Faithful In Temptation
Joseph part three
Many years ago, Indian youths would go away in solitude to prepare for manhood. One such youth hiked into a beautiful valley, green with trees, bright with flowers. There he fasted. But on the third day, as he looked up at the surrounding mountains, he noticed one tall rugged peak, capped with dazzling snow. I will test myself against that mountain, he thought. He put on his buffalo-hide shirt, threw his blanket over his shoulders and set off to climb the peak. When he reached the top he stood on the rim of the world. He could see forever, and his heart swelled with pride. Then he heard a rustle at his feet, and looking down, he saw a snake. Before he could move, the snake spoke.
"I am about to die," said the snake. "It is too cold for me up here and I am freezing. There is no food and I am starving. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley."
"No," said the youth. "I am forewarned. I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you will bite, and your bite will kill me."
"Not so," said the snake. "I will treat you differently. If you do this for me, you will be special. I will not harm you." The youth resisted awhile, but this was a very persuasive snake with beautiful markings. At last the youth tucked it under his shirt and carried it down to the valley. There he laid it gently on the grass, when suddenly the snake coiled, rattled, and leapt, biting him on the leg.
"But you promised..." cried the youth. "You knew what I was when you picked me up." said the snake as it slithered away."
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God. You are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body."
1 Cor 6:18
SHORT PRAYER…..
Today we are in the 3rd week of a sermon series on a superhero from the Old Testament Joseph the son of Jacob and Rachael Paul writes the following in Romans 15:4;
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance and encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope…
Listen God through His Spirit inspired Moses to write about Joseph in order to teach YOU something… AND - what we have been learning - from Joseph’s life the past 2 weeks, is that being faithful does not come easily, Like Joseph, we WILL face some major obstacles in our quest to walk with God To be faithful you may have to overcome life in an imperfect family – AND – you will without a doubt, have to face adversity…
THIS morning we will discuss another MAJOR obstacle that YOU will have to overcome, if YOU are going to be faithful to God, you’ll have to overcome ‘temptation,’ the enticement to do wrong…
Now, today, we are going to focus primarily on the temptations of the flesh BECAUSE this is the temptation that Joseph as a young man, both faced & defeated AND because this kind of temptation is so common – it nibbles at us...gnaws at us...threatens to consume us. It returns again and again, refusing to take no for an answer.
Our goal today is to learn HOW, to avoid some of the tremendous consequences that others have had to experience. AND please, don’t think it, can’t happen to you. It happened to the wisest man in the Bible - Solomon. It happened to the strongest man in the Bible - Samson. It happened to the most spiritual man in the O.T. - David. And if you’re not alert, it can happen to you. The Bible says, "Take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall."
Everyone in this room today needs to pay special attention to this message; teens, young adults, married people…EVERYONE….WHY is that? For one reason - live in a sex saturated culture, sex is everywhere! AND a another reason - is because sexual immorality is not just out there in the world, you see, sexual immorality has found a home in the church…
. About 1/3 of teens in the church will have sexual intercourse by the age of 18… and another 1/3 will take it right to edge…
. And a recent survey in Christianity today found that ¼ of it’s subscribers admitted to having an extra-marital affair….That means 1 in 4 Christians, commit adultery…
. 12% of protestant ministers admitted to having sexual intercourse outside of marriage…
. AND there is a pornography epidemic that is destroying the soul of millions…(especially boys and men – CIY class 130 HS guys – nearly 1005 are or have struggled with this)
Let me ask you - Is all of this a big deal? should we be concerned? OR am I just making an issue out of something that is just so ‘natural.’
