Participants:
Series Code: WHO
Program Code: WHO210054S
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00:28 Hello, I'm Jill Morikone,
00:29 and welcome to another edition of 3ABN Worship Hour. 00:33 I love this time together 00:35 because we get to open up the Word of God. 00:37 We study together, 00:38 and hopefully by the grace of God, 00:40 we learn, we grow, we get into the Word. 00:44 Anytime you open up the Word of God, 00:47 God's Word never returns void. 00:49 I love that about God and His Word. 00:52 He wants to teach us and He wants to reach us, 00:55 no matter where we are. 00:57 The message for today is entitled, 00:59 Resisting Temptation. 01:01 Now, you might be saying, 01:02 "Okay, I don't think that's for me. 01:04 That's definitely not for me, 01:05 because I'm so steeped in temptation. 01:08 And I've given in so many times. 01:11 There's no way that I could resist." 01:14 Or you might be saying, 01:15 "Well, I'm a good Christian, and I go to church. 01:18 And I don't even think 01:19 I could be tempted by those things 01:21 that I used to be tempted for." 01:22 No matter what camp you find yourself in, 01:26 this message is for you. 01:27 I think there's three categories 01:29 of individuals specifically that we will be addressing 01:33 in this message Resisting Temptation. 01:36 The first category is those who walk with Christ, 01:40 but are somehow tempted, and have fallen away. 01:44 2 Peter talks about this group of people. 01:47 2 Peter 3:17, 01:51 "You therefore, beloved, 01:53 since you know this beforehand..." 01:55 He's talking to the church, he's talking to believers, 01:58 he's talking to people who have accepted Christ, 02:02 and made Him Lord of their lives. 02:05 "You therefore, beloved, 02:06 since you know this beforehand, 02:08 beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, 02:14 being led away with the error of the wicked." 02:19 What's he saying? 02:20 Be warned ahead of time, be prepared ahead of time. 02:24 Don't take your spirituality for granted. 02:28 That's the first category, those who walk with Christ, 02:32 but still, at some point, 02:35 when they least expected are tempted. 02:38 The second category is those who resist maybe a bit, 02:43 but then eventually given. 02:45 I don't know if you've ever found 02:47 yourself in this category. 02:48 To be honest, 02:49 I think I've been in all three of these categories 02:51 at some point in my life. 02:53 This category would be where you resist and say, 02:55 "Oh, no, I'm not going to do that. 02:57 I'm going to walk with Jesus. 02:58 I'm going to make those decisions 03:00 and choices for Him." 03:01 And yet, at some point, you get tired of resisting, 03:05 you get tired of struggling 03:07 and think I'm just going to give up. 03:11 You know, the scripture always, almost haunts me, 03:14 I guess you could say. 03:16 This is Hebrews 12:4. 03:18 And, of course, 03:20 it's referencing what happened with the Lord Jesus 03:23 in the Garden and Gethsemane. 03:25 Hebrews 12:4, it says, 03:28 "You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, 03:33 striving against sin." 03:36 I don't know about you, 03:38 but I have never had drops 03:40 of blood come out on my forehead 03:42 when I was struggling with sin. 03:44 I've never been like Jesus in the garden 03:47 and lying prostrate on the ground 03:49 and drops of blood coming forth. 03:52 I have never personally resisted 03:55 unto bloodshed striving against sin. 03:59 Don't give up. 04:01 The finish line is in sight. 04:04 The third category, 04:06 you might be over here 04:07 in the Christian category and say, 04:09 "Well, I think I'm okay." 04:10 But beware, 04:12 because you might be tempted and might fall. 04:15 You might be in the middle category, saying, 04:17 "While I'm trying to resist, 04:18 but I'm not sure how long I can hang on." 04:23 You might be in the third category. 04:26 These are those who are lost in sin and addiction. 04:30 And you say, "I've given up resisting entirely. 04:32 There's nothing I can do. 04:34 I am so steeped in sin. 04:36 I am so lost in my own addiction." 04:40 Ephesians 2 addresses this category. 04:43 Ephesians 2:1, it says, 04:45 "And you He made alive, 04:48 who were dead in trespasses and sins." 04:53 Do you feel like you're dead in trespasses and sins? 04:55 Do you feel like there is no hope for you? 04:59 I want to tell you today that there is hope in Jesus. 05:03 Our opening scripture before we have prayer 05:06 and jump into the message is James 4:7-8. 05:11 And this talks about resisting temptation. 05:14 James 4:7-8, it says, "Therefore submit to God. 05:18 Resist the devil..." 05:20 And what's the next word, he might flee from you. 05:24 No, it says, 05:25 "Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 05:30 Draw near to God 05:31 and He will draw near to you. 05:34 Cleanse your hands, you sinners, 05:36 and purify your hearts, you double-minded." 05:40 Let's pray. 05:41 Heavenly Father, we come before You 05:43 in the name of Jesus, 05:44 and we're so grateful that You are our Savior, 05:48 You are our Redeemer. 05:51 Right now I ask that You would open up our hearts and minds. 05:56 Father, would You fill me with Your Holy Spirit? 06:00 Would Your Word come alive? 06:02 And would You speak to us and give us hope and courage 06:05 and joy in Jesus today? 06:08 And we thank You for what You are going to do 06:12 in the precious and the holy name of Jesus. 06:16 Amen. 06:17 The message today centers specifically on Joseph. 06:20 Now I don't know if you grew up understanding, 06:23 knowing, reading the Word of God at all. 06:25 You were probably taught as a little child, 06:27 some of these, what we call heroes of faith. 06:31 Who are they? 06:32 This would be Daniel, this would be Joseph, 06:35 this would be David. 06:37 This would be some of those other Old Testament heroes, 06:40 maybe Abraham. 06:41 I know as a child, I was always fascinated 06:44 with the story of Joseph. 06:45 It's like a rags to riches story. 06:47 But not only that, 06:49 really he started kind of favored by his dad. 06:51 So it's a riches to rags when he's a slave in Egypt, 06:56 to riches when he's elevated and like commanded everything 07:00 in Potiphar's house to rags again when he was put in prison 07:06 and falsely accused for a crime he did not commit. 07:10 And then it's back to riches where he's elevated 07:12 as the prime minister of the land of Egypt. 07:15 It's an amazing story. 07:17 And he's, really Joseph, his life, his example, 07:20 his commitment to God, 07:22 he's a hero in my mind of the Old Testament. 07:26 But if you look at his past, you would say for Joseph, 07:29 to have an experience like that, 07:31 for Joseph to be able to stand firmly for principle. 07:35 And we're going to spend the balance of our message 07:37 on Genesis Chapter 39, Joseph and Potiphar's wife. 07:41 But for him to stand for principle, 07:43 for that to happen in his life, boy, 07:46 he must have had a really good upbringing. 