Gen. 39 ~ Overcoming Temptation ~ Carl Crouse

The sermon in a sentence: Overcome Temptation by being a person of integrity! 

 “Ain’t I Beautiful!” I have a friend Rick Reynolds, several of you know him… cover of Fuller Seminary Mag… director of Operation Nightwatch… [READ story page 21….]  A story of  integrity…

“Ain’t I Beautiful!”  Ask that question to the Lord and if in your heart you can hear him say YES, then you are a person of integrity.  Is God’s grace on you?  

I love the words of Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, “Now, with God’s help, I will become myself.”  I want to be so much like Christ that it doesn’t matter what I’m doing, how much power I have, my status, my situation, but I want to serve him out of a Christ like character ~That’s integrity!  in order to live in God’s will, who I am, my integrity, is more important than what I do.  Joseph, the man in the center of today’s scripture, is forged into the person God wants him to be while a slave, while being tempted, while in prison.  In or out of prison, God’s will is to be a man or woman of high character…. That’s who Joseph is becoming… “Now, with God’s help, I will become myself.” 

---

Today’s scripture ~ Joseph, a man of integrity, overcomes temptation.  One of the most fascinating things about Gen. 39 is how many times it is pounded into our head that God is with Joseph.  At least 5 X’s  in 1st paragraphs and 3 X’s in the last paragraph… READ Why so much?  I think it is because such bad things happen to Joseph that we need it pounded into our heads God’s presence with us has nothing to do with the things that happen to us… we tend to think that when good things happen we are more blessed by God than when life throws us lemons.  A good subtitle for this chapter: lemonaide out of lemons. The reality is that the unjustness of what happens to Joseph is unbelievably unfair.  Joseph is a slave, separated from his family/home, seduced by his masters wife, when he refuses her sexual advances he is blamed for attempted rape and tossed in jail.  Lemonaid might be made of those lemons, but the glass of lemonade is miniscule compared to the injustice… Joseph still rots in jail for at least two years. 

The key is that Joseph is a man of integrity even when life sucks.  Over and over again it says, the Lord was with Joseph.  When bad things happen God is still with people of faith.  Be the person God wants you to be when its hard. 
 
Principle #1  You are vulnerable to temptation during tough times. Resist temptation, don’t compromise your faith.  Joseph had every right to be bitter, to become angry, to give up, to die, to reject God.  But what does the Bible say over and over again, “The Lord was with Joseph… God’s favor upon Joseph…”  As a slave, when chased by Potiphar’s wife, in prison.  It would be so understandable for Joseph to feel abandoned by God.  When we are feeling abandoned by God we need it pounded into our heads he is with us… why do we feel closer to the Lord when all is well, but further from Him when we are struggling?  It’s part of the human condition…

There is NEVER a time God is not with us.  God will never abandon us… Our perceptions change.  I just think it’s interesting that back in the first story of Joseph when he appears to me to be a spoiled self centered child, God is never mentioned.  Now that he has hit the bottom, literally thrown into a pit and figuratively… now it is pounded into us that God is with Joseph.  He was there all along, but Joseph could not see him. 

I had a friend that chose a lifestyle that resulted in a disease that led to his death.  After he was diagnosed he recommitted his life to the Lord, returned to the church, a disciple of Christ… but he kept many of the same friends.  I love his testimony.  He said his friends used to say to him, “How come you seem happier now that you are dying, than when you thought you were well?  That gave him opportunity to share his faith… You are more vulnerable when times are tough… open your heart to sense the presence of God, your ears to hear, your mind to receive…
 
Principle #2: You are vulnerable to temptation during easy times.  Even though Joseph is a slave, as he arrives in Egypt, things fall in place for him.  READ READ Genesis 39:2-6a.   God is with him. He certainly would not choose to be a slave in Egypt, but the lemonaid is starting to flow… when times are easy, watch out that you do not take the blessings for granted.  Be on your guard.  When your dreams start to come true, when you get the promotion.  For me, I have to even watch the little things.  Once in a while I have a sermon in which an extra large number of people tell me how much they appreciate it.  The temptation is for me the next week to think, aha, I discovered the formula for a meaningful sermon.  As soon as I do that, boom, the sermon is flat, ok, I don’t think I’ve ever embarrassed myself, but somehow a measure of arrogance creeps in… Satan wants to strike when things go well… as one person said, “Today’s victories often lead on to tomorrow’s trials.”  Why?  Taking success for granted, taking credit away from God.  During easy times, be on guard against temptation. 
 
Principle #3: “When you give into temptation, a fresh start is around the corner”  I.e. don’t be so hard on yourself.  Back in Genesis 37 Joseph gave into the temptation to Lord it over his brothers as he shared his dreams.  The brothers responded with anger…Joseph now in Egypt has another chance to respond differently.  He is broken, but obedient. 

What gets us in trouble too much is the mind games we play that when we give into temptation, we dwell on going back and having a redo of what we just did…. But life keeps going forward.  The past is over.  I can’t re-raise my kids in a different way.  I can’t undrink and not drive the car I crashed.  We can ask forgiveness, pay the price asked of us, and now seek God in the present new situation.  This is why I have told probably a 1000 people over the years to put a timer on kicking yourself for a past sin and go forward…

This week I talked to a young woman that was proud to be several months away from heroin… She’s not proud of her past choices but neither is she consumed by them… When you give into temptation, there always an opportunity around the corner to make a better decision…
 
Principle #4: When temptations come, Rise with the water.  One of my favorite quotes is Catherine Booth: “The waters are rising, but so am I. I am not going under, but over.”  Gen. 39 is about the waters rising higher and higher all around Joseph, the water is deep as temptation keeps knocking.  Joseph knows who he is.  He keeps his integrity and he too keeps rising so that his head is always above the water…
 
Principle #5: When You Are Tempted, Act Fast
Gen. 39:12  “But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.”  I love this principle.  Don’t overthink the temptation.  How much delay is spent making yourself go nuts as you rationalize why we should do this or that.  Joseph could easily find a reason to give in to Potiphar’s wife even if it’s to save himself… When tempted, act fast. Get it settled in your mind compromising your convictions/values isn’t worth the pleasure or the promotion or the money or the fame….
 
Principle #6: When You Do Right, the only reward might be the honor of God 
Joseph keeps his integrity, but few people seem to notice… When Joseph resisted the wife of his master, he is accused falsely… later in jail the warden learns to trust him, so that is a something… If popularity is your goal, you are more likely to give into temptation.  But God knows… that’s why it says over and over the Lord was with Joseph, it’s a reminder of what’s most important, our integrity, our character before God.  God honors those who dare to do the right thing…
 
Principle #7 the sum of all the principles: Overcome Temptation by being a person of integrity!  Potiphar’s wife approaches Joseph over and over,  Joseph resisted, telling her about the trust he had with his master, not wanting to abuse his authority.  He also says in Gen. 39:9 he was loyal to God. “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Joseph did not give in to temptation.  He stayed firm in his conviction before his master and his God.  The temptation was real for many reasons… sex, nobody would know, he might end up dead or in prison to resist, loss of status… yet he stayed firm in his convictions.  Earlier in his life he puffed himself up as a favorite child as he Lorded it over his brothers, but the world moved on, he found himself as a slave in Egypt, he was making lemonade out of lemons, then boom, here comes another temptation.  This time, with a fresh start, he stood against the temptation.  Joseph knew who he was. He belonged to God.  As his world crumbled around him, his singular desire was to be a person of integrity before God.  Lord, help me become myself.  Ain’t I beautiful! 

(NOTE: Several of the principles came from sermon by Ray Pritchard on same scripture)