Resolve to love God so much that you hate sexual sin.

Genesis 39:7-12

I. Expect Temptation’s Targeted Attacks (v.7)

II. Enumerate the Reasons Why Sin is Very Stupid (vv.8-9)

III. Draw the Battle Lines Far From Temptation—Not on the Edge (vv.10-12)

Application Questions

1. Consider some of the prominent former pastors who have given in to sexual sin. What lessons can you glean from these public failures?
2. Read Genesis 39:9 and 1 Corinthians 6:18-7:1-5. While it is true that "all sin is sin," what makes sexual immorality uniquely grievous to the Lord?
3. Read Genesis 39:8-9 and Psalm 103:2. Start working on your own personal list: What are the reasons that giving in to sexual sin would be particularly stupid and destructive in your life? How might regularly revisiting a list like this, inspired by Psalm 103:2, fortify your love for God over sin?
4. Read Genesis 39:10 and Matthew 5:29-30. Joseph drew his battle lines far from temptation by refusing even to "be with her" day after day. In your daily routines, where might you be "dancing on the brink" of sin, such as through media, relationships, or environments? What practical steps can you take to ruthlessly eliminate gateways to temptation and pray daily against it (Matthew 6:13)?

Last time we came together, we looked at Daniel in Babylon, and I

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still want to carry that analogy forward.

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You live in a world that could

call, could be called baby.

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Now we don't live in the ancient

city of Babylon, but even scripture

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carries over the idea that the city

of Babylon will return in a new form.

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Babylon as descriptor and scr in

scripture is meant to show the world

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actively opposing God, Babylon.

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That's what we're working with.

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While we're looking at a new kind of

Babylon and we're looking at a new, a new

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way of living that actively opposes God.

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And what's so challenging about it is

that we're immersed in this culture.

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The culture that we live in actively

opposes God in one major area.

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There's actually several that you

can think of, I'm sure, but this is

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one area where I know you feel it.

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Let's talk a little bit

about our sex saturated world

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and what that means for us.

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Uh, let's take a quick

look at this graphic here.

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If you see this, it says, reported

porn use among Christian men and women.

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This is for people who

claim to be Christian.

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This was done in, you can't see this.

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This is October, 2023.

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Uh, this is a study by Barna.

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Barnard does these kinds of

surveys on a regular basis.

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And so you'll see here that

75% of Christian men, at least

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professing Christian men, 40% of

Christian women report viewing

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pornography at least occasionally.

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Now, that means, uh, I think the

way that they defined occasionally

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was once a month, once every

other month, something like that.

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So, uh, there's daily use, there's weekly

use, there's, there's things like that.

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But the occasional use is the one that

would be, I think, most helpful for us

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because this means that the majority

of men and getting close to, uh.

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A majority of women, at least

a, a, a sizable portion are, are

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viewing this with some regularity.

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Um, well, let's look more at this.

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Uh, this, this is also barna,

these, these colorful graphics.

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Here you see 20, the 20

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Uh, practicing Christians tend

to see porn as bad for society.

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That's a good sign that's promising.

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Overall, do you think that it's

good or a bad thing for our society?

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Practicing Christians will

say 45% would say very bad.

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22% would say somewhat bad.

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22%, neither bad nor good.

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And then the others we, we

don't need to pay attention to.

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But look at that.

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45, 22, 22.

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Majority of Christian men will

say it's bad, but some are saying,

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well, it's just somewhat bad.

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It's not the end of the world.

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It's not terrible for you.

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And others will say, well,

it's neither bad nor good.

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It's hard to know.

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Depends on the context perhaps.

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And then of course others will say

what they will say, but I'm interested

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in that first line practicing.

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Christians will look at

pornography as maybe something

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that's not so bad after all.

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Uh, further here, Christians comfort with

their porn use versus their conviction.

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This is where it gets

even more interesting.

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Um, for practicing Christians,

they answered 49% of them answer.

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I am comfortable with how

much pornography I use.

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49% of practicing Christians

said I'm comfortable with it,

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which means, you know, I'm not

looking to change it necessarily.

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It is what it is.

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I'm gonna let it be what it is.

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That second column here, I wish I didn't

use it as much as I do, but some is okay.

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A number should be zero

for practicing Christians.

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But you'll see here that at least

one out of five men will say,

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well, um, some, some is fine.

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It's tolerable.

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A third column here, I wish I

didn't use pornography at all.

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21%.

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Um, again, if you're a Christian,

that should be the number that we say,

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yes, I wish I didn't use it at all.

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I'm, I'm repenting of it.

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I'm living a life above reproach and

I'm seeking to be removed from that.

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One of the reasons why it pervades

and continues to be pervasive is

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it's probably this right here.

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Most porn users lack accountability.

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You have anyone in your life who's

helping you avoid pornography.

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The survey asks, 14% said yes.

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The vast majority said no.

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Now, here's what you have to

know on this particular question.

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This is US adults.

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This is not necessarily practicing

Christians, you see, but it still shows

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us that for most people, accountability

in this department is considered.

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Challenging, at minimum, maybe

socially awkward, something that

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we don't wanna talk about because

it's so pervasive and so destructive

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and perhaps shameful, rightly so.

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This category here tells us that what men

need most right now is a lot of other men

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who say, look, we're, we're gonna pursue

holiness and God fearing living together.

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And that means that we're going to,

we're gonna be open about these things.

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This sermon is not about pornography.

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But it is about sexual integrity.

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And as I thought about what the sermon

means for all of us, I had to say,

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okay, what is the typical usage of

something that destroys men's integrity?

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And this is gonna be this category here.

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Uh, usually a man doesn't become a

serial adultery without taking mitigating

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steps leading up to the larger sin.

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I don't want you guys to sin by blowing

your marriages or giving yourselves away

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in inappropriate ways and sexual ways.

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I don't want you to go into massage

parlors and asking for happy endings.

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I want you to be men who

are above reproach this.

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These stats tell me where

we are as a culture.

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It doesn't tell me about where we

are as a church, but it gives me an

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idea and, and I've been counseling

men long enough to know that this

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is one of the most difficult and

pernicious sins that men struggle with.

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I don't know where you're at

with this, but I do know that.

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You're, if you have red blood

running through your veins, you

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likely have a sex drive and perhaps

have struggled with this before.

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I remember being a young man struggling

with this and saying, Lord, I'd

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rather not have this if this is the

way that my mind works and my, I'd

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rather just not have a sex drive.

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If it means I'm going to do

things that dishonor you.

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If you know what that feels like,

um, then you're in good company.

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Here's how scripture tells us

to wrestle with these things.

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Uh, of course we're gonna talk about

accountability and openness, but I

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wanna look at the story of Joseph.

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Joseph's gonna give us a really

good picture of what it looks like

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to resist sexual temptation and to

run in the polar opposite direction.

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And sure, there are techniques that I can

give you and I'm gonna give you today.

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I think things that

will be helpful for you.

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But what we really have to wrestle with

is the heart behind Joseph's denial.

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It's one thing for me to

say, Hey, don't do this.

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Don't go to these places late at night.

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Make sure that your computer has this kind

of software on it, and that's helpful.

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Sure.

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But that's not gonna be ultimately.

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It's not gonna ultimately

deliver you from this.

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There has to be something massive that

takes shape in your heart, such that you

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want to say, no more sexual sin, no more

idolatry, no more sexual immorality.

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And that's gonna be the

heart of the sermon.

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So while there's gonna be practices

and techniques, I want to give

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you the heart of the issue.

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But before we get there, let's open

up the story of Genesis chapter 39.

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We're gonna pick up in the

middle of Joseph's story.

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You might know at this point,

Joseph has been sold into slavery.

