1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,480 We’re continuing our series In the Life of Joseph snapshots of a godly life. 2 00:00:06,480 –> 00:00:12,000 And we have seen that Joseph was loved and favored and at the same time he was 3 00:00:12,000 –> 00:00:16,879 hated and despised and yet he was blessed and successful in all that he 4 00:00:16,879 –> 00:00:21,480 did. And in all of these ways we have seen that Joseph points us to our Lord 5 00:00:21,480 –> 00:00:26,440 and Savior Jesus Christ. Today we’re going to see that Joseph was tempted and 6 00:00:26,920 –> 00:00:33,439 that Joseph was faithful. And the story before us today speaks powerfully to the 7 00:00:33,439 –> 00:00:39,660 issue of sexual temptation in all of its forms. I’m very well aware both of the 8 00:00:39,660 –> 00:00:45,000 importance of this subject and also of its sensitivity, and I have two things to 9 00:00:45,000 –> 00:00:49,720 say before we get into the scriptures this morning by way of introduction. The 10 00:00:49,840 –> 00:00:58,080 first is I want to make a very profound observation. Genesis chapter 39 comes 11 00:00:58,080 –> 00:01:05,000 immediately after Genesis chapter 38. Now, you’ll be thinking, oh, he’s really 12 00:01:05,000 –> 00:01:10,379 on form this morning with profundity like that, but here’s the reason that I 13 00:01:10,379 –> 00:01:17,120 point that out. In Genesis chapter 39 we have a story in which a man suffers 14 00:01:17,339 –> 00:01:24,959 greatly because of the sins of a woman, but in Genesis chapter 38, 15 00:01:24,959 –> 00:01:33,239 we have a story in which a woman suffers greatly because of the sins of a man. 16 00:01:33,239 –> 00:01:36,699 Now, I think for that reason, and for another reason that we’ll see later, 17 00:01:36,699 –> 00:01:41,820 it is very significant that these two chapters are put side by side 18 00:01:41,820 –> 00:01:47,000 in the scriptures. It reminds us that there is no monopoly of virtue 19 00:01:47,000 –> 00:01:53,699 or of vice between the genders. The themes of tempting and of being tempted 20 00:01:53,699 –> 00:01:59,800 speak to men and to women alike. And it would be very easy, you see, 21 00:01:59,800 –> 00:02:03,699 as we come to this story in chapter 39, the one we’re looking at today, 22 00:02:03,699 –> 00:02:08,440 for all of the men to kind of put themselves in Joseph’s shoes, 23 00:02:08,440 –> 00:02:13,339 and then for the women to kind of feel, well, distanced from the whole story 24 00:02:13,339 –> 00:02:16,860 because, after all, who wants to identify themselves with Potiphars? 25 00:02:17,539 –> 00:02:21,080 You don’t want to do that. So here’s what I want to say to all of the women 26 00:02:21,080 –> 00:02:26,080 in the congregation here today. I want you to stand in Joseph’s shoes. 27 00:02:26,080 –> 00:02:32,820 I want you to see yourself as a person who will be tempted, can be tempted, 28 00:02:32,820 –> 00:02:37,320 a person who also can stand strong in regards to temptation. 29 00:02:37,320 –> 00:02:41,039 I want all of us to be standing in the shoes of Joseph 30 00:02:41,279 –> 00:02:45,039 as we look at this story today. 31 00:02:45,039 –> 00:02:51,100 The second comment, by way of introduction, is that I am always very, very thankful 32 00:02:51,100 –> 00:02:54,179 that we have so many children in our congregation. 33 00:02:54,179 –> 00:02:56,919 Sunday by Sunday, this is a wonderful thing. 34 00:02:56,919 –> 00:03:00,360 And so as I’ve prepared this week to speak on this subject, 35 00:03:00,360 –> 00:03:04,600 I really have asked the Lord particularly to help me to speak 36 00:03:04,600 –> 00:03:09,399 in a way that is both clear and, at the same time, discrete. 37 00:03:09,740 –> 00:03:13,720 So with these introductions, there are really three parts to the message today. 38 00:03:13,720 –> 00:03:19,520 The first is for us to see when you will be vulnerable to temptation. 39 00:03:19,520 –> 00:03:23,800 The second is how you can stand strong against temptation. 40 00:03:23,800 –> 00:03:27,740 And the third will be what will come of your faithfulness. 41 00:03:27,740 –> 00:03:32,460 So first of all, then, when you are vulnerable to temptation. 42 00:03:32,460 –> 00:03:40,619 Our Lord Jesus said, watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation. 43 00:03:40,619 –> 00:03:41,740 Watch and pray. 44 00:03:41,740 –> 00:03:44,179 Pray we understand, we know why we need to pray. 45 00:03:44,179 –> 00:03:46,220 Why did Jesus say watch? 46 00:03:46,220 –> 00:03:53,259 Well, Jesus said watch, because there are particular times and seasons when we are especially 47 00:03:53,259 –> 00:03:55,699 vulnerable to temptation. 48 00:03:55,699 –> 00:04:01,100 And it is very important for you to find out what they are in your life. 49 00:04:01,220 –> 00:04:06,600 What are the particular tentations that come to you and when do they particularly come? 50 00:04:06,600 –> 00:04:11,639 Is there a pattern that you can discern to times when you have fallen and failed in the 51 00:04:11,639 –> 00:04:12,639 past? 52 00:04:12,639 –> 00:04:18,459 You are in a battle and to fight any battle you need all the intelligence you can get 53 00:04:18,459 –> 00:04:23,779 about the way in which what you are up against actually operates. 54 00:04:23,779 –> 00:04:24,799 So watch. 55 00:04:24,799 –> 00:04:29,359 Now, this story really helps us with regards to our watching. 56 00:04:29,380 –> 00:04:35,959 It alerts us to some things that are very obvious and yet they may pass by our minds 57 00:04:35,959 –> 00:04:44,000 and so I want to suggest from this story seven seasons when we are especially vulnerable 58 00:04:44,000 –> 00:04:45,440 to temptation. 59 00:04:45,440 –> 00:04:49,100 Seven seasons when we are especially vulnerable to temptation. 60 00:04:49,100 –> 00:04:53,859 The first, of course, is when you are young and single. 61 00:04:53,859 –> 00:04:58,220 And at this point in the story, Joseph would have been, we looked at the ages last week, 62 00:04:58,220 –> 00:05:04,220 at this point, he would have been 27 or 28 years old. 63 00:05:04,220 –> 00:05:07,399 So, here he is. 64 00:05:07,399 –> 00:05:12,980 He’s young, he’s fit, he’s healthy, he’s strong. 65 00:05:12,980 –> 00:05:21,100 28 years old, he would have experienced all the tensions in his body, all the longings 66 00:05:21,179 –> 00:05:29,779 in his soul that come with the desire for intimacy that God has placed within us all. 67 00:05:29,779 –> 00:05:34,839 And these tensions, and these longings, are surely not exclusive to the young, but they 68 00:05:34,839 –> 00:05:40,119 are at their most intense when we are young. 