and condemnation. Conviction is specific. Condemnation is general. Conviction will say, “You did this and this and this and this is why you’re in this pit,” Condemnation will say, “You’re a bad person. You’re not good. You’ll never accomplish anything and you’ll never do anything for God.”

Listen to me. God will never, never NEVER condemn you! I can’t tell you the burden I carry for correct theology. We have the least knowledgeable society of the body of Christ we’ve ever had on earth when it comes to theology. We don’t even have the basics. God will never give you a condemning thought. If you ever get one, it’s not from God.

John 3:17, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Here’s the simple theology. God didn’t send Jesus to condemn us. We were already condemned! We were born condemned. Romans 5 tells us one man sinned and we were all condemned. Let’s get God’s perspective. Not Satan’s. Satan is the father of lies. An easy way to remember this is: if he’s moving his lips, he’s lying.

Genesis 37:31-33, “So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?” 33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt, Joseph is torn to pieces.”

Had a wild beast devoured him? No. Satan is such a good liar, he will plant seeds and fabricate evidence to back up his lies. Most people think that the brothers lied because of what they said in the earlier verses. But they never actually said it. Jacob believed this lie for 22 years.

If your character doesn’t support your destiny, it’ll dissolve through your fingers when it’s handed to you. This is a step that must be solidified prior to moving into your destiny. Keep character a priority!

Staff Spotlight

For this month’s #StaffSpotlight, we shine a light on Paul Anderson Youth Home’s Jeff Padgett, Director of Communications at PAYH. He holds a Th.B. in Theology, a Th.M. in Theology, and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies. He is an Ordained Bishop in the Church of God. He is also a former professor of Youth and Family Ministry at National Bible College and Seminary in Washington, D.C.

He has traveled across the country and internationally as a conference speaker, evangelist and ministering in music, both vocally and instrumentally. He has served as a studio musician and producer for studios in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

In addition, he is the founder of J-Dawg Media Productions, which specializes in web design, graphic design, video production and media consultation for churches and businesses. He has been married to his wife, Stephanie for 30 years. They have 2 children, Joshua (23) and Hannah (18).

#payh #boyshome #vidalia #youthhome #family #boyslife #youngmen #jdawgmedia

CFA Vidalia Early Bird Registration

Our annual CFA Run Benefit for PAYH, WinShape Camps and Vidalia Heritage Academy is coming up soon. Take advantage of the special early bird registration of only $30 per person. This price ends on January 31st. Go to runvidalia.com to register. #runvidalia

Christmas Recap

Our young men at PAYH had an amazing Christmas. A ton of fun was had by all and the gifts were enjoyed by each and every guy. It couldn’t happen without the dedication of our faithful donors and partners Click here to view the recap video.