07:47 And he must have really followed God from his youth. 07:50 I think everything was perfect in his life. 07:53 Not necessarily. 07:54 If you read the story of Joseph, 07:58 and you look at the dysfunction that existed in his home, 08:02 I have to say that I never had a home like that growing up. 08:06 And I don't know about you, 08:07 your home might have been just as dysfunctional, 08:10 but it might not have been. 08:11 There was a lot of dysfunction in his home. 08:13 Let's look at that. 08:14 We look at Joseph's past, 08:17 and we see the home life that he came from. 08:21 There was a great rivalry that went on between Jacob, 08:25 that's his dad, Jacob's wives and handmaids. 08:28 Now, to explain this, of course, we know that Jacob, 08:31 he fell in love with Rachel, 08:32 and that's the woman he wanted to marry. 08:34 And he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. 08:37 He told her daddy, I'm going to work seven years for you. 08:40 And then what happened? 08:42 The dad tricked Jacob at the wedding night 08:44 and substituted a different sister. 08:46 So now he ends up with two wives 08:49 because he had really wanted the other one, 08:50 so there's two wives. 08:52 And then when they couldn't have children, 08:54 they gave their handmaids to Jacob. 08:56 So really, there's four wives in this situation. 09:00 Anytime you have multiple wives in a marriage, 09:05 I would say that's a dysfunctional home. 09:07 I don't know about you, but that's quite dysfunctional. 09:10 I remember student teaching, 09:12 and one of the girls there at the school, 09:15 she struggled with her past. 09:17 And I remember one day, 09:19 we just sat down and we talked about it a little bit. 09:21 And she said, you know, Miss Jill, she said, 09:23 "I have three moms and three dads." 09:27 Now she didn't have all three of them at the same time. 09:31 All it means is that her parents 09:32 had divorced and there was, you know, 09:34 the mom had remarried and the dad had remarried. 09:37 And then there was another family when that, 09:39 those other two homes got too difficult. 09:42 There was another family that had taken her in, 09:44 three moms and three dads. 09:46 Well, in this situation, Joseph growing up, 09:48 there's like four women in that household. 09:50 That's dysfunction. 09:52 We see favoritism from Jacob toward Joseph. 09:57 If you look at that, Joseph was his favorite, 10:00 maybe because he was the son of Rachel, 10:02 his favorite wife. 10:04 I don't know, but that favoritism 10:06 in the home lead to jealousy. 10:09 It led to hard feelings, and it led to hatred. 10:12 In fact, we see this if you look at Genesis Chapter 37. 10:16 Genesis 37:4, it says, "When his brothers, 10:20 this would be Joseph's brothers. 10:22 "When his brothers saw that their father loved him 10:25 more than all his brothers, 10:29 they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him." 10:32 So if you grew up in a home like that, 10:34 where your siblings hated you, 10:36 where your siblings were jealous of you, 10:39 where there was favoritism in the home, 10:42 that's a dysfunctional home. 10:44 But it doesn't stop there. 10:45 Joseph's sister, Dinah was raped. 10:50 Now that in itself is a horrific crime 10:53 and to grow up in a home where your sister 10:56 has been violated like that. 10:58 Genesis 34 tells us that whole story of what took place. 11:02 We won't read it all, but Genesis 34:2, it says, 11:05 "When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, 11:09 prince of the country, saw her," that's Dinah, 11:11 "he took her and lay with her, and violated her." 11:14 Now the brothers got really mad about this, 11:16 and they did not like that. 11:18 And they went out and they killed 11:19 the entire town. 11:21 So these are violent men, his brothers. 11:25 It doesn't stop there. 11:27 Joseph's oldest brother, this would be Reuben, 11:31 he asserted dominance 11:33 and defiance against his own father. 11:37 And he went in, 11:38 and he slept in an intimate way 11:43 with his father's handmaid or his father's second wife, 11:47 or however you look at it. 11:48 Now we might think, okay, that's just something of lust, 11:52 but actually, it was a sign of dominance. 11:55 We see this later in the Old Testament. 11:57 Remember when Absalom tried to take the throne, 12:00 and he declared himself king over Israel, 12:03 and he reigned in Jerusalem and David 12:06 and the rest of the people loyal to David 12:08 went off into the wilderness. 12:11 And so remember what Absalom did, 12:13 he took his father's concubines 12:16 who remain behind and decided, well, 12:18 if I sleep with them, 12:20 it will make me the rightful king. 12:23 It's an act of defiance. 12:25 There's a lot of dysfunction in Joseph's home. 12:29 In addition to that, we have his brother Judah. 12:32 You find this in Genesis Chapter 38. 12:34 His brother Judah slept 12:36 with his own daughter-in-law. 12:38 Now, of course, he didn't know she was his daughter-in-law. 12:40 So we'll give him that benefit of the doubt. 12:43 He thought she was a prostitute by the road, 12:45 but it turned out to be his own daughter-in-law. 12:47 So in his home, we see envy, 12:50 we see jealousy, we see hatred, 12:54 we see bitterness, we see a desire for revenge, 12:58 we see a desire for power, 13:00 we see lust, we see sexual sin. 13:04 Would you say that's a dysfunctional home? 13:06 Would you say that if someone comes out of that, 13:09 what would we say today? 13:11 Well, they came out of that, they're a victim, 13:13 bless their hearts. 13:14 While they came out of that, they had a lot of pain. 13:17 I understand why they act out the way they do today. 13:22 But we see in Joseph's life a different story. 13:27 We see that his past did not define his future. 13:32 We see that those experiences that shaped his early life 13:37 did not define the man that he became. 13:41 He sold as a slave into Egypt 13:45 by his own brothers. 13:48 His oldest brother Reuben actually saved his life 13:50 because his brothers would have killed him. 13:52 But Reuben saved his life 13:53 and threw him in a pit thinking, 13:55 I'll send him home to daddy later. 13:57 But while Ruben was away, another brother, 14:00 this would be Judah, 14:01 pulled him out of the pit and sold him to a band 14:05 of Ishmaelite traders heading into Egypt. 14:08 He was sold into Potiphar's home 14:09 who was the captain 14:11 of the guard in Egypt under Pharaoh. 14:16 So before we get to the actual lessons 14:20 that we learn from Joseph's life, 14:22 before we unpack the takeaways that you and I can uncover 14:26 as we seek to resist temptation today, 14:29 as we seek to walk in integrity and purity before God. 14:33 I think there's two key decisions 14:35 that Joseph made. 14:36 This would be between his childhood 14:39 and this time when he's in Egypt 14:41 that impacted the rest of his life. 14:44 What are those two key decisions? 