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He has now been, uh, moved from,

from walking with nomads to now he's,

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he's living in Potiphar's house.

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Potiphar's, a high

ranking Egyptian official.

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Not exactly sure what rank he is or

what, what, why he is what he is.

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But he's a high ranking person.

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He has, uh, he has

authority, he has power.

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He has a kind of prestige that

a lot of people would look for.

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Oh, well one of the things that

God blesses Potter for with is

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Joseph, take a look at chapter 39.

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We're gonna at least get the

gist of what's happening here.

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So I can focus in on verse

seven through 12, but follow

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with me Chapter 39 verse one.

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Now, Joseph had been brought down

to Egypt and Potiphar, an officer

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of Pharaoh, the captain of the

Guard in Egyptian, had brought,

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not bought him from the Ishmaelites

who had brought him down there.

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So he sold, he's handed

off to Potiphar, verse two.

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The Lord was with Joseph and he

became a successful man and he

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was in the house of his Egyptian.

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So he's not just a field slave,

he's a high ranking slave.

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Joseph is shown to be valuable to

pot defer, and so he's not gonna be

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out in the fields doing other things.

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He's in the house, which is the

honorable place to serve as a slave.

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This is where Joseph is Verse three, his

master saw that the Lord was with Joseph.

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Now, the Lord caused all that

he did to succeed in his hands.

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So Joseph found favor in

his site and attended him.

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He made him overseer of his house and

put him in charge of all that he had.

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So now he's not just a house

slave, he's not just honored as

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being a slave within the house.

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He is slave who's in charge of over,

over all the house, and this charge is,

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is put, it puts Poter in a good place

because he says Joseph is trustworthy.

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Look at verse five.

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From that time, he made him overseer

in his house and over all that he had.

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The Lord blessed the Egyptian's

house for Joseph sake.

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A blessing of the Lord was on all

that he had in the house and field.

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Everything that Joseph

touches is being blessed.

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He's got, he's got the

Midas touch here, verse six.

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So Potiphar left all that

he had in Joseph's charge.

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And because of Joseph, he had no concern

about anything but the food he ate.

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So in verse six here, the, the concern

about only food is interesting because

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it's kind of odd that it stands out.

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Why does he give Joseph charge

of everything but not the food?

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And there's two ways to

approach this, either a.

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There's a ceremonial thing that

the Egyptians prefer not to have.

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The, the, the foreigners touch their food.

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And we see a sense of this later on.

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When Joseph, remember his brothers come

to him, they're bowing down to him.

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They have a meal.

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Joseph eats at the other table because

the Egyptians don't eat with the Hebrews.

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That could be it.

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Or the context leans or suggests

that maybe that what he means

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by this is actually his wife.

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And I'll point out, I'll

point out the proof to you.

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For that in a second.

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Carrying on this, this

next paragraph here.

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Now, Joseph was handsome in form

and appearance and after a time

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his master's wife cast her eyes

on Joseph and said, lie with me.

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But he refused and said to his

master's wife, behold, because of

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me, my master has no concern about

anything in the house and he has put

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everything that he has in my charge.

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He is not greater in this house

than I am, nor has he kept back.

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Kept back anything from me except

you because you are his wife.

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There you go.

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Everything he's in charge of except you.

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His food perhaps.

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So maybe the food is a

reference to his wife.

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He's kept everything back.

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He's kept nothing back except for you.

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How then can I do this Great

wickedness and sin against God.

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And as she spoke to Joseph and, and

as she spoke to Joseph Day after

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day, Joseph would not listen to her

to lie beside her or to be with her.

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But one day.

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When he went into the house to do his

work and none of the men of the house

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was there in the house, she caught him

by his garment and said, lie with me.

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But he left his garment in her hand and

he fled and got out of the house, and

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as soon as she saw that he had left his

garment in her hand and had fled out of

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the house, she called to the men of her

household and said to them, see, he has

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brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us.

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He came into me to lie with me,

and I cried out with a loud voice,

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and as soon as he heard that, I

lifted up my voice and cried out.

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He left his garment beside me and

fled and got out of the house.

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Then she laid up his garment by

her until his master came home.

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That's her husband, and she told her

husband the same story saying, this Hebrew

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servant whom you have brought among us

came in, came into me to laugh at me.

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Mocking playing with her.

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As you know, of course it's

sexual innuendo, but she's saying

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the this young servant that you

brought in, he's mocking us.

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He's laughing at us, he's

making sport of me, verse 18.

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But as soon as I lifted up my voice

and cried, he left his garment

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beside me and fled out of the house.

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As soon as his master heard the words

that his wife spoke to him, this

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is the way your servant treated me.

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His anger was kindled and Joseph's

master took him and put him into prison.

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The place where the king's prisoners

were confined and he was there in

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prison, but the Lord was with Joseph

and showed him steadfast love and gave

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him favor in the side of the keeper

of the prison, and the keeper of the

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prison put Joseph in charge of all

the prisoners who were in the prison.

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Whatever was done there,

he was the one who did it.

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Keeper of the prison, paid no attention

to anything that was in Joseph's charge

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because the Lord was with him and whatever

he did, the Lord made it succeed in this.

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Introductory.

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Well, this is not the intro

in, in this story about Joseph.

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We see a few things.

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We see Joseph's commitment to the Lord.

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We see his resistance against sin, and we

also see Potiphar's wife going after him.

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She cares, she, she not,

doesn't care about him.

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She lusts after him.

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And we see this operative here.

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I wanna focus your attention

starting on verse seven.

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In fact, the second half of verse six.

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But I wanna focus your attention

on a few key details as we start

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to open up verses seven through 12.

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Look at verse six B where

it says now, Joseph.

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Now, Joseph was handsome

in form and appearance.

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This same exact phrase is used

for Rachel in contrast to Leah.

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Now, Rachel was beautiful

in form and appearance.

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It is exactly the same phrase.

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The word yaffe for beautiful

or handsome just means someone

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that's really attractive.

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He is really attractive and not

just attractive in appearance.

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He's not just good to look

at, but he's well built.

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Some might say he's chiseled.

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He is a gifted man.

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God has given him the gift of.

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Just, you know, one of those

people that's like, wow, that

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dude's handsome and he's stacked.

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He's got great muscles and whatever else.

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He's a, he's a standout kind of guy

of the beauty and likeness to Rachel.

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He's a standout guy.

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Now, this gift actually is a, a two edged

sword because in verse seven, notice here,

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after a time, that is after a long period

of time, his master's wife cast her eyes

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on Joseph and said to him, lie with me.

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Now, here's what you have

to know about Joseph.

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He was sold into slavery

about 17 years old.

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At least that's what we find

out in Genesis 37, verse two.

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He's 30 years old when he

begins to serve Pharaoh.

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So we now know that Joseph was sold

at 17 and he was serving Pharaoh

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at 30, which means that time inter

in between is when he's with Poter.

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Can we narrow it down a little further?

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Well, we find out that he's 28 years

old when he's imprisoned by pot.

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Her.

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So somewhere between 17 and

28 is where Joseph is now.

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For most of us, we're gonna

acknowledge this is the pri,

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this is the prime of our lives.

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This is when your body is as

strong as it's ever gonna be.

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This is when you're, you know, you're

gonna be as young and attractive

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as you probably will ever be.

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Hope I'm not offending any of us.

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This is just the reality.

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This is the prime of his life

when she casts her eyes upon him.

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So let's make some observations

then, if this is a high ranking

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official in Pharaoh's house.

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These guys got the best

pick of the land, right?

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And when it came to the ladies, there

was not a shortage of beautiful,

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attractive females for them to choose.

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And so it makes sense that

Potiphar would choose a very

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attractive woman to be his bride.

