#1 (THE "COURAGE"
SERIES)
“THE COURAGE TO FLEE LIKE JOSEPH!”
TEXT: Gen.
39:1-23
INTRO: We need
“COURAGEOUS PEOPLE” today! Today
people are afraid to stand up for moral righteousness, we live in a time when
moral absolutes are frowned upon.
The standard of the day is to simply “accept” everything in the name of “tolerance.” The truth is that we need the courage to
stand up for those things that God has declared righteous and stand against
those things that God has declared unrighteous!
When it comes to sexual morality the
world today is shouting a plethora of messages to our young people, many of them
contrary to God’s Word. Some are
saying that sex before marriage is just a natural expression of hormones so
there is nothing wrong with having sex outside of marriage. Others say "everyone has
sex; you’re strange if you don't" or “kids are going
to have sex anyways so we might as well help them know how to do it right and be
safe!” SO … who or what
is right? Who will have the courage
to speak up and take a stand, to tell this world that it is possible to flee
from sexual sin?
ILLUS: YEARS AGO
BABE RUTH WAS CALLED OUT AT HOME BY THE UMPIRE ON HIS THIRD STRIKE! THE UMPIRE WAS BABE PINELLI, AND THE TWO
OF THEM GOT INTO A SHOUTING FIGHT OVER THE LAST STRIKE CALLED. THE CROWD WAS SCREAMING AT THE UMPIRE,
ANGRY OVER THE CALL AS HE CALLED THE LAST STRIKE AGAINST BABE RUTH ... AND SO
RUTH SCREAMED AT THE UMPIRE, "THERE'S
40,000 PEOPLE HERE WHO KNOW THAT THE LAST ONE WAS A BALL, NOT A STRIKE, YOU
TOMATO HEAD!" PINELLI REPLIED
WITH A MEASURED STATELINESS, "MAYBE SO,
BUT MINE IS THE ONLY OPINION THAT COUNTS ... YOU’RE OUT!" WHILE IT IS TRUE THERE ARE MANY VOICES
AND MANY DIFFERENT CALLS ON WHAT IS MORAL AND WHAT IS NOT ... THERE STILL IS
ONLY ONE VOICE THAT MATTERS, IT IS THE VOICE OF GOD ON THIS SUBJECT, HE IS THE
ULTIMATE UMPIRE OF THE UNIVERSE, NOT THE CROWD! -- Source
Unknown
Sexual temptation has never changed; it
has existed since the beginning of time!
To many young people sex seems like something that will be good for them
to experience, it looks inviting, it seems appropriate for the urges that begin
when their hormones kick in, it just seems “normal” … but just because it looks
like it will satisfy their needs doesn't mean it will! Tragically, they discover many years
later that there was a huge difference between love and lust; they often wished
they had waited.
ILLUS: YEARS AGO
SEVERAL MEN WERE TRAPPED ON A SMALL ISLAND IN THE OCEAN. AS THEIR RATIONS OF FOOD AND WATER BEGAN
TO DIMINISH THEIR THIRST FOR WATER GREW.
