"This Is A Test, This Is Only A Test..."

Primary Text:

(Gen 39:7 KJV) And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

(Gen 39:8 KJV) But he refused… :

Title:

"This is a test, this is only a test..."

The Temptation…

Day after day Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph to commit adultery. This temptation was real.

Every one wants to be “wanted.” Certainly Joseph must have thought that because of all of the difficulty that he had encountered in his life, he “deserved a little love.” Surely, he could have thought, “no one will find out.”

How Joseph resisted temptation?

Joseph did not yield to this temptation. If we could learn to have the “mind of Joseph,” (Which was the Mind of Christ) it would give us the right thinking so that we too, could resist the many temptations that we are confronted with in our day to day lives.

So, what was in the thinking of Joseph?

1. Fear…

Joseph must have thought, “I don’t want to go back.”

God had delivered Joseph from the horrible pit. His brethren had mocked him and sold him into slavery. I can only imagine Joseph saying to himself, “I don’t want to go back!”

Although Satan cannot take away the salvation of those of us who have trusted in Christ, he will most certainly try to destroy our testimony. Sin makes a mockery of us. Sin enslaves us.

Joseph had a fear of God. He knew that this was a test. He could not, and he would not, do this great wickedness against God.

2. Gratitude…

Joseph was thinking, “God has been so good to me.”

Joseph was thankful the many kindnesses that Potiphar had entrusted him with. He knew that his blessings had come because of the grace of God on his life. He was a thankful person.

Satan takes great advantage of the man who lives in discontentment. Satan makes one promise after another. Each promise that Satan makes comes with a hidden lie. Potiphar’s wife did not “love” Joseph. After this final encounter, She would quickly lie about him and desired to have him imprisoned.

The Devil is a liar.

3. Love…

Joseph must have thought, “God has a wonderful plan for my life, and I do not want anything to mess it up for me!”

When Joseph was a young boy, God had given to him two dreams that were prophetic concerning his life. He knew that God was some day going to place him into a place of prominence. God had given him dreams concerning the great potential of his life.

Sin destroys the potential of our lives. Joseph did not want that to happen to him. And so he refused the temptation.

Conclusion:

Although doing the right thing may not be convenient and may even seem like taking a back step, we still need to obey God.

Whenever you face the temptations that come upon you in life, let me encourage you play the public service announcement in your brain, “This is a Test, this is only a test… for the next 60 seconds, we will be making a test of our emergency broadcast system… this is only a test.”

God is putting you through a test!

Let me challenge you to take these thoughts that I have conveyed with you today into that “test.”

Fear... "I don’t want to go back."

Gratitude... "God is so good."

Love... "God has a great plan for my life!"

May God help us not to yield to temptation!

God must become more real to us than the realness of the temptation that we confronted with!