Triumphing over Temptation

 

COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SUNDAY 19 JANUARY 2025 – MR REUBEN LYONS

GENESIS 39 – HOW ARE WE TO TRIUMPH OVER TEMPTATION?

It is quite right to say expectations are a big thing in our lives no matter where we may be in different settings.  The same word could be used to describe a story of two brothers born in the 1960's in Minnesota. They were twin brothers born 5 minutes apart. Whether their parents were having a joke or not we don't know but one was called Winner and the other Loser. This is a true story. No doubt the expectation was that Winner would have done well, received the highest degree possible from college, got a good job, married, had a family and a lovely home. He would be successful in whatever he chose in life. For Loser on the other hand, he wouldn't do well. He would maybe be unemployed and have a criminal record. Expectations ended up all wrong in the end. Loser did well contrary to family expectations. A model child, he graduated from college a year early and became a police sergeant in the New York police department receiving numerous medals in the process. He was no loser. The people that worked with him refused to call him Loser but preferred Lou instead. Winner subverted the expectations as well but negatively. He had a criminal record for resisting arrest, burglary, speeding, trespassing, drink driving and disorderly behaviour. Sometimes expectations are just that- expectations!  Expectations can dominate us as Christians too.  For Joseph there was expectation on his life.  There can be expectation for many of us as believers, to accept what we are give today, to take what we have and give up on God. To say “I can do nothing more, God has abandoned me.” To give into sin, that there is nothing we can do about life.  With this expectation that we are living our lives in such a way that makes it easier to fall into temptation.  There is an important lesson to learn from Joseph.  Paul warns us against living with the expectation and acceptance of sin – Romans 13 verse 14 “but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Joseph found himself in the midst of a time of temptation. It was sexual temptation but we could talk of all kinds of temptation the devil brings to our doorstep.  The expectation in his life was to accept what was presented to him. “I cannot do anything, I don’t know how the Lord is going to keep me.” But Joseph stood strong throughout with the help of God. He achieved great victory. Looking at the life of this young man – how are we to triumph over temptation? The answer lies in 3 simple points.

 

First of all in verses 1 to 6 Joseph’s testimony

Second in verses 7 to 19 Joseph’s temptation

Thirdly in verses 20 to 23 Joseph’s triumph

 

Joseph’s testimony – verses 1 to 6. It was powerful and living – veres 1 to 3. In Joseph's life we see his testimony was powerful and living. The hand of God was on him. He enjoyed a close and personal walk with God each day. He trusted in God's plans no matter how dark his earthly circumstances became. In his walking others witnessed the glory of God. When we have been saved by God's grace and have trusted in his sacrifice paid at Calvary we can have the same potential to live for him too, to live like him and for others to see the glory of God through our lives. That should be our desire too - to follow after Christ each and every day. To learn more of him every day. As people look on our lives and in each situation we find ourselves in through our speech and conduct they should see the love of Christ. It is imperative to search our hearts and be sure that we are found in the same relationship with Jesus as Joseph had with the Lord. Otherwise it will be impossible to be able to bear the same temptations in life. Psalm 121 verse 1 "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth." What is this testimony we are to have? How did Joseph do things differently that so many do today? His faith was not lived in his own heart and kept secret but rather lived out for everyone to see. Think of his background. Joseph is no longer with his family, no longer had the comforts of his home place but living in a foreign land with Potiphar, a wealthy man. He did not believe in God of Gods. These were a pagan people all around him, they were serving idols. Joseph was a really shining example of what it means to live a counter culture life for Jesus today.  Even though we live in a society opposing God’s words and see many turn their backs on God, we still stand for God’s word. To be different, to be marked as such. So can you make that stand before everyone that you meet this week? That your life is marked differently for Jesus, that you firstly love the Lord and that you want others to know him too?  A recent newly written song entitled There is One Gospel has these lovely words …

 

There is one Gospel to which I cling
All else I count as loss
For there, where justice and mercy meet
He saved me on the cross
No more I boast in what I can bring
No more I carry the weight of sin
For He has brought me from death to life
I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ

There is one Gospel where hope is found
The empty tomb still speaks
For death could not keep my Saviour down
He lives and I am free
Now on my Saviour, I fix my eyes
My life is His and His hope is mine!
For He has promised I, too, will rise
I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ

 

Can you say with all sincerity, looking deep down into your heart that you stand on the gospel of Jesus Christ? That you want others to know him as well?