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We agree with that.

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There's nothing in the

text that says that.

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Just making an observation,

that's likely the case.

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She was probably not a bad

looking woman, is my, is my point.

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Joseph is in the prime of his life.

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She's not a bad looking woman.

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She comes to him and remember,

she is his master's wife.

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His master's wife.

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Which also suggests that she's

got authority over him as well.

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So this woman now looks at Joseph,

and I want you to pay attention here

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to how this actually comes about.

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And verse seven says, after a time

that is over the matriculation of

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time, there's a, there's a growing of

her lust in her heart toward this man.

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And then notice here, after a

time, his master's wife, it's not

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Joseph's wife, it's his master's

wife, she cast her eyes on Joseph.

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Think about the phrasing of that word.

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Cast her eyes.

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That's a decision.

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It's one thing to notice that someone is

attractive, yaffe, beautiful or handsome.

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It's one thing to say, oh, that's

a really attractive person.

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But there's a difference between

saying, oh, I noticed that, versus,

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I'm gonna look at that and I'm

gonna feast upon that with my mind.

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That's what she's doing.

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Potiphar's wife casts her eyes on him.

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There's a decision to say, I'm going to

feed now what feels attracted to you.

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I'm going to enjoy that.

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I'm gonna feast them and maybe I'm maybe

gonna visualize what all that means.

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We see in Potiphar's wife, the

beginning and budding stages of lust.

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Finally, her feasts, uh, the feast

of her eyes can't be satisfied.

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She now has to consume it with her body.

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And so she comes to him

and says, lie with me.

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Come and in, and forsake,

forsake the Lord and lie with me.

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Joseph could have said, well, A, she's

attractive, and B well, she is my master.

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She is my master.

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I should, I should do this.

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This is my master.

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And think about the timing of Genesis 39.

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When do you get the 10 Commandments?

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This is not meant to embarrass you, is it?

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Is it in Genesis?

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Do you get the 10 Commandments?

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In Genesis, you do not.

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10 Commandments doesn't appear

for several hundred years.

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We are in Genesis 39.

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So Joseph doesn't have anything to

point to and say, well, the Bible

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says, you know, he doesn't have that.

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There's no there.

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There is no law of Moses yet.

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Moses isn't even on the scene

until after Joseph is dead.

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So you have Joseph potentially

saying, well, she is my master.

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There's no law that says I can't.

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It's at least nothing from that I've

heard from Yahweh that says, I can't.

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She is attractive.

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Well, maybe this is a gift of

God for all the wrongs that have

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been done to be to this point.

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Joseph doesn't do that.

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He denies it.

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Joseph rejects this, of course,

but I wanna point your attention to

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something that should be obvious to us.

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But sometimes we just forget.

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I want you to see how this.

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The devil uses everything that

could be positive against Joseph.

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The devil was quick to take him and misuse

him and and deliver him to temptation.

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And I want you to do the same.

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I want you to expect that when you are

in a good season of life or whatever

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God is taking you to, actually,

Joseph was not in a good season.

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You should expect temptations

targeted attacks to your life.

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Remember, Joseph is

young, he's attractive.

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Joseph has a sex drive like any

other guy, she comes to him.

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I could, I can imagine that

he would struggle with that.

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Again, he could use all these kinds

of justifications to say, well,

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maybe this is the gift of God.

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Maybe this is the right thing.

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Maybe this is what God wants me to do.

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And yet Joseph recognizes,

no, this is not of the Lord.

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I need you to expect temptations,

targeted attacks, expect that

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temptation is gonna come after you.

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And I don't mean temptation

as a per a persona.

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Uh, the world, the flesh and the

devil are all working against you.

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You expect that.

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Your enemy has time to observe you, to

find your weaknesses and to exploit them.

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In fact, have you guys ever had

this suspicion that your, the ads,

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uh, on, on your phone or the ads

on your Facebook are coming from

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somewhere that aren't exactly good?

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You think maybe your, my

phone is listening to me.

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It was a Washington Post article that

ran a few years ago, uh, trying to dispel

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the myth that your phone is listening to

you and so they have conclusive evidence.

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Your phone is likely not eavesdropping.

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Maybe that's comforting to you, but it

should not be because they actually say

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they have so much more information on you

that that's the least of your concerns.

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Here's the things that they said.

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They're getting such a deep picture

of us as individuals, more so than

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listening to your conversations.

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In other words, the, the ad data

available for you online is so vast

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that they don't need to listen to you.

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All they need to do is

have your wifi network.

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All they need to do is, is have your,

you know, the cookies that track you on

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the different websites, and so they say

in the hypothetical dinner conversation

391

that you think they're overhearing.

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Maybe you didn't search the web for

ice skates after your chat, but your

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spouse did over your shared wifi

network and perhaps your home apps, your

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phone apps rather have logged the time

you've spent in or near a skating rink.

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Advertisers could also have bought

information about the age of

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the children in your household.

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All that data could be collated

to, to building a really powerful

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picture of who you are in order

to target you with advertisements.

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And so when it seems like your

phone, or your Facebook or whatever

400

else is listening to your phone

conversations, it's not that they're

401

actually listening to your soul.

402

They're inva invading your privacy

by learning a whole lot of things

403

about you, and that information

is sold to the highest bidder.

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What's interesting about that

is that they're really good at

405

targeting attacks because they're

observing things about you.

406

They observe that you know the

car that you drive, you know the

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apps that you have on your phone.

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They can collate all that data.

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Who do you think has been

doing that the longest though?

410

It's not advertisers.

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It is our enemy.

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He's had a lot more time to observe you

than anything your phone has ever done.

413

In fact, advertisers are

just late to the game.

414

The devil's been doing this

for all time in eternity.

415

Well, it's not exactly true.

416

Not eternity.

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He's not, he's not an eternal

being, but you get my point.

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He's had a long time to watch you.

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There are, I'm sure demons assigned

to our church that are said, just

420

go watch them, see what they're

doing, see what their weaknesses

421

are, listen to their conversations.

422

Find ways to exploit them.

423

If you ever read screw tape letters,

uh, screw tapes, letters from CS

424

Lewis, that's well worth your time.

425

It's hard to read 'cause you

have to kind of do the reverse

426

and say, okay, this is not God.

427

This is the opposite of God.

428

Read that and I think you, you, you

get a clear picture of how, how the

429

spiritual word world tends to work.

430

There are three areas that

I want you to be aware of.

431

Three targeted areas of, of

the phone, not the phone.

432

The devil attacking you.

433

These are huge.

434

Um, I got the ideas for these three

areas from Costen Berger, but I need

435

to give you my own spin on them.

436

He, he offers them in the

context of his book on marriage.

437

Lemme give you a couple of these though.

438

Number one, of course, sexual temptation.

439

There's never a time in your

life I think that you can

440

never let your guard down here.

441

Sexual temptation is gonna be one of

those areas that you should expect

442

the devil to use things against you

because you're a visual creature.

443

You're designed by God

to have a sex drive.

444

It's his good gift to you.

445

And you should expect that This is

always going to present a challenge

446

for you unless God makes you a eunuch.

447

And you know, when I was a young man, I

used to pray, God, please take this away.

448

I used to pray this.

449

God, please, I'd rather not have this.

450

Um, I realize now that's

a foolish thing to ask.

451

I don't want that.

452

I want the good gift, man.

453

I'd rather not sin, but

I want the good gift.

454

I wanna enjoy the good

gift that God has given me.

455

And I'm sure you do too.

456

You need to be aware that one of

the areas a devil will attack you

457

is in the area of your sex life.

458

Um, let me just open the kimono with

you and talk a little bit about some of

459

the counseling sessions that I've had.

