Overcoming Temptation

I. Introduction

A. Have you ever felt like you should get an award for the dumbest thing ever done?

a. I’ve only had two experiences with anesthesia in my life.

b. The second was when I was in my 20s and had to have my wisdom teeth removed.

c. The first was when I was 7 years old.

d. Remember the Jeans store on Main Street?

e. Thumb tack incident (tempted with a thumb tack).

B. Most normal people know not to put a thumb tack anywhere near their mouths.

a. I’ve never claimed to be normal.

b. Or very smart.

C. Joseph had a thumb tack in his life and it was Potiphar’s wife.

a. But Joseph, unlike Brian Gordon understood how to deal with temptation.

b. Review the back story and the current story.

D. We are told 4 times in the passage that “the Lord was with Joseph.”

a. Verses 2, 3, 21, & 23

b. But just because the Lord is with you doesn’t mean you are free from temptation.

E. What is temptation?

a. Is temptation sin?

b. No.

c. We will all face temptation.

d. The question I want us to attempt to answer this morning is when we are tempted what do we do.

II. The Trappings of Temptation

A. We are tempted at all the wrong times

a. When things are going well, or when things are going really bad.

B. We are tempted in all the wrong places

a. In the course of normal life.

b. Jesus in the wilderness hungry, tempted to turn stones to bread.

c. Joseph in a position of power, tempted to abuse it.

C. We are tempted in all the wrong ways

a. The enemy is observant.

b. Knows our weaknesses and our strengths.

c. Will sometimes attempt to knock our feet out from under us.

III. The Trail to Total Victory

A. Immediate Refusal

a. Promptly

b. Firmly

c. Bravely

d. You can’t play with fire and not get burned.

e. Hesitation will almost always result in failure.

B. Full Reliance on God

a. Joseph understood that to fail would be to fail God.

b. Sin hurts God.

c. Be totally reliant on God’s ability to rescue you through the Holy Spirit

C. Abdication of the Source

a. Get away from the source of temptation

b. Draw close to the power source

D. Submit to God’s Plan, Will, and Way

a. The Lord was with Joseph.

b. He will be with you.

It is not always easy to be an overcomer but it is always worth it.