IT SEEMED CRAZY TO THEM TO BE SURROUNDED BY SO MUCH WATER AND YET NOT BE
ABLE TO PARTAKE OF IT! ONE NIGHT
ONE OF THE MEN COULDN'T SLEEP; HIS THIRST HAD GROWN SO STRONG, HE KEPT STARING
AT THE OCEAN WATER, IT LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE WHAT HE NEEDED SO HE GAVE IN AND
BEGAN TO DRINK! BY MORNING HE WAS
DEAD! WHAT LOOKED SO GOOD, WHAT
SEEMED TO BE EXACTLY WHAT HE NEEDED TURNED OUT TO BE EXACTLY WHAT HE DIDN'T
NEED, YOU SEE, OCEAN WATER HAS SALT IN IT -- IN FACT IT HAS EXACTLY 7 TIMES MORE
SALT IN IT THAN THE HUMAN BODY CAN SAFELY INGEST. WHEN THE KIDNEYS DETECT THIS EXTRA SALT
THEY DEMAND EXTRA FRESH WATER SO THAT THEY CAN SAFELY FLUSH THE EXCESS SALT FROM
THE BODY ... THUS DEHYDRATING THE BODY EVEN FASTER. THE MAN HAD DIED OF THIRST FASTER
BECAUSE HE REFUSED TO BELIEVE THE SALT HE COULDN'T SEE WOULD HURT HIM. IT LOOKED LIKE THE SAME WATER HE KNEW WAS
SAFE, IGNORING THE WARNING HAD BEEN VERY COSTLY! SEX IS LIKE THIS BEFORE MARRIAGE, IT
MIGHT SEEM O.K. AND WHAT YOU NEED, BUT IT CREATES ADDITIONAL THIRSTS AND
CRAVINGS THAT YOUR BODY AND MIND IS NOT PREPARED TO HANDLE. GOD DIDN'T CREATE OUR BODIES FOR "SALT
WATER" BUT FOR "FRESH" ... KEEP YOURSELF FRESH AND IT LATER WILL SATISFY ALL THE
THIRSTS YOU HAVE. -- Source
Unknown
PROP.
SENT: The Bible teaches
that God's call for sexual purity offers the best protection for body, mind, and
soul. God's Word also teaches that
for those who have already broken this sexual purity they can experience
forgiveness and still discover the joy of beginning sexual purity again, it is
never too late with God's help and grace to be courageous and flee from sexual
sin!
I. DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY
39:1-6a
A. Dreams & Rejection! 39:1
1. Joseph was a dreamer, he had dreams
about being used by God in great ways … to one day lead
others!
a. However he had a lot going against
him, he lived in a very dysfunctional home; he had parents that practiced
favoritism and brothers that hated him.
b. His brothers hated him enough to
sell him and tell his parents that he was dead, killed by a wild animal …
showing his bloody cloak as proof!
c. Yet, in spite of all this Joseph
turned out to be one of the most consistent and obedient servants of God in the
pages of the Old Testament!
2. Joseph is a good example of a young man who had many
strikes against him and still he served the Lord faithfully!
3. What kept him going, what kept
him straight??
a. It had to be those dreams that God
kept sending him that gave him courage.
God repeatedly let him know that he had a future, that God had a work for
him to do one day.
b. These messages from the Lord built
him up, so even when his family came against him he could still keep his head up
high, he was
strong as an adult because of the reassurances by God through his
youth!
c. Do not underestimate the power of
what you do when you are young and how it can strengthen you in your adult
years, most of the battles of adult life are won in the formative years of
youth!
ILLUS: THE ALASKAN
BULL MOOSE EVERY FALL HAVE BATTLES FOR DOMINANCE. THEY LITERALLY GO HEAD TO HEAD IN COMBAT
WITH ONE ANOTHER, THE ONE WITH THE STRONGEST AND LARGEST ANTLERS END UP AT THE
TOP OF THE HEAP, AND THEY ALONE GET TO RULE. THOSE WITH SMALLER AND WEAKER ANTLERS
LOSE WHEN THEY BREAK AFTER CONTACT WITH THE LARGER AND STRONGER ONES. BUT WHEN DID THE WINNER REALLY WIN THE
BATTLE -- THE DAY THAT HE CONQUERED THE OTHERS? NO! HE REALLY WON THE BATTLE EARLIER DURING
THE SUMMER MONTHS, FOR THOSE WHO EAT THE BEST DIETS DURING THE SUMMER, THE ONES
THAT FIND THE BEST FOOD AND PARTAKE OF IT ARE THE ONES THAT BUILD THE LARGEST
AND STRONGEST ANTLERS. LIKE US, WE
WILL FACE BATTLES AS WE GROW, BUT THE VICTORY IN THOSE BATTLES ARE REALLY THE
RESULTS OF HAVING PARTAKEN OF THE RIGHT DIET BEFORE WE FACE THOSE BATTLES. THOSE WHO FOLLOW GOD'S SPIRITUAL DIET,
AND PARTAKE OF HIS MORAL LAWS WILL BE THE STRONGEST WHEN THE BATTLE FOR
SEXUAL PURITY FACES THEM. COMMIT
YOUR WAYS TO THE LORD AND HE WILL MAKE ALL YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT! -- Source
Unknown
4. It is somewhat ironic that this
chapter 39 deals with Joseph successfully
conquering sexual temptation for if you read chapter
38 you will read about one of his older brothers Judah who committed
sexual sin with a prostitute that turned out to be related to him and the pain
that resulted from this sin.