69 00:05:40,119 –> 00:05:46,320 And Joseph was right at the point in life where this area of temptation surely would 70 00:05:46,320 –> 00:05:49,660 have been at its greatest power. 71 00:05:49,660 –> 00:05:55,320 And therefore this is a story that speaks in a very direct way to all of the students, 72 00:05:55,320 –> 00:06:02,980 all of the young adults, everyone who is single, it speaks to us in a very powerful and direct 73 00:06:02,980 –> 00:06:03,980 way. 74 00:06:03,980 –> 00:06:12,519 We live in a culture where it is simply assumed that being sexually active is an essential 75 00:06:12,519 –> 00:06:15,619 part of a normal life. 76 00:06:15,799 –> 00:06:23,380 If you believe as a young adult that God has placed this special gift of intimacy within 77 00:06:23,380 –> 00:06:29,160 the bounds of a lifelong commitment to marriage between a man and a woman, you are going to 78 00:06:29,160 –> 00:06:33,339 find yourself under real pressure. 79 00:06:33,339 –> 00:06:39,359 My prayer for today is that you will find fresh strength, fresh energy, fresh encouragement 80 00:06:39,359 –> 00:06:45,459 from the word of God to face this area of great tension, great pressure, and that that 81 00:06:45,540 –> 00:06:50,899 will be true not only for those who are single, but for those who are married as well. 82 00:06:50,899 –> 00:06:57,459 For some who are married also find themselves under great pressure and experiencing great 83 00:06:57,459 –> 00:07:02,160 frustration in relation to this whole area. 84 00:07:02,160 –> 00:07:05,279 So that’s the first, when you’re young and when you’re single. 85 00:07:05,279 –> 00:07:09,019 Second, when you are good-looking. 86 00:07:09,019 –> 00:07:12,720 Now I take this straight out of the Scriptures, verse six, look at what it says. 87 00:07:12,880 –> 00:07:18,320 Joseph was handsome in form and in appearance. 88 00:07:18,320 –> 00:07:23,119 He was someone who caused the heads of others to turn. 89 00:07:23,119 –> 00:07:26,679 He was a really good-looking fellow. 90 00:07:26,679 –> 00:07:34,760 Now clearly God blesses different people in different degrees in regards to this area 91 00:07:34,760 –> 00:07:35,760 of life. 92 00:07:36,339 –> 00:07:43,700 I still smile when I recall the comment of a member of our congregation, who I very highly 93 00:07:43,700 –> 00:07:44,700 esteem. 94 00:07:44,700 –> 00:07:46,660 Made some years ago. 95 00:07:46,660 –> 00:07:51,619 He was somewhat cautious about the use of video in the church. 96 00:07:51,619 –> 00:07:59,760 And he said, Colin, I want you to know that you sound better than you look. 97 00:07:59,779 –> 00:08:08,220 Which is a very good reason for being on the radio, I would have thought. 98 00:08:08,220 –> 00:08:17,260 We are gifted in very different degrees when it comes to how we look. 99 00:08:17,260 –> 00:08:23,899 Some have greater gifts in this area than others, and if God has given to you the gift 100 00:08:24,160 –> 00:08:31,600 being handsome, being beautiful, a very striking form and appearance, that’s the language that 101 00:08:31,600 –> 00:08:33,919 is used here in the Bible. 102 00:08:33,919 –> 00:08:38,539 You need to know, and you surely will know already that there are very real pressures 103 00:08:38,539 –> 00:08:43,359 and temptations that will come to you with it and because of it. 104 00:08:43,359 –> 00:08:49,940 George Lawson, a 19th century writer asks these two questions. 105 00:08:49,940 –> 00:08:52,679 Do you have beauty? 106 00:08:52,679 –> 00:08:58,900 And then he says trust not in it, but be modest and cautious. 107 00:08:58,900 –> 00:09:04,700 Then he asks the second question, do you want beauty? 108 00:09:04,700 –> 00:09:10,419 You look in the mirror and say, oh, I wish that I looked like her or like him, do you 109 00:09:10,419 –> 00:09:11,539 want beauty? 110 00:09:11,539 –> 00:09:15,640 He says this, be content. 111 00:09:15,700 –> 00:09:22,739 And be thankful that you are free from those snares that often attend beauty. 112 00:09:22,739 –> 00:09:24,020 Very perceptive. 113 00:09:24,020 –> 00:09:30,940 Seasons, times, circumstances in which a person is especially vulnerable, this is a factor. 114 00:09:30,940 –> 00:09:33,200 And you need to be aware. 115 00:09:33,219 –> 00:09:34,500 And you need to be wise. 116 00:09:34,500 –> 00:09:38,780 Number three, when you have worked hard and been successful. 117 00:09:38,780 –> 00:09:41,859 As we go through these, you’ll relate to different ones. 118 00:09:41,859 –> 00:09:44,359 Many of us will know this experience. 119 00:09:44,400 –> 00:09:47,039 We look at it in the life of Joseph last week. 120 00:09:47,039 –> 00:09:48,400 He’d been working hard. 121 00:09:48,400 –> 00:09:50,320 He’d gained these multiple promotions. 122 00:09:50,320 –> 00:09:52,520 He gave himself to his work. 123 00:09:52,520 –> 00:09:55,380 God gave him success in all that he did. 124 00:09:55,380 –> 00:10:04,140 And temptation in all of its forms may be at its most powerful when you have been working hard. 125 00:10:04,820 –> 00:10:06,000 And you know what it’s like. 126 00:10:06,000 –> 00:10:08,960 Your energies are then drained. 127 00:10:08,960 –> 00:10:10,400 You are tired. 128 00:10:10,400 –> 00:10:12,159 You are depleted. 129 00:10:12,159 –> 00:10:20,859 And in your heart, a little voice says you have been working hard, and you deserve a reward. 130 00:10:21,859 –> 00:10:30,020 And temptation is at its height at these moments and periods in our lives. 131 00:10:30,020 –> 00:10:35,479 And number four, temptation will be at its height when you have opportunity. 132 00:10:35,479 –> 00:10:38,099 And this clearly was the case in the story of Joseph. 133 00:10:38,179 –> 00:10:44,500 He did not go looking for temptation, but temptation came looking for him. 134 00:10:44,500 –> 00:10:50,500 And very clearly, sometimes a person may have the desire, but not the opportunity, other 135 00:10:50,500 –> 00:10:56,739 times a person may have the opportunity, but not the desire, but friends when desire and 136 00:10:56,739 –> 00:11:03,780 opportunity come at the same time together, then it is that temptation is at the height 137 00:11:03,780 –> 00:11:06,179 of its power. 138 00:11:06,219 –> 00:11:10,539 Number five, one that will be familiar to many because it’s part of a pattern of your 139 00:11:10,539 –> 00:11:11,900 working life. 140 00:11:11,900 –> 00:11:16,880 When you are away from home. 141 00:11:16,880 –> 00:11:22,140 Many if you know, this is just part of your experience, your work means that you must 142 00:11:22,140 –> 00:11:28,979 travel on a regular basis and you know that that brings its own particular challenges. 