“RUN!” Gen. 39:1-23
FBCF – 5/21/23
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Just a heads up. A PG-13 rated sermon today. It’s straight out of the Bible. And it reads like the storyline of a Lifetime Movie or an episode of “Desperate Housewives.” It’s the story of a wealthy politician’s lustful wife setting her eyes on the hunky pool boy, or in this case, Joseph, Potiphar’s personal attendant & manager of his entire household. Turn to Genesis 39:1-23.
I’m going to be careful but am going to preach the truth of God’s Word. May cause a conversation to come up w/ your son or daughter. But those conversations need to happen. In our hypersexualized society, your kids are being exposed more & more at younger & younger ages to imagery & information that must be addressed in a biblical way from a biblical worldview. Technology & social media lead the way in the distribution of this stuff into our kids’ & grandkids’ eyes, ears, & minds. If your child has a phone or will EVER have a phone, high probability of being exposed to this stuff.
- Parents across our nation are willingly taking their children to drag queen shows & conventions, exposing them to & normalizing incredibly evil deviant practices.
- School systems across our nation are providing indecent & immoral reading materials in their libraries & classrooms, sometimes requiring children to read books that promote homosexuality, multiple genders, pornography & other immoral practices.
- A Temple University professor teaches a course on pornography, saying she wants to get students away from “binary thinking: viewing porn as simply right vs wrong, good vs bad.” (https://www.foxnews.com/media/temple-university-unveils-porn-studies-course-teach-about-sex-race-patriarchy) She has a waiting list for the class.
Well, I’ve got news for this professor, these school boards, & these parents: The Word of God is absolutely clear what God’s standard is in the area of sexual purity. And His standard has not changed, no matter how far our society moves away from all that is right & good & pure.
- God’s Word teaches us that there are only 2 genders – male & female – Genesis 1:27 – “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
- God’s Word teaches us that marriage is only to be between 1 man & 1 woman – Genesis 2:24 – “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother & be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”
- God’s Word teaches us that sex is a gift from God that is to be expressed only between a husband & wife in a marriage relationship – Exodus 20:14 – “You shall not commit adultery.” Just for clarity: Def of adultery: “voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse.” (https://www.gotquestions.org/you-shall-not-commit-adultery.html)
This is God’s standard & it has not changed! To ignore His standards & deliberately disobey His commands is to start down a road that will always end in the destruction of your life & so many others. It doesn’t matter how you try to justify it – how many times you parade down the street & flaunt your “freedom” – how you try to justify it & say that your spouse just doesn’t understand you or meet your needs – how much porn the porn industry produces & how many lives they ruin – how much you love your boyfriend or girlfriend or fiancé – God’s Word has not & will not change! This is where we must stand & this is what we must proclaim! We will help those who are struggling in any of these areas. We will love you unconditionally. We will not condemn you or castigate you. We will continually point you to Jesus & to His Word. We will pray for you & w/ you.
And today, I want to make this point loud & clear:
APPLICATION – There’s only one way to deal with sexual temptation – RUN! Can make application to other forms of temptation, too.
Today, we are going to compare & contrast Joseph w/ another well-known person in the Bible – David. Both faced very strong sexual temptations. Both found themselves in very compromising situations. Both made life-altering decisions in the midst of those situations.
Quick reminder of story of David & Bathsheba – 2 Samuel 11. (“Finding Freedom from Your Past Sins” – Feb. 12)
DAVID WASN’T WHERE HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE – JOSEPH WAS RIGHT WHERE GOD WANTED HIM TO BE –
The Lord was w/ Joseph, but David wasn’t w/ the Lord. But that’s not how it had always been in David’s life. The fall w/ Bathsheba happened in 2 Sam. But back in 1 Samuel 13:14, the prophet, Samuel, said to King Saul, “The Lord has found a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over his people…” That man after God’s own heart was David. And yet, due to his military successes, his popularity among the people, & the adulation from the women, David let his guard down & made himself vulnerable. And in 2 Samuel 11:1, we see that when he should have gone off to battle w/ his troops, David stayed back at the palace.
