Text: Genesis 38 - 39
Title: K. P. Duty
Topic: Christian Living
Theme: Living in Sexual Purity
My purpose is to be the Holy Spirit’s second witness calling God’s people in my care to keep themselves pure sexually by the grace of God.
REPENTANCE POINT {paradigm shifts or changes in our thinking}: In a culture that sees sex as a recreational activity like tennis or as a benefit of being good friends, God calls his people to a life of purity. In a society where sex has become both a form of entertainment and a multi-billion dollar business, God calls us to maintain a pure lifestyle.
In response to today’s message, I will…
1. Memorize Genesis 39:7-10
2. Read about Jesus’ crucifixion daily until I can picture it easily
3. Starve the sources of sexual temptation in my life
Response Goal / Invitation: Individuals prompted by the Holy Spirit will commit themselves to Keeping Pure Duty.
PATTERN: INDUCTIVE – Biblical Narratives (Weaving two stories together)
Introduction:
This is the second part of a two-part message entitled, COMPLETE: One Plus Jesus. In Part One, we discovered that since Jesus’ coming God’s family grows not by sexual reproduction but by spiritual regeneration. That means single persons can be just effective in expanding His family as married persons. I also gave five guidelines for singles.
1. Seek God’s plan for your life. Love him with your whole heart, soul, mind and spirit. Seek his will in everything you do every day.
2. Live with quality now. Be intentional about what you do. Don’t wait until something else like marriage comes along. Focus your time and energy on carrying out Jesus’ mission in the world.
3. Cultivate deep caring relationships. We all need people who will encourage and challenge us. Find some caring friends.
4. Be careful about getting married just to be “happy.” No marriage is better than a bad marriage. Be cautious about marrying to fulfill someone’s expectations – even if they are your expectations.
5. Stay morally and sexually pure. That’s the theme for this morning.
Judah Narrative (Genesis 38)
Hint of Trouble: When it started, the old man thought it was a dream come true. He was out of town on business and he saw a woman by the roadside. She appeared to be a prostitute. He thought a little sex would make him feel better and the negotiations went quickly. All she wanted was a small goat, but since he did not have one with him, Judah gave her his seal and his walking stick. The next day, when he sent the goat, she had vanished.
Normal world: Years before, Judah had left his father’s house to make his fortune. Perhaps it was the tears of grief that often flooded Jacob’s eyes. Maybe it was a guilty conscience. Whatever the reason, Judah left home and married. He and his wife had three sons. The oldest son married a woman named Tamar. He died without any children. According to their customs and laws, the next brother married Tamar in order to have a son to carry on his older brother’s name. He died too. Judah’s third son was younger and not ready to marry so he sent Tamar back to her father’s house. He promised to have the third son marry her when he was old enough. It was a lie.
Trouble Arrives: Even though it started like a dream come true, it became the old man’s worst nightmare. A couple of months after his secret fling, word came that Tamar was pregnant. She was not married and so he declared she should die. That’s when a package arrived from Tamar. Inside Judah found three things. There was a note that said, “The owner of these objects is the father of my baby.” Under the note, Judah found his missing seal and staff. He was busted and Tamar gave birth to twin boys.
Joseph Narrative (Genesis 39)
Hint of Trouble: When it started, the young man thought it was his worst nightmare come to life. His older brothers had ganged up on him and sold him to slave traders headed to Egypt. Once they arrived there, a high-ranking government official bought Joseph and put him to work.
Normal world: Joseph had been his father’s favorite son. He was the firstborn of Jacob’s favorite wife. Joseph often dreamed of the day his brothers would bow down to him and he foolishly told them about his dreams. That’s why his brothers had ganged up on him. They almost killed him but Judah had talked them into selling Joseph as a slave.
Trouble Arrives: But life as a slave in Potiphar’s house had not been as bad on young Joseph as he had expected. The Lord blessed everything he did and soon Potiphar promoted him to manager of all he owned. Then suddenly it all went south for him. He was propositioned by a cougar, an older woman. Potiphar’s wife wanted him and wanted him bad. She chased and teased him whenever her husband was gone. Other young men have dreamed of this kind of thing but Joseph said, “How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” One day she grabbed his robe but he ran leaving it behind. She cried, “Rape.” Potiphar put him in jail with a life sentence. Joseph was framed. His nightmare come to life had just gotten worse – until the day he interpreted a dream for the Pharaoh and became the Prime Minister of Egypt. Even though it started like his worst nightmare come to life and only got worse, it eventually became his dream come true.
