Saying "No" to Sin, Part 3

There are a lot of Christians, and maybe you're one of them today, that have no joy in their walk with the Lord. Sin does that. Sin robs you of that joy because it keeps you from having fellowship with the one who came to give not only life, but to give abundant life, a great life. That's our God. That death-like existence is a life that dishonors the living God. And Joseph was a man who knew that if he sinned, he would sin against his God. That one phrase in Genesis chapter 39, how can I do this and sin against my God, is so supreme, is so significant that it should be uppermost in our thinking as we go through each and every day.

How can I do this thing and sin against my God? Because when you sin against your God, it takes you further away from your God. It keeps you from experiencing the abundant life with your God. It keeps you from experiencing the life that He wants you to have, because as Ephesians 4 30 says, you have grieved the Holy Spirit of God. Grieved Him. And Paul would even say in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, simply because you come and eat and drink at the table unworthily, some of you are sick. Some of you even die because you have dishonored the Lord God.

That's not talked about much anymore, but that's the truth. Sin's penalty is inescapable. Joseph understood that. I want you to understand that. I really do. I want you to come to grips with that. The writer of Hebrews said it well, the marriage bed is undefiled. Marriage is honorable above all, and yet fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Before that in Hebrews chapter 12, it talks about the chasing of the Lord and how the Lord disciplines and reproves and encourages those children of His that are disobedient to His Word.

Why? Because there's a consequence to pay when you sin against God. It doesn't mean He doesn't forgive you, because He does. If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. That's our God. He not only forgives your sins, but His grace and His mercy want to restore you to a place of fellowship with Him, so you might walk in harmony with Him. That's the way our God is. That's what He wants to do. And yet there are consequences to sin.

Joseph understood that. He came to grips with it. We need to come to grips with it. So we've been looking at Genesis chapter 39, and Lord willing we'll conclude our chapter today. But we thought it best to spend some time here, because how did you do this past week and say no to sin? Were you successful or did you fail? You see you face it every day. You face the temptations that come your way every day, and you got to learn to say no to engage you in sin. And so we learn first of all that God's presence is reliable.

God's presence is reliable. The Lord was with Joseph. Joseph understood that. Joseph was all about living for God. Looking to God, honoring God. He understood the presence of God in his life, and that's why it talks about the Lord's presence in Genesis chapter 39. But God's presence is reliable. That was point number one.

And point number two, sin's penalty is inescapable. We spent all of last Sunday on just that point. Miss last Sunday, I encourage you to get the tape. She might understand what the Word of the Lord says. You know, and we we have gone through life just kind of redefining sin, haven't we? We have redefined it in such a way that that we don't even think of the penalty anymore. We think of anger and our temper as a way of self-expression. We think of gluttony as the good life. We think of sodomy as the alternative lifestyle.

We think of fornication as just experimentation. We look at adultery as a cure for a lackluster marriage.

We just kind of redefine all the terms that the Bible uses. We don't want to call it sin. We don't want to call it for what it is. We want to redefine it. We want to candy-coat it so we don't have to think about the consequences of what's going to happen down the road. But no matter how you cut it, sin's penalty is inescapable. Our third point is this, sin's pressure is unbelievable.

Sin's pressure is unbelievable. And we're going to pick up our narrative in Genesis chapter 39, looking at verse number 10. And it reads as follows, and it came about as she spoke to Joseph day after day that he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the household was there inside. And she caught him by his garment saying, lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand and fled and went outside.

When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, she called to the men of her household and said to them, see, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us. He came in to me to lie with me and I screamed. And it came about when he heard that I had raised my voice and screamed, they left his garment beside me and fled and went outside. So she left his garment beside her until his master came home. Then she spoke to him with these words, the Hebrew slave whom you brought to us came into me to make sport of me.

And it happened as I raised my voice and screamed that he left his garment beside me and fled outside. Sin's pressure is unbelievable. You see, Satan knows about the penalty of sin. He knows the consequences of your sin. So he wants you to face them. So the pressure that comes your way is unbelievable. You see it in the in the continual appeals by Potiphar's wife. Day after day. This is amazing because it wasn't like Joseph could go home and get a rest from the temptation. You see, the place he lived was the place he worked.

