When Tempted To Sin Gen. 39:1-4, 6b-15, 19-20 April 13, 2008
Introduction
A mother
told her son, when tempted, to put Satan behind him. The boy was told
not to go swimming but came home all wet. His mother asked, "did you
put Satan behind you?" Her son said, "yes
mam, and he pushed me into the pool." I am afraid many people, even
Christians, yield to Satan's temptations
without really depending on the Lord's help When Tempted To Sin.
1. When Tempted To Sin Be Aware Of God's . . Providence. 39:1-4
A. Providence To . . Provide For Us. 39:1-2
1 Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an
officer of Pharaoh and the
captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought
him there. 2 The Lord was
with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household
of his Egyptian master.
B. Providence To . . Place Us. 39:3-4
3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made
everything he did
successful, 4 Joseph found favor in his master's sight and became his
personal attendant. Potiphar also
put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under
his authority.
As Christians we
need to grow to the point we expect God will provide for us in every
situation. In this
foreign land the text states "the Lord was with Joseph." I believe as
Joseph looked back over his life he cold see
how the providence of God provided for him in every situation. Did it
just happen that he found himself being
bought by Potiphar; Or did God place him there? I think God placed him
there and then Potiphar placed
everything under his authority. Would there be temptations with this
kind of authority? Obviously, Yes!
2. When Tempted To Sin Be Aware Of God's . . Positioning Us. 39:6b-9
A. Positioning Us For . . Advancement. 39:6b
6 He left all that he owned under Joseph's authority; he did not
concern himself with anything except
the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.
B. Positioning Us For . . Allurement. 39:7-9
7 After some time his master's wife looked longingly at Joseph and
said, "Sleep with me." 8 But he
refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not
concern himself with anything in his
house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority. 9 No one in
this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except
you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and
sin against God?"
Advancements in
authority came for Joseph as God positioned him in places of
responsibility. In every
new position Joseph related well and received promotions. Does going
higher in the work force produce
additional temptations? It certainly may! Today in your employment do
you face temptations to take
advantages of your authority time-wise, financially, or sexually? The
Lord positioned Joseph where he did and
he advanced because he possessed ability, honesty, and loyalty. With
his position and physical attractiveness
Joseph faced an allurement from Potiphar's wife. It is very interesting
that Joseph did not say how can I yield to
you and sin against your husband; But how can I, "sin against God?" All
of us need to remember, When
Tempted To Sin, if we yield it is against God.
3. When Tempted To Sin Be Aware Of God's . . Pleasure. 39:10-15
A. Pleasure From His Children's Actions When . .
Enticed. 39:10-12a
10 Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed
with her.
11 Now one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the
household
servants was there. 12 She grabbed him by his garment and said, "Sleep
with me!"
B. Pleasure From His Children Actions When . .
Ensnared. 39:12b-13
". . . But leaving his garment in her hand, he
escaped and ran outside. 13 When she realized that he
had left his garment with her and had run outside,
C. Pleasure From His Children's Actions When . .
Entangled. 39:14-15
14 she called the household servants. "Look," she said to them, "my
husband brought a Hebrew man to
us to make fun of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I
screamed as loud as I could.
15
When he heard me screaming for help, he left his garment with me and
ran outside."
Could God receive
pleasure watching a child being enticed to sin? It seems to me there
would be joy in
watching your child refuse the enticement. What about when the child
refuses and the enticement turns to being
ensnared because of temptation, and then further innocently entangled?
I believe God through it all could
receive pleasure because He knows of His child's faithfulness.
4. When Tempted To Sin Be Aware Of God's . . Protection. 39:19-20
A. Protection In The Midst Of False . .
Incrimination. 39:19
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him--"These are the
things your slave did to me"--he
was furious.
B. Protection In The Midst Of False . .
Imprisonment. 39:20
20 and had him thrown into prison, where the king's prisoners were
confined. So Joseph was there in
prison. HCSB
We do not have any record of Joseph questioning God because he was innocently and falsely incriminated and imprisoned. Would you and I register complete trust and peace in this kind of situation? I believe I would complain, and ask questions; even though I might eventually get busy trying to serve God in this undeserved and difficult position. Could we learn to trust God for His protection even while in prison? Hopefully every Christian would trust God in all of these times When Tempted To Sin. Amen? Amen!