Uncommon Purity: Joseph
Genesis 39:1-23
Live an uncommon life.
Jesus Prayed for us: John 17:15-18 NIV
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
Last week Uncommon Faith – Hebrews 11:1
Faith is confidence – Trust firm
Faith is assurance - certainty and promise
Today we are going to talk about something that is severely lacking in our culture: Purity
What is Biblical purity? Psalm 119:37 says it all to me. “Turn my eyes from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.”
Remember why Joseph was in Egypt: His father Jacob, stole the blessing from his brother, Ran away and ended up with his mother’s brother Laban. Lablen tricked him and had him marry the wrong girl. So he worked another 7 years to Rachel. Rachel had Two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. They were his favorite sons. And the other brother knew it. He gave Joseph a special coat and Jabob had a dream, made his 10 brothers mad and they sold him into slavery.
Let’s look at Joseph’s example:
1. Uncommon purity starts with knowing what is right.
a. It is very hard to do right, when you don’t know what is right.
b. To know what is right, we have to be people of the Word.
i. Our lives have to be defined by the truths that are presented here in the Bible.
ii. Sometimes, we may not like what we read, but that does not make it less true. Instead we need to understand that what we like, is not what God likes.
c. Lets talk about different kinds of Purity
i. First is sexual purity.
1. Sex outside of marriage is impure. Plain and simple.
2. But this is more than just sex.
a. What about Porn?
i. Pornography destroys the mind and crates impurity in our minds.
b. There is the movie coming out this week called 50 shades of gary. Guess what? The book that it is based on, and the movie itself is pornography. Why? Because it places images in your mind that should never be there.
c. God created sex to be something shared whit only your spouse.
d. Those images in your head, you will never be able to eliminate, and they will damage your relationship with your spouse.
e. Listen to what Paul says: 1 Cor 6;18 - Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
ii. Second Relational Purity
1. How do we treat and love the people around us?
2. Are we using people ?
3. Or are we loving them in the way God loved us?
4. We have to make every effort to keep our relationships pure.
a. They should be about us growing closer to Christ.
iii. Third spiritual purity.
1. This is one that is so misunderstood in our world.
a. I can not tell you how many times this week I saw people talking about the “long island Medium” coming to Evansville.
i. Folks, what she does is witchcraft.
2. Uncommon purity is relentless
a. Notice how Joseph keeps turning her down?
b. James 1:12 - Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
c. Often times we will be tempted over and over again by impurity.
d. We have to set ourselves up to be ready to stand firm against this kind of temptation
e. The only way that we can do that is with the power of the Holy Spirit.
f. Without his help, we will never be able to overcome temptation.
3. Uncommon purity flees at the sight of impurity
a. As soon as joseph sees what she is up to, he runs.
b. There is a very fine line here and once you cross it, it is hard to get back.
c. We seem to want to walk right up to the line, and get as close to sin as we can without actually crossing over into sin.
i. When I was a youth pastor, kids would ask me how far is to far?
1. I would respond by saying you are asking the wrong question. The better question is: How far away from impurity can I get?
d. 1 Timothy 6:11 - But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness,faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
4. Uncommon purity will be punished by the world
a. Jesus said it well:
i. Matt 10:22 - You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved
ii. John 5:18 - If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
b. Sadly, purity is not looked upon by the word in a positive light.
c. And those who peruse relentless purity, will be judged, and hated.
d. But I ask you, Is it worth the cost?
e. Is it worth it to you to be a person of purity before God?
i. I think it is. I think that the life of purity is rewarding and meaningful.
ii. Think about this: sometimes we let our kids go out and play on driveway at the house.
iii. I move our cars and park them at the end of the driveway, so that they cannot ride their bikes in the street.
iv. Do I do this to be mean? NO. I do this to protect them from the crazy people who drive way to fast down Mason Street.
v. God does the same thing for us. He sets up these boundaries so that we will be safe.
vi. Living inside the boundaries of purity is a place of safety in the arms of God.
Even when the world hates us for the way we live, God knows and so…
5. Uncommon purity is blessed by God
a. He sees.
b. He knows what your heart is saying.
c. Luke 6;15 - He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God's sight.
d. He knows that what the people of the world are saying about you is not true.
e. And he wants to bless you.
f. It may be hard to avoid going to that move, ore to see that lady, or to not watch that TV show, or throw that computer in the trash can., but it will be worth it.
g. Remember how our story turns out?
h. Joseph is thrown in jail. While there, he meets and interprets the dream of the chief cup bearer of Pharaoh.
i. He ends up as the second in command and saves all of God’s people from destruction.
j. You may be the person in your family or circle of friends that will be able to show them to salvation from destruction because you remained pure.