Everything he did was in Potiphar's household. And day after day, there were the continual appeals of Potiphar's wife. Lie with me. Come and be with me. And Joseph refused to to even listen to what she said. Think about that. Most of us when we face our temptation, we can we can leave the environment where the temptation happened. Joseph couldn't do that. He lived in an environment of continual temptation. And yet he was able to say no to it. That's a great man of God. He couldn't just change jobs.

Hey Potiphar, I think I'm gonna be a slave for somebody else. Do you mind if I if I leave your house and be a slave for so-and-so down the street? He couldn't do that. He had been purchased. He'd been bought. He was owned by Potiphar. And so the continual appeals led to an attack on his life. Finally, she said to him lie with me and she grabbed his garment.

I mean this woman was aggressive. She wanted this man. And so she attacked him. She couldn't seduce him with her words. So she went after him to attack him and to grab him. Thinking that if she was able to push herself against him and to hold him against her that he would succumb to her advances. But what did Joseph do? He turned and he ran. He turned and ran. He fled temptation. Oh, that is so important. You see, it's at that time you don't pray. If you haven't prayed before that, now isn't the time to pray.

That's why Christ said to his men in Mark 14, watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation. Be vigilant. Be alert. Be prayerful. If not, you're gonna enter into temptation. You're gonna find yourself in a situation that you can't say no to. So it wasn't time for Joseph to drop to his knees and begin to pray. It was time for Joseph to put his prayer into action. It was time for Joseph to flee. It was time for Joseph to run. So important. That's why the Bible says, Second Timothy 2.22, flee youthful lusts.

Flee them. It says in verse 19 of Second Timothy chapter 2 that the Lord, the sure foundation of the Lord is this, that the Lord knows those that are his and everyone and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Depart from it. Leave it. Run from it. If you name the name of Jesus Christ, be a running kind of man. Run away from sin. Pursue righteousness. Pursue love. Pursue faith. Paul says the same thing to Timothy in First Timothy chapter 6.

He says flee these things. In that context, it's fleeing the love of money. So just as sensual temptation will attack some of us, material temptation attacks others. And Paul says you flee the love of money. You flee youthful lusts. Paul said in First Corinthians 6.18, flee immorality.

Be a running kind of man. Run away from sin. Because sin's penalty is inescapable. You got to run from it because sin's pressure is unbelievable. You can't stand in the midst of temptation and try to bear up under it. You got to leave it. You got to run from it. That you might say no to sin. This man ran. He was heels and elbows all the way out the door. So what did she do? She falsely accused him. Oh man, she was scorned. She was a bitter woman. How dare this slave deny me. How dare this slave run from me.

I'll get him. So she accused him falsely of doing something he never did. Sin's pressure is unbelievable. You can see it in the continual appeals, the false accusations. You can see it even in the physical attack upon Joseph's life. We need to be aware of the pressure. Satan wants you to fall. He wants to ruin your testimony for the Lord Jesus. We think that the temptation is not that big a deal sometimes. But it is. It's a huge deal. And so we have to be aware of the pressures. And the fire is turned up to get us to succumb to temptation.

And Joseph was the kind of man who was able to run from it. How about you? It would be better for him to lose his coat than to lose his character, right? It would be better for him to lose his career than to lose his character. Why? Because he was committed to his God. That's why. And you will note that Joseph never complained anywhere in the text. And Joseph never compromised anywhere in the text. You will note one thing about a person who compromises. One of the characteristics of a compromiser is that he's a complainer.

Complainers compromise. Complainers are dissatisfied with where God has placed them. They're dissatisfied with what God has done in their life and they begin to complain about where they are and what is happening. So what do they do? They figure out another route. They take things into their own hands and they tend to compromise the truth of God's word. Because when they were committed to the truth of God's word, look where it got them. And look where Joseph was. Joseph ended up in prison for two years.