14:46 He clearly went from a favored son, 14:48 remember, he was his daddy's favored. 14:49 He went from a favored son to a slave. 14:54 Those two key decisions. 14:55 Decision number one, 14:56 he made a decision to serve the God of his fathers. 15:00 We're gonna unpack that in a moment. 15:02 Decision number two, 15:04 he discovered who he was in that God. 15:07 In other words, he discovered his true self-worth in God. 15:12 So let's look at decision number one. 15:13 We don't have it actually in the Book of Genesis. 15:17 You cannot find where Joseph, 15:18 it says, and Joseph chose to follow the God of Abraham, 15:22 Isaac and Jacob. 15:23 It's not there. 15:24 But it clearly is there because you can see 15:27 the outworking of his principled life. 15:31 Now, if you read Patriarchs 15:33 and Prophets written by Ellen White, 15:34 you clearly get a great picture. 15:37 And I want to encourage you to read that sometime. 15:39 You get this incredible picture of Joseph riding into Egypt 15:44 and having been sold as a slave by his brothers 15:47 and crying out to God. 15:49 He's a young man, maybe 17 years old, 15:51 and making this decision. 15:54 Okay. 15:55 This is a bad lot I have in life. 15:58 The rest of my life I'm looking at being a slave, 16:01 yet I want to follow the God of my fathers. 16:05 The decision to follow Christ precedes any victory over sin, 16:11 any resistance to temptation. 16:14 I wanna say that again. 16:15 The decision to follow Christ, 16:17 the decision that you make to follow Jesus precedes 16:22 any victory over sin. 16:24 It precedes any resistance to temptation. 16:28 If you look at Colossians 2:6. 16:31 Colossians 2:6, Paul says, 16:33 "As you therefore have received 16:36 Christ Jesus the Lord, so," 16:40 What's that word? 16:41 "Walk in Him." 16:43 In other words, 16:45 receiving Christ takes place before you can walk in here. 16:50 Did you catch that? 16:52 As you have received Christ, so walk in Him. 16:55 We can't walk in Him. 16:56 We cannot experience victory. 16:59 We cannot have any resistance over temptation 17:02 if you and I have not first made 17:04 a decision in our hearts, I'm going to follow God. 17:08 It doesn't matter what my past is. 17:10 It doesn't matter what my present is. 17:12 All that matters is that I have decided, 17:15 as it says in Joshua 24:15, 17:18 "As for me and my house, I will serve the Lord." 17:24 That's key number one, Joseph made a decision for God. 17:29 Key number two, he discovered his true self worth in God. 17:34 Was he daddy's favorite son, was that Joseph's identity? 17:38 Was he a hated brother, was that Joseph's identity? 17:44 Was he a hated slave in Egypt, 17:47 was that Joseph's identity? 17:51 No. 17:52 In Christ, Joseph was God's son. 17:56 In Christ, you and I are sons and daughters of God Himself. 18:01 1 John 3:1 says, 18:03 "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, 18:08 that we should be called children of God!" 18:12 In Christ, 18:13 we are God's sons and daughters. 18:15 In Christ, 18:16 you and I are adopted and set free. 18:19 Romans 8:15, 18:21 "You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, 18:24 but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 18:28 'Abba, Father or Daddy, Father.'" 18:32 In Christ, 18:33 you and I are adopted and set free. 18:35 In Christ, you and I are new creatures. 18:38 2 Corinthians 5:17, 18:42 "If anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation, 18:47 the old things they've passed away, 18:49 and the new things they have come." 18:53 You see, that tells us 18:54 that our past does not have to define us. 18:56 The mistakes that you 18:58 and I made do not have to define us. 19:00 In Christ, we are new creatures. 19:04 In Christ, we are forgiven. 19:07 Now you might think I'm going to 1 John 1:9, 19:09 just because I quote it all the time 19:11 and I love that scripture. 19:12 "If we confess our sins, 19:14 He's faithful and just to forgive us, 19:15 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 19:18 But we're not going there. 19:19 I want to go to the Old Testament. 19:21 Many times we think the God of the Old Testament is harsh. 19:27 The God of the Old Testament is unloving. 19:30 The God of the Old Testament, He can't forgive me. 19:33 Yet Jesus in the New Testament 19:37 is loving and compassionate and forgiving. 19:40 But the truth is, 19:41 the God of the Old Testament 19:43 is the same God of the New Testament 19:45 and we see the God of the Old Testament, 19:48 His forgiveness. 19:50 In Isaiah 43, I love this scripture. 19:53 Isaiah 43:25, I, God is speaking, " 19:57 I, even I, 19:59 am He who blots out your transgressions 20:03 for My own sake, 20:05 and I will not remember your sins." 20:08 Do you want to know your sins are forgiven? 20:12 Go to God and say, 20:13 "Would you blot out my transgressions?" 20:16 In Christ we are forgiven. 20:18 In Christ, we are made new. 20:21 Turn with me to Ephesians. 20:23 There's so many here, we just got to look right here. 20:26 I love this passage. 20:28 Of course, the Book of Ephesians 20:29 is one of Paul's prison epistles, 20:33 written while he is in prison 20:37 to the believers in and around Ephesus. 20:40 And I don't know if you can see my Bible here. 20:42 Can you see the yellow? 20:43 I always like to highlight in yellow 20:46 any promise that comes from God to me. 20:51 This passage is full of yellow. I love that. 20:53 So Ephesians 1, this is who we are in Christ. 20:56 If you ever doubt who you are in Christ, 20:57 if you ever doubt yourself worth, 20:59 if you ever doubt your identity in Him, 21:02 just read Ephesians 1. 21:05 We're picking it up in verse 3, 21:06 "Blessed be the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, 21:09 who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 21:12 in the heavenly places in Christ." 21:14 So, in Christ, what are we? 21:16 In Christ, we are blessed. 21:18 Verse 4, 21:20 "Just as He chose us 21:21 in Him before the foundation of the world." 21:23 In Christ, we are chosen, that we should be holy. 21:29 In Christ, we are holy, and without blame. 21:33 "In Christ, we are blameless before Him in love, 21:38 having predestined us." 21:41 In Christ, you and I are predestined 21:44 to be conformed to the image of God's dear Son. 21:48 He predestined us to what? 21:50 To adoption, as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself. 21:55 In Christ, 21:56 we are adopted according 21:59 to the good pleasure of His will. 22:01 "To the praise of the glory of His grace," 22:03 we're in verse 6, 22:04 "by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." 22:08 In Christ, we are accepted. 22:09 Have you gone your whole life thinking you were not worth it? 22:12 Have you gone your whole life thinking, 22:14 you could not be accepted? 