143 00:11:28,979 –> 00:11:36,059 You check into a hotel and there you are in this strange and this anonymous place and 144 00:11:36,059 –> 00:11:43,020 you are lonely and there is something that is disorienting about travel and you can get 145 00:11:43,020 –> 00:11:47,960 the feeling when you’re in a different place that somehow the normal rules that apply when 146 00:11:47,960 –> 00:11:52,479 you’re at home in your more familiar surrounding no longer apply. 147 00:11:52,479 –> 00:11:56,859 And there you are, you’re on your own and you’re away from your wife and you have time 148 00:11:56,859 –> 00:11:58,880 on your hands and guess what? 149 00:11:58,880 –> 00:12:03,419 You are vulnerable to temptation. 150 00:12:03,419 –> 00:12:09,979 Number six, when you have no one to hold you accountable. 151 00:12:09,979 –> 00:12:16,859 Many have found great help in the battle with temptation by having someone in their life, 152 00:12:16,859 –> 00:12:22,520 maybe a husband or wife and maybe a very close friend to whom there is a regular accountability 153 00:12:22,520 –> 00:12:27,820 with regards to your life, but Joseph had no one to come alongside and pray with him, 154 00:12:27,820 –> 00:12:30,539 no one to share his struggle. 155 00:12:30,539 –> 00:12:35,479 There was no external support around him whatsoever. 156 00:12:35,479 –> 00:12:42,659 He was alone, he was completely anonymous in Egypt, and that could only have heightened 157 00:12:42,659 –> 00:12:47,859 the power with which temptation came to his soul. 158 00:12:47,859 –> 00:12:50,979 And then here’s number seven. 159 00:12:50,979 –> 00:12:57,859 You are vulnerable to temptation when the temptation continues over a long period of 160 00:12:57,859 –> 00:12:59,260 time. 161 00:12:59,260 –> 00:13:06,500 And I take this from verse 10, where we’re told that Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph 162 00:13:06,500 –> 00:13:10,659 day after day. 163 00:13:10,659 –> 00:13:17,140 So this was not a passing temptation, this was clearly a relentless campaign. 164 00:13:17,140 –> 00:13:23,500 Here he is in this working situation and this pressure is coming at him day after day after 165 00:13:23,500 –> 00:13:27,020 day after day after day. 166 00:13:27,020 –> 00:13:32,640 Now you know it is not particularly hard to resist and stand strong in regards to a fleeting 167 00:13:32,640 –> 00:13:35,280 temptation. 168 00:13:35,280 –> 00:13:48,239 But when it grinds on coming at you day after day always in your face, it wears you down. 169 00:13:48,239 –> 00:13:54,440 And you come to a point where you begin to get tired of the battle. 170 00:13:54,619 –> 00:13:56,520 There may be someone here in the congregation. 171 00:13:56,520 –> 00:14:00,700 There may be many here in the congregation, and that’s exactly where you are today. 172 00:14:00,700 –> 00:14:04,940 You have been facing a particular temptation, you’ve been fighting it hard, you have been 173 00:14:04,940 –> 00:14:07,340 putting energy in to that, but you’re discouraged. 174 00:14:07,340 –> 00:14:09,380 It’s gone on such a long time. 175 00:14:09,380 –> 00:14:15,020 It grinds away and you are tired of fighting. 176 00:14:15,020 –> 00:14:19,500 And I want you to see as you’ve come here to Church on this snowy morning that the Word 177 00:14:19,500 –> 00:14:23,200 of God exactly speaks to where you are today. 178 00:14:23,239 –> 00:14:28,919 And right out of the Bible God speaks to you when you find yourself tired in the battle 179 00:14:28,919 –> 00:14:33,900 to give you encouragement and to give you strength, which is what the Word of God is 180 00:14:33,900 –> 00:14:36,760 given to us for today. 181 00:14:36,760 –> 00:14:42,599 Now seven seasons, when a person is especially vulnerable, I’m sure that others can be added, 182 00:14:42,599 –> 00:14:49,539 but these all arise directly out of the story that is before us, and if you put all seven 183 00:14:49,539 –> 00:14:58,359 together, pile them all on top of each other, you can see and sense the cumulative pressure 184 00:14:58,359 –> 00:15:01,919 of the temptation that Joseph was facing. 185 00:15:01,919 –> 00:15:07,659 Young and single, good looking, working hard, successful, having opportunity away from home. 186 00:15:07,659 –> 00:15:12,059 Nobody to hold him accountable, and it’s been going on for a long, long, long, long period 187 00:15:12,059 –> 00:15:13,820 of time. 188 00:15:13,820 –> 00:15:20,960 And you look at that, you say, that is a recipe for moral disaster. 189 00:15:20,960 –> 00:15:30,219 And yet we read this story and here, Joseph stands strong in the face of temptation. 190 00:15:30,219 –> 00:15:35,440 And that naturally leads to the question, well how did he do that? 191 00:15:35,440 –> 00:15:40,960 How did he find the strength to stand against that level of temptation that was coming to 192 00:15:41,539 –> 00:15:46,679 him and how might I be able to find the strength to stand and to be faithful in the battles 193 00:15:46,679 –> 00:15:54,059 against whatever form of temptation I may be facing in my life even today? 194 00:15:54,059 –> 00:15:59,539 So let’s move to the second point and it’s simply this, how can you stand strong against 195 00:15:59,539 –> 00:16:00,539 temptation? 196 00:16:00,539 –> 00:16:03,119 We looked at where we’re vulnerable. 197 00:16:03,119 –> 00:16:07,580 How can you stand strong against temptation? 198 00:16:08,260 –> 00:16:13,919 Now there are two parts to the answer here, motives and strategies. 199 00:16:13,919 –> 00:16:16,099 Both of them are important. 200 00:16:16,099 –> 00:16:19,559 The strategies deal with things that we need to do. 201 00:16:19,559 –> 00:16:26,299 The motives deal with the strength, the power, the energy, the desire that we need to have 202 00:16:26,299 –> 00:16:30,619 in our soul in order to put the strategies into practice. 203 00:16:30,619 –> 00:16:35,380 You need both and they operate together. 204 00:16:35,380 –> 00:16:39,900 The strategies are very simple, they’re very obvious and they’re right here in the story. 205 00:16:39,900 –> 00:16:41,219 There are three of them. 206 00:16:41,219 –> 00:16:47,460 The first is you need to have a clear commitment, a clear commitment. 