5. Joseph is sold as a slave by his
own brothers who then pretend to their father that he was killed by a wild
animal.
a. Even with rejection, pain, and
loneliness, Joseph refuses to let go of his dreams that one day God will use him
in great ways.
b. Instead of becoming angry at God he
keeps his commitments to God and lives a life of purity, he wants God's dreams
for his life more than anything else!
c. He is willing to wait no matter how
tough things get for him, without anger or bitterness!
B. Demonstration of Righteousness 39:2-6a
1. Notice the statement, "The Lord was
with Joseph and he prospered..."
a. Yet he was a slave! “Prospered” here doesn't mean STATUS; it meant “ACHIEVEMENT.”
b. In other words, Joseph continued
to work to achieve his dreams, for now this meant serving before
ruling!
c. What a biblical principle this is
for leadership -- even for today!
2. He realized that his dreams of
ruling included several stages first, you don't get exactly what you want right
away, there is a process to go through and for now this meant serving
first!
3. He served well, he could and did
wait for God to bring about the right time to set him up to realize the dreams
he had!
a. Young people, sex is a beautiful
part of marriage, God made it wonderful and not dirty! God intended it to bring great joy and
not guilt, and His dreams for your life will include sex one day in a marriage
union where it can be expressed in a committed relationship built first upon
love, not on lust!
b. Until God brings you to that day in
marriage there is a process; learning about another person, loving them based on
who they are and not just what you can physically get from them, learning how to
serve and give, later sex becomes the expression of committed love, not the
avenue to it!
4. Joseph was content to wait for
God’s timing, to serve and do his best, and his service brought blessing to an
unsaved household like Potiphar's!
a. Joseph demonstrated righteousness
while waiting for God's plan to fully unfold in his
life.
b. It would be this service of righteousness
that would later keep him from being put to death when falsely
accused!
5. For Joseph there was no
alternative to doing something other than God's way, no matter what he came
up against, he wanted those dreams from God to become a reality more than
anything else in life!
a. We can't
experience God's best by unrighteous
choices!
b. There is no
right way to do a wrong thing!
II. DETERMINED FAITHFULNESS
39:6b-12
A. Disobedience Refused! 39:6b-10
1. Joseph was a fine handsome young
man living in a pagan world surrounded by people who didn't live by God's
standards, not unlike Christians today in this world!
a. Potiphar's wife reflected the loose
sexual morality of the times, sex was o.k. as long as you didn't get caught –
everyone did it! (Sounds very similar to our
day!)
b. She attempted to seduce or lure him
into a sexual relationship though she was a married
woman.
c. Who could have found out, after all
he worked for her and there were no godly people around? And, how would he ever find a godly girl
in a pagan
d. The temptation was real and
strong, yet he was stronger and
refused to give in to temptation and the loose morality around him even when he
could have gotten away with it!
2. What
does Joseph draw on for strength?
a. His commitment to God and the
dignity this created, he has a good self image created by his obedience to God's
standards: "with me in
charge my master concerns himself with nothing … How then could I do such a
wicked thing and sin against God?" … in other words Joseph said, “I'm trusted by
both God and man!” Joseph is not willing to
exchange this trust for a few brief moments of sinful sexual
pleasure!
b. Joseph is realistic about life, he
has been blessed with so much that really counts, he doesn't have to have literally everything
to be happy "My master has withheld nothing from me except
you..." 39:9
c. He calls this temptation what it
really was, “WICKED” & “SIN!”