We'll see as time goes on. For something he never did. He was innocent. God was preparing this man. Sin's pressure. Unbelievable. Which leads us to our fourth point. Sin's pleasure is undeniable. Sin's pleasure is undeniable. You see, this is why it's so hard to say no to sin. Because sin's pleasure is undeniable. All you got to do is look at Hebrews chapter 11 verse number 25 and look at the life of Moses.

When it says that Moses chose to endure affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. I mean of all the verses in the Bible that readily speak to what we're doing, that verse does. I mean he chose to endure. And that is always your choice. You will choose to endure the affliction with the people of God or you will enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. That is always a choice when temptation comes your way. And Moses made the right choice. But Joseph chose, as Moses chose, to endure the affliction as a person of God rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.

Because they're only for just a little while. That's why in order to say no to sin, you must realize that God's presence is reliable. You must recognize that God is there. You must never forget God. God's presence is reliable. Sin's penalty is inescapable. Sin's pressure is unbelievable. And sin's pleasure is undeniable. You can't deny it. And Satan knows just what to dangle your direction. To get you to look at it, to take the bait and to fall.

And that's why the Bible says, love not the world. Neither the things that are in the world. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. They're not of the Father. They're of the world. And the world's passing away and the lust thereof. But he who does the will of God abides forever. Next. It's important for us to understand, when temptation comes our way, in order for us to say no to sin, God's power is available. God's power is available. Amidst the pressure, amidst the pleasure, there is power available to you and me to say no.

Turn with me in your Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, we have an answer to prayer. Many of you could quote verbatim the disciples' prayer in Matthew chapter 6. One of the phrases of that prayer is very important. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Now that should be a part of our prayer life. That should be something that we as believers learn to pray every single day. Because as Paul would say in Ephesians chapter 6, verse number 18, that we are to be praying always.

Now prayer is not a part of the armor of God. Prayer is to be woven in and around each and every piece of the armor that we put on. And so prayer becomes an active part of what we do to fight against the wiles of the devil. So we are to be praying always. Paul would go on to say, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, that we are to pray without ceasing. So prayer is to be a part of our everyday life. And so when we come to Matthew chapter 6, verse number 13, it says, and lead us not into temptation. That word temptation, parasmos, is a neuter word.

It's not good or bad. It's just a test or trial to prove something. And so we say, Lord, lead us not into temptation. It's a prayer of protection, right? Lord, don't lead us into anything that will be so great, it will lead us away from you. But instead, deliver us from evil. Or literally, deliver us from what? The evil one. That's important, right? For behind every temptation is the tempter. Behind every lie is the liar. Behind every death is the one who was a murderer from the beginning, right?

1 John 5, 19, the whole world lies under the power of the wicked one, that is Satan himself. And so in Matthew 6, when the disciples said, Lord, teach us to pray. He said, when you pray, you pray this way. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. But for most of us, we don't pray that prayer. We want to pray when the temptation is already there. I want to let you know something, that's too late. We say it's too late to pray. In that situation, it is. Because you've got to be putting prayer into action.

You've got to be running. And the way you get running is to have already prayed about it. And so you want to go before the Lord and say, Lord, lead us not into temptation. Protect us, watch over us. Don't lead us into any trial that's going to be so great for us that we can't bear it. But instead, Lord, deliver us from the evil one. So what does Christ do? He tells us that there's an answer to that prayer. And that prayer answer is in 1 Corinthians 10, verse number 13. The answer to Matthew 6, 13 is 1 Corinthians 10, verse number 13.

And it says these words, No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. Remember, I told you, when temptation comes your way, you have a choice to do one or two things, to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin or what? To endure the afflictions with the people of God. And God says, I'm faithful.

I'm faithful to provide you a route of escape that will take you through that difficult time that will cause you to be strengthened, that will allow you to endure as Moses endured, as Joseph endured. See that? God is faithful. The Bible tells us in 2 Peter 2, verse number 9, the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation. Isn't that good? God's power is available. You watch, you pray, lest you enter into temptation. If you're watching and you're praying, I'm going to let you know something.

God says, I am so faithful that I'm going to show you the route of escape. And all you got to do is do what Joseph did. Just run, just run, just go that direction. But instead, for most of us, we are a lot like Saint Augustine who said, Oh Lord, deliver me from lust, but not yet. Is that not true? Sure it is. You know, we want to blame someone when we sin. You can't blame anybody. It's nobody else's fault. I mean, could you, could you understand if Joseph complained in a situation? Yeah, I can understand that.

Could you understand if Joseph complained because he was falsely accused and thrown into prison? Yeah, I can understand that. Could you understand if Joseph even got mad at God for being in prison for something he didn't do? Sure you can. But if he sinned against God, whose fault would it be? Is it Potiphar's wife's fault? Is it Potiphar's fault? Is it his brother's fault? So quick we want to play the blame game. Not Joseph. He didn't blame anybody. Not at all. There was nobody to blame. There was just someone to trust.

And that was his God. He did. God's power is available. And Joseph readily understood the power of Almighty God. How to say no to sin? God's presence is reliable. Realize that sin's penalty is inescapable. Realize that sin's pressure is unbelievable. And that sin's pleasure is undeniable. But also God's power is always available. And lastly, your prosperity will be attainable. Your prosperity will be attainable. Look what it says. Genesis chapter 39. Now it came about when his master heard the words of his wife, which he spoke to him saying, this is what your slave did to me that his anger burned.

So Joseph's master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. And he was there in the jail. But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. And the chief jailer committed to Joseph's charge, all the prisoners who were in the jail. So that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made what?

To prosper. Whatever Joseph did, prosper. Your prosperity is attainable. Everything he touched prospered. He prospered. Why? Because God was with him and your prosperity is attainable. Now listen to me carefully. If you miss this, you miss it. We think of prosperity. What do we think of? We think of riches, gold, silver. We think of affluence. Isn't that what comes to mind when we think of prosperity? But biblical prosperity has nothing to do with affluence, riches. Biblical prosperity has everything to do with your character.

Everything. Let me show it to you. Proverbs 22, verse number one. A good name is to be desired more than great riches. Favor is better than silver and gold. That's prosperity. A good name is better than great riches. And favor is greater than silver and gold. That's the prosperity of Joseph in Genesis chapter 39. When you are rich in the Lord, you have great riches. When you walk with the Lord, you are rich. The Bible says in Psalm 112, verse number six, the righteous will be remembered forever.

Forever? There's something about a righteous character. There's something about a life that honors God. You'll be remembered forever. Your money won't be. The amount of money you receive won't be, but you will be. And guess what? Solomon said you have between your birthday and your death day to develop a fragrance that attracts people. And yesterday when we sat here and then we left and went to Forest Lawn, there must've been 250 cars in that processional. We stopped traffic all over West Covina, Covina, everywhere, even on the freeway.

Went to Forest Lawn, hundreds of people gather around the gravesite. And I have one last chance, one last opportunity to talk to them about the brevity of life, the sovereignty of God, the destiny of man, the reality of death, the certainty of reunion, and the necessity of rebirth. One last chance to let them know that every man's destiny is before those people that day. And Mr. Ed Yark was saved for 14 months. That's it, 14 months. In those 14 months, he brought more people to this church than any five people I know.

He's unbelievable. He was sold on his Christianity. He was sold on his God. He would tell people about his God all the time. A good name is better than a good ointment. For the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth. And in between that time, you have, however long God gives you, to be prosperous. Biblical prosperity is about the character of a man. And Joseph had no money. So it can't be the fact that he had lots of money. He had only what was on his back. But God caused all that he did to prosper.

Why? Because of his character. It was uncompromising. It was unparalleled. It was undaunting. It was unbelievable. And that's what God wants for you and me. He wants us to live that kind of life. And that's why the psalmist said, and you know it very well, the psalmist over in Psalm 1 says, How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers, but is delighted in the law of the Lord. And in his law, he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of waters, which yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither. And whatever he does, he what? He prospers. Your prosperity is attainable. It is. But you know what? It requires you saying no to sin and yes to God. And my friend, that choice is your choice. Let's pray.