460

Obviously no names here.

461

Um, you probably haven't talked

to a man who's married, who

462

struggles to perform for his wife,

463

doesn't know why he's perfectly healthy.

464

But if you dig below the

surface, you might uncover that.

465

He spent a lot of time with pornography,

spent a lot of time with pornography,

466

and so his mind struggles now to be

attracted to his not so attractive wife.

467

I mean, she's not, she's not gonna

be someone on a cover of a magazine.

468

You know, you're not gonna

see her on an advertisement.

469

She's just ordinary, and he now

struggles to feel the strong attraction

470

that is necessary for that performance

471

when he does.

472

He struggles to take it

all the way he could.

473

He could get the car started, as

it were, but struggle to get to the

474

destination and the car loses gas.

475

We're tracking with what I'm saying here.

476

One of the worst satanic attacks

that we are facing today is this

477

ongoing feeding of our sexual

proclivities with pornography.

478

Our young men are facing it.

479

We're facing it.

480

We know what this is like.

481

You just have to know this is

something that the devil is

482

using against your marriages.

483

Your kids' marriages.

484

This is an area that you

have to guard and protect.

485

You are the one that God has

called to protect your home.

486

That means protecting your own heart.

487

That means making sure that you are not

giving yourself to these things, and

488

then telling your sons and your daughters

and your grandkids, Hey, don't do this.

489

Do as I say, don't, don't do as I do.

490

You know, speaking of a, a husband and

wife engaging in physical intimacy, I

491

want you to write down one Corinthians

seven, five, right this down.

492

You're gonna, I'll have you look at

it later, but here's what it says.

493

First Corinthians seven, five.

494

Do not deprive one another except

perhaps by agreement for a limited

495

time that you may devote yourselves

to prayer, but then come together

496

again so that Satan may not tempt you

because of your lack of self-control.

497

First Corinthians seven, five tells

you married men, that you are to

498

give your wife her conjugal rights.

499

You are to give them to her.

500

You're to perform in this area.

501

This is, this is your obligation.

502

In fact, scripture, this is one of

the only places, and this is the only

503

place Scripture says You have rights.

504

You have rights.

505

Your right is to receive your

conjugal rights from your wife.

506

Her right is to receive her

conjugal rights from you.

507

You are commanded to give

your wife what's hers?

508

This is, this is something

I can't overstate.

509

Uh, I've, I've canceled couples

and we've talked to other

510

pastors who counsel couples who.

511

It just doesn't happen.

512

It doesn't happen for a lot of reasons.

513

You know, there's busyness and there's,

there's seasons of life where there we

514

can't find time and all, you know, things.

515

One month turns into two, turns into

six, and then suddenly it's like,

516

well, we don't really need to, I

don't feel the attraction anymore.

517

Like, we've got our, our got

our plans working, you know,

518

we're getting our jobs done.

519

This is an area you have to protect.

520

You have to protect this,

and you have to pursue this.

521

This has to be an ongoing

practice of your life.

522

If you're married, this is

something you have to do.

523

It's can imagine a single guy hearing

this saying you have to pursue your wife.

524

Yeah.

525

When you're young, you don't

even think that this is an,

526

this is gonna be an issue.

527

Um, but as you know, as you get older,

things change, plumbing changes.

528

Uh, you have to, you have

to do the work though.

529

This is something God calls us to.

530

This is a right and

good thing for us to do.

531

You have to pursue this.

532

God gives you the opportunity.

533

You have to do it.

534

At some point, things change.

535

You're not able to anymore.

536

I get that.

537

This is one area you need to be aware of.

538

Relational, uh, sexual temptations.

539

Relational temptations.

540

Can I tell you one of the,

the tools of the enemy?

541

Um, and obviously we're talking about

sexual morality here, but one of the

542

tools of the enemy is to isolate you.

543

And so one way to isolate you and get you

bored and figuring like, what do I do now?

544

And I have friends I hang out with.

545

I'm just gonna go look at porn,

um, or I'm gonna pursue this

546

relationship on this, you know, this.

547

Nefarious website.

548

One of the ways that the devil does

that is by isolating you from other men.

549

And so I'm glad you're here.

550

I'm preaching to the choir.

551

This is good.

552

I'm glad you guys are here.

553

But if the devil can get you by

yourself, left to your own devices,

554

this then frees you to do things

with a slightly less loud conscience.

555

'cause I don't have you

to tell me this is wrong.

556

I don't have you confronting me.

557

I don't have anyone asking

me, Hey, how's your pro?

558

How's your browsing going?

559

How's your marriage going?

560

How's your intimacy going?

561

I mean, that's not the question

we ask each other, but maybe

562

it's a question we should start.

563

We should start investing time to ask.

564

You can't ask this to everybody.

565

I know that you can't ask anybody in the

room, Hey, how's your sex life going?

566

But you could say, I care

about you and not say How.

567

How's your heart?

568

How's your walk with Christ?

569

What does it look like?

570

Uh, you're single.

571

You're single right now.

572

How?

573

How is, how is your sexual

purity in your singleness?

574

Um.

575

This is the area where we have to

care for for each other enough to say,

576

look, I'm gonna risk offending you

and potentially hurting your feelings

577

when I talk about these things.

578

Relational temptations are

those that the church is

579

a uniquely susceptible to because our job

is to be in each other's kitchen, and when

580

that happens, the risk that I possess here

is that you, you get mad at me for that.

581

Even as your pastor,

my job is to call you.

582

If I send something's up,

my job is to call you.

583

You should expect if things are

going wrong in your life, one of

584

your pastors is gonna find out

about it and they're gonna call you.

585

You know how much trepidation

I feel about that?

586

'cause like he's, I'm gonna get him

mad, he's gonna be upset, he's gonna

587

leave our church because he's not gonna

appreciate the fact that he's being

588

called to the, the mad about something.

589

The relational temptations that

are part of this whole equation are

590

legion, and all I'm saying here is

that you should expect this targeted

591

attack because of where you are.

592

The devil doesn't want you

to be part of a church.

593

Devil doesn't want you to have godly

friends who call you to the mat.

594

The devil doesn't want you to pray

with other Godly men so that you

595

can guard your marriage and love

your wife and lead your kids.

596

Of course, he doesn't want that, so he's

gonna bring you by herself, put you in

597

isolation so that you'll focus on other

things, fleshly temptations or just

598

disassociating from the church altogether.

599

The targeted attack for you may

not look the same as Joseph.

600

You may not be a strapping young

man with bulging muscles, but

601

you're a husband, you're a father.

602

Those are areas that God.

603

Will want you to expect that the, the

enemy will attack you in if you're single,

604

you should expect the enemy to attack

you in your singleness and to lure you

605

and say, well, you're not married yet.

606

It's fine.

607

It's fine.

608

There are some images

that you'll never forget.

609

Relationships for those in the

room who are married, marriage

610

temptations, there's a lot of them.

611

I thought about this given the fact that

there's a lot of singles in the room,

612

but I, I think marriage is so important.

613

Hebrews chapter 13 tells us that

marriage should be held in honor

614

among all, not just the marriage.

615

Marriage should be held in

honor among our congregation.

616

There are unique temptations that come

with marriage and it's a good thing.

617

So we should expect the targeted

attacks of the enemy to try

618

to break our marriages apart.

619

Um, marriage temptations for you

would be anger, unforgiveness,

620

bitterness, a wife that will not

submit, a husband that will not lead.

621

These are areas where you need to

recognize that God is going to hold

622

us accountable for these areas.

623

In fact, verse Peter, chapter three,

we're gonna get to it in a couple

624

months, I believe, where Peter says,

your relationship with God can be

625

disrupted because you're not showing

honor to the woman as the weaker vessel.