207 00:16:47,460 –> 00:16:54,760 And I’m looking now at verse 9, where Joseph says when he is tempted, how then can I do 208 00:16:54,760 –> 00:16:57,159 this? 209 00:16:57,159 –> 00:16:59,840 How can I do this? 210 00:16:59,840 –> 00:17:05,060 Joseph, of course, must’ve have been aware over this long period of time that part of 211 00:17:05,060 –> 00:17:08,060 his wife had her eyes on him. 212 00:17:08,060 –> 00:17:10,719 He saw what was brewing. 213 00:17:10,719 –> 00:17:19,040 And when it comes out into the open, he has already settled the issue in his mind and 214 00:17:19,040 –> 00:17:23,619 he is ready with the answer. 215 00:17:23,619 –> 00:17:26,339 I can’t do this. 216 00:17:26,339 –> 00:17:30,180 Now here’s the principle that’s really important here. 217 00:17:30,180 –> 00:17:38,359 An open mind in the face of temptation makes failure inevitable. 218 00:17:38,359 –> 00:17:44,979 An open mind in the face of temptation makes failure inevitable. 219 00:17:44,979 –> 00:17:53,780 A young person goes off to college with an open mind, failure is inevitable. 220 00:17:54,339 –> 00:18:00,859 You have to have a clear line of settled conviction in your heart, 221 00:18:00,859 –> 00:18:09,180 in your mind, before the Lord with regards to this area of temptation. 222 00:18:09,180 –> 00:18:15,020 And it’s true of any area of temptation. In any area of life. You go into some 223 00:18:15,020 –> 00:18:21,439 new sphere of life, ask the question, what will be the big area of temptation 224 00:18:22,199 –> 00:18:25,579 here? You’re going into a new job. What will be the big area of 225 00:18:25,579 –> 00:18:32,180 temptation for me here? Name it. Name it. And perhaps there will 226 00:18:32,180 –> 00:18:39,939 be two or three. Name them. And then be on your guard with regards to them. 227 00:18:39,939 –> 00:18:47,339 This is why there is tremendous value in the making of a very few vows in life. 228 00:18:47,339 –> 00:18:49,760 We shouldn’t have many because we’ll forget what they are, 229 00:18:49,959 –> 00:18:56,060 but there is tremendous value, for example, in making a vow of sexual purity 230 00:18:56,060 –> 00:19:03,420 before marriage, that you will keep yourself for the spouse that God may have 231 00:19:03,420 –> 00:19:10,400 for you in the future. And then, there is tremendous value in making a 232 00:19:10,400 –> 00:19:18,339 vow of sexual faithfulness within marriage. See, that is why marriage is 233 00:19:18,420 –> 00:19:23,719 different from simply two people who are attracted to each other and may love 234 00:19:23,719 –> 00:19:29,040 each other moving in together. Why do we have a wedding service? 235 00:19:29,040 –> 00:19:34,819 At the heart of the wedding service is what? A vow, in which a man and a woman 236 00:19:34,819 –> 00:19:42,739 say to each other, I will be loyal to you in regard to my body, 237 00:19:42,739 –> 00:19:48,239 in regard to my heart, and in regard to my mind. 238 00:19:48,239 –> 00:19:54,939 And the reason that we make a vow in regards to this is that the gift 239 00:19:54,939 –> 00:20:02,819 of sexual union is such a sacred trust from God that we surround it, 240 00:20:02,819 –> 00:20:10,719 we wrap it in the protection of a life-long commitment to love, 241 00:20:11,560 –> 00:20:14,880 and to faithfulness, and to loyalty, and to respect, 242 00:20:14,880 –> 00:20:19,859 because that is where this sacred gift belongs. 243 00:20:20,800 –> 00:20:25,839 So clear commitment, and it’s settled in Joseph’s mind, 244 00:20:25,839 –> 00:20:30,819 he’s not drifting with what’s happening at any given time, the line is drawn, 245 00:20:30,819 –> 00:20:34,520 he has a settled conviction, I cannot do this. 246 00:20:35,199 –> 00:20:38,400 Second, clear communication. 247 00:20:38,479 –> 00:20:40,119 Notice how it says, verse seven, 248 00:20:40,119 –> 00:20:43,180 that Potiphar’s wife had cast her eyes on Joseph, 249 00:20:43,180 –> 00:20:47,239 she then makes this proposition and then in verse eight he says, 250 00:20:47,239 –> 00:20:50,780 but he refused. 251 00:20:51,979 –> 00:20:53,520 He did not say to her, 252 00:20:54,280 –> 00:20:59,000 well, let’s just go to Starbucks and we’ll both have a little chat about how we feel. 253 00:20:59,000 –> 00:21:03,280 But he refused. 254 00:21:03,280 –> 00:21:04,920 I could hardly be clearer, 255 00:21:05,719 –> 00:21:07,280 no ambiguity, 256 00:21:08,000 –> 00:21:10,280 no mixed messages, 257 00:21:11,479 –> 00:21:16,520 nothing being said in one way but hints being given in another. 258 00:21:18,640 –> 00:21:21,199 He refused, clear communication, need clear commitment, 259 00:21:21,199 –> 00:21:24,280 you need clear communication, you need clear boundaries. 260 00:21:24,280 –> 00:21:28,079 Verse 10, and as she spoke to Joseph day after day, 261 00:21:28,079 –> 00:21:30,719 he would not listen to her, to lie beside her, 262 00:21:30,719 –> 00:21:35,160 then notice this, or to be with her. 263 00:21:36,119 –> 00:21:41,119 In other words, Joseph, set very clear boundaries. 264 00:21:42,000 –> 00:21:45,420 He did not say, well, you know, Mrs. Potiphar, 265 00:21:45,420 –> 00:21:49,880 I can’t do what you say, but at least we can be good friends. 266 00:21:49,880 –> 00:21:53,479 No, once this thing had come out into the open, 267 00:21:54,500 –> 00:21:59,500 Joseph realized that he had to give Potiphar’s wife 268 00:21:59,719 –> 00:22:02,239 a wide berth, so to speak. 269 00:22:02,239 –> 00:22:04,680 He did not get into this foolish business 270 00:22:05,060 –> 00:22:07,500 of let’s see how near to the fire we can get 271 00:22:07,500 –> 00:22:08,839 without getting burned. 272 00:22:08,839 –> 00:22:12,380 He knew the people who play with fire do get burned, 273 00:22:12,380 –> 00:22:14,920 and so he distanced himself from her. 274 00:22:14,920 –> 00:22:16,579 That’s what he did. 275 00:22:16,579 –> 00:22:17,579 He avoided her. 276 00:22:18,880 –> 00:22:22,579 But one day, when the servants were gone, 277 00:22:22,579 –> 00:22:26,119 Potiphar’s wife took advantage of the situation. 