Joseph was right where God wanted him to be. It might not have seemed that way considering all the circumstances that brought him into Potiphar’s house – abused by brothers, thrown into pit, sold into slavery. And yet we see this truth repeated:
- V. 2 – “The Lord was w/ Joseph”
- V. 3 – “His master saw that the Lord was w/ him”
- V. 5 – “because of Joseph the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian and everything that he had in his house and in his fields.” (GNT)
- V. 21 – “But the Lord was w/ Joseph & showed him steadfast love & gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”
Being where God wants you to be is an important weapon against sexual temptation.
- That means being faithful in your walk w/ Him. Our only hope to stand in the face of the withering onslaught of sexual temptation is to stand strong in Him & in His strength & in His Word.
- That means being faithful in your marriage relationship, or in your dating life if you’re single.
- That means being careful not to put yourself in vulnerable & compromising situations.
- That means being faithfully connected to a church FAMILY where you can have strong relationships w/ Godly brothers & sisters in Christ who can encourage you & hold you accountable.
- Are YOU where YOU are supposed to be?
DAVID PURSUED A MARRIED WOMAN – JOSEPH WAS PURSUED BY A MARRIED WOMAN – Ever heard phrase, “Houston, we have a problem”? Taken from Apollo 13 failed mission to the moon in 1970. The problem was an explosion that happened inside the spacecraft.
As soon as David saw Bathsheba, a married woman, taking a bath & began lusting after her, the alarm bells should have started going off w/ a voice inside him saying, “David, we have a problem. An explosion is about to happen! She’s not your wife. She belongs to Uriah. You can’t have her. You’re about to totally mess up your entire life. You better stop.” But he didn’t.
- “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control” (Proverbs 25:28 NIV).
Tables were turned on Joseph. HE was the one being pursued. He heeded the voice that most certainly was saying, “Joseph, we have a problem.” He could have thought, “I’m young. I’m a slave & slaves can’t have wives so I will probably never get to be w/ a woman. Since I’m in charge of the house, I can command everyone to get out so no one will know. Since she’s the boss’ wife, I need to keep her happy for my job security.”
See how the enemy works? But you & I as Christ-followers have the Holy Spirit in us to sound those alarms, to check us up, to remind us of the power we have in the Spirit, & the consequences if we go through w/ the sin. He reminds us of the truth of 1 Cor. 10:13 - “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
DAVID LINGERED, LOOKED, & LUSTED – JOSEPH REACTED, REJECTED, & RAN
Here are the final outcomes of David & Joseph’s situations:
- David lingered, looked, & lusted & brought irreparable harm to his family.
- Joseph reacted, rejected, & ran (v. 11-12) & experienced incredible favor from God.
Joseph’s response gives us clear guidance on how to deal w/ temptation when it comes:
- Don’t flirt w/ it or let your thoughts linger on it
o Philippians 4:8 – “true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise”
- Don’t hang around w/ it - Don't toy w/ it & "test" it. You will NOT stand!
- RUN! 3 different times Paul said to run or “flee”:
o 1 Corinthians 6:18 – “sexual immorality”
o 1 Corinthians 10:14 – “idolatry” – Sexual sin IS idolatry. You have set something or someone up in your life who you believe will bring you more pleasure or fulfillment that your walk w/ Christ.
o 2 Timothy 2:22 – “youthful passions”
o “Joseph lost his cloak but kept his character.” (Puritan preacher)
CONCLUSION – May be thinking, “I don’t struggle w/ lust or sexual temptation.” Probably some here who can say that. Not your problem area. Yours is greed, or gossiping, or bitterness, or pride. Apply these same principles to your main area of temptation.
But for those who do struggle in this area & are feeling like they’ve gone too far & that it’s too late:
- Hope is available
- Forgiveness is available
- Strength is available