626

You're not caring for her the way

that God calls for, and therefore,

627

he's not gonna listen to your prayers.

628

You need to expect targeted attacks

from temptation, from your enemy,

629

the world, the flesh, and the devil.

630

That's what happened to Joseph.

631

That's what's gonna happen to you.

632

It's part of the story here.

633

Let's continue on the

next few verses here.

634

Let's take a look at how Joseph

responds to this, and this, of course,

635

is one of the reasons why we're

studying this in the first place.

636

Take a look at verse

eight, Genesis chapter 39.

637

If you have your Bibles, look,

look along with me, please.

638

I love this, but he refused.

639

Let's just take a moment to honor that.

640

This attractive woman's coming

up on him, but he refused.

641

And I want you to pay special

attention to what he says.

642

Take.

643

Take a look at here.

644

He said to his master's wife,

again acknowledging that

645

she doesn't belong to him.

646

She belongs to Potiphar.

647

It's says Master's wife.

648

Behold, because of me, my master has

no concern about anything in the house.

649

And he has put in, he's put

everything that he has in my charge.

650

He is not greater in this house than I

am, nor has he kept back anything from

651

me except you, because you are his wife.

652

As though she needed the

rationale to understand, and

653

I guess that is a point here.

654

Lust does make you stupid.

655

Lust and sin is not sanity.

656

It's not sensical.

657

This is why we, we go after each other

because we know we're just, and sin.

658

We're not sane.

659

He hasn't kept back anything from me

except you, because you are his wife.

660

Now, I want you to pay attention

to this last sentence because it's

661

the opposite of what you'd expect.

662

It's an ironic twist.

663

You expect something, but

you're gonna get another thing.

664

And that's what emphasizes

this verse among the rest.

665

Okay?

666

Pay attention, I'll read it the way

that we expect it, and then you'll

667

read it the way that it's there.

668

Here's the way that we're gonna

expect, let, let me back up just so

669

I can give you the sense of this.

670

Um, because of me, my master

has no concern about anything.

671

He's not greater in this house than I am.

672

He's not kept back anything

except, uh, from you, except

673

kept back anything from me.

674

Except you because you're his wife.

675

How then can I do this great

wickedness and sin against my master?

676

Do you see it?

677

Where you would expect

him to say, my master.

678

He says, my master.

679

So this whole time Joseph is

giving her a litany of reasons.

680

My master's authority, my master's

trust, my man, my master's care,

681

everything my master's given me.

682

I, man, how could I, how

could I dishonor my master?

683

And yet he doesn't say that.

684

He says, how can I do this great

wickedness and sin against God?

685

This, this verse is in neon blinking

flashing lights in the Bible.

686

Because it goes in a completely different

direction than what you're expecting.

687

It's like going on a rollercoaster.

688

You expect it to go right, and it twists.

689

You left and you're like,

whoa, I wasn't expecting that.

690

You got whiplash.

691

That's what's happening here.

692

Moses, who we believe to have written

the Pentateuch is writing to highlight

693

off the page what drove Joseph.

694

What drove Joseph to say no

to this great wickedness.

695

While it was his high view of God,

his honor for God, everything leading

696

up to that one sentence is my master.

697

My master, my master.

698

But then he reveals his true master.

699

And he says, I could.

700

I could never do this against

God, my sin against God.

701

So temptation will come.

702

The question is, will you be ready?

703

And I want you to do at least a little

bit of what Joseph does, and I want you to

704

list the reasons why sin is very stupid.

705

List the reasons why sin is very stupid.

706

Actually, I put enumerate

'cause I wanna be fancy.

707

Number a system.

708

Number two, enumerate the

reasons why sin is very stupid.

709

I dunno about you, but in my house,

stupid is not a word that we encourage.

710

It's close to a cuss word.

711

In my family, we only allow our kids

to use it when it's appropriate.

712

So I hope you understand.

713

I'm not trying to be, I'm not

trying to, uh, insult you.

714

Uh, I'm just trying to help you understand

here, I'm not using this word casually.

715

I, I don't think stupid is a helpful word.

716

Most of the time we, we don't

tell our kids to use it, but I

717

wanna use it with you guys and

I think all of us would agree.

718

Sin is very stupid.

719

But rarely do we take the time

to do what Joseph does here.

720

He's got a list of, I can find elements,

things that he says to Potiphar's

721

wife to diffuse the situation.

722

At least in his mind, I don't even

know if she's talking to her as

723

much as he is talking to himself.

724

He's saying, look, my master.

725

Has no concern.

726

I've got my master's trust,

I've got my master's charge.

727

I've got my master's

position and authority.

728

I've got my master's generosity, and

I really care about King Jesus Honor.

729

I mean, obviously it's an anachronism

here, but you get the idea.

730

He has a list at the ready to pull out

whenever temptation comes along, do you,

731

do you have a list ready to pull out?

732

When temptation comes along, you need to

have something in your heart and mind.

733

You need to have a list of reasons why

sin is very stupid, at least one practice.

734

You spend time doing this, you're

journaling you and the Lord.

735

What would happen to

my life if I did this?

736

What's the fallout of my sin

against my wife, my kids, my church?

737

This began a fallout.

738

Um, we recently passed the 80 year mark

where the, the first atomic bombs are drop

739

dropped on, uh, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

740

So time, uh, time Magazine

produced an article.

741

From, from survivors of the fallout.

742

This is gnarly.

743

I mean, they have little stories

from people, uh, little anecdotes

744

about what it was like to experience

the fallout of an atomic bomb.

745

Here's Yasujiro Tanaka.

746

Let me just read to you

briefly what he says.

747

I was three years old at

the time of the bombing.

748

I don't remember much, but I do

recall that my surroundings turned

749

blindingly white, like a million

camera flashes going off at once Then.

750

Pitch darkness.

751

I was buried alive under the house.

752

I've been told.

753

When my uncle finally found me and

pulled my tiny 3-year-old body out from

754

under the debris, I was unconscious.

755

My face was misshapen.

756

He was certain that I was dead.

757

Thankfully, I survived.

758

But since that day, mysterious scabs began

to form all over my body, I lost hearing

759

in my left ear, probably due to the blast.

760

More than a decade after the bombing,

my mother began to notice glass shards

761

growing out of her skin debris from

the day of the bombing, presumably.

762

My younger sister suffers from

chronic muscle cramps to this day

763

on top of her kidney issues that has

her on dialysis three times a week.

764

That's what that says, I'm told.

765

So that's a translation for you.

766

You know, I suspect that if we were able

to see the fallout from sexual sin as

767

easily as the fallout of an atomic bomb,

we would probably more eagerly fight it.

768

You can see the fallout of an atomic bomb.

769

Its physical effects

are, are, are terrifying.

770

The disfigurement of the bodies and you

can even today still see black and white

771

images of people's bodies that were

charred, charred to a, I mean, to a crisp.

772

You could see this, you could see the

fallout, and yet with sexual sin, I would

773

argue the fallout is actually worse.

774

Spiritually speaking, it's not a physical

fallout, but the spiritual effects

775

of sexual sin are so pernicious, so

evil, and so far reaching that we'd

776

be crazy not to give it attention.

777

So here's what I wanna do for you.

778

Um, as you think about this, I'm

going to ask you to, to do a, a little

779

bit of a, a practice with me here.

780

I want you to envision something and got

this idea from a book that I recently

781

read on the subject of sexual purity.

782

And I thought, oh, this is so good,

it's so helpful, I wanna give it to you.

783

Okay?

784

So I want you in your mind's

eye to envision what this

785

might look like for you.

786

You have just committed some kind

of sin against your, your wife,

787

your kids, your family, your

grandkids, something like this.