278 00:22:26,119 –> 00:22:30,260 The Bible tells us that she grabbed Joseph by his robe, 279 00:22:30,260 –> 00:22:33,160 and Joseph then did, the only thing that then he could do, 280 00:22:33,160 –> 00:22:36,619 he ran and he got out of the house, the Bible says. 281 00:22:37,780 –> 00:22:40,459 Better to lose his robe, 282 00:22:40,459 –> 00:22:43,479 better to lose his job, 283 00:22:43,479 –> 00:22:46,099 better to lose anything 284 00:22:46,099 –> 00:22:49,599 than to sin against God and against Potiphar 285 00:22:49,599 –> 00:22:54,300 and against this woman who was tempting him. 286 00:22:56,900 –> 00:22:59,400 How you can stand strong in temptation, 287 00:22:59,439 –> 00:23:01,339 there are very clear strategies 288 00:23:01,339 –> 00:23:04,239 that you need to put in place, 289 00:23:04,239 –> 00:23:05,719 clear commitment, 290 00:23:05,719 –> 00:23:07,319 that has to be settled in your mind 291 00:23:07,319 –> 00:23:09,780 and in your heart in advance, 292 00:23:09,780 –> 00:23:11,439 clear communication, 293 00:23:12,280 –> 00:23:14,260 clear boundaries, 294 00:23:15,160 –> 00:23:16,579 these are the strategies, 295 00:23:16,579 –> 00:23:18,319 they’re very obvious 296 00:23:18,319 –> 00:23:20,160 and you may be saying at this point, 297 00:23:20,160 –> 00:23:21,479 yeah, well that’s very obvious to me, 298 00:23:21,479 –> 00:23:22,640 there’s nothing you’ve said there 299 00:23:22,640 –> 00:23:24,680 that I couldn’t have seen for myself, 300 00:23:24,680 –> 00:23:27,400 my problem is not knowing what the strategies are. 301 00:23:28,359 –> 00:23:31,219 My problem is finding the power to do them. 302 00:23:31,219 –> 00:23:33,400 My problem is having the strength 303 00:23:33,400 –> 00:23:34,880 to implement these things 304 00:23:34,880 –> 00:23:37,060 when I find myself under temptation 305 00:23:37,060 –> 00:23:39,880 and that is why, along with the strategies, 306 00:23:39,880 –> 00:23:41,920 we must have the motives in place, 307 00:23:41,920 –> 00:23:43,420 the motives, and what are they? 308 00:23:43,420 –> 00:23:44,579 Again, there are three. 309 00:23:45,439 –> 00:23:48,900 The first is the trust that you have as a servant. 310 00:23:50,359 –> 00:23:51,300 Verse eight. 311 00:23:52,359 –> 00:23:53,699 Joseph refused 312 00:23:54,640 –> 00:23:56,319 and what’s the rationale? 313 00:23:56,319 –> 00:23:57,140 Here it is. 314 00:23:58,359 –> 00:24:02,420 Behold, because of me my master 315 00:24:03,439 –> 00:24:07,000 has no concern about anything in the house 316 00:24:07,880 –> 00:24:11,300 and he has put everything that he has 317 00:24:12,459 –> 00:24:13,680 in my charge. 318 00:24:13,680 –> 00:24:16,479 Now you notice Joseph’s reasoning here. 319 00:24:16,479 –> 00:24:19,099 The first great motive that he puts in place. 320 00:24:20,479 –> 00:24:24,400 I am a trusted servant. 321 00:24:25,400 –> 00:24:28,760 I am not a free agent, drifting around 322 00:24:28,760 –> 00:24:31,199 from one thing to another in this world 323 00:24:31,199 –> 00:24:34,119 according to the impulses of my own heart. 324 00:24:34,119 –> 00:24:35,959 That is not who I am. 325 00:24:35,959 –> 00:24:37,780 I have a master. 326 00:24:38,599 –> 00:24:41,959 And my master has been good to me 327 00:24:43,119 –> 00:24:45,900 and I will be loyal to him. 328 00:24:47,199 –> 00:24:50,140 I am not at liberty to follow any impulse 329 00:24:50,140 –> 00:24:53,380 of my own heart, any invitation or opportunity 330 00:24:53,680 –> 00:24:54,920 that may come my way. 331 00:24:54,920 –> 00:24:57,439 I am a trusted servant of the master 332 00:24:57,439 –> 00:25:01,959 who has been good to me and I will be loyal to him. 333 00:25:02,780 –> 00:25:05,660 Joseph knows who he is, and you will see 334 00:25:05,660 –> 00:25:08,400 very immediately how that translates over 335 00:25:08,400 –> 00:25:10,920 into your own stand as a servant 336 00:25:10,920 –> 00:25:14,040 of the living God, as a Christian believer, 337 00:25:14,040 –> 00:25:18,040 and how good your master has been to you. 338 00:25:19,000 –> 00:25:22,760 Second, he draws motive not only from who he is, 339 00:25:22,780 –> 00:25:26,660 but from what sin is, and especially from its wickedness. 340 00:25:26,660 –> 00:25:27,819 Do you see verse nine? 341 00:25:28,699 –> 00:25:33,319 How can I do this great wickedness? 342 00:25:33,319 –> 00:25:36,819 This great wickedness. 343 00:25:36,819 –> 00:25:39,020 Now, here’s what’s important here. 344 00:25:39,020 –> 00:25:44,020 Joseph calls sin by its proper name. 345 00:25:46,020 –> 00:25:50,819 This great wickedness. 346 00:25:51,119 –> 00:25:54,699 Now, that’s important, especially today, for this reason, 347 00:25:54,699 –> 00:25:58,359 that the world is always in the business 348 00:25:58,359 –> 00:26:01,260 of coining fresh language 349 00:26:01,260 –> 00:26:03,900 in order to make sin more acceptable. 350 00:26:03,900 –> 00:26:06,060 Have you noticed that in our culture, by the way? 351 00:26:06,060 –> 00:26:08,339 Once you start getting tuned to it, 352 00:26:08,339 –> 00:26:11,380 how euphemisms come in, and they keep coming. 353 00:26:11,380 –> 00:26:12,780 They keep coming, 354 00:26:12,780 –> 00:26:17,540 in order to make sin be rephrased 355 00:26:18,300 –> 00:26:21,540 and to make it sound and appear more acceptable. 356 00:26:21,540 –> 00:26:25,819 So instead of describing what Joseph was tempted to hear 357 00:26:25,819 –> 00:26:28,140 as an act of adultery, 358 00:26:28,140 –> 00:26:31,359 people today would describe what’s here 359 00:26:31,359 –> 00:26:34,199 as, oh, an affair, a fling. 360 00:26:35,219 –> 00:26:40,219 Well, Joseph will not use any such language 361 00:26:40,819 –> 00:26:43,420 because as soon as you go there, 362 00:26:43,420 –> 00:26:46,640 it has the impression in your mind and in your heart 363 00:26:46,640 –> 00:26:48,579 that this is really no big deal. 364 00:26:49,939 –> 00:26:52,439 In fact, wherever you find yourself tempted 365 00:26:52,439 –> 00:26:54,199 and in your mind that line is, 366 00:26:54,199 –> 00:26:56,439 you know it isn’t such a big deal, is it? 367 00:26:57,920 –> 00:27:02,199 Then realize that temptation is gaining its power over you 368 00:27:03,359 –> 00:27:05,920 and the way in which you push back, 369 00:27:05,920 –> 00:27:07,520 the great motive that you have here 370 00:27:07,520 –> 00:27:10,800 is not only who you are as a trusted servant of the Lord 371 00:27:12,239 –> 00:27:15,699 but the nature of what sin is in all of its fullness, 372 00:27:15,739 –> 00:27:18,180 this great wickedness he says. 373 00:27:19,300 –> 00:27:23,839 It’s a foul thing, how could I possibly do it? 374 00:27:25,060 –> 00:27:28,199 It’s no small thing to me. 375 00:27:29,459 –> 00:27:31,479 If Satan can persuade you 376 00:27:31,479 –> 00:27:34,239 that the sin to which you are tempted is not a big deal, 377 00:27:34,239 –> 00:27:36,219 it will not be long before you collapse 378 00:27:36,219 –> 00:27:37,420 and fall into temptation. 379 00:27:37,420 –> 00:27:39,400 That’s what will happen. 380 00:27:39,400 –> 00:27:40,699 So you need this defense. 