We learn something: The battle for sexual purity can be won – even by an unmarried young man. The temptation to dishonor God through sex outside of a heterosexual, monogamous marriage can be resisted. It is possible to live in victory over sin even in this area of your life.
REPENTANCE POINT: How should you change?
In a culture that sees sex as a recreational activity like tennis or as a benefit of being good friends, God calls his people to a life of purity. In a society where sex has become both a form of entertainment and a multi-billion dollar business, God calls us to maintain a pure lifestyle.
Key Question:
You may be wondering, “How can I fight the temptation to give up on sexual purity? How can I keep pure?”
Thesis:
The Bible makes it clear that these battles are fought and won in your largest sex organ – your brain. Keep your thoughts pure and you can keep your actions clean too.
The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [to the extent that we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 AMP)
K. P. Duty: Here a few tips on Keeping Pure in your thoughts and in your sex lives. Let me share two personal observations about K. P. Duty. First, this may be a struggle for you no matter how old you become. Years ago in Indiana, I knew a man in his late 70’s who still fought to keep his thoughts pure. Second, these temptations aren’t constant. Once you are consistently victorious over them they will subside. However, they will come back when you least expect it and often with a fierceness that can take your breath away.
1. Confess any impure sexual thoughts as sin. An impure thought (lust) is a thought that if acted out would be sin. Remember what Jesus said about lust. “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28) Call them what they are – sin.
2. Seek cleansing. Deliverance from lust comes from God in response to your discipline. Claim the Lord’s promise for your thought and sex life. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) This will not be an easy victory to win but you can be more than conquerors through the Spirit’s power.
3. Demythologize sex. In the movies and on TV, you seldom see the consequences of sex and lust. Think through the results of impure thoughts. You will get hooked. They are addictive. Lust will block your usefulness for God. It will eventually lead to action. Remember what Pastor Bob Moeller said last week. “She’s hot – and so is hell!”
4. Starve the sources of impure thoughts. Trace the roots back and cut them off. Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29) Did he mean that literally? No, he was describing the attitude we need to take toward impure thoughts. Like a surgeon removing a cancerous tumor, cut it all out. Cut off the cable to your TV. Give away your TV if you need to do it. Block porn sites from your computer. Throw out the magazines, books, videos and CD’s that stir up these thoughts and feelings. Each person is unique. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you identify the sources of temptation in your life. Then be pitiless, hardnosed and thorough. Starve the sources.
5. Stop thinking of sex as entertainment. Have you ever thought about how sick it is to watch people having sex as a form of entertainment? Would you call your married friends on a Friday night and ask to come over and watch them have sex? Why? Because it’s sick and you’d lose friends very fast. But we’ll turn on the TV or plop down our hard-earned money to watch a couple of actors go at it. Sex is more than entertainment and recreation.
6. Read, study and memorize the Bible. Fill your mind with God’s truth, especially verses that attack the world’s warped view of sex. Write out the following verses on small cards or slips of paper to carry with you. Read them several times a day.
• Matthew 5:27-30
• Proverbs 6:25-29
• 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
• Philippians 4:8
7. Get accountability. Develop a relationship with someone who will ask you the hard questions and demand honest answers. Meet with him or her regularly. This should be a same gender friend.
8. Avoid a negative obsession. Saying, “I will not think about sex” guarantees you will think about sex.
9. Redirect your thoughts. Use displacement to fill your mind with thoughts about something else.
Author and pastor John Piper says:
We must not give a sexual image or impulse more than five seconds before we mount a violent counterattack with the mind. I mean that! Five seconds. In the first two seconds we shout, "No! Get out of my head!" In the next two seconds we cry out: "O God, in the name of Jesus, help me. Save me now. I am yours."
Good beginning. But then the real battle begins. This is a mind war. The absolute necessity is to get the image and the impulse out of our mind.
How?
Get a counter-image into the mind. Fight. Push. Strike. Don