788

Sorry about that.

789

Okay, let me take you

through this scenario.

790

Envision yourself calling together,

your elders, your pastors, and sitting

791

in their midst and telling them

how you have betrayed their trust.

792

See their sunken faces and

feel their broken hearts.

793

Listen to them.

794

Consider how they'll tell your

community group and the church, and

795

then imagine your brothers and sisters'

confusion and how it will affect

796

those with whom you've done life with.

797

Imagine how the name of Christ will be

mocked in your community and beyond.

798

Then picture walking out

to your car and getting in.

799

Drive down the road near your house and

circle your neighborhood a few times.

800

Picture the place where you walked

your dog, where you walked with

801

your wife, and where you played

with your children in the evenings.

802

Now pull into your driveway or your garage

and walk up to the door of your house.

803

Hear the scampering feet of your

children running up to you and putting

804

their arms around your legs saying,

daddy's home in your mind's eye.

805

See the way they love and they trust you.

806

Drink that in deeply.

807

Now, tell your kids to go play

outside because you have to

808

talk to mommy about something.

809

And as you walk to the kitchen where

she's faithfully going about her day,

810

serving you dinner, preparing the

meals, look at the smiling pictures

811

on the wall, and remember the happy

days that you shared together.

812

Lead her by the hand to your

bedroom where you used to make love.

813

Ask her to have a seat and feel your heart

scamper and the lump form on your throat.

814

See her eyes asking what's wrong.

815

And then watch her weep as you tell

her that you've been unfaithful.

816

Hear her whale.

817

See her sob.

818

Feel her hip your chest and watch her

knees fall to the floor in despair.

819

Imagine the phone call to

her parents and to yours.

820

Hear the silence on the phone as

they take in what you've told them.

821

Imagine the day you gather your

children and sit them down to explain

822

why mommy and daddy are going to spend

some time apart and why you have to

823

sell the house that they love so much.

824

See yourself taking down those

smiling pictures from the wall,

825

taping up the moving boxes, unsure

if you'll ever open them again.

826

Do you see that?

827

I hope this helpful visualizing

activity gives you a sense of the

828

gravity of sexual sin and its effects

on the lives of those around you.

829

I know for some of you, this

is not the same season of life.

830

I get that.

831

What then is our solution?

832

How do we, how do we deal with this?

833

I, I would love for you to

think about all the things.

834

If that could happen, if you give yourself

to sin like this, I mean, all you gotta,

835

all you gotta do guys, is look at the

Dallas News and you'll see pastor after

836

pastor after I am grieved by this pastor

after pastor, men who are disgraced,

837

walking away from their congregations

because they gave themselves a sexual sin.

838

I hate that.

839

I hate it.

840

Psalm 1 0 3 says that word to bless the

Lord and forget not all of his benefits.

841

This is partly where this comes

from, or blessing the Lord and

842

saying, well, I don't wanna forget

the things that you've given me.

843

I don't wanna forget the way

that you've designed my life.

844

I have a great life.

845

I have a great wife and kids.

846

They're not perfect.

847

Sure, but thank you, God for

giving me all these things.

848

Thank you for giving me all these gifts.

849

Joseph ends where I need you to to begin.

850

He says, how can I do this great

wickedness in sin against God?

851

This is the secret to our sexual purity.

852

This is the heart of our ability to

stand against the schemes of the enemy.

853

And it is simply this, that we love

God so much that we hate our sin.

854

We hate sin.

855

I love God so much that this, the

idea of sinning against God is so

856

pernicious, so repulsive, so repugnant

that I can't even fathom the idea.

857

I love God so much.

858

I just hate my sin.

859

That's where we gotta be.

860

That's where we have to be, gentlemen.

861

This is what, this is what's

gonna cause us to live faithfully.

862

This is what's gonna cause us

to, to love our church, to love

863

Christ, and to continue doing the

things that we're called to do.

864

Otherwise, what man among us could

withstand that kind of temptation.

865

I dare say not many, but here God shows us

the thing that drives Joseph is not just

866

that he has his masters responsibility,

trust, and all, all his generous gifts.

867

He's saying, but I could never

do this wickedness against God

868

who gave me all these good gifts.

869

God is the one that our hearts

have to circle to circle around.

870

Okay.

871

Time is of the essence here.

872

Let's continue on verses 10 through 12.

873

I, I want you to see then how the,

how the response is helpful to us.

874

Verse 10, and as she spoke to Joseph

Day after day notice, she wasn't,

875

she, she was very persistent.

876

She didn't give up after

the first rejection.

877

He, she spoke to him day after day.

878

He would not listen to.

879

To lie beside her or to be with her.

880

But one day when she went into the

house to do his work, when he went

881

into the house to do his work and

none of the men in the house was

882

there in the house, she caught him

by his garment saying Lie with me.

883

But he left his garment in her hand

and fled and got out of the house.

884

So many good things here.

885

First of all, notice that Joseph

withstands her temptations day after day.

886

This is what got Samson in trouble.

887

Delilah, day after day said, tell

me the secret of your strength.

888

And eventually his soul was

vexed to death is what it says.

889

It's fine.

890

I'll tell you.

891

He gives in, and then of

course, his life is lost.

892

As a result of that, Joseph consequently

could have given in and we, we may not

893

even hold that against him, of course,

who could withstand that, and yet he would

894

withstand her advances day after day.

895

But one day, verse 11 says, one day.

896

He finds himself at the wrong

place at the wrong time.

897

She catches him.

898

And it's interesting here, the word

for caught, the one that she says here,

899

caught him by his garment is the same

word that's used in Deuteronomy 22 that

900

describes the violation of a virgin.

901

If you catch my drift.

902

It's a word that's used

for something else.

903

She catches him in order

to consume him physically.

904

He escapes and he leaves

his cloak behind, of course.

905

Then she tells her her husband,

look at what he's done.

906

This is the second time in

Joseph's life where his clothes

907

are used to lie about him.

908

Interesting.

909

But here's the thing I

think we see in Joseph.

910

One of the things that we can take

away from this experience that he

911

has is that he does everything he can

to put temptation far away from him.

912

Now he only has so much control

because he's a slave in the house.

913

But I wanna take that lesson

for us and we'll put everything

914

else here underneath that point.

915

Number three, I want you to

draw the battle lines far from

916

temptation, not on the edge.

917

Draw the battle lines far.

918

Not on the edge.

919

There's freedom here.

920

There's wisdom involved.

921

You can make a lot of choices for

yourself about where you go, how you

922

spend your money, what kind of, you

know, what kind of place you go to

923

get a massage if that's your thing.

924

You get to make decisions.

925

But my encourag encouragement from you,

from Joseph's life is, Hey man, don't

926

put, don't put the battle lines so close

that you could almost trip and fall over.

927

As I thought about that, it reminded

me, uh, one of the most dangerous things

928

that I've done, which is I took little

ones to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.

929

My kids were small at this point, and we

went to this place called the Horseshoe.

930

I colloquially named the horseshoe.

931

But you'll notice here it's

a grass, uh, not grass.

932

It's glass grass would be more scary.

933

It's a glass, horseshoe shaped,

uh, window that you're walking

934

on where you look down like six,

6,000 feet or something like that.

935

I forget how tall it is, but you

go here, you, you, you walk on this

936

thing, you see how far up you are.

937

Terrifying.

938

In fact, after going on

this horseshoe thing.

939

I felt more concerned about keeping

my kids nearby 'cause now I could

940

see how far the thing goes down.

941

So when we passed our way through this, on

the other side of this, uh, I don't know

942

what, on this side there's a lot of empty

space where there are no fences or gates.

943

It's just the Grand Canyon.