22:16 No one would ever want you. 22:18 No one would ever adopt you. 22:20 No one would ever choose you. 22:21 In Christ, you are chosen, and accepted, and predestined, 22:26 and adopted. 22:28 Verse 7, "In Him, in Christ, 22:32 we have redemption through His blood, in Christ, 22:36 we are redeemed, 22:38 the forgiveness of sins, in Christ, 22:40 we are forgiven, according to the riches of His grace, 22:43 which He made to abound toward us 22:45 in all wisdom and prudence." 22:47 In Christ, we have understanding. 22:51 Verse 9, "Having made known to us 22:54 the mystery of His will, 22:55 according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 22:59 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times 23:02 He might gather together in one all things in Christ." 23:05 In Christ, you and I are united. 23:10 Verse 11, "In Him also 23:12 we have obtained an inheritance," 23:14 in Him we have an inheritance, 23:16 "being predestined according to the purpose of Him 23:18 who works at all things 23:20 according to the counsel of His will, 23:21 that we who first trusted in Christ 23:24 should be to the praise of His glory." 23:26 Verse 13, 23:28 "In Him you also trusted, 23:29 after you heard the word of truth, 23:32 the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, 23:36 you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. 23:41 In Christ, we are sealed. 23:45 With the Holy Spirit of promise, 23:47 who is the guarantee of our inheritance 23:50 until the redemption of the purchased possession, 23:52 to the praise of His glory." 23:54 I love that passage. 23:55 I could read that passage every day. 23:57 Anytime I wonder, who am I, I go back to the Word of God. 24:03 I open up Ephesians Chapter 1, 24:05 and I discover who I am in Christ. 24:09 So Joseph made a decision for God. 24:11 He said, "The God of his father's would be 24:14 his God as well." 24:15 In addition to that, 24:17 he discovered who he was in Christ. 24:19 Now we come to the temptation. 24:21 Go back to Genesis. 24:23 Genesis Chapter 39, 24:25 we're going to have a couple of takeaways 24:26 just with Joseph's temptation. 24:29 And then we have eight keys for you 24:33 and I dealing with temptation 24:34 because we can study the Word of God and we can say, 24:36 "Okay, this is what happened to Joseph." 24:38 And that's really powerful. 24:39 But if it doesn't affect us today, 24:41 if it's not something that we can take practically 24:44 with us now and learn how we can overcome temptation, 24:49 to me it's worthless. 24:51 So that's why I always like 24:52 to have something that's practical. 24:54 Eight keys that we can work 24:56 with in dealing with temptation. 24:58 But first, let's look at Joseph's temptation. 25:01 We're in Genesis 39:1, 25:03 "Now when Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. 25:06 And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, 25:08 captain of the guard, an Egyptian, brought..." 25:12 Let me start that again. 25:14 "Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. 25:17 And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, 25:20 captain of the guard, an Egyptian, 25:22 bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there." 25:28 What do I learn from that? 25:30 When all seems lost, God is still in control. 25:35 Joseph might have sat there and said, "Why Potiphar? 25:39 Why slavery? 25:40 Why do I have to be sold as a slave? 25:42 Why do I have to serve Potiphar? 25:45 Why God me, Why me? 25:47 Why couldn't someone else have been sold?" 25:51 And yet, when all seems lost, 25:53 when it seems like you are in your Egypt experience, 25:57 and you don't know where you can turn 25:59 and you feel like a slave 26:02 in circumstances beyond your control, 26:05 know that God is on the throne, 26:07 and that He is still in control. 26:11 Let's read verse 2. 26:13 "The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man, 26:17 and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian." 26:22 When you least expect it, God intervenes. 26:25 Now, Joseph could have said, 26:28 "Well, I'm here and I'm a slave." 26:31 But what happened? God intervened. 26:33 The Lord was with Joseph, 26:35 and the Lord made him successful. 26:39 As we go on, we'll see that there was great success 26:42 that attended the work and service 26:44 and ministry of Joseph there in Potiphar's house. 26:47 When you least expect it, 26:48 when you feel like you're a slave in Egypt, 26:50 God shows up and God intervenes. 26:54 Joshua 1:5, "No man," 26:57 this is when Joshua just enters into ministry. 27:00 And Moses, of course, 27:02 led the children of Israel and so Joshua 27:03 was feeling unsure of himself, 27:06 just as he's taking over the leadership of the people. 27:08 Joshua 1:5, 27:10 "No man shall be able to stand 27:12 before you all the days of your life, 27:14 as I was with Moses, 27:16 so I will be with you. 27:18 I will not leave you nor forsake you." 27:22 Are you alone? 27:23 God has promised that He will not leave you 27:25 that He will not forsake you, 27:28 that in your Egypt house, He will deliver you. 27:32 Here's another scripture, Isaiah 41:10," 27:35 Fear not, for I am with you, 27:37 be not dismayed, for I am your God. 27:39 I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, 27:43 I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." 27:47 Are you afraid in your Egypt experience? 27:52 God will strengthen and help you. 27:55 Here's another one. 27:57 This is a really powerful scripture 27:58 that only recently 27:59 I've come to really read and understand. 28:01 It's Jeremiah 1:19. 28:05 Jeremiah 1:19. 28:07 It says, "They will fight against you." 28:09 Do you feel like you're in your Egypt experience? 28:11 Do you feel like people outside influences 28:15 are coming to fight against you? 28:18 They will fight against you. 28:19 "But they shall not prevail against you. 28:23 For I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you." 28:27 Are you embattled? 28:29 Are you facing a battle of foes from without and within, 28:32 because let's be honest, 28:33 sometimes the enemy seems like it comes from within. 28:38 God will deliver you. 28:41 Let's go back to Genesis Chapter 39. 28:43 We saw that when all seems lost, 28:45 and it seemed like Joseph was stuck there in Egypt, 28:48 God was still in control. 28:50 We saw that when he least expected it, 28:54 God intervened and blessed him there in Egypt. 28:58 Now we're in Genesis 39:3-4. 29:02 "And his master, that would be Potiphar, 29:05 saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all 29:08 he did to prosper in his hand. 29:10 So Joseph found favor in his sight, 29:13 and served him. 29:15 Then he made him overseer of his house, 29:17 and all that he had he put under his authority." 29:20 So what happens? 29:21 Joseph comes in as the houseboy, right? 