I guess that all depends on what God’s of sexual immorality is? In talking to Christians, God’s word says;
“BUT among you there must not be even a HINT of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity….because these are improper for God’s holy people. NOR should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which is out of place…” Eph 5:3,4
NOW – that is much different and much narrower definition then the majority in this culture have…
Circle; “there must not be even a hint…”
Listen we need to understand that sexual sin is serious business to God. AND it has been that way for 1,000’s of years. In the Law of Moses the entire 18th, chapter of Leviticus is about God’s view of sexual immorality…This chapter is basically a long list of what God’s people were not supposed to do - And those prohibitions are sandwiched between these warnings;
“You must not DO as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not DO as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. DO NOT follow their practices.” (18:3)
“Anyone who DOES any of these detestable things – such persons will be cut from their people. KEEP my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs…and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord.” (18:29,30)
God demands that His followers live lives that are pure, regardless of their environment or desires. AND in this regard, no one serves as a better positive example, than Joseph. Listen - Joseph’s resistance to temptation, is a demonstration to us, that it can be done.
Okay let’s talk about Joseph….
Remember Joseph was sold in slavery by his brothers and he became a slave of the Egyptian Potipher. And while working for Potipher – Joseph did such a great job that he was promoted by Potipher and put in charge of all of his household affairs. AND this is where the trouble begins…
Verse 6 & 7, says, “Now Joseph was well built and handsome and after a while his masters wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me..”
She was a little forward don’t you think? Now, I’m sure Joseph’s heart leaped into his throat. He was no doubt shocked and flattered. This had to be a difficult temptation for Joseph. Keep in mind that he is in his 20’s, he’s a bachelor, he has normal desires. NOT to mention that for about 10 years now, he’s been saturated with Egyptian values. Those old values he had learned from his parents must have seemed a little old and archaic at the time. Besides, no one would know - they were all alone. Those advances had to be a tremendous ego boost. Imagine how a slave would feel being approached by a beautiful, powerful woman.
There is an incredible line in vs. 8. It simply says, "But he refused." Joseph said, "No." And he gave Potipher’s wife two reasons. One is rational and the other is spiritual. He says first I can’t do this because I respect my earthly master.
"With me in charge," he told her, "My master doesn’t concern himself with anything in his house. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you’re his wife."
Joseph was loyal to the man who had been so good to him. He thought about how THIS sin would effect others... In like manner, when you’re tempted to have an affair, or to be immoral, it might be a good idea for you to stop and think about somebody besides yourself? Your spouse, your family, your parents --- the other person, their family – AND how about thinking about that person’s, future wife or husband… Listen - you have NO right to take something that belongs to them… Joseph didn’t think about himself, he said, "I can’t do this because it would hurt Potipher. And secondly, Joseph said, "I can’t do this thing because it would hurt God. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God."
Listen - one way to overcome temptation is to NEVER get over the shock of how horrible sin is – HOW it hurts God, grieves His Spirit. But understand to do this is not easy because satan is a master at getting us to call sexual immorality everything BUT what it is sin…
Now, Joseph could have reasoned that this was just a little fling, and besides after all he’d been through in his life, he deserved to have some fun. But he said, I can’t do this wicked thing and sin against God. CHECKOUT vs. 10, "And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her."
Mrs. Potipher was relentless. She was not going to give up without a fight…I imagine that she modified her approach several times. "O.K." she probably said, "I under stand your convictions. Let’s just be friends. I need someone to talk to." But Joseph refused to even be with her. Listen - If you don’t intend on going in the house - stay off the front porch." And Joseph stayed off the porch…
Then - Vs. 11 says, "One day, Joseph went into the house to attend to his duties" - he’s doing his job - AND none of the household servants were inside and Mrs. Potipher caught him by his coat and said, "Come to bed with me." Now, this was completely unexpected. There was no time for Joseph to set down and reason with Mrs. Potipher.
Listen - there are times when you shouldn’t sit down and talk things over - it’s too dangerous. And Joseph determined that this was one of those times. So he RAN from the house leaving his coat in her hand. This is the second time that Joseph lost a good coat. But understand - it is better to lose a good coat, than to loose your purity…
You know, I believe that Joseph’s response here, was pre-determined. I think he had already thought this thing through - "What am I going to do if I get caught alone with her in the house and she is naked or she starts to attack me. I can’t just stand there and look – I may do something stupid. I know what I’ll do. I’ll run." [hey, pre-planning is not a bad idea]
Joseph did the right thing – but refusal really ticked off Potipher’s wife. Listen - when she could not have him – when he turned her down – when he said that he did not want to be with her - Her infatuation with Joseph turned to hatred (as it often does) – she wanted to destroy him, AND SO she retaliated, by falsely accusing Joseph of raping her.
