Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
Jan 12th 2014
“The Power of a Faithful Life” Gen. 39:7-23
Intro: Do You Know Who You Are?
• With God’s help, I will become myself”
• W/o God’s help, I will never become who I was meant to be.
• Perhaps life’s hardest question: “Do you know who you are?”
• Until you do, you’ll never really know where you fit in.
Once you know who you are, you can fit in anywhere.
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When/sun sat each day on Joseph’s life, he could rest easy, because he has been faithful.
• When/home/father Jacob/been a faithful son.
• When/minded his father’s flocks/been a faithful worker.
• When he was sold to Potiphar/proved/faithful servant.
• Because he/been faithful/Lord blessed everything he did.
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Passage, we/allowed to see/faithfulness of Joseph very clearly.
He remains faithful to His God/to himself, in the face of some problems that would cause many others to fail.
• Of course, there is a word here for our lives today.
As we pass through this life many situations will arise/have/potential to throw us off course.
• World/flesh/devil will conspire to get us to quit on God.
• They will do everything/their power/cause us to drop out
• To fall far short of our potential.
• God wants us to be faithful.
• Stay the course/run/race/His glory until He calls us home.
Joseph teaches us how to be faithful in spite of what we may face in this life.
• When last we saw our hero:
• Betrayed by his brothers/sold/desert traders
• took him to Egypt/sold him/man named Potiphar
• Head/Pharaoh’s security detail/far from home/slave Egypt.
• His brothers have abandoned him.
• His father thinks he’s dead.
As Genesis 39 opens, his future appears bleak indeed.
There is one fact—and only one fact—that should give us any hope that his story will turn out well.
• The Lord was with Joseph” (v. 2).
• That fact makes all the difference.
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v. 7-12 FAITHFUL IN SPITE OF TEMPTATIONS
As Joseph ministered in Potiphar’s house, he caught/eye/ Potiphar’s wife.
• She began to flirt with him, v. 7.
After a short time, she became downright brazen in her approach, asking Joseph to “come to bed with her”
• He refused her advances, but she persisted, v. 10.
• Certain day, she was/house alone
• she grabbed him/outer garments “Come to bed with me”
• He didn’t mess around/didn’t flirt with trouble.
• He didn’t say, “How far can I go? He just said no!
• Joseph left his garment in her hand and ran away.
• In “trial by fire” remained absolutely faithful to the Lord.
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Was/temptation to fulfill a natural and legitimate need
• Offer/Potiphar’s wife was/sex, pure and simple.
God made us sexual creatures and many people believe they have/right/satisfy their sexual desires/any fashion they choose.
• God has a different opinion.
Any sexual expression outside/boundaries/marriage relationship is either fornication or adultery.
• Sin against God/spouse/future spouse/yourself.
Joseph’s response/Potiphar’s wife/response we should all adopt when it comes to dealing with sexual sin
======================================= Joseph was a long way from home in a strange land
people/adopt/motto: “When in Rome, do as the Romans”.
• A lot of people live like that.
• Salesman/do things/road he will not do at home.
• Young person do things/party they will not do at home.
• Joseph did not care where he was
• He was determined to do the right thing.
• He refused to violate/trust of his master and his God, v. 9
• His family would have never known.
• Potiphar might have never known.
• Joseph knew God in Heaven would know.
• That knowledge was enough to keep him pure. Pro. 15:3
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Mrs. Potiphar was surely a beautiful woman
Egyptian women/renowned/day for their physical beauty.
• Surely she would have appealed to the male in Joseph.
• Nowhere/text does it say/he repulsed by her appearance.
• Nowhere does it suggest she/unattractive woman.
• Joseph was interested in more than simply gratifying his flesh.
• Determined to be faithful to God regardless/personal cost.
• decision he made long before he arrived in Egypt
• Decision he was determined to stand by.
• Times of temptation come our way, there is no choice in the matter; we have already decided what we will do!
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It came on the heels of a big promotion
• A lot of people would assume that they had arrived.
• He had the favor of Potiphar/king of the roost/big house.
• He did as he pleased.
• Some people might have concluded
“I can do no wrong. I might as well enjoy the fruits of my labors.”
• But, not Joseph!
Temptation and failure are more real than ever, 1 Cor. 10:12.
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It came at the perfect time and opportunity
Potiphar’s wife caught Joseph when there was no physical reason why they should not and could not commit adultery
• Only thing that stopped them was Joseph’s integrity.
• He stood his ground
• Determined to do what was right regardless of the cost.
• We need to remember that our enemy/master/setting things up.
• Put us in just the right places at just the right times
• make sin look so innocent and easy
• Make it seem that we are fool to refuse him.
• “all Satan’s apples have worms”.
Remind you/opportunities he gives you to sin will lead to disappoint, disillusionment, discouragement/possibly death
Let me make a statement or two about this matter of temptation.
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Temptation is never from God/always from within
• Always a way out of Temptation – 1 Cor. 10:13 (How?)
• Deal with it Immediately – Nip it in the bud!
• Deal with it Realistically - Get away from it at all costs.
• Deal with it Ruthlessly – Do whatever it takes to avoid it.
• Deal with it Consistently - Learn to be consistent in your resistance.
• Deal with it Confidently - We have the Lord’s great promise in 1 Cor. 10:13.
Main reason Joseph/able to remain faithful/day of salvation was because he saw sin for what it really was.