29:24 Seventeen, eighteen years old, 29:25 and he is just entering Potiphar's house, 29:28 but the Lord blesses Joseph and the Lord shows up 29:31 and the Lord delivers Joseph, 29:32 and even though he is still a slave in Egypt, 29:36 in Potiphar's house, 29:38 he is given favor in the sight of his master 29:41 and everything Joseph touches, 29:43 everything Joseph does, what happens? 29:47 It is prospered and it blesses because he is obedient 29:51 and faithful to God and God's blessing upon him. 29:55 When you faithfully serve, 29:58 God shows up and God blesses. 30:02 Proverbs 22:29, 30:04 I like this in the King James Version. 30:06 I don't know why maybe just because I learned it as a kid 30:08 in that version. 30:10 Proverbs 22:29, 30:12 "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? 30:15 He shall stand before kings, 30:18 he will not stand before mean men." 30:22 Meaning when you faithfully serve, 30:24 God honors that. 30:26 God blesses. 30:27 Let's read verse 5, Genesis 39:5, 30:31 "So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer 30:34 of his house and all that he had, 30:36 that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house 30:39 for Joseph's sake, 30:41 and the blessing of the Lord was on all 30:43 that he had in the house and in the field." 30:47 When you belong to God, other people are affected. 30:52 You see, Potiphar and his household, 30:53 they didn't worshiped the true God, 30:55 they worshiped pagan idols. 30:57 They did not worshiped God 30:59 and yet God blessed Potiphar's house. 31:01 Why? 31:02 Because Joseph honored God, 31:05 because Joseph served God. 31:08 I want to talk just a moment about the influence 31:11 of a believing spouse. 31:14 Now, this could extend not just for spouse, 31:17 it could extend for children, 31:18 maybe a parent who's a believer, 31:19 and the children are unbelievers, 31:21 or it could be a child who's an unbeliever 31:23 and a parent who's not. 31:25 It could be someone that you're close with. 31:27 But specifically, the Word of God addresses the influence 31:30 of believing spouse has on another person 31:34 in that marriage, the spouse, who is an unbeliever. 31:39 You can read about it in 1 Peter 3:1. 31:41 And, of course, we know this is counsel to woman. 31:44 1 Peter 3:1. 31:45 It says, "Wives, likewise, 31:49 be submissive to your own husbands, 31:51 that even if some do not obey the word, they, 31:56 without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives." 32:00 Now, you might be saying, "Wait a minute, 32:01 I didn't even catch what Peter was talking about there." 32:04 It just says, wives, 32:06 if we are submissive to our husbands, 32:09 and if the husband does not obey the Word, 32:11 if the husband does not read the Word of God, 32:14 without a word, the wife can influence her husband. 32:18 That means she doesn't need to preach. 32:20 She doesn't need to nag. 32:21 She doesn't need to talk. 32:23 She needs to live. 32:24 In other words, live a godly life, 32:28 live a life of principle, 32:31 obedience to God, 32:32 live a life of service and that influence 32:37 has an effect on the other spouse. 32:40 We see this also in 1 Corinthians 7:14, 32:43 that's the whole counsel on marriage. 32:45 But Paul talks about when a believing spouse 32:48 is married to an unbelieving spouse. 32:51 And in 1 Corinthians 7:14, he says, 32:53 "If the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, 32:58 and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband." 33:01 Jump down to verse 16, 33:03 "For how do you know, O wife, 33:05 whether you will save your husband? 33:08 And how do you know, O husband, 33:10 whether you will save your wife?" 33:13 Now, that's not saying literally 33:15 that you can save your spouse 33:16 because it's the blood of Jesus that cleanses from sin, 33:18 and each person has their own individual choice to make. 33:22 But what it means is that when you belong to God, 33:25 other people in your relationships are affected. 33:29 Let's go back to Genesis 39. 33:31 Genesis 39:6, 33:33 this is the first half of the verse. 33:34 It says, "Thus he," this is Potiphar, 33:37 left all that he had in Joseph's hand, 33:40 and he did not know what he had except 33:42 for the bread that he ate." 33:44 He trusted Joseph. 33:45 When you follow God, other people will trust you. 33:50 Potiphar trusted Joseph with everything that he had. 33:53 All he cared about was when he got to the table 33:55 was the bread on the table, 33:57 and what was the food that he was going to eat. 33:59 Now we reached the turning point in this story, 34:01 there's trouble in paradise. 34:02 It seems like Joseph comes from this slave and he rises, 34:06 you can say through the ranks to being top in command 34:09 in Potiphar's house. 34:10 And he's trusted and God is blessing his efforts. 34:13 And his master has this incredible blessing 34:15 in the house and the field as a result 34:17 of Joseph following God. 34:20 And now we see, 34:21 it's kind of interesting to me this little caveat 34:23 that's just thrown in there. 34:25 This is Genesis 39, the second half of verse 6. 34:27 It says, "Now Joseph was handsome 34:30 in form and appearance." 34:31 Now, why in the world would the Word of God talk 34:35 about what Joseph looks like? 34:36 If you read the Bible, 34:38 it's very rare that we even get a picture 34:40 into what people look like. 34:41 You read about Daniel, you read about... 34:45 I don't know many different people, 34:47 David, and Saul, and Solomon, 34:51 and many people and there is not a reference 34:53 to what they look like. 34:54 Although Daniel, I was just thinking, 34:56 I referenced Daniel and at the end of the trial, 34:58 the 10 days they were fairer 35:00 and fatter than their companions. 35:01 So I guess that is a reference. 35:03 But many times in the Word of God, 35:04 we don't see that reference. 35:05 So why the reference here? 35:07 1 Samuel 16:7 clearly tells us God does not see as man sees, 35:13 for man looks at the outward appearance, 35:15 but the Lord looks at the heart. 35:16 So the important thing is our heart 35:17 and whether it's right with God. 35:19 So it says, Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 35:24 If you look at the Hebrew word, 35:26 the word for form literally means outline form, 35:30 figure or to be drawn or marked out. 35:33 So what they're talking about here is Joseph, 35:35 his body physically, 35:37 you could say he was really fit, I guess. 35:40 The appearance in Hebrew 35:43 usually means countenance or face. 35:46 So Joseph had a good looking face. 35:49 And I guess he had a good looking body 35:51 to go along with that face. 35:53 It's interesting to me as I mentioned already, 35:55 it's pretty rare in the Word of God 35:57 for them to be explicit 35:58 about what people look like. 36:00 But Joseph's mom, 36:01 this would be Rachel 36:03 had the same description applied to her. 36:05 In Genesis 29:17, it says, "Leah's eyes were delicate," 36:09 that would be Rachel's sister, 36:11 "But Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance." 36:14 The same Hebrew words used to describe Joseph. 