You probably wondered what the “Detour” signs are doing in the church. You’re pretty use to them by now up here in North Portland and probably pretty sick of them as well. They are here to remind us of the struggle that each of us has in doing more than just surviving life. They help us remember that in a journey of faith can take us on some strange detours. And they are here to remind us that the path through sin is dangerous, destructive and devastating.
We think of the people we’re highlighting in this 50 Day Spiritual Adventure as spiritual heroes but they are just like us. They were men and women who were going about their lives when God used them in wonderful ways. As I look at the lives of those in the Bible the difference between them and us is that they were available and trusting. They were willing to be used by God. And they trusted that God’s plan for everything really was the best plan.
Joseph was no exception to this rule. He was the “runt” of the litter if you asked his brothers. He was the show off and the bossy one. He was the one that was always getting on his brother’s cases and one day they had enough. Sold into slavery and shipped off to Egypt, the brothers made it appear that Joseph had been mauled to death by an animal.
We don’t know how great a time verses 1-6 cover but it is apparent Joseph became a powerful and wise person in an influential household. He was still a slave and he knew it. But he was a slave who was also a steward of the trust as well as the goods of his owner. From the horror of a cistern to the glory of Egyptian might be expected to turn one’s head and to make them think that there was nothing they couldn’t do. But not Joseph.
What kept Joseph from falling prey to this woman? First of all Joseph took a good long look at himself in the mirror. He knew that giving in would doom all that had come to him. Potiphar trusted him. God had blessed him. He’d been in a cistern and now was in a palace and all of that would be tossed away for a cheap fling.
Secondly, Joseph knew God’s hand had been on him. He knew it wasn’t his ability that took him where he was. God’s design was all over the circumstances and instances in his life. What’s more if he did this it was an act of ungratefulness to God who had done all these wonderful things for him. There was no way that he was going to forget God’s goodness for the sake of this woman.
Third, Joseph ran for his life. When you’re blindsided by an attractive yet self-destructive opportunity, do the best Michael Johnson impersonation you can. Don’t stop and evaluate your options. Run! Nearly 1,500 years later Paul tells his young disciple Timothy, to “flee youthful lusts.” I like the way it is worded in the journal for early elementary children. It says simply, “stay away from bad things.”
In your journal you’re going to read about an acronym, FLEE. It is a way of escape for situations such as Joseph faced with Potiphar’s wife and it also works for other sins as well. The first step is to FEEL THE DANGER. When we come up to a road and see and a detour sign we tend to feel annoyance rather than danger. We’re bugged because we have to go “out of our way”; we have to “change our routine” in order to bypass the problem. Sometimes we don’t even see the spiritual detour signs that warn us of the sin just ahead. We just veer around them and drive off down the road and then blame God for where we are. Some of us “feel the danger” but ignore it. Others of us have become so use to sin in our life we don’t even feel any fear at all.
I want you to notice something about Joseph. He recognizes the danger that he’s in with this woman. What’s more he doesn’t tell her that it would hurt her husband, that it would be bad for their working relationship, or that it wasn’t a loving and caring relationship. He tells her that his sin would be against God. Joseph knows that the place he is in is because of God’s hand on his life. He is thankful to God for this, he loves God because of His care and he’s not willing to hurt the one he loves. I want to suggest something hard for us to swallow and that is we put up with sin in our lives and the lives of our friends simply because we don’t love Jesus enough.
Parents, would you beat your child just for the heck of it? Would you subject your spouse to ridicule and abuse just to please yourself? Not if you’re sane. Yet, the followers of Jesus are willing to subject their Lord to the same sort of abuse by repeatedly walking into the arms of sin and then shrugging and saying, “Oh well, Jesus loves me so he’s got to forgive me.” Is that any less sick than that woman who cut up her own 12 year old daughter? Ask God to tear the scabs off our hearts so that we can begin to feel the danger when sin is near by.
LEAVE THE AREA. Here’s a no brainer yet its one of the hardest things to do. Get out of the area. I was driving with someone who was trying to break a drug addiction and as we drove down Williams near Emanuel Hospital they started getting itchy and looking down the side streets. I asked them, “is there where you got hooked up?”
They answered, “Yeah and it’s making hurt real bad.”
So I took off and got out of the area because just being near the place caused the old desire to come back. Those in AA don’t go into bars to test their resolve they stay away. Christians who feel danger coming need to take the next step and leave.
This may mean turning off a computer if online pornography is a problem. It may mean throwing off the covers and jumping of out bed if one is tempted with the sin of laziness. It may mean changing a place we frequent because we get caught up in the gossip, jokes and other crud that doesn’t honor Jesus. What ever it takes we leave the area. It is no wonder Joseph ran from the room when this woman finally made her big play.
EXPERIENCE GOD’S PLEASURE. Joseph knew what it was like to be blessed by God in his past. He had no reason to doubt that God wouldn’t stand with him now so he waited. We don’t get to hear Joseph’s side of the story. Potiphar obviously believed his wife because Joseph ends up in prison and even there God raises him up. When we leave those areas of temptation we need to congratulate ourselves on doing what’s right. We need to realize that Christ is right there with us patting us on the back and saying, “well done.” Sometimes we kick ourselves for allowing us to get suckered in in the first place or we get upset that we’re tempted to blow it once more. The fact is we will all be tempted this very day to do something that doesn’t please God. And when we stand firm we need to recognize that God is pleased with us.
ESTABLISHING PROTECTIONS is the last “e” in the acronym. It’s easy for us to say, “I’ll just not do this or that again.” It’s hard to deliver on that promise. North Portland in the 1920’s was made up of several little neighborhoods. Each had their own language. Polish, German, Swedish and others rang in the congregations and homes around the area. The reason for this was that as folks immigrated from the “old country” they looked for people who talked the same and thought the same way that they did. The community became a way to protect themselves. As Christians we are aliens and strangers and it makes a lot of sense to draw close to those people who speak the same language as us. Sisters and brothers in Christ are one of the best resources we have for protecting ourselves from sin.
I am part of a group of pastors who hold each other accountable for certain things in our lives. I know that I’ll have to answer their questions and so it keeps me from straying too close to the fire. There are others who look to me to do the same with them. Finding a person or two, or three who can hold your feet to the fire in a problem area is one protection we all need to establish.
Knowing key Bible verses is another great resource. When Jesus is tempted right after His baptism he quotes scripture at Satan as a way of deflecting the temptation. Just a thought but if it’s good enough for Jesus perhaps it’s good enough for us.
You may have to “detour” around your old way of doing something to avoid the places where your life gets bogged down in sin. You may have to turn off TV, say no to watching a movie with a friend, or even drop a group of friends entirely if their life is threatening your resolve to live for Jesus.
In Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail one of the running jokes is that when faced with danger the great brave knights shout, “Run Away! Run Away!” As humorous as it is in the movie it’s the wisest of counsel for Christ’s people when we face the danger of sin so I’d like us to make this our motto for when sin raises it’s head. Run Away! Run Away!
