Introduction
When teenagers leave home because of a job or to attend college parents worry. When a teenager enters highschool or goes out on a date parents worry. Parents worry about their child's safety. They worry about their child's success or failure. They especially worry about their child's soul. When a teenager leaves home parents wonder if she or he will walk in the Lord's way. They wonder if their child will stand secure and strong in the Lord when faced with life's many attractions and temptations.
Let me tell you, young people, all parents agonize and worry over their children when they are away from home, even if it is only for the night. When I was a teenager, for instance, my own mother always just happened to be up no matter what time it was when I got home.
All Christian parents hope that their children will be like Joseph. All Christian parents pray that their teenagers will measure up to Joseph. You see, as a young man – as our passage testifies – Joseph was faced with unbelievable temptation; yet he came through these very difficult circumstances with flying colors. He faced temptation and won.
I Joseph was Tempted
A Joseph, as you know, was sold into Egypt as a slave. In Egypt he was purchased by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. In Potiphar's house Joseph was very successful in his work. He was responsible, diligent, and intelligent in doing his assignments. He was a man his master could depend on. Even though he was a slave he took pride in his work and strived to do his very best. Whatever he did, he worked at it with all his heart, as though he was working for the Lord and not for men (Col 3:23). The result was that the Lord blessed all that Joseph did and caused it to prosper. The Lord blessed Potiphar's house for Joseph's sake.
Potiphar was impressed with this Hebrew slave of his. He was sufficiently impressed with Joseph to put him in charge of his household. Joseph was in charge of the other servants. He supervised the purchase of food and other provisions. He supervised the bookkeepers and paid the taxes. Joseph was so trustworthy that Potiphar had only one concern in life – the menu for his meals.
B Our passage also notes for us that Joseph was "well-built and handsome." To use today's language, Joseph was a "hunk." His good looks were probably inherited from his mother because the Bible tells us she was beautiful and lovely.
Joseph had the combination of good looks and an important position. This could have been a deadly combination for him – even as it has been for our President and thousands of other people around the world.
C The moment of testing came by way of Potiphar's wife. Like lots of rich, bored, beautiful women Potiphar's wife craved excitement. And, she thought she found her excitement in Joseph.
One day she came up to Joseph and said to him, "Come to bed with me." This first approach must have been flattering for Joseph. Here he was only a slave yet his master's wife wanted to sleep with him. The offer must have been tempting to Joseph – as it would have been to any young man. Yet Joseph refused her request.
Potiphar's wife was a persistent woman. She didn't take Joseph's refusal as the final word on the subject. Maybe she thought Joseph was playing "hard to get." So verse 10 tells us that she pestered Joseph "day after day." Even then Joseph "refused to go to bed with her or even be with her."
Being rich and beautiful and married to an important man in the Kingdom, Potiphar's wife was not used to hearing "no" for an answer. Finally, out of desperation, she ambushed Joseph one day. The two of them were alone in the house. She caught a hold of him and said, "Come to bed with me." "But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house."
Most men would have fallen. Joseph did not. How come?
II Adultery is Sin Against God – So Joseph Fled
A If Joseph was alive today he would be viewed as something of an oddball. Perhaps even some people here are thinking Joseph was foolish to turn down such an opportunity. For in today's world adultery is entertainment and lust is openly advertised. According to today's standards Joseph would have to be regarded as old-fashioned. Even psychologists have gotten into the act here. After studying Scripture one psychologist claims that Joseph was sexually abnormal – due to his intimate love for his father.
Maybe you have heard that since 1994 more that 2.4 million Christian teens around the nation have signed a "True Love Waits" pledge card to remain virgins until they are married. I hope this is the pledge of everyone of our youth and adults singles too. When this and other abstinence campaigns first started they made the news because abstinence until marriage is viewed as being strange and abnormal.
Here is a news story from The Washington Times of October 19, 1997:
Jane Fonda, backed by the world's largest condom marketer, attacked the new government-funded abstinence- education program. On ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" (on Oct. 1, 1997) she said:
"The Durex company ... was stunned as were many Americans that the federal government ... is giving $50 million a year for five years to states for abstinence-until-marriage programs."
"Most Americans don't know their tax money is being used for that" and "most Americans don't want it," she said. "Abstinence until marriage is based on an unreal world that isn't out there."
Well, Jane Fonda is wrong. According to the latest research the abstinence until marriage campaign is working because the number of teens who have ever had sex has dropped 6 percent the last two years.
B The world looks at Joseph, and at people like Joseph, as oddballs. But then the world cannot possibly understand Joseph or anyone like Joseph. The reason? Because the world does not know Joseph's God.
Anyone who is a committed Christian knows there is nothing strange about Joseph. Anyone who is a committed Christian knows exactly what is at stake when adultery or lying or cheating or stealing comes knocking and beckoning at the front door. Joseph put it this way: "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" (vs 9). Joseph was not a man to mince his words. He called a spade a spade. He rightly called the woman's offer "a wicked thing." And he rightly asks, "How could I ... sin against God?"
Joseph hit the nail on the head here. To sleep with Potiphar's wife is to sin against God. Joseph could have said that this would be sin against Potiphar who entrusted everything he owns to Joseph's care. But Joseph knew something deeper and more important was at stake. Joseph could not commit adultery because he knew that this was first of all sin against God. Potiphar's wife could not understand this however because she did not know God. And, the people of the world smile and laugh at Joseph because they don't know Joseph's God.