36:18 In other words, Rachel had a beautiful face, 36:21 and she had a good looking figure. 36:23 So for whatever reason, 36:25 Joseph must look like his mama, I guess. 36:27 And he was good looking. 36:31 And now we see Potiphar's wife begin to cast eyes at Joseph. 36:37 We see the temptation. 36:38 Genesis 39:7, 36:40 "And it came to pass after these things 36:42 that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, 36:44 and said, 'Lie with me.' 36:47 But he refused and said to his master's wife, 36:50 'Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, 36:53 and he has committed all that he has to my hand. 36:58 There is no one greater in this house than I, 37:01 nor has he kept back anything from me but you, 37:06 because you are his wife. 37:08 How then can I do this great wickedness, 37:13 and sin against God?" 37:15 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, 37:17 that he did not heed her, 37:20 to lie with her or to be with her." 37:22 Now let's stop just a moment here. 37:23 Sometimes when Satan cannot get us with discouragement, 37:28 he seeks to get us with pleasure. 37:31 Remember, Joseph had been sold as a slave. 37:33 Would that be discouraging? Absolutely. 37:35 You were a favored son and now you're a slave, 37:39 and you have to serve a master. 37:42 But yet, Satan could not get Joseph through that experience. 37:47 He served his God. 37:49 He honored His God. 37:51 He was faithful to His God. 37:55 And what happened? 37:56 God blessed Joseph and Potiphar 38:00 as a result of Joseph's faithfulness. 38:03 So Satan says, 38:05 "Well, I can't get him with that discouragement. 38:06 So I'm going to try to entice him with pleasure." 38:12 Now we come to the eight keys, 38:13 the eight keys for you and I, when dealing with temptation. 38:18 Key number one, make decisions on principle, 38:24 not by how you feel. 38:26 I'm going to say that again. 38:27 Make decisions on principle, not by how you feel. 38:32 Did Joseph desire Potiphar's wife? 38:35 The Word of God does not tell us that. 38:37 If you read in that time what the Egyptian woman wore, 38:43 I would have a feeling that he desired her. 38:45 And she clearly came on to him. 38:48 And yet he chose to make a decision, 38:51 not by his feelings or desires in his heart. 38:57 He made his decision based on principle. 38:59 James 1:14-15. 39:03 James tells us, "But each one is tempted 39:05 when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 39:09 Then, when desire has conceived, 39:11 it gives birth to sin, and sin, 39:13 when it is full-grown, it brings death." 39:17 I wanna be very clear here. Temptation is not a sin. 39:21 Desire is not wrong. It is what you do with it. 39:25 The feeling is not wrong, but it's what you do with it. 39:29 There was an example given once I love and it says, 39:31 you cannot stop the birds from flying over your head. 39:34 Is that a true statement? Absolutely. 39:36 They fly and they do whatever they want. 39:38 However, you can stop them 39:39 from making a nest in your hair. 39:42 What does that mean? 39:44 When we have a feeling or a desire? 39:47 Okay, that's normal. 39:49 That's natural. That's human nature. 39:52 That's the world of sin we live in. 39:54 But then what do we do with that? 39:57 And James warns, 39:58 it's very clear that it's not sin 39:59 at the beginning. 40:01 It says, each one is tempted when he's drawn away 40:03 by his own desires and enticed. 40:05 When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. 40:08 So it's when we dwell on it, when we relish it, 40:13 when we think too much on it, and it grows in the heart. 40:18 That's when it gives birth to sin. 40:20 And, of course, when sin is full grown, 40:22 it brings forth death. 40:24 Daniel 1:8, I love this verse. 40:26 Daniel's in a foreign land, a heathen king, 40:30 many different things that could tempt him, 40:33 coming against him. 40:34 And yet it says in Daniel 1:8, 40:36 "Daniel purposed in his heart 40:38 that he would not defile himself 40:40 with a portion of the king's delicacies." 40:43 So Daniel made a decision on principle, 40:46 not by the food that seemed to look good, 40:49 not by the food that seemed to taste good. 40:52 He made a decision based on principle. 40:54 He purposed in his heart. 40:56 So key number one, make decisions on principle, 40:59 not by how you feel. 41:00 Key number two, 41:01 make decisions on how it affects God, 41:05 not yourself or other people. 41:08 You know, Joseph said, 41:09 when Potiphar's wife came against him, 41:11 what did he say? 41:13 How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? 41:17 He recognized that the sin 41:18 would not really be against himself or against her, 41:20 but it would be most, of course, 41:22 it would be that too. 41:24 But first and foremost, it was the sin against God. 41:28 You know, when we're facing temptation, 41:29 I know, I have fallen into this trap. 41:32 Well, it's not hurting anybody else. 41:35 I'm only hurting myself. 41:37 It's not impacting the life of anybody else. 41:39 So clearly, I should be able to do what I feel, 41:43 what I want. 41:46 But yet, it's not about that. 41:48 It's about how does this affect God? 41:50 You know, when Eve plucked, 41:52 or took what the serpent gave her the forbidden fruit, 41:55 and she made that decision to eat 41:58 the forbidden fruit. 42:00 It's just one bite of an apple. 42:02 She could have said, well, it just affects me. 42:04 But guess who it affected? 42:06 It affected the entire world. 42:07 You and I are suffering the consequences 42:11 of one decision that she thought, 42:14 maybe probably won't impact other people. 42:16 This is just dealing with me. 42:18 You know, I find in this penitential prayer 42:21 which is a powerful prayer in Psalm 51. 42:24 There are several penitential prayers in the Book of Psalms, 42:26 but especially I like Chapter 51. 42:28 This is David after his sin 42:30 with Bathsheba and Uriah. 42:34 And he pours out his soul in confession to God. 42:37 And then Psalm 51:4, he says, "Against You, 42:41 You only have I sinned," he's talking to God, " 42:44 and done this evil in Your sight, 42:47 that You may be found just when You speak, 42:49 and blameless when You judge." 42:51 Now, he could have said, I sinned against Bathsheba 42:53 and he clearly did. 42:55 He could have said, I sinned against her husband 42:56 by having him killed. 42:58 And he clearly did. But what did he say? 43:00 Against You, God, You only have I sinned. 43:03 So key number two, 43:05 make decisions on how it affects God, 43:08 not on how you think 43:09 it might have impact you or other people. 43:11 Key number three, 43:13 once you have made your decision, 43:16 stick with it. 43:17 And Joseph's story in Genesis 39, it says, 43:20 "Over and over, she spoke to him day by day, 43:23 but he would not listen to her or lie with her." 43:29 Luke 9:62. 