39:9b He doesn't try and soften up
what he is being asked to do, nor does he compare himself to others, he says
this would be sinning against God and that's all he needed to know to refuse the
temptation! It did not matter
what culture said, it mattered what God said.
d. Joseph doesn't second guess his
obedience to God nor does he put himself in a position where he would allow it
to happen; "day after day he refused to go to bed with her
OR even be with her." 39:10 (emphasis mine)
e. He stays persistent in his
decision; he does not let himself be talked out of his position no matter what
the arguments or potential benefits were!
3. For Joseph only God's plan for
his life was of utmost importance, he would not sell out God's dreams for
his life for a few moments of sexual pleasure!
a. He knew
the day would come when God would bless him with a wife and children, and he
could and would wait for that day!
b. His focus at this time in his life
was to prepare himself to realize God's future dreams by serving now and
preparing himself!
B. Decisive
Reaction 39:11-12
1. The day came, when unknown to him
he was alone in the house with Potiphar’s wife, I'm sure he didn't know he was
alone because the previous verse had just said he avoided such possible
circumstances.
a. But she trapped him, and probably
knowing that he would resist she literally grabs him by the cloak to prevent an
easy escape! Once again she asks
him to go to bed with her!
b. Joseph however had so decided in
his heart to be faithful to God's laws that when the moment came for sin he
doesn't even think about it, he just runs leaving his cloak behind still
in her clutches! (By the way, this is the second time a cloak
or coat gets him in trouble later as evidence!)
c. There
are times when you don't try and talk your way out of a temptation, you simply
run! Sexual temptations fall
into this category!
d. He was a young man with normal
passions, this was a time to run and not discuss the situation or stop to
rationalize it!
2. Joseph parallels here New Testament
Scriptures which read "flee from sexual immorality ... honor God with your
body." I Cor.
III. DYNAMIC FAITH!
39:13-23
A. Devastating Revenge!
39:13-20a
1. Joseph's choice to do the right
thing evoked an angry response by this worldly woman, she sought to make a
mockery of Joseph and to get even with him for rejecting her sexual
advances!
a. The world is becoming more hostile
to the Christian message of sexual purity; they will mock our stand and may even
seek to harass us!
b. Young people, you might find
yourself the brunt of jokes over your stand on sexual purity, perhaps you will
be treated harshly as a result of your stand on moral
purity.
c. It might make your life more
difficult, but it is the right stand to take!
2. Eventually your stand for Christ's
standards will one day prove to be the wisest, especially in this day of
sexually transmitted diseases, some of which have no cure and thus are a death
sentence in many cases!
3. There is no indication whatsoever
that Joseph regretted the stand that he took even though it cost him
imprisonment, the fact that he served wholeheartedly in prison like he did for
Potiphar indicates that he was still happy to live for
God!
4. The normal punishment for adultery
in Joseph’s day was a death sentence, so it is likely that Potiphar did not
believe his wife’s accusation about Joseph’s advances on her since he had Joseph
thrown into a special prison rather than have him executed, this prison was
reserved for the king's servants who were on disciplinary sentences, this was
not an ordinary prison reserved for harsh criminals.
a. God was using this situation to get
the king's attention focused on Joseph.
b. If Joseph had yielded to sexual
temptation he would never have realized the dreams God had given him to rule one
day!
c. His obedience to God to say "NO" to sex
actually set the stage for him to come to the attention of the King of
Egypt!
d. While he experienced prison for
doing the right thing this was only a temporary setback, it was actually the
place that will bring him into powerful leadership!
5. Ever wonder how Potiphar and his
wife must have felt later when they realized Joseph had been elevated to the
2nd most powerful ruler in all of
a. You can almost hear Potiphar later
visiting Joseph since Potiphar was captain of the guards: "you know
Joseph, I knew all along you didn't have sex with my wife, you know that don't
you?"
b. How about Potiphar's
wife? I'll bet she didn't
show up at too many state dinners once Joseph was
ruling!