You see, congregation, Joseph knew and loved God. His relationship with God was very important to him. Joseph knew exactly what was at stake when sin and temptation comes knocking: to sin means to sin against God; to sin means to break one's relationship with God; to sin means to turn one's back on God. All sin means a break between God and man. And since Joseph knew and loved God above all he asks, "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" For Joseph it was unthinkable to sin against God.
Contrast what Joseph said with what President Clinton said to the nation on August 18:
I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong. It constituted a critical lapse in judgment and a personal failure on my part for which I am solely and completely responsible ...
I know that my public comments and my silence about this matter gave a false impression. I misled people, including even my wife. I deeply regret that.
I can only tell you I was motivated by many factors. First, by a desire to protect myself from the embarrassment of my own conduct.
I was also very concerned about protecting my family.
Do you know what I did not hear? I did not hear a clear admission of guilt. I did not hear an acknowledgment that he sinned against God. I did not hear or see the spirit and attitude of Joseph that all sin is a sin against God.
C I wonder, my brothers and sisters, how we measure up to Joseph here? If we know no one is watching or that we won't get caught, how many of us would do things we shouldn't do? Like Joseph, do we find it unthinkable to sin against God?
All sin, my brothers and sisters, is first of all sin against God. All sin breaks the relationship between God and man. When Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil she sinned against God. When King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband Uriah he sinned against God. When we lie on our income tax form we sin against God. When we cheat on our marriage partner we sin against God. When we abuse alcohol or stay away from worship services or gossip we sin against God. We sin against God in all of these acts and we fracture our relationship with Him.
D Joseph knew that adultery was a sin against Potiphar and, more importantly, a sin against God. So do you know what he did? He fled; he ran outside in his underwear. That's right; he ran away from temptation. He literally turned and ran. When she ambushed him, he ran away. After she first approached him "he refused ... to even be with her." Joseph fled from temptation. Joseph kept away from temptation.
Young People, as you leave home or as you go out, be like Joseph. Flee, run away, from temptation. When you see a temptation coming, turn your back on it and run. Like Jesus, say, "Away from me, Satan" (Mt 4:10). Of course this is something all of us should do – not just the youth.
Joseph knew what was at stake: his relationship with God. This was the most important thing in his life. He didn't worry if people called him old-fashioned or narrow-minded or if the other servants snickered behind his back or if people laughed because he was outside in his underwear. Only one thing mattered to Joseph: his relationship with God. Only one thing should matter to us: our relationship to God.
Flee, congregation, when you face temptation and sin. Flee, like Joseph. For to fall is to sin against God. And, says the Bible, the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). So flee when temptation comes knocking. When your team-mates want to go drinking after basketball or soccer, say "no" and have nothing to do with this. When an x-rated movie comes on TV turn it off or switch the channel. When the guy you are dating suggests you go into forbidden territory just to prove you love him, flee. When something sinful is suggested to you, get up and leave. Be like Joseph and avoid evil as well as temptation.
III Joseph Prevailed Because God Was With Him
A How come Joseph had the power to resist and flee the temptation that many others would have fallen for? What was the secret of his power?
The reason Joseph could prevail is clear if we note what Scripture says. Four times throughout our passage we read, "The Lord was with him" (vs 2,3,21,23). This one little phrase is of immense importance.
Joseph managed to resist a very tempting situation because "the Lord was with him." Joseph did not resist because of some inborn goodness. He didn't resist because he was such a saint. He didn't resist because he was better than anyone else. Joseph resisted because God's power and God's grace was at work within him. Joseph stood firm in the face of this unbelievable temptation because the Lord was with him. The presence of God became precious to Joseph as he experienced the suffering and loneliness of Egypt. The will of God meant so much to Joseph because God meant so much to him.
B The secret to fighting sin and temptation – as I told the boys and girls (HOLD UP CAR) – is to keep our eyes on God. The closer we come to God, the more success we can have in fighting sin and temptation. Do you want to destroy the power of evil and temptation in your life? Then keep your eyes on God: read the Bible, meditate upon its truths, pray, attend worship, and actively do God's will. Sinful appetites can't survive in such a climate.
It is not enough to have high standards. It is not enough to flee from sin and temptation. It is not even enough to read the Bible and pray. Parents and children must also meet Christ Who died for them to set them free. They must have a living relationship with Christ Who lives forevermore. They must have Christ's Holy Spirit within them. It is only when we reach this point, congregation, that we – like Joseph – can resist sin and temptation.
IV Obedience is Costly
A I am not going to say it is easy to be obedient. The man of the world laughs not only because Joseph is so old-fashioned but also because obedience is the start of his troubles. You know what happened: Potiphar's wife trumped up some charges against Joseph and he was dragged into the king's prison. Joseph's obedience was costly.
Obedience today can be just as costly. Your friends may shun you. Your boyfriend or girlfriend may drop you. Your co-workers may laugh at you. The public media may mock you – as they have with Green Bay Packer Reggie White, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, and Dr. James Dobson – because they have all dared to say homosexual practice is a sin.
B Joseph, in his obedience, was a forerunner to the Christ. It has often been pointed out that there is a parallel between the careers of Joseph and Jesus. Both left their father's house, both lived obediently through a state of humiliation, both were exalted to the throne after their time of obedient suffering had ended, and both saved the lives of their people.
Obedience for Jesus, as with Joseph, was costly. Obedience for Jesus meant the cross and the grave.