If you would, please open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 39. Genesis chapter 39. This is God's Word. Now, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph's care everything he had. With Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome. And after a while, his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, come to bed with me. But he refused. With me in charge, he told her, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house. Everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, He refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, come to bed with me. But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. Look, she said to them, this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house. She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story, that Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house. When his master heard the story, his wife told him saying, this is how your slave treated me. He burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison. the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him. He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success. in whatever he did. May God add his blessing to this reading from his holy and inspired word. How'd you like to be Joseph? Well, he was handsome and well-built. That's a plus. Of course, he was a slave. That's a minus. But he was a very successful slave. He got accused of raping or attempting to rape someone. That's a minus. So he got thrown in prison. That's not good. But it beats being executed, which could easily have happened. And while he's in prison, he gets promoted to basically running the prison. That's a plus. But he's still in prison. That's a definite minus. how'd you like to be joseph i don't think i would want any of my kids to be any of the heroes in the bible i mean i thought about it before as i've been praying for my children and praying that this won't happen or that this will happen and you know trying to advise god on what would be a good plan it's embarrassing but i i i still find myself as i intercede trying to explain to god what I think would really be good. And so, as I pray for my kids from time to time, I think, you know, why can't their life be like... and there isn't anybody. There's not anybody I'd want any of my kids to trade places with. In current situations or in biblical history. Not a one. Would you want your kid to have Moses' life? Samuel's life? David's life? I mean, who would you want to trade with? Every single biblical character went through really tough stuff. As a matter of fact, everybody I know has gone through really tough stuff. As a matter of fact, I've gone through some really tough stuff. Apparently, in this world, we have problems. Remember, we got kicked out of the garden. Okay? When man ate the fruit of the tree, death entered the picture. And it wasn't just choke and fall down dead. It was death that permeates creation. And the whole of creation groans as in the pains of childbirth until now, Romans 8. We live in a world where suffering is part of the package. And if you try to order your life in such a way as to avoid as much suffering as possible, you are guaranteed major disaster. Because if your goal is to avoid suffering, you will repeatedly make bad decisions. Jesus says whoever tries to save his life will lose it. That is a guarantee from Jesus. Let's say it together. Whoever tries to save his life will lose it. So if your goal is to protect yourself at all costs, you're going to destroy yourself. Guaranteed. Guaranteed. The surest path to destruction is the attempted continual self-preservation. But if you will lay your life down, if because of Jesus you are not afraid to die, but you know that all that matters is doing His will, that's all that matters. then you will discover what life is all about. The life He has planned for you which is abundant, purposeful, meaningful life. Peace that passes understanding because it's not based on our circumstances. Joy that is not the same thing as a light and happy little feeling I get every time I think about how pleasant my circumstances are. No, it's joy that comes even in the midst of pain, even in the midst of sorrow, even when we can't see what God is up to. We have joy because we know He's up to something good. Because He is. You look at this story. some of the phrases that are vital. Verse 2, the Lord was with Joseph. Verse 3, the Lord was with him. And everything that he did prospered. It was all blessed. But he was still a slave. You think he wanted to be a slave? Of course not. you think he wanted to be living in egypt definitely not he wanted to be back with his dad who'd given him that beautiful fancy robe he wanted to be back where he was a prince in the house not just the head slave he was a slave he was owned and yet In this situation, the Lord was with him. And the Lord was blessing him. And he was successful in everything he did. Except for that part about Potiphar's wife. No, let me tell you something. He was successful there too. Please hear this. This is absolutely vital. When it says he was successful and the Lord blessed him in everything that he did, the Lord blessed him in what he did with regard to Potiphar's wife. Didn't feel like it. Didn't look like it. Didn't sound like it. But he did the right thing. Yeah, but then he got falsely accused. But he did the right thing. Yeah, but then he got put in prison. But he did the right thing. Whether we are successful is not measured by what the circumstances look like as people respond to what we do. Whether we are successful is determined by whether or not we do what God says we should do. That is the measure of our success. our obedience, our faithfulness. If we do the right thing and we end up on a cross, is that success or failure? What about you? Would you say Jesus was successful? All over the world today, people honor the cross because Jesus died on a cross. People