43:32 Jesus speaking, "He said to them, 43:34 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, 43:38 and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God." 43:42 You know, I believe when we are facing temptation, 43:47 it's much harder when you waffle. 43:49 I don't know if you've ever experienced that, but I have. 43:54 Well, I really want to do this, I probably shouldn't. 43:57 I really want to do this, I probably shouldn't. 43:59 Ah, let me think about it a while. 44:03 And you know, every time I waffle, 44:04 every time I think maybe I'll just do a little bit 44:09 or do it once, what happens? 44:11 It's easy to step over into sin 44:15 and easy to give in to that temptation. 44:20 So once you've made a decision, 44:21 once you've made a decision on principle, 44:23 not by how you feel. 44:25 Once you've made a decision on how it impacts God, 44:28 not yourself and other people, stick with that decision. 44:30 Don't say no today and then the next day, well, 44:33 maybe today I'll say yes. 44:35 Stick with that decision. 44:37 Key number four. 44:39 This one's a critical one. 44:40 Sometimes drastic action is required. 44:44 If we go to Joseph's story, this is in Genesis 39, 44:47 we look at verse 11 and 12. 44:49 Remember, she had been tempting him, 44:51 encouraging him, and he kept saying no. 44:54 Next day, no. 44:56 Next day, no. 44:58 We'll get to verse 11. 44:59 Genesis 39:11, 45:01 "And it happened about this time, 45:02 when Joseph went into the house to do his work, 45:04 and none of the men of the house were inside, 45:06 that she caught him by his garment, 45:08 saying, 'Lie with me.' 45:09 But he left his garment in her hand, 45:12 and fled and ran outside.'" 45:15 That word fled in Hebrew 45:17 literally means to flee, to escape. 45:20 Joseph didn't stop to talk. 45:22 Remember before he'd always said, no, no, no. 45:26 This time he didn't stop to talk. 45:28 What did he do? 45:29 He fled. He didn't reason with her. 45:31 He turned and ran. 45:34 The Book of Mark Chapter 9, other gospels have it as well. 45:37 But the Book of the Mark Chapter 9, we look at verse 43, 45:40 has an interesting twist. 45:42 You might when you first read it, 45:43 you might say, well, 45:45 God's talking about self mutilation, 45:46 but He is not if you read the passage. 45:48 It says, Mark 9:43, 45:50 "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. 45:53 It is better for you to enter life 45:55 maimed than having two hands." 45:58 Verse 45, "If your foot, it causes you to sin, 46:01 cut it off. 46:03 It is better for you to enter life lame, 46:06 rather than having two feet, 46:09 rather than to be cast into hell." 46:10 Meaning, making decisions against God 46:13 will eventually have eternal consequences. 46:16 Verse 47, "If your eye causes you to sin, 46:20 pluck it out. 46:22 It is better for you to enter 46:23 the kingdom of God with one eye, 46:26 rather than having two eyes, and being cast into hellfire." 46:31 You know, when we work with poison, 46:34 you wouldn't just say, 46:35 "Okay, I'm gonna put a label on it and make sure 46:37 that nobody touches that poison box." 46:39 No, you would dispose of it. 46:42 I want to be clear in this passage, 46:43 Jesus is not promoting self mutilation. 46:45 He's not saying, cut off your foot. 46:47 He's not saying, take off your eye. 46:49 He's not saying that. 46:50 Rather, He's saying that sin, 46:52 it needs to be dealt with quickly 46:55 at any cost. 46:59 Do not explain away sin. 47:01 Do not excuse sin. 47:04 Do not rename sin. 47:08 Do not minimize sin. 47:11 When drastic action is required, 47:15 take drastic action. 47:18 Key number five really goes along with key number four, 47:21 which is sometimes drastic action is required. 47:24 Key number five says, make no provision for the flesh. 47:29 Romans 13:14, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, 47:33 and make no provision for the flesh 47:35 to fulfill its lusts." 47:37 What does that mean? 47:38 Sin needs to be dealt with quickly yes, 47:40 but it means to be on the offense 47:43 when it comes to sin. 47:44 Many times we're on the defense, 47:46 well, I'll wait till something comes to me. 47:48 And then I'll indulge a while and I'll dwell on it a while, 47:52 and I'll think a while and then finally I may rise up 47:56 and make a decision for God. 47:58 Now, be on the offense when it comes to sin. 48:02 If your sin is pornography, 48:05 maybe you need to cut off the internet cable, 48:08 or cancel those magazine subscriptions, 48:11 or toss those movies. 48:14 If your sin is gluttony, 48:15 maybe you need to fast or cut out certain 48:19 of those foods from your diet. 48:22 If your sin is greed, 48:23 maybe God's calling you to take a great portion 48:26 of your paycheck and give it to someone else. 48:32 Sometimes drastic action is required. 48:35 And it is important not to have things 48:38 lying around in the home, in your car, 48:41 at your place of work that will tempt you 48:45 to come back into that life of sin. 48:49 Philippians 4:8 says, 48:50 "Whatever is pure, holy, lovely, 48:53 think on those things." 48:55 And if you have things in your home, 48:56 I know I have done this in my own life, 49:00 in my own walk with Jesus, 49:02 things that were pulling me from God, 49:04 things that I would say, I'm a strong Christian, well, 49:06 I just won't look at that. 49:07 Well, I just won't go there. 49:09 Well, I'm just not touching that. 49:10 And yet, in a weak moment, 49:11 it was in my home and it was easy to go back. 49:14 So then Greg and I prayed and said, 49:16 "No, this needs to go." 49:18 So that stumbling block, 49:20 that temptation is no longer there. 49:25 Make no provision for the flesh. 49:27 Key number six, 49:29 accept the power of the Holy Spirit. 49:31 I love this because we can say, 49:33 we're going to make these decisions. 49:35 We can say, okay, we're going to make drastic action. 49:37 But really, 49:39 we can't do any of that without the inner working 49:42 of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian. 49:45 Galatians 5:16-17, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, 49:50 you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. 49:55 For the flesh, it lusts against the Spirit, 49:57 and the Spirit against the flesh, 49:59 and these are contrary to one another, 50:02 so that you do not do the things that you wish." 50:06 You know, we cannot change ourselves. 50:07 And that's very clear. 50:08 You might be saying, "Well, I can't do those things. 50:10 I can't throw these things out of my home. 50:12 I can't take that drastic action. 50:14 I can't make a decision on principle." 50:15 No, we can. 50:17 Our righteousness is filthy rags, 50:21 our promises or desires to do right might be there. 50:26 And that's a gift from God in itself, 50:28 but we don't have the strength. 