Vs. 16 says, "She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home." Can’t you just see
her preparing herself for this acting scene. She may have even had an onion nearby to get her tears started. She grabbed the cloak and began to tremble. The tears started rolling. She probably even rubbed her eyes to make it look as if she’d been crying for a long time. Then she told her story. "That Hebrew slave you brought tried to rape me - as soon as I screamed - he ran..." WHEN - Potipher heard the story, he burned with anger. And poor Joseph was tossed into prison.
Question - how do you feel Joseph felt at this point? I mean, he did what was right and the reward was being falsely accused and being thrown in prison. Understand that sometimes there is a heavy price to pay for purity. [you may loose some friends, some relationships, someone may want to destroy you as well]
Okay – NOW it is time for us to talk the lessons that God wants us to take home, from this event in Joseph’s life; lessons that will help YOU be faithful in the face of temptation….
Lesson #1;
God’s Standards Are Absolute – They Don’t Change
Listen - it didn’t matter that Joseph had been abused. It didn’t matter how far removed Joseph was from his homeland. It didn’t matter that the Egyptian culture was completely immoral. AND it didn’t matter that Joseph’s life was completely taken from him and that he was forced to be a slave. God’s word still was not altered in his life.
Now, there are some today (even among those claiming Christ) who would suggest that standards of morality fluctuate according to what is ‘deemed’ socially acceptable. But God Almighty God has clearly taught that neither man NOR society is to set the standard, and He demonstrated that this is the case, by wiping the world clean by a flood, w/the exception of eight people. AND - by sending fire and brimstone down on Sodom and Gomorrah and for sexual immorality…
Listen - God doesn’t grade on a curve! Jesus said, "Heaven and earth may pass away - but my word is absolute." It won’t pass away. Understand – that God’s standard of morality does not change: even though our culture is becoming increasingly more immoral; even though you may be single and very lonely; even though your marriage is not as fulfilling as you want it to be; even though someone at work finds you irresistible; even though our society says that a little porn on the net or a few dirty movies is not a big deal…
God’s Word is the same "Yesterday, Today, and Forever."
And please understand – that anytime God’s people try to mix His standards, with those of the world they get into big trouble… IF you know the OT you know that the nation of Israel did not heed the warning of Leviticus 18 and they were destroyed..
Question – has the standards of sexual immorality changed in recent years?
Boy have the standard changed; AND nowhere was this more vividly seen then when the leader of this country said under oath, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman…” - And he ‘really’ convinced himself that it was true just because he did not have intercourse… AND much of the nation didn’t care, they said – “hey it’s no big deal it’s just sex…”
And just yesterday morning on Fox news a Public Relations Expert made the following comment about Gary Condit; “to resign for shame and disgrace in an era where shame and disgrace no longer matter would be a bad move…”
Hey it may no longer matter to society BUT it still matters to God… Listen - God’s standard remain the same…. AND to the church (and remember that the church was born in the midst of a “Roman’ culture that was perhaps more sexually perverse than ours) to the church and to the Christian God says – Here is MY standard;
“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart…” Mt 5:28
“The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord…” 1 Cor 6:13
“BUT among you there must not be even a HINT of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity….because these are improper for God’s holy people…For you can be sure of this No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater – has ANY inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”” Eph 5:3,5
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming…” Col 3:5,6
“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control you’re his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God…for God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” 1 Theses 4:3-5,7
“But…the sexually immoral…their place will be the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Rev 21:8
In a book I just read this week – Every Man’s Battle; ‘Winning the war on Sexual Temptation…’ The authors make the following observation…
Sexual impurity has become rampant in the church because we’ve ignored the costly work of obedience to God’s standards as individuals, asking too often, “How far can I go and still be called a Christian?” We’ve crafted an image and may even seem sexually pure while permitting our eyes to play freely when no one is around, avoiding the hard work of being sexually pure. [page 58]
The second lesson we need to remember is
Temptation Is Normal – Even For The Godly.