944

So I kept my kids really close

and I said, Hey, stay with me.

945

Don't go near the edge.

946

Stay with me.

947

Stop running away, Tabitha, stay with me.

948

I kept on keep, I kept him close.

949

I knew the dangers were severe,

so I kept him really close.

950

There are dangers that are severe

dangers that we need to be aware of

951

that will keep us close from sin and

not, and not dancing on the edge of it.

952

Thomas Brooks, he wrote a book called

Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices.

953

I highly commend that to you.

954

He said he who will be so bold.

955

In fact, here I have it

for you on the screen.

956

I forgot.

957

He who will be so bold as to attempt to

dance upon the brink of the pit may find.

958

Woeful experience that it is a

righteous thing with God that

959

he should fall into the pit.

960

In other words, if you're tempting God

by dancing on the edge of the cliff,

961

don't be surprised if God lets you fall

over, is what Thomas Brooks is saying.

962

And I wanna commend that to you

as a, as a really helpful thought.

963

Let us not play with fire and

pretend we won't get burned.

964

That's another way to put.

965

I need you to draw the

battle lines far from sin.

966

First of all, let's not take a day off.

967

Joseph couldn't take a day off.

968

Her persistence was day after day.

969

She came after him without relent.

970

She was going for him after.

971

I mean, and she's seducing him.

972

So she's not just being

passive about this.

973

She's going after the guy

in a multitude of ways.

974

I'm sure day after day temptation doesn't

take a day off, and neither should we.

975

I need you to feel the sense that

temptation is always watching after you.

976

In fact, one of the things

that Jesus asked you to pray.

977

This lead us not into temptation.

978

How often does he want you to pray?

979

That?

980

Always when the disciples ask him, Jesus,

how should we, you know, how do we pray?

981

He says, okay, our Father, and

he goes through the prayer at

982

the end, he says, and pray this.

983

Lead us not into a temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

984

This is how Jesus wants you to pray, and

until you're fully delivered from this

985

bondage of sin and death in your body,

you're always gonna be susceptible.

986

Okay.

987

More to say about that.

988

But let's just go on here.

989

Don't, don't take a day

off close gateways to sin.

990

Uh, Joseph did everything

he could, uh, to avoid her.

991

In fact, in in verse 10, the second half

of verse 10, it says, uh, as she spoke to

992

him day after day, he would not listen to

her to lie beside her or even be with her.

993

He wouldn't even be with the woman.

994

I don't wanna be anywhere near you.

995

I'm not gonna lie beside you.

996

I'm not gonna be near you.

997

I'm just gonna, I'm

gonna be somewhere else.

998

I'm gonna be on the

other side of the house.

999

If I can avoid you, I will.

00:45:42,875 --> 00:45:45,875

He does everything he can to avoid

being around this woman, and I would

00:45:45,875 --> 00:45:49,234

love for you to do the same, close off

the gateways that lead you into sin.

00:45:49,444 --> 00:45:50,525

This is not what Jesus said.

00:45:50,734 --> 00:45:52,685

If your right eye cause you

to sin, what did you say?

00:45:53,555 --> 00:45:54,725

Cut it off, Guse it out.

00:45:54,725 --> 00:45:56,495

Do anything you can to avoid the sin.

00:45:57,095 --> 00:45:58,535

Run far away from that.

00:45:58,685 --> 00:46:03,185

Never allow yourself to be near where sin

can spark and, and take over your heart.

00:46:05,915 --> 00:46:10,865

Third, don't tolerate little

sins, don't tolerate little sins.

00:46:12,875 --> 00:46:15,365

She says to to Joseph, lie with me.

00:46:15,395 --> 00:46:16,145

He says, no.

00:46:16,475 --> 00:46:19,265

She says, in that case,

how about just be with me?

00:46:20,404 --> 00:46:21,725

It's a mitigating step, right?

00:46:21,875 --> 00:46:23,615

She tries to attempt him by compromising.

00:46:23,615 --> 00:46:25,234

Well, if you weren't, if you're not

gonna lie with me, if you're not gonna

00:46:25,444 --> 00:46:28,115

have a relation with me, how about

just, just lay with me right here.

00:46:28,805 --> 00:46:30,845

Be with me and we'll talk about things.

00:46:31,549 --> 00:46:33,589

She knows what she's doing

and he knows what she's doing.

00:46:34,459 --> 00:46:37,700

He won't even tolerate a little

sin, A little compromise, and let

00:46:37,700 --> 00:46:38,839

me encourage you to do the same.

00:46:39,349 --> 00:46:41,089

You know your heart well

enough, or at least you should.

00:46:41,660 --> 00:46:45,019

When your sin is trying to find

a reason to justify some kind

00:46:45,019 --> 00:46:49,399

of illicit activity like Joseph,

don't tolerate even a little sin.

00:46:50,329 --> 00:46:53,180

In fact, one Puritan said this way,

indeed there is no little sin because

00:46:53,180 --> 00:46:55,729

there is no little God to sin against.

00:46:56,390 --> 00:46:59,539

Every sin against God is a high

handed sin against the Lord.

00:47:01,265 --> 00:47:05,195

Recall David's descent, second

Samuel 11, David's descent began

00:47:05,585 --> 00:47:06,665

with, I'm just not gonna go to war.

00:47:07,385 --> 00:47:08,285

I'm just gonna sit back here.

00:47:08,285 --> 00:47:09,155

You guys got this.

00:47:09,185 --> 00:47:12,125

And then a decision to

say, I'm not going to war.

00:47:12,215 --> 00:47:16,115

Turned into a decision just to

look, to look at the woman and that

00:47:16,115 --> 00:47:22,835

look fostered lust, leading him to

take her and beyond that to murder.

00:47:22,835 --> 00:47:23,705

Uriah, her husband.

00:47:26,945 --> 00:47:28,025

Here's where this is hard, gentlemen.

00:47:28,685 --> 00:47:31,565

We live in a day where

sexual sin is rampant.

00:47:31,565 --> 00:47:32,165

It's pervasive.

00:47:32,165 --> 00:47:36,634

You guys might have seen that Netflix is

promoting sexual sin to kids, um, trying

00:47:36,634 --> 00:47:41,225

to, trying to win their affection to the

cause of, uh, same sex attraction and

00:47:41,225 --> 00:47:42,785

transgendered ideology, things like that.

00:47:42,995 --> 00:47:45,125

What we're experiencing is

what's called the Overton Window.

00:47:45,785 --> 00:47:46,745

You know what the Overton Window is?

00:47:47,194 --> 00:47:50,524

Overton Window is designed by a guy

named Joseph Overton who said that within

00:47:50,524 --> 00:47:55,504

the realm of political discourse, there

is an accepted area of conversation.

00:47:55,504 --> 00:47:56,435

That's the Overton window.

00:47:57,095 --> 00:48:02,104

That window can shift left or right

depending on who's pushing the window.

00:48:02,944 --> 00:48:08,794

In other words, what's acceptable and

popular and is able to be public policy.

00:48:09,694 --> 00:48:10,954

This is the Overton window.

00:48:11,345 --> 00:48:13,504

But someone can say, well, let

me, let me add something that's

00:48:13,504 --> 00:48:15,124

sensible but not necessarily popular.

00:48:15,124 --> 00:48:17,704

Now I can shift the window, right,

or it can shift the window left.

00:48:17,914 --> 00:48:21,664

Just think about 20 years ago, same

sex attraction and, and homosexual

00:48:21,664 --> 00:48:23,285

behavior was not what it is today.

00:48:23,285 --> 00:48:25,924

It is now accepted,

embraced, and celebrated.

00:48:27,515 --> 00:48:30,035

My, my grandparents would

be mortified at this.