He did not see it as:
• a few moments of pleasure.
• his right.
• even an option.
Joseph saw sin as an affront to Almighty God, v. 9.
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• Learn to see sin for what it really is.
• It is not a mistake it is wickedness.
• It is not an affair, it is adultery.
• It is not an alternate lifestyle, it is an abomination.
• It is not a slip of the tongue, it is blasphemy.
• It is not an abortion, it is murder!
• Sin is a shame in any life
• Especially true when it is in the life of a Christian!
• Joseph was faithful in spite of temptations.
I don’t know about you, but I want to finish well! Like/say Paul said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith,” 2 Tim. 4:7.
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v. 13-19 FAITHFUL IN SPITE OF TRIALS
Someone said that “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”
• Mrs. Potiphar has been scorned/she sets her trap.
• When Joseph runs out
• can you see her as she rumples her hair
• Smudges her makeup and tears her cloths.
• She starts to scream and cry.
The other servants come running to see what is going on.
• She tells them that Joseph tried to rape her.
• I can also imagine them saying, “Yeah, right!”
• She holds/garment/when her husband arrives home
• In essence, she blames Potiphar for the problem, v. 17.
She says, “If you hadn’t brought this slave home, none of this would have happened. Look what you have allowed to happen in our home.”
• Potiphar hears/accusations against Joseph/becomes angry.
• I wonder who he was really mad at.
• Mad at Joseph because he believed her story?
• Mad at her/he knew the lust that was in her heart?
• Mad/himself because he didn’t/courage/stand up against a domineering wife?
• Or, was he mad because he was thinking of all the money he was going to lose, v. 5?
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At any rate, the story ends the same. Joseph winds up in prison.
Psalm 105:17-19 tell us something about the pain Joseph endured when he was first thrown into that prison.
• Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes for a moment.
• Been a faithful servant to your master.
• Successfully avoided committing adultery with his wife
• Even though she has practically thrown herself at you every day.
• You have been falsely accused.
• What do you do?
• Most of us would have launched a loud and long defense.
• We would have declared our innocence
• We would have vowed to take our revenge.
• Not Joseph!
In fact, there is no record of him even opening his mouth.
In this respect, Joseph is once again just like Jesus, Isa. 53:7
He took/trial/came his way/he endured it/grace and faithfulness.
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You/I must learn to be faithful even during the trials of life.
• When everything goes against us
• full weight of life comes crashing down on top of us
• We must remain faithful to the Lord Who loved us, bought us and saved us.
In other words don’t:
• Get mad at someone and try to quit.
• Let the hardships and valleys of life throw you off course.
• Get upset when things do not go your way all the time.
Trust God and stay the course
• God is looking for faithful servants
• for people who will be/same regardless of which way the wind is blowing.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be found faithful! He’s been faithful to me and I want to be faithful to Him!
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III. v. 20-23 FAITHFUL IN SPITE OF TRAGEDIES
• Joseph is back/pit once again.
• This time he is not in a pit of earth, he is in a prison.
• Surely he felt like his star was on the rise
• Now, it looks like those dreams will never be fulfilled.
• Many people would have given up
• would have quit/found themselves/same situation.
• Not Joseph
• Remained faithful in spite of everything life threw at him.
• Did his job in the prison so well…running the place.
• How was this possible?
• V 21 says, “The Lord was with Joseph.”
• V 23 tells us again that “the Lord was with him”.
• It also says, “and that which he did, Lord made it to prosper”
• Joseph was faithful/Lord regardless of where he was
• Regardless of where he was/Lord was faithful to Joseph.
The World around you, your own flesh and the devil are all liars!
• They will do their best to get you to drop out of this thing.
• God wants us to remain faithful
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God knows what He is doing and He is working out a perfect, eternal plan, Rom. 8:28
• You can trust Him to do right by you Jer. 29:11.
I have seen people:
• Valley of depression be used of the Lord.
• Held in the grip of terminal illness be used of the Lord.
• Who didn’t have a dime to their name and God used them.
If you will be faithful where He puts you, He will use you there for His glory!
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I want to be faithful to:
• My family/my wife/my call/my Lord/the church/the pulpit.
• the One Who has never been unfaithful to me!
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Dear friends, just keep living for Jesus, even when it doesn’t seem to be paying off.
• Just keep praying when the answers aren’t coming.
• Keep going to church when it seems as dry as dust.
• Keep praising Him even if you have to do it through your tears.
If you will stay faithful in the prisons of life
• God will get glory from your life and He will bless you in ways you could never have imagined.
• Because of his faithfulness to God
• Joseph lost his job/freedom/his reputation.
• He appears to be a ruined man.
Conc:
• 2,000 yrs./woman/Mary bowed/feet of Jesus.
• Alabaster jar perfume/year’s wages
• Poured it out/head/Jesus.
• Some people were indignant, but Jesus said
• “Let her alone…she did what she could”
• Mary was faithful/Lord/He recognized her faithfulness.
• He honored her because she honored Him by doing all she could do.
If the Lord were to look at your life today, would He be able to say “They have done what they could”?
Could He declare us to be faithful servants unto Him?
• Are you as faithful to the Lord as you could be?
• Joseph was faithful. Jesus is faithful.
• I want to be found faithful too. How about you?
• Christian, do you know who you are?