Sometimes we falsely think – that if we just get real spiritual we wouldn’t have any more problems with sexual temptation… But listen - being a Christian does not exempt you from fleshly desires. Remember the bible says in Hebrews chapter 4, that Jesus Christ was tempted in all points just as we are yet without sin (temptation is not a sin).
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted. At the end of His ministry, on the cross, Satan tempted him through the thief and the soldiers to come down from the cross, if he was really the son of God. AND - if Jesus was tempted from the beginning to the end - we are also going to be tempted from beginning to end… Understand - as long as you live, you will struggle with wrong thoughts and wrong desires.
No matter how good you are - no matter how long you live – no matter how many bible studies you attend or Q.T.’s you have - you STILL - live in a fleshly body and therefore you will find the temptations of the world appealing.
An old priest who was asked by a young man, "Father, when will I cease to be tempted by the sins of the flesh?" And the wise old man said, "Son, I wouldn’t trust myself until I’d been dead three days."
God standards have not changed…
Temptation is normal
The 3rd lesson is;
Victory Is Possible – If We RUN
Question - when Joseph faced sexual temptation what did he do? He RAN. And that is what the bible tells us to do; The Bible tells us; “to flee from sexual immorality.” And with that in mind I have come up with an acrostic of the word run – that will help you, will help us, to be victorious over sexual temptation…
R – Remember Your COVENANTS
First Remember Your Covenant with your spouse (or future spouse)
Listen - you made a covenant that they, that your husband or your wife - would be your ONLY source of sexual satisfaction on the face of the earth…AND anytime you allow someone (a person) or something (pornography) – other then them, to get your motor running, to get you aroused, you are BREAKING that covenant…
AND to those not YET married; One day you will make that same covenant – and it would be so pleasing to God, and so awesome for your future marriage; if YOU would to wait until then to get your motor revved up…
Remember your covenant to your spouse…
Second – Remember The Covenant You Made With Your God
Listen – when YOU became a Christian; when YOU came in faith – repentance and baptism making Jesus both your Lord and Savior – when the blood of the Lamb washed away your sins – YOU made – YOU came into a covenant relationship with Almighty God…
A covenant where you said; “I will no longer live for myself, I will be different then the world…I will be in the world, BUT not of it…”
A covenant where you said that you would die to the things of this world…As Paul said in Galatians 5:14; ”May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world…”
A covenant where you said that YOU would live like Jesus lived…In 1 John 2:6 we read; “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”
Again from the book; Every Man’s Battle; in the exert we see what being like Jesus, really means in regards to sexual temptation is like…page 71ff…
We need to RUN…..
U – Understand The Consequences
“Can a man scoop fire into his lap and not be burned? Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet…? Pr 6:27,28
Listen - sexual immorality has consequences… For one thing it hurts the people you love… IF it is an affair it hurts your spouse and your children and the person & family with whom you had an affair with. AND in regards to pornography – MOST women feel that when their husband does this – he is cheating on them…
And of course there are the obvious consequences of sexual immorality; unwanted pregnancies, abortions, STD’s, aids, broken homes, inability to enter your marriage bond pure… Listen - sexual immorality hurts you – AND in addition to these obvious consequences, sexual immorality gives YOU a twisted view of one of God’s most awesome gifts…
AND one more consequence another thing - sexual immorality HURTS your relationship with God…
“It is your evil that separated you from God. Your sins cause Him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you…” Is 59:2
Then after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin when it is full grown gives birth to death…” James 1:
Death IS separation… from God and it is not a pleasant experience…
A man in the OT, who did not run when sexual immorality came knocking (King David) wrote these words about his sexual sin with Bathsheba…. (Psalm 32 & 51).
