OPEN: Back in the 80’s I read about an enthusiastic but somewhat unscrupulous salesman who was waiting to see the purchasing agent of the engineering firm. The salesman was there to submit his company’s bid, or price quote, for a particular job. He couldn’t help but notice, however, that a competitor’s bid was on the purchasing agent’s desk. Unfortunately, the actual figure was covered by a can of juice. The temptation to see the amount quoted became too much, so the salesman lifted the can. His heart sank as he watched thousands of BB’s pour from the bottomless can and scatter across the floor.
Do you think he ever got business with that company again???
APPLY: That salesman wanted to be successful.
He wanted to get that contract. And so he saw an opportunity.
… all he had to do was “cheat a little bit”
… all he had to do was touch something that wasn’t his to touch
… all he had to do was (pause…) look
It was only “one look.” No one would know. No one would really get hurt (except the other salesman).
He probably thought to himself: He deserved this sale. People who play by the rules finish last. The other salesman would probably do the same – why should he be a chump? Any and every excuse probably ran through his mind.
He wanted to succeed. And all he had to do to get the sale, get ahead in his business, was compromise “just a little.”
(… pause)
I. Joseph had been given a dream
He was going to be a great man. Others would bow down to him. He would be important. He would be a success in life.
But then things went horribly wrong. His brothers (filled with hate because of his dreams) beat him up and sold him into slavery. He was deprived of his home, his family, his very way of life.
He’s been hauled away in chains and sold like some cow or sheep at market. And his dreams of greatness - they’ve ripped away from him much like his beautiful coat had been ripped from his body.
Now, he’s alone. A slave, owning nothing - probably not even the clothes on his back. He has nothing. He is nothing. He’s unknown, uncared for, and probably scared as he can be.
As far as he knows, he’s never going to see his father or family again.
And then… suddenly his life changes. His master notices that Joseph is a good worker. Honest, dependable, hard working. And it seems that everything Joseph touches grows and prospers
How come? Because “God is with Him” (reread vss. 2-5)
God makes him successful
God makes him prosper
AND God influences Potiphar so that Joseph is noticed and honored
Suddenly, Joseph is given responsibility and authority in all of Potiphar’s house. Every thing he touches does well, so that Potiphar has no worries at all. And everything in the house and field is left to Joseph’s care.
But Joseph’s still a slave.
Joseph’s still alone at night.
He has no family.
No girlfriends we know of.
Maybe even no close friends (it’s hard to tell)
He’s a slave – a highly honored slave – but he’s no where near having the authority God had promised in the dream.
Then along comes Potiphar’s wife. She offers affection… acceptance… comfort… love. And (had Joseph been an ambitious and cunning man) maybe she would have stood for more than that.
After all, this is an important woman, her husband is a man of influence in Pharaoh’s court. She knows people. All she’d have to do is say the right words to right people and the dreams of Joseph’s childhood could become a reality. She could open doors for him He could become a man of influence and power in Egyptian society.
All he has to do is sleep with her.
I mean, he’s a man – she’s a woman. It’s a nice arrangement.
And no one would ever know.
No one would REALLY get hurt.
She’s probably done this with any number of other slaves.
ILLUS: I read one sermon on this where the preacher speculated that the other slaves had warned Joseph to watch out for the master’s wife. She was a "pot of fire" (Potiphar… get it?)
All he has to do is touch that which is not his to touch and he could have it all:
· Affection
· Acceptance
· Maybe even influence and power
All he has to do is help God out a little – and his dreams could become a reality.
II. But Joseph turns her down
Not once… not twice… but repeatedly – day after day after day.
Why would he do that? Why would he walk away from this woman and everything she represented for him…everything he could possibly want was just within his grasp.
Why would he walk away?
Principally, he walked away, because he’d ALREADY made up his mind.
When she asked him to “lay with her…”
He didn’t have to debate the matter in his mind. He didn’t have tell her, “let me think about it.”
He didn’t even (so much as) entertain the thought his mind.
Notice the first words out of Joseph’s mouth when Potiphar’s wife tempts him:
"With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:8-9)
Did you catch that?
1. He was loyal to his master
2. He was respectful of marriage
3. BUT ULTIMATELY – his entire moral code was based on whether his actions would please God. Whether his behavior would honor God.
Even if he hadn’t respected his master
Even if this woman hadn’t been married
Joseph WOULD NOT do this wicked thing and sin against God!!!
Offered the pleasures of sinful compromise Joseph REFUSED
He refused to compromise
He refused to take shortcuts
He refused to just slide through life and take the easiest route to “just get by”
Now (let me tell you)THERE WILL COME A TIME when you will be faced with a moral decision. A time when you will be faced with a decision to do or allow for some wrong action. And you’ll KNOW it is wrong. But there will be this temptation to just "let it slide." To compromise in order to get along or get ahead.
ILLUS: In my 1st ministry, I was tempted by that very issue. There was a moral problem in the church and I received intense pressure to simply let it go. To look the other way. And it would have been easier compromise and just get by. My very livelihood was in the balance (in fact, I was pretty much fired because of my refusal to do so).
One of the things that helped me stand firm was this article (I read just about that time):
"In a period of loose and sagging morals, Satan provides many rationalizations for improper behavior. Those who would live faithful Christian lives must nor be ignorant of his devises. (II Cor. 2:11). Wrong is always wrong despite our efforts to excuse our actions.
WRONG IS WRONG, EVEN If You Don’t Get Caught! … "the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:3).
WRONG IS WRONG EVEN If You Do It for a Good Cause! The honorable purpose does not justify a dishonorable deed or action. The end never justifies the means. "All sin is transgression of the law" (I John 3:4).