who don't even understand the gospel recognize something historic, significant, beautiful about the cross because of what Jesus did. Now, to anybody living in Jerusalem or surrounding areas at the time of Jesus, to end up on a cross was the worst thing that could happen to you. It was a hideously, cruel, torturous death. It was so bad that if you were a Roman citizen, you could not be crucified by law, no matter what you did. If you tried to assassinate Caesar, you'd be executed, but not by crucifixion, because it was a guarantee that no Roman citizen would die that way. It was not just a way of executing people, it was a way of terrifying the people that Rome had subjugated. It was that bad. And so if you died by crucifixion, you were the most miserable, pathetic, degraded, humiliated loser. Jesus died by crucifixion. who won? Rome? No. The high priest? No. The mob of people who called out crucify Him? No. Jesus conquered. He triumphed over his enemies by the cross. Read Colossians. He triumphed by the cross. And Jesus says, if anyone wants to be my disciple, he needs to take up his cross and follow me. So Jesus, I'm really glad you did that, but I don't want to do that. What did we say earlier? If you try to save your life, you'll lose it. If you're determined to protect insulate yourself so that you don't have to go through hard times, you will make a disaster of your life. So, Joseph, good-looking guy, handsome and well-built. Joseph is doing his job that he's required to do as a slave. And he's doing it very well and God is blessing him in that job. And he has been promoted so that as he tells Potiphar's wife, only Potiphar has more power in this house than I do. That includes, by the way, Potiphar's wife. He had more power than Potiphar's wife. He had more authority than Potiphar's wife. He was the guy who ran that household. She didn't run it. The one thing that was off-limits to Joseph was Potiphar's wife. And Joseph responded to her attempts at seduction by saying, how could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? It's not, hey, you know, your husband might really be upset, and I don't want to lose my job. That wasn't the issue. Well, listen, you know, I've really gotten to where I really like your husband. I think Potiphar's a super dude and I wouldn't want to do something that might hurt our relationship. No, that wasn't the issue. The issue is adultery is a wicked sin against God. And we live in a culture where the church has failed to clearly proclaim and display what God says concerning the importance of sexual purity. We live in an age where certain sexual sins are still frowned upon by some of us who are older and more conservative. But adultery, well, you know, it happens. It happens. So we've got preachers who have been caught in adultery, and they apologize, and then because they have such a gift, they're kept in ministry. That's not ministry, it's show business. And the church has zero credibility when we try and tell the world that they need to follow God's law and we refuse to honor God's law in our midst. So, Joseph, young man, good looking, being pursued by his boss's wife. says, how then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? And though she spoke to Joseph, verse 10, day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. Excuse me, say that phrase with me. Even be with her. And lead us not into temptation. I know how to get there. Is that what you think? He wouldn't even spend time with her. He avoided her. Day after day, she pursues him and he doesn't say, well, look, I can't go to bed with you, but how about if we just have a game of cards? No! He refused to spend time with her. Because he knew what she was after. If somebody pursues you sexually, Outside of marriage, you need to understand they're inviting you to die. You need to understand that sex is not bad. It is so wonderful that God says there's only one place that is worthy of it. And that's in the context of a covenant between husband and wife. Anything outside of that, wrong. I don't have two or three places that I like to keep my eyes. I mean, mostly we keep them in the head, but sometimes I put them in the drawer, sometimes on the table. No! Well, what's the matter? You don't like your eyes? You don't like to take them out and show them off? My eyes belong in my head. And if my eyes are taken out of my head, they don't work. Is that clear? Sex outside of marriage is a disaster. It's a disaster. Well, I know we're not supposed to. The reason you're not supposed to is because the God who invented it designed it for a purpose. And that purpose is the union of husband and wife. If you take it out of that context, it is not a really neat thing. Let me tell you, a train is a really neat thing on the tracks. A train off the tracks is called a train wreck. Is that clear? And sex is designed by God to be an expression of love between a man and a woman who are married to each other. Joseph understood that and understood that to violate that is a wicked thing and a sin against God. And so he refused not only to go all the way, he refused even to be with her. He refused even to be with her. Because he knew what she was after. And so he avoided her. But it was hard. Day after day. Day after day. Day after day. She keeps after him. Day after day, she's trying to seduce him. Day after day, she's trying to get him to come. And finally, one day, she grabs hold of his clothing. He is not in there teasing her. He is in there because he has to. It's his job. He's a slave. And so he's doing what he has to do, fulfilling his duties in the home, and she grabs hold of him. And he doesn't stand there and negotiate. He does what we're told we should do in Paul's letter to Timothy, and that is flee youthful lusts. Now, it doesn't say in this text what she looked like. There's no record of Mrs. Potiphar's appearance. It talks about Joseph's appearance, but it doesn't say anything about her