“When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak & miserable, and I groaned all day long. Day & night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat….” [Ps 32:3,4]
“For I recognize my shameful deeds – they haunt me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight...For I was born a sinner -–yes, from the moment my mother conceived me…Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me – now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt…Do not banish me from your presence and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me…” [Ps 51:3-5, 8-11]
I wonder, for David, IF the sin was worth those consequences…don’t think so.
(R.D. in my office…)
Listen when it comes to sexual temptation YOU need to be like Moses of whom the Hebrew writes says;
“By faith Moses when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He choose to be mistreated with God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of
sin for a short time…” Hebrews 11:24,25
Victory is possible if you RUN
Remember your Covenants
Understand the Consequences
AND if you…
N - Never Play Around with FIRE
An overweight businessman decided that it was time to lose weight. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however he arrived at work carrying a big gigantic coffee cake.
“This is a very special coffee cake,” he explained. “I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window were a host of warm goodies. I felt this was no accident so I prayed, `Lord if you want me to have on of those delicious coffee cakes, let me find a parking place directly in front of the bakery.’
“And sure enough,” he continued, “the 8th time around the block, there it was!”
We tend to play around with temptation; hanging out near it’s edge, bringing our swimming suit, driving around the block 8 times.
Listen – don’t play around with sexual temptation – hanging out near it’s edge, driving around the block 8 times… IF - certain movies make you weak and bring within you certain desires that you can’t handle, you’re not counteracting temptation, you’re tolerating it! Fertilizing it! Promoting it! AND - If you are weakened by relationships that you have with certain people - you need to avoid them. BECAUSE if you place yourself in a vulnerable situation with someone of the opposite sex…and you think it is okay, no big deal you are playing around with fire…
Joseph did not play with fire – he didn’t linger around things that would tempt him…
Gen 39:10 reads; “And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to her bed with her or even be with her…”
Joseph was not taking ANY chances…
LET me suggest 4 QUICK things that will KEEP you out of the fire…[we have no time to dig into these – I ask you to reflect on them this week]
#1; Make A Covenant With Your Eyes…
“I made a covenant with my EYES not to look with LUST upon a young woman…”
Job 31:1
ARE you willing to that – to make a covenant with your eyes NOT to look a woman with lust - a women in person or on the internet, video or magazine? Train your eyes to look away…
#2; Give your body to God
“Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to it’s LUSTFUL desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God…” Rm 6:12,13
#3; Control your thoughts
“and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ..”
[think – feel – act]
#4 Claim The Promises
“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.” 1 Cor 10:13
“…His divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life…” 2 Pe 1:3 (NLT)
Listen – victory is possible IF YOU RUN…
AS I studied this topic and worked on this message I became more and more convinced that this is a sin that must be defeated in our lives… When ¼ of all believers have affairs, when 1/3 of teens under 18 have sexual intercourse, when 2/3 think everything up to and before intercourse is fine, when pornography runs rampant… There is no way that this can not be hurting the churches effectiveness for Christ…AND when the church’s effectiveness is hurt – people are not saved…
SURE the world may say that none of this is a big deal BUT God says that among us there must not even be a HINT of sexual immorality….Like the Israelites in Joshua 7 after their defeat at Ai, we need to get the sin out of the camp…
God’s Standards have not changed
Our world will continue to tempt us more & more
But victory is possible…
Let me close with the following illustration…
Raynald III was a 14th century in what is now Belgium. Grossly overweight, he was called, “Crassus” a Latin name meaning fat. Raynald’s younger brother Edward led a revolt against him and captured him. But instead of killing him he built a room around Raynald in the castle and promised him he could regain his title and property whenever he left the room. That wouldn’t be so hard for most people since there were doors and windows and of nearly normal size, none of which were barred or locked. BUT Raynald was so fat he was trapped .
He needed to lose weight to get out. But Edward knew his older brother and each day sent from the royal kitchen a battery of goodies with which to tempt him. Instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter! When Edward was accused of being cruel he said, “My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave whenever he wants to…” BUT Raynald was a prisoner – of his own appetite…..