WRONG IS WRONG, EVEN If Others Are Doing Worse Things! To the lost in the day of judgment, it will be little comfort to know others committed worse sins. "The thought of foolishness is sin" (Prov. 24:9).
WRONG IS WRONG, EVEN If It Doesn’t Bother the Conscience! The conscience can be trained or educated to accept wrong-doing; even an honest sin of an evil done in sincerity is sinful in the sight of the Holy God. "Whatsoever a man sows, that shall be also reap" (Gal. 6:7).
WRONG IS WRONG, EVEN If It Is Commonly Considered Acceptable! The Bible says, "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil" (Ex. 23:2). The Christian should "enter not into the path of the wicked, and not, go in the way of evil men. Avoid it, turn from it and pass by" (Prov. 4:15). "Prove all things and hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from all appearance (form) of evil" (I Thess. 5:21, 22)
REMEMBER, THERE IS NEVER A RIGHT WAY TO DO WRONG!"
III. Wrong is always wrong! That’s the moral code that dominated Joseph’s life. And that was his moral code because he loved God. He wanted to honor God and please God.
AND it’s because of his uncompromising commitment to pleasing God that Joseph’s life was a success in life. In fact, once Joseph had committed himself to honoring God, no matter what the cost, his success in life was inevitable. THAT’S RIGHT – it was Joseph’s commitment to God that made him a success. It is a consistent principle throughout Scripture.
James wrote: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10
Peter says almost exactly the same thing: Humble yourselves… under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:6
What does that mean?
Well, Paul gives us an example:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:3-11)
* Jesus humbled Himself even to the point of becoming a man and dying upon the cross… AND He was lifted up, so that his name is "above every name…"
Peter, James & Paul all tell us the same thing
If you want to have the BEST that you can possibly get out of life. If you want to truly succeed by having…
The best loving
The best family
The best job
The best life
THEN you must humble yourself before God
… make Him the center of your decisions
… love Him with all of your heart and soul and mind
… and humbly WAIT for Him to work His will in your life
And you WILL SUCCEED
IV. Joseph’s life is a case study in this.
Whether it was as a slave or a prisoner, Joseph was always conscious of God.
While he was a slave, Genesis 39:2 tells us:
“The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered” – (Genesis 39:2)
and “the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did” (vs. 3)
and “the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph.” (vs. 5)
AND THEN, when Joseph is falsely accused and unjustly imprisoned, we’re told
“…the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” (Genesis 39:21)
and "The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (Genesis 39:23)
Why does the writer of Genesis keep telling us this? BECAUSE we need to remember that even in difficult and unfair circumstances - GOD IS THERE. And He is working to make the best out of difficult situations. And ultimately – if we humbly wait upon God – He will give us the desires of our hearts.
If we commit ourselves to God, humble ourselves in His presence and patiently wait for Him to lift us up "in due time" then we reach our goals. We’ll win our race. We’ll attain the victor’s crown. Perhaps not when we want to, perhaps not in the way we might have thought… but God will lift us up and we will be the true winners in this life.
CLOSE: The year was 1980, Bill Brodherst who hadn’t ran in any race since his high school days decided to begin training for a marathon known as the Pepsi Challenge 10k in Omaha Nebraska. Sending in his application, he wasn’t sure they would accept him as a participant, but soon the approval came back and he was a designated part of the running pack. His major reason for wanting to be in this race was that Bill Rodgers, a nationally known runner was also competing in the challenge and Brodherst wanted to be able to tell others that he had run in a race beside the great Bill Rodgers.
The reason that Brodherst had not run in races since his high school days was that he had been cruelly struck down in the prime of his life with an aneurysm that caused doctors to question if he would ever walk, let alone run. But with determination that only a few may ever understand, Mr. Brodherst continually took on the impossible and met the challenge. Eventually he did learn to walk... but always with a need to drag on foot behind him as he progressed. His running was not much different. One foot ahead, drag the other up... one foot ahead, drag the other up.
At the beginning of the race Brodherst joined the other runners and as the gun went off, the hundreds of competitors trotted off and Bill slowly followed. For a while he could still see them in the distance, and then the crowds cheered him on for a while. Eventually, he heard the sounds of their feet... coming back towards him and towards the finish line. Then the crowds gradually disappeared, and Bill Brodherst ran on alone towards the halfway point. When he reached he found that everyone had left, assuming their were no other runners. But Brodherst doggedly half ran, half dragged himself to the marker and placed his hands on it so that there would be no question that he had reached that destination.
Turning and making his way back toward the final marker he found that he was the forgotten man: the police stayed with him for a while but then they had to leave to return to their duties. Children came out to taunt and imitate him as he painfully made his way on. The markers that had laid out the course had been taken down. But Brodherst trudged on to the goal. Finally, it was in sight... although the crowds had disappeared and all that was left was the line that had painted on the street. Bill Brodherst struggled on with no one to watch his victory over his personal obstacles and he crossed the line several hours after he had begun the race.
Then out of the alley came a sound of applause and cheering and out came several of the race’s participants... led by Bill Rodgers - who had won the event. Rushing forward, they took Brodherst up on their shoulders and carried him for a distance and then set him down. Then Bill Rodgers took the medal that he had won from around his own neck and placed on over the head of Bill Brodherst saying "you’re the real winner of this race."
II Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day— and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
SERMONS IN THE "TECHNICOLOR FAITH" SERIES
* Making The Most Of Every Opportunity
Genesis 40:1-41:14
* How to Succeed At Just About Anything
Genesis 39:1-39:23
* The Dreamer
Genesis 37:1-37:36