 

Joseph’s testimony was blessed as well – verses 4 to 6.  Even though Joseph’s circumstances were trying as he worked in Potiphar’s house he still did everything to the glory of God. As a result of his outward testimony the Lord blessed Joseph and made him successful.  So much so that he became the overseer in Potiphar’s house.  He had his priorities set straight.  He loved the Lord and walked faithfully for him. As a Christian this is when we begin to be number one target for Satan.  When we are displaying the truth of God’s word the enemy wants to attack us. Satan loves to shut down the real man living for God and serving God. He is not worried about those who label themselves as Christians because you never see any lasting fruit in their lives.  He does not want to target these people. Satan seeks to tear down those living differently, standing in the gospel of God, sharing the good news with those in the stree, in their families, with those still lost.  Who live for the cross and the resurrection and the truth of Jesus.  We are all targets.  He wants to come in and tear down our lives. Temptation is the way he uses.  Satan knows what our weakness is.  We need to be on the watch and on guard.  He wants us to live with the expectation that no matter what comes our way we are just going to give in. Don’t give in to sin today. If you are running hard after God be encouraged, he is all powerful.  We need to seek him in the midst of the batter. If this is a foreign concept to you, if you are saying “temptation is something you read of in scripture but I don’t see it in my own life.” Examine your heart. Ask yourself – “am I truly living for the Lord?” If you are living for the Lord the enemy will be attacking you. You will be running after Christ. Persecution is simply a fact of life for the Christian. 2 Timothy 3 verse 12 “and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” We know the testimony we are to have. We are to have a powerful stand in Jesus if we are to be blessed in our lives.

 

Joseph’s temptation – verses 7 to 19. What did it look like for Joseph and for us? It came in 4 stages. The first stage – temptation was cunning – verse 7.  Potiphar’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph. If we stopped reading there we would think there was no harm done. Adultery had already been committed. It started out subtly.  A small attraction physically that spiralled out of control into outright sin. This is really how the devil works in the Christian. He attacks subtly and in small ways. Before we realise it hours, weeks and months later we are consumed. Satan has a death grip on our lives. Joseph should have been flattered that this Egyptian woman was looking on him. What starts out small leads to more outright and outrageous sin. As a church we need to be aware of the cunning attacks of the devil. No matter what the temptation may be, we cannot tolerate sin one bit, not even 1% or even 0.01%.  We cannot tolerate sin no matter how innocent it might be to us, before we know it we can be drowning in the dark waters of this world wondering how we got there to begin with. Be on guard.

 

Sin is also surprising – verse 7.  Potiphar’s wife has now asked Joseph to go and lie with her. An outright invitation to sin now. Maybe we have only been hearing this one person fighting temptation but he was not the only one facing sin. Potiphar’s wife had desires to be with Joseph. She already looked at him inappropriately for a married woman. The woman had fantasies of the situation and fed them until they became a reality. This is why we cannot tolerate sin. We cannot give it the light of day. Whatever sin we face we will be led to follow after fantasies. We will want it to become real. If Satan gest us to think like this we will have no defence. Our minds are of the worldly and sinful. They will not be on the Lord. Keep your eyes on the Lord and the precious truths of his word.

 

Sin is constant – verse 10.  Joseph was no tempted once and left alone. Time and time again he was tempted. She approached him every day. Now totally consumed by her flesh and her sin enticing her.  The enemy is not going away. Every day we are in a spiritual battle. The enemy is working at all hours of the day. His ploys are not going away. As long as we inhabit these weak and feeble human bodies we will be tempted to sin. Maybe your temptations are the same as mine or are polar opposite. He knows how we will be led into sin. We can never think we have conquered sin and the enemy. Genesis 4 verse 7 “sin lieth at the door.” Waiting to catch us off guard. Equip yourself every day for the battle to keep your heart pure and upright. Duncan Campbell was a man used mightily by God in the revival on the Isle of Lewis. In his autobiography he talks of times of temptation, of hardness in his walk with God. He said “the best thing a Christian can do, the first face you should see in the morning, the first voice you should hear each day should be God’s voice. The first thing you should do each day is open up the word of God, not the newspapers or the radio.” That is as relevant today as it was 70 years ago. We need God’s help every day and we should ask for it every day.