50:29 We don't have the willpower. 50:30 We don't have the manpower to do any of that. 50:32 That's where the work of the Holy Spirit 50:35 enters into our hearts and he does the work. 50:40 When we cannot change ourselves, 50:42 we can choose whose hand we're going to clasp, 50:46 whether it's self or the spirit. 50:50 Make a choice for him, 50:51 ask the Holy Spirit to come into your heart, 50:55 and to give you his power. 50:57 Key number seven, utilize the power of the Word of God. 51:00 Psalm 119:11, says, 51:03 "Your word, I've hidden in my heart 51:04 that I might not sin against You." 51:06 What does that mean? 51:08 The Word of God is living and powerful 51:09 and sharper than any two-edged sword. 51:11 It can pierce our hearts, it shows us where the sin is, 51:14 but it doesn't leave us there and it points us to Jesus. 51:17 The Word of God has life giving power. 51:20 If you want your life to be changed, 51:21 if you want to grow in grace, 51:23 open up your heart to the work of the Holy Spirit, 51:26 because only he can change you. 51:27 But in addition, spend time in the Word of God. 51:30 I think about Jesus and the temptations. 51:33 Remember, 40 days without food. 51:34 I can't even imagine 40 days without food. 51:38 And Satan comes and says, "If you are the Son of God, 51:41 turn these stones into bread." 51:43 How did Jesus answer that temptation? 51:45 How did He do with something that was so physically 51:48 and emotionally difficult? 51:50 He said what? 51:51 I just want to put this in, 40 days without food. 51:56 You think that's a hard temptation? 51:57 I can't even imagine going through that. 52:00 And I think I've got a whole day 52:04 without chocolate. 52:05 Okay, I'm just being real here, a whole day without chocolate. 52:08 Boy, that was hard. 52:10 He went 40 days not without chocolate, without food. 52:14 And yet, how did He deal with that temptation? 52:16 Matthew 4:4, 52:17 "He answered and said, 'It is written, 52:19 man shall not live by bread alone, 52:21 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 52:24 Jesus answered temptation, 52:26 He handled temptation with the Word of God. 52:28 You and I have 52:29 the same weapon in our disposal. 52:31 You and I have the power in the Word of God 52:34 to use and apply over our lives. 52:36 Key number eight, crucify the flesh, 52:39 and put to death the old man of sin. 52:43 Galatians 5:24, 52:45 "And those who are Christ's have crucified 52:48 the flesh with its passions and desires." 52:52 So what does that mean literally? 52:53 I think about Romans 6, 52:55 there's this whole passage about the death 52:57 to the old way of life and rising to newness of life. 53:01 In Romans 6:6, it says, "Know this, 53:04 our old man must crucified with him, 53:06 that the body of sin might be done away with, 53:09 that you and I, we should no longer be slaves of sin." 53:13 Verse 7, 53:14 "For he who has died has been freed from sin." 53:19 I mean this in the most respectful way possible. 53:23 But if you ever go to a funeral, 53:25 and you see the person who has died in the casket, 53:29 have you ever seen someone come up 53:31 to the body and offer them cigarettes, 53:34 or offer them alcohol, 53:36 or tempt them sexually or gossip about them? 53:40 Or say some nasty things about them? 53:43 Have you ever seen that person respond? 53:45 Have you ever seen those desires 53:47 in their heart come out? 53:49 No. Why? 53:51 Because they are dead. 53:52 Crucify the flesh 53:54 and put to death the old man of sin. 53:57 We can't do that in our own strength. 53:58 It is only by the power of the indwelling, 54:01 it's the Holy Spirit that you and I can say, okay, God, 54:05 I can't get rid of the old man, the old woman of sin. 54:08 I can't get rid of these fleshly appetites and desires. 54:11 But I'm opening up my heart. 54:13 And I'm giving You permission to do that. 54:17 Our closing scripture is 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. 54:23 When we first read this scripture, 54:26 it might seem a little harsh. 54:28 It says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous 54:32 will not inherit the kingdom of God? 54:36 Do not be deceived. 54:38 Neither fornicators nor idolaters," 54:40 this is a list of sins, 54:43 "nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, 54:46 nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, 54:51 nor drunkards, nor revilers, 54:54 nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." 54:58 You might be watching right now and say, 55:01 "Well, I'm all of those things, 55:02 or I'm one of those things, or I'm five of those things. 55:06 Are you saying I'm not going to go to heaven? 55:08 Are you saying that my sins, 55:10 I've tried, I've tried to get rid of them, 55:12 I've tried to overcome, I've tried. 55:14 There's nothing I can do. 55:15 I don't know what to do, God." 55:18 I'm so grateful that the scripture 55:20 doesn't stop there, that it continues. 55:22 1 Corinthians 6:11. 55:25 It says, "And such were some of you." 55:28 To be honest, such were all of us. 55:32 "But you were washed." 55:34 Do you want to be washed in the blood of Jesus? 55:37 Do you want to know that His blood 55:40 will cover your sin, 55:41 His blood will cover your past, His blood will cover you. 55:46 "But you were washed, you were sanctified, 55:50 you were justified 55:51 in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 55:57 Do you want to walk in victory? 55:59 Do you want to live a new life in Christ? 56:04 Do you want to experience Jesus in a new way? 56:10 Open up your heart to the Lord Jesus and say, 56:12 "Yes, God, I want to make a decision on principle, 56:15 not by how I feel. 56:17 Yes, God, I want to make decisions 56:19 that will affect You. 56:21 And I'm not going to worry about 56:23 how I think it affects me. 56:25 Yes, God, once I make a decision for You, 56:28 I want to stick with that decision. 56:30 Yes, God, I am willing, 56:32 and I don't even know how to say this, 56:33 because I don't know how to do this. 56:35 But I am willing to be made willing for you to tell me 56:39 those things in my life, those things in my heart, 56:42 those things in my home that are pulling me from Jesus. 56:47 God, I want to accept the power of the Holy Spirit, 56:51 because I can't change myself. 56:52 I can't make myself better. 56:54 I can't resist sin. 56:55 I cannot resist temptation, but God, would You come in? 57:00 Would you fill me with Your Holy Spirit? 57:03 Would You give me Your power? 57:05 God, I want to utilize the power 57:06 of the Word of God. 57:08 Teach me how to claim Your promises over my life. 57:13 God, I don't know how to do this. 57:15 But I want to crucify that old man, 57:17 that old woman of sin, 57:19 and I want to be a child of God. 57:21 Know that in Christ, you can be forgiven, 57:26 cleansed and made whole. 57:28 In Christ, you can resist sin. |
Revised 2021-07-19