381 00:27:40,699 –> 00:27:41,739 You need this motive 382 00:27:41,739 –> 00:27:44,500 and it needs to be absolutely clear in your mind. 383 00:27:44,500 –> 00:27:46,619 What is the sin to which you are tempted? 384 00:27:46,619 –> 00:27:48,500 Call it by its proper name. 385 00:27:49,780 –> 00:27:52,979 Are you tempted to pride, envy? 386 00:27:54,479 –> 00:27:58,060 Remember that these are described in the Bible 387 00:27:58,060 –> 00:28:02,500 as an abomination to the Lord. 388 00:28:03,839 –> 00:28:05,839 I begin to think too highly of myself. 389 00:28:05,839 –> 00:28:07,300 It’s not big deal, is it? 390 00:28:07,300 –> 00:28:11,920 Oh, it’s an abomination to the Lord. 391 00:28:12,760 –> 00:28:15,020 It’s a great wickedness. 392 00:28:16,619 –> 00:28:18,660 The sinfulness of sin 393 00:28:19,920 –> 00:28:23,739 and our sensitivity to it is being eroded every day, 394 00:28:23,739 –> 00:28:25,859 all the time, year by year. 395 00:28:27,180 –> 00:28:28,959 And we need to have it in place 396 00:28:30,119 –> 00:28:32,680 in order that we may have motive 397 00:28:32,680 –> 00:28:35,599 to stand strong against temptation, 398 00:28:35,599 –> 00:28:39,099 this great wickedness. 399 00:28:39,099 –> 00:28:41,800 And number three, and the most powerful motive of all, 400 00:28:41,800 –> 00:28:44,219 is of course the fear of the Lord. 401 00:28:44,219 –> 00:28:47,140 How can I do this, verse 9, this great wickedness 402 00:28:47,140 –> 00:28:51,199 and sin against God? 403 00:28:51,199 –> 00:28:53,280 Against God. 404 00:28:53,280 –> 00:28:58,280 See, the ultimate defense is that God carries weight 405 00:28:58,920 –> 00:29:00,160 in the life of Joseph. 406 00:29:00,160 –> 00:29:01,760 And again, we live in a culture 407 00:29:01,760 –> 00:29:02,880 where there’s all this God talk. 408 00:29:02,880 –> 00:29:05,900 People talk about God, make jokes that have God in it. 409 00:29:07,599 –> 00:29:08,420 Not Joseph. 410 00:29:09,640 –> 00:29:10,479 God. 411 00:29:12,000 –> 00:29:13,199 My God. 412 00:29:14,719 –> 00:29:17,000 We spoke about the fear of the Lord last year, 413 00:29:17,000 –> 00:29:20,119 we defined it this way, that what it means 414 00:29:20,119 –> 00:29:22,599 is that for those who really love the Lord, 415 00:29:23,680 –> 00:29:26,439 his frown would be your greatest dread 416 00:29:26,439 –> 00:29:28,839 and his smile would be your greatest delight. 417 00:29:29,760 –> 00:29:33,359 That means that God has weight in your life. 418 00:29:33,359 –> 00:29:36,439 If he would smile upon me, that’s my greatest joy. 419 00:29:37,599 –> 00:29:38,920 But if I should act in a way 420 00:29:38,920 –> 00:29:40,680 that would cause him to frown upon me, 421 00:29:40,680 –> 00:29:44,520 that would be my greatest dread, greatest dread, 422 00:29:44,520 –> 00:29:46,780 and that carries such weight within me. 423 00:29:46,780 –> 00:29:50,800 I love the Lord and so I live in the fear of the Lord. 424 00:29:52,140 –> 00:29:54,880 That’s his defense. 425 00:29:54,880 –> 00:29:56,760 You love the Lord. 426 00:29:57,959 –> 00:30:00,500 And so grieving the father who loves you, 427 00:30:00,500 –> 00:30:03,300 sinning against the Christ who died for you, 428 00:30:03,300 –> 00:30:06,199 resisting the holy spirit who lives within you 429 00:30:06,199 –> 00:30:09,439 will seem to you then like a fearful thing to do. 430 00:30:09,520 –> 00:30:11,959 How could I do this? 431 00:30:11,959 –> 00:30:14,199 Because of who I am. 432 00:30:14,199 –> 00:30:17,060 Because of what sin is, this great wickedness, 433 00:30:17,060 –> 00:30:21,739 and because of who God is in all of his glory 434 00:30:21,739 –> 00:30:24,260 and his wonder and his love, 435 00:30:24,260 –> 00:30:26,640 how could I do this and sin against God? 436 00:30:29,040 –> 00:30:31,040 When you are vulnerable to temptation. 437 00:30:32,560 –> 00:30:35,979 How you can stand strong against temptation. 438 00:30:35,979 –> 00:30:39,199 Motives and strategies and you need them both in place. 439 00:30:40,380 –> 00:30:41,859 And here’s the last thing. 440 00:30:42,859 –> 00:30:45,800 What will come of your faithfulness? 441 00:30:46,939 –> 00:30:48,680 Two things here. 442 00:30:48,680 –> 00:30:51,540 One of them you can guess, 443 00:30:51,540 –> 00:30:53,339 and the other you cannot imagine. 444 00:30:54,920 –> 00:30:56,619 First the one you can guess. 445 00:30:58,180 –> 00:31:00,020 It’s easy to guess, 446 00:31:00,020 –> 00:31:03,819 that if you pursue this path of faithfulness, 447 00:31:04,939 –> 00:31:07,300 you will not find it easy. 448 00:31:07,300 –> 00:31:08,739 And Joseph must have known this. 449 00:31:08,739 –> 00:31:11,739 He must have known that the choice that he made 450 00:31:11,739 –> 00:31:13,219 would indeed be costly. 451 00:31:13,219 –> 00:31:15,319 It was not beyond him to imagine 452 00:31:15,319 –> 00:31:17,060 what Potiphar’s wife would do 453 00:31:17,060 –> 00:31:18,979 with this robe that she had clutched. 454 00:31:18,979 –> 00:31:22,060 And sure enough, as we’re going to see next time, 455 00:31:22,060 –> 00:31:25,540 the immediate outcome of Joseph’s principled stand 456 00:31:25,540 –> 00:31:30,540 is that he ends up in prison, big reward. 457 00:31:32,619 –> 00:31:35,560 Now let’s apply that to those who are single. 458 00:31:36,400 –> 00:31:41,400 If you choose the path of purity before marriage, 459 00:31:42,040 –> 00:31:43,780 you will not find it easy. 460 00:31:45,239 –> 00:31:47,660 Some people will wonder what is wrong with you. 461 00:31:48,699 –> 00:31:52,859 You may find yourself, especially in school and college, 462 00:31:52,859 –> 00:31:54,339 to be somewhat ridiculed. 463 00:31:55,339 –> 00:31:59,319 You may find that you lose the affection 464 00:31:59,319 –> 00:32:04,140 of someone who wanted what you were not willing to give. 465 00:32:05,140 –> 00:32:07,439 It may prove very costly. 466 00:32:07,439 –> 00:32:12,439 Not hard to guess that this principled stand 467 00:32:12,680 –> 00:32:17,239 to honor God in this area will not be easy, 468 00:32:17,239 –> 00:32:18,880 will have its price, 469 00:32:20,079 –> 00:32:23,920 and you will experience something 470 00:32:23,920 –> 00:32:27,099 of what it means when Jesus says, 471 00:32:27,099 –> 00:32:28,339 If you’re gonna come after me, 472 00:32:28,339 –> 00:32:30,459 you’ll take up your cross and follow me. 473 00:32:31,439 –> 00:32:34,439 You wll experience some measure of cost 474 00:32:34,439 –> 00:32:37,540 in relation to your choice. 475 00:32:38,920 –> 00:32:42,300 To those who are married, let me make this application. 