appearance. But it is safe to assume that Potiphar, who was able to buy slaves, was able to get a wife who was good-looking. Okay? Regardless of his looks. Because you see, in the pagan world that still exists today, If you've got money and you've got power, there are immoral people who will gladly latch onto you. And Mrs. Potiphar clearly had not married for love. She clearly was not in her marriage because she found Potiphar her soulmate. She was an exploiter. She was an immoral slut. I don't think we're supposed to use that word. It's appropriate here. Okay. I bet you're impugning her character. No, she has just displayed her character. She is a predatory adulterous. And so, to call her something derogatory, in this case, is being kind. Because when she fails to seduce him, she tries to molest him. And then when he runs away, she falsely accuses him of rape. I'm being kind when I describe her that way. She was a lowlife. But she got away with it. No, she didn't. She's been in hell a long time. Thanks very much. She didn't get away with anything. Let me tell you something. People don't get away with stuff. Well, she falsely accused him and he's the one who went to prison. Yeah, but she's the one who went to hell. You think that's a good deal? If you think that you're going to advance your situation by violating God's law and living the way you want in this life, you are a fool, biblically speaking. The only hope for any of us is new life in Christ Jesus. That's the only hope. He did the right thing. Leaving his cloak in her hand, he ran out of the house. And so she, to cover her guilt, accuses him of rape. And when his master heard the story, verse 19, he burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. Text doesn't say it, but I have to wonder if Potiphar didn't have a question in the back of his mind about who was telling the truth. You know that Joseph said, I did not. And I think if Potiphar hadn't had a question in his mind, he would surely have had the death penalty. He was the captain of the guard. Would have been very easy to dispense with Joseph. Instead, he put him in prison. So now Joseph is unjustly imprisoned. Not given a trial, he's just given a sentence. He's put permanently, it would seem, into prison, which is worse than being a slave. Sometimes we're in a bad situation and we think to ourselves, trying to console ourselves, Well, it's got to get better because it couldn't possibly get worse. And then something happens and we say, oh, I hadn't thought of that. I guess it can get worse. You know, I mean, what else could possibly go wrong? Oh, I didn't even consider that possibility. I mean, that's Joseph's life. He's thrown in a pit, bad. He's taken out, good. He's sold as a slave, bad. He gets promoted to top slave, good. He gets accused and put in prison, bad. What's the story of your life? Well, some good, some bad. Some days are better than others. Did you know that there is a God who has written the story? And that God has a plan, and it's for your good, and even the tough things you go through, if Joseph had not been thrown in that pit, he wouldn't have been sold as a slave. If he hadn't been sold as a slave, he wouldn't have ended up at Potiphar's house. If he hadn't ended up at Potiphar's house, he would never have gone to prison. Why would he want to go to prison? Well, because God had a plan. God was going to use his time in prison not only to build stuff into him that he would need later on, but God was going to use his time in prison in order to help him make connections with the right kind of people. What? Why would he need to know people in prison? Well, because there was one in particular that was going to introduce him to the ruler of that whole region. and make it possible for him to save the lives of countless people, including his father, whom he loved, and his brothers who tried to do him in, and a whole bunch of people he'd never met. God was going to use it. It was going to be good. It's going to be good. Let me tell you something. I don't know what you're going through. But if you're a child of God, guarantee it's for your good. It's for your good. It is for your good. Say, well, I don't understand how this could possibly be good. I don't either, but it's for your good. It's for your good. If you're a child of God, whatever you're going through, it's for your good. God promises that he is working all things together for the good of those who love him, who are the called according to his purpose. Guaranteed. Please don't quote me that Romans eight 28. I've had it up to here with Romans eight 28. Well, maybe you need to have it up to here with Romans eight 28, because you need to get into Romans eight 28 until it becomes part of your DNA. Now, I'm not saying whenever somebody's going through a tough time, quote Romans 8.28 to them. I'm saying whenever you're going through a tough time, quote Romans 8.28 to yourself. Is that clear? Those of us who are with somebody who's going through a tough time need to weep with those who weep. Sometimes just keep our mouths shut. But those of us who are going through tough times ought to be quoting Romans 8.28 to ourselves. meditating on that, resting in that, knowing that it's true because God always keeps his promises. So he's in prison. And what does it say in verse 21? While Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him. The Lord was with him. The Lord was with him. Over and over again, the Lord was with him. Verse 23, the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. What do you want? I'd like to be successful. What if it looks like Joseph? Ah, no. No, that isn't what I had in mind. Joseph was successful. Yeah, but I don't want to be in prison. You need to be wherever God wants you to be. Even if it's imprisoned for a crime you didn't commit. Whatever God has planned for you, it's for your good. It's for your good. Don't complain. Don't grumble. Don't murmur. Rejoice. Rejoice. Rejoice.