6. Yes, the world's views differ from
ours as Christians, and yes, they might make fun of Biblical morality and
sexually pure standards as taught by the Bible. But, time is on our side; God will
demonstrate to the world the wisdom of sex within a monogamous marriage, indeed
He is doing this again today!
ILLUS: JUDAY
ANDERSON, WHOSE HUSBAND IS THE WEST AFRICAN DIRECTOR OF THE WORLD RELIEF
CORPORATION GREW UP AS THE DAUGHTER OF MISSIONARIES IN ZAIRE. AS A LITTLE GIRL SHE REMEMBERS GOING TO
A DAY LONG RALLY CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES
COMING TO THAT PART OF ZAIRE.
DURING THE SPEECHES AN OLD MAN CAME BEFORE THE CROWD AND INSISTED THAT HE
BE ALLOWED TO SPEAK, HE SAID THAT HE WOULD SOON DIE AND THAT HE ALONE HAD SOME
IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT WOULD GO WITH HIM TO THE GRAVE IF HE DIDN'T
SPEAK. HE EXPLAINED THAT WHEN
CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES FIRST CAME 100 YEARS AGO HIS PEOPLE THOUGHT THE
MISSIONARIES WERE STRANGE AND THEIR MESSAGE UNUSUAL. THE TRIBAL LEADERS DECIDED TO TEST THE
MISSIONARIES BY SLOWLY POISONING THEM TO DEATH. OVER A PERIOD OF MONTHS AND YEARS
MISSIONARY CHILDREN DIED ONE BY ONE. THEN THE OLD MAN SAID, "IT WAS AS WE WATCHED HOW THEY DIED THAT WE
DECIDED WE WANTED TO LIVE AS CHRISTIANS." WHILE THEY HAD ALL BEEN TREATED IN A
DEVASTATING WAY THEIR GODLY RESPONSE FINALLY WON THE DAY, JUST AS WITH JOSEPH …
AND WITH US TODAY TOO! -- Source
Unknown
B. Dependability Rewarded!
39:20b-23
1. Notice the important return to the
same statement that started this storyline: "the Lord was
with Joseph; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the
prison warden."
a. Remember the umpire; ultimately it
is only his call that counts no matter what the crowd
thinks!
b. God was pleased with this young
man, those dreams really were about to become a reality for Joseph, he had
passed the test of character over and over again!
2. Joseph never gave up on his dreams
for God's plan in his life, even when things didn't go well -- as long as things
went well with his soul!
3. Joseph had learned well as a young man that it matters
most what God thinks about his actions and attitudes, and how well he followed
God’s plan for his life!
a. Obedience to God’s values will
ensure the greatest possible success for His will in our
lives!
b. What about those who have stumbled
and fallen? Well, like King David
who committed sexual sin -- he repented and God picked him up and he got going
again!
c. Sexual purity is something you can
pledge yourself to again; if you are a virgin young people stay one until
you marry! ... if you have made a mistake already you can recapture that
virginity by repentance and a new commitment to God to stay morally pure from
this point forward, when God forgives sins He doesn't remember those sins
against us anymore … we can start with a clean slate!
4. Joseph brought great blessings to
a. Joseph's commitments as a young man
paved the way for many people to be blessed!
b. He stands in the Bible as one of
the finest men of God recorded because he had the courage to flee from sexual
sin!
c. It all
began in his youth and an unswerving commitment to God's
ways!
d. YOU CAN DO IT TOO … YOU CAN HAVE
THE COURAGE TO FLEE LIKE JOSEPH!
CONCLUSION:
Joseph could have had many reasons to be rebellious; he came from a
dysfunctional home, got the raw end of several deals, was jailed unfairly and
falsely accused of things he never did.
BUT … God had touched his heart as a young boy and he had dreams of being
used by God. He remained faithful
to God and stayed morally pure even when everyone was against him. In the end, God was able to use him in
great ways, including healing his family!
He had the courage to flee from sin; it's worth it for both young and
old!