476 00:32:43,359 –> 00:32:45,880 If for the sake of Christ 477 00:32:46,839 –> 00:32:51,079 you choose the path of faithfulness 478 00:32:51,079 –> 00:32:55,079 in a marriage to a spouse who is ungrateful, 479 00:32:55,079 –> 00:32:58,579 insensitive, or unresponsive, 480 00:32:59,339 –> 00:33:01,979 and you, for the sake of Christ, 481 00:33:01,979 –> 00:33:05,560 choose the path of faithfulness in that marriage, 482 00:33:05,560 –> 00:33:07,400 it will not be easy. 483 00:33:08,719 –> 00:33:11,640 There will be times when you muse to yourself, 484 00:33:11,640 –> 00:33:13,160 if I had made a different choice, 485 00:33:13,160 –> 00:33:16,520 my life could have been very different indeed. 486 00:33:18,140 –> 00:33:21,680 That part you can guess. 487 00:33:23,619 –> 00:33:26,660 And then there’s another part that you cannot imagine. 488 00:33:28,599 –> 00:33:30,979 And it is the good that God will bring 489 00:33:30,979 –> 00:33:32,079 from your faithfulness. 490 00:33:32,079 –> 00:33:34,560 And here, I want you to follow the big picture 491 00:33:34,560 –> 00:33:35,579 of the story. 492 00:33:36,640 –> 00:33:40,180 It was through the faithfulness of Joseph 493 00:33:40,180 –> 00:33:42,479 that he ended up in prison. 494 00:33:43,959 –> 00:33:46,680 It was through being in prison 495 00:33:46,680 –> 00:33:49,339 that Joseph met Pharaoh’s cup bearer. 496 00:33:50,420 –> 00:33:52,199 It was through the cup bearer 497 00:33:52,199 –> 00:33:54,819 that Joseph was introduced to Pharaoh. 498 00:33:55,680 –> 00:33:57,239 It was through Pharaoh 499 00:33:57,239 –> 00:33:59,640 that Joseph became the prime minister 500 00:33:59,640 –> 00:34:03,079 who provided food for all his people. 501 00:34:03,079 –> 00:34:05,560 It was through the food that Joseph supplied 502 00:34:05,560 –> 00:34:08,360 that the life of Judah, his older brother, 503 00:34:08,360 –> 00:34:10,439 together with the rest of the family, 504 00:34:10,439 –> 00:34:13,479 was saved in a time of famine. 505 00:34:13,479 –> 00:34:16,239 And it was through the line of Judah 506 00:34:16,239 –> 00:34:19,679 that Jesus Christ the Messiah was born into the world. 507 00:34:19,679 –> 00:34:22,459 And it is through Jesus Christ the Messiah 508 00:34:22,459 –> 00:34:25,280 that a great company of people will be gathered 509 00:34:25,320 –> 00:34:28,679 in the presence of the father forever and forever 510 00:34:28,679 –> 00:34:32,439 with great joy in heaven and all its glory. 511 00:34:32,439 –> 00:34:35,639 Joseph could not possibly have imagined 512 00:34:35,639 –> 00:34:38,600 the line of consequences, 513 00:34:38,600 –> 00:34:43,320 the links of the chain that gave enormous significance 514 00:34:43,320 –> 00:34:48,320 to his stand for purity at a moment of intense temptation 515 00:34:48,520 –> 00:34:51,479 that God wove into the pattern, 516 00:34:51,479 –> 00:34:54,600 the tapestry of a far wider purpose 517 00:34:54,639 –> 00:34:58,459 than Joseph could ever have conceived possibly 518 00:34:59,360 –> 00:35:01,459 in his entire life. 519 00:35:03,120 –> 00:35:04,300 So here you are, 520 00:35:05,500 –> 00:35:07,500 and you’re trying to find some strength, 521 00:35:07,500 –> 00:35:09,780 you’re trying to find some motivation, 522 00:35:09,780 –> 00:35:11,040 you’re tired of the battle, 523 00:35:11,040 –> 00:35:13,479 you need some energy to stand strong 524 00:35:13,479 –> 00:35:15,439 against temptation this week, 525 00:35:15,439 –> 00:35:19,000 and in the days that lie ahead, it’s very intense. 526 00:35:19,800 –> 00:35:24,600 What will be the effect of your standing strong 527 00:35:24,600 –> 00:35:28,360 and being faithful on your son, 528 00:35:29,540 –> 00:35:34,060 your daughter, your friend, your colleague, 529 00:35:34,060 –> 00:35:38,800 your future husband, wife? 530 00:35:40,419 –> 00:35:44,800 How will God weave the strand of your faithfulness 531 00:35:44,879 –> 00:35:48,419 even this week into the tapestry 532 00:35:48,419 –> 00:35:51,739 of his gracious work in the lives of others? 533 00:35:53,560 –> 00:35:57,620 You know what it is to throw a stone in a lake 534 00:35:58,919 –> 00:36:00,979 when the water is completely still, 535 00:36:00,979 –> 00:36:02,399 perhaps early in the morning, 536 00:36:02,399 –> 00:36:04,620 and the water looks like glass. 537 00:36:05,479 –> 00:36:10,419 And you throw in one stone, and it produces a ripple, 538 00:36:10,419 –> 00:36:13,639 a series of rings, and they’re going out, 539 00:36:13,639 –> 00:36:16,840 and they’re going on, and you can hardly imagine 540 00:36:16,840 –> 00:36:19,679 the effect of this one stone 541 00:36:19,679 –> 00:36:21,719 that you have thrown into that water, 542 00:36:21,719 –> 00:36:23,679 and all the movement that has happened 543 00:36:23,679 –> 00:36:27,399 as a result of that one stone. 544 00:36:27,399 –> 00:36:31,360 That will be how it is 545 00:36:31,360 –> 00:36:34,679 with regards to your faithfulness. 546 00:36:36,000 –> 00:36:39,659 And I think that one of the joys of heaven 547 00:36:39,659 –> 00:36:42,879 will be to see the fruit that has come 548 00:36:42,879 –> 00:36:44,560 from long and hard battles 549 00:36:44,560 –> 00:36:47,139 with temptation that you have fought in your life. 550 00:36:48,679 –> 00:36:51,239 Can you imagine Jesus Christ saying to you, 551 00:36:51,239 –> 00:36:52,679 do you remember when you fought 552 00:36:52,679 –> 00:36:55,919 that particularly intense battle with temptation 553 00:36:55,919 –> 00:36:57,620 when you were in that hotel? 554 00:36:58,639 –> 00:37:01,080 And you said, I am the Lord’s servant. 555 00:37:01,080 –> 00:37:04,439 How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? 556 00:37:05,280 –> 00:37:09,280 And by the grace of God, that night you prevailed. 557 00:37:10,199 –> 00:37:11,719 Well, you know, what you didn’t know 558 00:37:11,840 –> 00:37:14,120 was that if you had given in, 559 00:37:14,120 –> 00:37:18,080 a whole different series of events would have transpired 560 00:37:18,080 –> 00:37:19,439 but you stood strong. 561 00:37:19,439 –> 00:37:23,120 And now I want you to see all the things that came of it. 562 00:37:23,120 –> 00:37:25,360 You say, well, I find that very difficult to imagine. 563 00:37:25,360 –> 00:37:27,879 How difficult would it have been for Joseph to imagine 564 00:37:27,879 –> 00:37:29,320 what came of his stand? 565 00:37:30,959 –> 00:37:33,860 And then the very last thing I want to say is simply this. 566 00:37:34,820 –> 00:37:39,179 That Jesus came to bring forgiveness for our past sins 567 00:37:39,179 –> 00:37:43,879 and power to face our future temptations. 