 

It is also calculated. The final stage is seen in verses 11 to 16.  A day had now arrived, the only one present in the home were Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. We don’t know if this was planned or not or whether it was the normal routine of the house activities. An opportunity to fulfil her fantasy. This is how temptation works, it festers and grows until it takes over. The pressure to act on that sin, to do things never done previously. We could have looked at a number of people in the bible when dealing with temptation – Adam, Abraham, Lot, Cain and Peter in the New Testament. Temptation is all across God’s word affecting God’s people. We should never think we are immune to it. It hounds us every day and it will master us if we don’t handle it properly. How are we to handle temptation, to stop it, work against it as a Christian? As soon as this woman made her approach Joseph has already made his mind up. He was not thinking how he can get away with this. Never is it said that Joseph sinned. A wonderful example to us as Christians. As she made her approach, Joseph was ready to make a stop to it with a hard “no”. It was as if he couldn’t look at her, listen to what she had to say. He had already made a decision to reject the flesh and stay faithful to God when temptation arose. Whether it was this woman or whatever the temptation was this man Joseph made a decision. When the devil comes knocking with what we want to hear, it is hard to say no. If the decision is already been made in our hearts to remain faithful to God that is what we need. That is why it is crucial to guard our hearts and minds from impure and ungodly things. If we are surrounded in what we watch and hear we will be polluted. But if we build our lives on the things of God we will be able to mount a great defence. The greatest word to learn is “no” when tempted, that we are ready to say no, no to sin an dyes to remaining faithful to God. The moment arrived in verse 12. The woman asked him to come and lie with her yet again. It was time to make a decision, to say no and cling to God. He that remaining faithful and firm. Joseph ran from the situation, he left his cloak and ran out of the house. He needed to run from her presence to maintain his character. He couldn’t have it both ways and neither can we. Either we give in to sin and run to the temptation offered to us or we follow after God. You say no to sin and protect your testimony. God makes a way for us to escape but we must be ready with a hard and firm “no”, actively looking for that door of escape. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” That is a promise from God and God keeps his promises – take encouragement in that fact.

 

Joseph’s triumph – verses 20 to 23. The first thing Joseph achieved was a personal victory. He had kept his integrity and Christian character. His earthly reputation in Potiphar’s house may have been damaged which would cause repercussions further on in his life. His Christian character could never be called into question. He had successfully weathered the storm of temptation. He had retained the ability to be able to look in the mirror and have no guilt. That is worth more than anything sin can offer to us in a short time.

 

He also enjoyed a sovereign victory as well. The Lord continued to be with Joseph and blessed him even after he left Potiphar’s house. Those who stay true to God can be assured of his smile upon them and in they do. He can be assured of God still being with him. Those who stray from the path of righteousness will find themselves alienated from God and his blessing in their lives. It may have looked that all Joseph gained was physical pain, hardship, a prison sentence. He was still true to God in contrast of God’s will in his life. Joseph would be raised up by the power of God, to be second in command to Pharaoh. The best we can do is stay close to God. Live close to him. Getting God’s best is worth more than what sin can give. Sin never lasts. Joseph sought God’s best and God came through for him. If we seek God’s best he will come close to us too. Satan wants to trap you, destroy your life. Do not let it happen. If you are saved by God’s grace and you battle with temptation know there is help in Christ. Get to him, get away from evil. Don’t let Satan destroy your life. If you need the Lord for salvation or forgiveness or help from temptation or for a personal victory over sin in your life to get to God today. Let go of sin. Come to Christ, receive the help you need. Joseph triumphed because he had the Lord. You can have the victory if you have Jesus. He had the victory and so can we too. You can know he is the one who can help you. Our destiny is not everlasting defeat or sorrow. It is rejoicing in Christ, the one who helps us each day as he did for Joseph. He can do it for us. Let’s stand in the gospel of Christ today.