00:48:30,605 --> 00:48:31,475

I mean, I'm mortified.

00:48:31,475 --> 00:48:32,705

I can't believe how quickly

things have changed.

00:48:32,705 --> 00:48:35,495

That's because the Overton window, things

that are acceptable, have been shifted.

00:48:37,055 --> 00:48:38,540

We cannot allow this to

take place in our hearts.

00:48:39,245 --> 00:48:41,975

What's what we're talking about

politically here happens spiritually.

00:48:42,004 --> 00:48:44,584

We become desensitized to sin

such that we no longer see it.

00:48:44,765 --> 00:48:47,075

We're no longer bothered when we see

sin on the, on the screen or when

00:48:47,075 --> 00:48:48,904

we see sin out in the in the wild.

00:48:49,205 --> 00:48:51,725

Our job then is to say, I need to

be aware of these things and make

00:48:51,725 --> 00:48:55,055

sure that my opinion of something

is not being shifted by popular

00:48:55,055 --> 00:48:56,825

opinion, but by, but by scripture.

00:48:57,095 --> 00:48:59,975

I need scripture to guide me and

tell me what is popular, what

00:48:59,975 --> 00:49:01,504

is acceptable, what is right.

00:49:01,910 --> 00:49:03,890

Don't let the Overton

window work against you.

00:49:04,160 --> 00:49:07,789

So we can't tolerate little sins,

and as we see in Joseph's example,

00:49:07,789 --> 00:49:09,289

we need to flee sexual immorality.

00:49:09,529 --> 00:49:11,240

There are some things that

God tells us to run from.

00:49:11,269 --> 00:49:12,289

One of them is idolatry.

00:49:12,289 --> 00:49:15,140

The other one is this

flee sexual immorality.

00:49:15,289 --> 00:49:17,240

There are some things God doesn't

want you to stand and fight.

00:49:17,479 --> 00:49:19,519

He doesn't want you just to sit

around and say, well, let me just

00:49:19,519 --> 00:49:22,009

see if I can knock this thing out

by, by standing up against it.

00:49:22,249 --> 00:49:22,999

Maybe.

00:49:23,269 --> 00:49:25,939

I'm sure there's a couple Christians in

the world who have done this successfully,

00:49:26,120 --> 00:49:29,089

but scripture says, one Corinthians

six 18, flee from sexual immorality.

00:49:29,315 --> 00:49:30,065

Flee from it.

00:49:30,305 --> 00:49:33,305

Every other sin a person commits is

outside the body, but the sexually

00:49:33,305 --> 00:49:35,105

immoral person sins against his own body.

00:49:35,765 --> 00:49:37,715

This is an especially pernicious sin.

00:49:38,615 --> 00:49:41,795

All sins send you to hell,

but some sins are heavier and

00:49:41,795 --> 00:49:44,225

weightier and far more destructive,

and this is one of those sins.

00:49:46,205 --> 00:49:48,665

As I close here, I just wanna remind

you what people have said before.

00:49:49,565 --> 00:49:51,380

Alexander McLaren said

The best advertisement of

00:49:51,380 --> 00:49:52,685

Christianity is a good life.

00:49:53,585 --> 00:49:57,005

People read us a great deal more than

they read the Bible, and that's true.

00:49:57,695 --> 00:49:59,825

But I have to ask where where

does a good life come from?

00:50:00,335 --> 00:50:01,235

Where does a good life come from?

00:50:01,235 --> 00:50:04,145

A good life comes from a good

heart, a good heart, and a good

00:50:04,145 --> 00:50:09,305

heart has a good love mobilizing

it, a good love that drives it.

00:50:09,425 --> 00:50:12,515

And the kind of love that God warns

us against is the love of the world.

00:50:13,055 --> 00:50:14,345

Do not love the world.

00:50:14,645 --> 00:50:18,455

If anyone loves the world, love of

the Father's, not in him, the way that

00:50:18,455 --> 00:50:23,045

we love God, or lack love for God is

going to either win us or lose us.

00:50:23,045 --> 00:50:25,685

The battle against sexual

temptation, Thomas Chalmers.

00:50:25,745 --> 00:50:28,714

Um, who wrote, this is a sermon

I commend this book to you.

00:50:28,714 --> 00:50:29,435

It's a short book.

00:50:29,765 --> 00:50:32,944

Um, it's probably a 45 minute read, maybe

an hour 'cause it was from a sermon.

00:50:33,605 --> 00:50:34,895

His short book said this.

00:50:34,955 --> 00:50:38,734

This is basically the sum summarization

of his book, of his sermon called The

00:50:38,734 --> 00:50:40,205

Explosive Power of a New Affection.

00:50:40,775 --> 00:50:43,625

The best way of casting out an

impure affection is to admit a pure

00:50:43,625 --> 00:50:47,855

one and by the love of what is good

to expel the love of what is evil.

00:50:48,785 --> 00:50:49,805

That's exactly what I'm trying to say.

00:50:50,255 --> 00:50:51,005

It says it better than I do.

00:50:51,785 --> 00:50:54,815

Your Love for God will allow

you to expel a love for sin.

00:50:55,399 --> 00:50:57,799

What will protect you against

sexual sin is not the practices,

00:50:57,799 --> 00:50:58,879

the practices come afterward.

00:50:59,329 --> 00:51:03,529

It's a development of love for God

that looks like faithfulness, day

00:51:03,529 --> 00:51:07,099

in and day out, fostering care,

commitment, concern for his, his

00:51:07,099 --> 00:51:09,410

affairs, and in fact, what does he say?

00:51:09,410 --> 00:51:10,430

He's a seek first.

00:51:10,430 --> 00:51:12,379

The kingdom of God and his

righteousness and all these other

00:51:12,379 --> 00:51:15,229

things that you con concern yourselves

about could be taken care of.

00:51:16,700 --> 00:51:21,470

You gotta resolve to love God so much that

you hate sin, particularly sexual sin.

00:51:21,950 --> 00:51:23,479

The consequences are

devastating and deadly.

00:51:24,424 --> 00:51:26,615

Please men resolve to be

faithful to Christ in this

00:51:26,615 --> 00:51:27,545

particular era of your life.

00:51:27,665 --> 00:51:29,495

Let's pray that help us.

00:51:29,585 --> 00:51:31,475

Um, I, I know there are many

of us probably within this room

00:51:31,475 --> 00:51:34,025

who have struggled with sexual

sin, maybe even still today.

00:51:34,565 --> 00:51:36,694

Uh, be naive not to think otherwise.

00:51:37,295 --> 00:51:39,605

Please help us, Lord, to be

honest about these areas and

00:51:39,605 --> 00:51:40,955

to fight for purity in them.

00:51:41,465 --> 00:51:45,275

Help us to be open and willing to

confess areas of, of weakness and,

00:51:45,275 --> 00:51:49,475

and lapse or not to coddle one

another, but to help each other be

00:51:49,475 --> 00:51:51,545

accountable and faithful to our wives.

00:51:51,950 --> 00:51:56,450

Our kids, our grandkids, our churches,

ultimately to be faithful to you Lord

00:51:57,289 --> 00:52:01,309

far be it from us, that we shame the

name of Christ by allowing sexual sin

00:52:02,359 --> 00:52:03,649

to steal affection from our heart.

00:52:04,549 --> 00:52:08,299

Help us Lord, to experience the

explosive power of a new affection by

00:52:08,299 --> 00:52:10,430

loving you so much that we hate sin.

00:52:11,269 --> 00:52:12,799

Give us grace to discuss

these things in our groups.

00:52:12,799 --> 00:52:14,569

Now, we ask this in Jesus name.

00:52:14,870 --> 00:52:15,229

Amen.