568 00:37:43,879 –> 00:37:48,879 Jesus came to bring forgiveness for our past sins 569 00:37:49,459 –> 00:37:53,540 and power to face our future temptations, 570 00:37:53,540 –> 00:37:54,659 and we need both. 571 00:37:54,659 –> 00:37:56,479 We’ve focused on the second, 572 00:37:56,479 –> 00:37:59,360 but let’s remember in this last moment the first. 573 00:38:00,639 –> 00:38:03,360 I hope that many of us across the Orchard 574 00:38:03,360 –> 00:38:05,800 and especially in this service 575 00:38:05,800 –> 00:38:09,040 will be making a new commitment to purity, 576 00:38:09,040 –> 00:38:11,959 mind and heart and body, 577 00:38:11,959 –> 00:38:14,979 that we will go after that with a strong commitment 578 00:38:14,979 –> 00:38:18,600 for the sake of Christ because we are his trusted servants. 579 00:38:18,600 –> 00:38:20,959 I hope that there’ll be many who are making fresh, 580 00:38:20,959 –> 00:38:23,979 new, deep, real commitment to Jesus Christ 581 00:38:23,979 –> 00:38:25,719 in that regard today. 582 00:38:27,620 –> 00:38:29,840 But there will be some who may feel swamped 583 00:38:29,840 –> 00:38:32,800 by a sense off your own past failure, 584 00:38:33,800 –> 00:38:38,639 and we need as much the grace of Jesus 585 00:38:38,639 –> 00:38:41,260 with regards to our past sins, 586 00:38:41,260 –> 00:38:44,219 bringing forgiveness and cleansing and peace 587 00:38:44,219 –> 00:38:47,600 and separation from that 588 00:38:47,600 –> 00:38:49,719 as we need the strength of Jesus 589 00:38:49,719 –> 00:38:52,800 with regards to standing strong in our future battle. 590 00:38:54,100 –> 00:38:55,679 And I come back to where we began, 591 00:38:55,679 –> 00:38:58,399 that is why this profound statement 592 00:38:58,399 –> 00:39:02,540 is so significant that Genesis 38 comes before 39 593 00:39:03,560 –> 00:39:04,719 because some of us right now 594 00:39:04,719 –> 00:39:05,879 are gonna be saying, you know, 595 00:39:05,879 –> 00:39:09,280 I see myself more in Judah’s model failure 596 00:39:09,280 –> 00:39:13,199 than I do in Joseph’s principled stand. 597 00:39:13,199 –> 00:39:14,979 I see myself more in the guy 598 00:39:14,979 –> 00:39:17,860 who gave way to the desires of his heart 599 00:39:17,860 –> 00:39:20,159 and brought unimaginable pain and sorrow 600 00:39:20,159 –> 00:39:22,560 to his family and to all around him. 601 00:39:22,560 –> 00:39:25,219 I’m more like Judah than I am like Joseph. 602 00:39:26,239 –> 00:39:29,199 And friends, here is why the story of Joseph 603 00:39:29,199 –> 00:39:30,020 is in the Bible. 604 00:39:30,020 –> 00:39:34,179 Chapter nine, 39, is in the Bible 605 00:39:34,179 –> 00:39:37,860 because of the sins of chapter 38. 606 00:39:37,860 –> 00:39:41,139 And Joseph is there in the Bible primarily 607 00:39:41,139 –> 00:39:46,100 to point us to Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord. 608 00:39:46,100 –> 00:39:47,780 He points to Jesus. 609 00:39:47,780 –> 00:39:50,100 For all who see ourselves 610 00:39:50,100 –> 00:39:53,500 more identified with Judah than we do with Joseph. 611 00:39:53,500 –> 00:39:55,780 Joseph stood where Judah had failed 612 00:39:55,780 –> 00:40:00,780 and Jesus stood where we have failed. 613 00:40:00,899 –> 00:40:02,520 And that is why the story of Joseph 614 00:40:02,520 –> 00:40:04,959 is clearly pointing us to Jesus 615 00:40:04,959 –> 00:40:07,520 who was tempted in every respect 616 00:40:07,520 –> 00:40:11,520 as we are yet without sin. 617 00:40:11,520 –> 00:40:14,340 I love the comment that AW Pink makes on this. 618 00:40:14,340 –> 00:40:18,280 He says the difference between Joseph and Jesus 619 00:40:18,280 –> 00:40:22,219 is that Joseph ran away from the temptation, 620 00:40:22,219 –> 00:40:24,860 which was the right thing for him to do. 621 00:40:24,860 –> 00:40:27,860 But Jesus, when he was tempted in the wilderness, 622 00:40:27,860 –> 00:40:29,979 it was Satan who ran away from him. 623 00:40:29,979 –> 00:40:31,219 Don’t you love that? 624 00:40:31,219 –> 00:40:33,939 That’s the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. 625 00:40:33,939 –> 00:40:35,219 And what did he do then? 626 00:40:35,219 –> 00:40:37,540 He goes to the Cross and why is he there? 627 00:40:37,540 –> 00:40:40,979 He’s bearing the shame and the guilt of what? 628 00:40:41,860 –> 00:40:46,860 Our sins including our sexual sins of mind and of body. 629 00:40:47,620 –> 00:40:51,219 He bares them in his body on the tree. 630 00:40:51,219 –> 00:40:53,139 He carries them into his death 631 00:40:53,139 –> 00:40:54,939 and he buries them there, 632 00:40:54,939 –> 00:40:56,959 then he arises from the dead 633 00:40:56,959 –> 00:40:58,840 in the power of an endless life 634 00:40:58,840 –> 00:41:02,340 and he holds out his loving arms towards us 635 00:41:02,340 –> 00:41:05,219 offering forgiveness, cleansing 636 00:41:06,300 –> 00:41:08,699 because he has taken that 637 00:41:08,699 –> 00:41:11,760 and then the power of his Holy Spirit 638 00:41:11,760 –> 00:41:13,860 to pursue a new life 639 00:41:14,699 –> 00:41:17,979 that will honor and glorify him. 640 00:41:17,979 –> 00:41:19,699 He is able to forgive you. 641 00:41:19,699 –> 00:41:21,939 He is able to help you. 642 00:41:23,300 –> 00:41:28,300 Jesus came to bring forgiveness for your past sins 643 00:41:28,300 –> 00:41:31,479 and Jesus came to bring power 644 00:41:31,479 –> 00:41:35,060 to face your future temptations 645 00:41:35,060 –> 00:41:39,659 and that is why there is hope for every person 646 00:41:39,659 –> 00:41:42,419 in Jesus Christ. 647 00:41:42,419 –> 00:41:44,179 Let’s pray together. 648 00:41:44,179 –> 00:41:45,000 Father, 649 00:41:46,560 –> 00:41:50,620 settle your word in our hearts and in our minds 650 00:41:51,479 –> 00:41:54,379 that with faith and with repentance, 651 00:41:54,379 –> 00:41:58,199 we may know afresh the cleansing of the blood of Jesus 652 00:41:59,439 –> 00:42:02,739 and the empowering of the spirit of Jesus, 653 00:42:04,100 –> 00:42:07,000 moving away from all that has been so unworthy, 654 00:42:08,439 –> 00:42:11,120 all that has been wicked in the past, 655 00:42:12,459 –> 00:42:14,719 and stepping forward in the pursuit 656 00:42:14,719 –> 00:42:18,040 of all that will honor and glorify you, 657 00:42:18,040 –> 00:42:20,320 our Lord and our Savior, 658 00:42:20,320 –> 00:42:24,320 Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen.