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Speaker: Last time we came together,
we looked at Daniel in Babylon, and I

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still want to carry that analogy forward.

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You live in a world that could
call, could be called baby.

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Now we don't live in the ancient
city of Babylon, but even scripture

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carries over the idea that the city
of Babylon will return in a new form.

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Babylon as descriptor and scr in
scripture is meant to show the world

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actively opposing God, Babylon.

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That's what we're working with.

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While we're looking at a new kind of
Babylon and we're looking at a new, a new

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way of living that actively opposes God.

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And what's so challenging about it is
that we're immersed in this culture.

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The culture that we live in actively
opposes God in one major area.

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There's actually several that you
can think of, I'm sure, but this is

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one area where I know you feel it.

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Let's talk a little bit
about our sex saturated world

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and what that means for us.

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Uh, let's take a quick
look at this graphic here.

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If you see this, it says, reported
porn use among Christian men and women.

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This is for people who
claim to be Christian.

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This was done in, you can't see this.

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This is October, 2023.

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Uh, this is a study by Barna.

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Barnard does these kinds of
surveys on a regular basis.

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And so you'll see here that
75% of Christian men, at least

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professing Christian men, 40% of
Christian women report viewing

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pornography at least occasionally.

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Now, that means, uh, I think the
way that they defined occasionally

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was once a month, once every
other month, something like that.

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So, uh, there's daily use, there's weekly
use, there's, there's things like that.

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But the occasional use is the one that
would be, I think, most helpful for us

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because this means that the majority
of men and getting close to, uh.

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A majority of women, at least
a, a, a sizable portion are, are

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viewing this with some regularity.

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Um, well, let's look more at this.

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Uh, this, this is also barna,
these, these colorful graphics.

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Here you see 20, the 20
through the third, 2023.

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Uh, practicing Christians tend
to see porn as bad for society.

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That's a good sign that's promising.

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Overall, do you think that it's
good or a bad thing for our society?

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Practicing Christians will
say 45% would say very bad.

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22% would say somewhat bad.

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22%, neither bad nor good.

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And then the others we, we
don't need to pay attention to.

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But look at that.

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45, 22, 22.

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Majority of Christian men will
say it's bad, but some are saying,

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well, it's just somewhat bad.

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It's not the end of the world.

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It's not terrible for you.

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And others will say, well,
it's neither bad nor good.

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It's hard to know.

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Depends on the context perhaps.

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And then of course others will say
what they will say, but I'm interested

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in that first line practicing.

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Christians will look at
pornography as maybe something

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that's not so bad after all.

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Uh, further here, Christians comfort with
their porn use versus their conviction.

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This is where it gets
even more interesting.

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Um, for practicing Christians,
they answered 49% of them answer.

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I am comfortable with how
much pornography I use.

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49% of practicing Christians
said I'm comfortable with it,

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which means, you know, I'm not
looking to change it necessarily.

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It is what it is.

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I'm gonna let it be what it is.

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That second column here, I wish I didn't
use it as much as I do, but some is okay.

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A number should be zero
for practicing Christians.

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But you'll see here that at least
one out of five men will say,

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well, um, some, some is fine.

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It's tolerable.

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A third column here, I wish I
didn't use pornography at all.

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21%.

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Um, again, if you're a Christian,
that should be the number that we say,

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yes, I wish I didn't use it at all.

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I'm, I'm repenting of it.

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I'm living a life above reproach and
I'm seeking to be removed from that.

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One of the reasons why it pervades
and continues to be pervasive is

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it's probably this right here.

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Most porn users lack accountability.

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You have anyone in your life who's
helping you avoid pornography.

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The survey asks, 14% said yes.

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The vast majority said no.

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Now, here's what you have to
know on this particular question.

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This is US adults.

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This is not necessarily practicing
Christians, you see, but it still shows

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us that for most people, accountability
in this department is considered.

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Challenging, at minimum, maybe
socially awkward, something that

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we don't wanna talk about because
it's so pervasive and so destructive

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and perhaps shameful, rightly so.

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This category here tells us that what men
need most right now is a lot of other men

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who say, look, we're, we're gonna pursue
holiness and God fearing living together.

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And that means that we're going to,
we're gonna be open about these things.

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This sermon is not about pornography.

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But it is about sexual integrity.

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And as I thought about what the sermon
means for all of us, I had to say,

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okay, what is the typical usage of
something that destroys men's integrity?

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And this is gonna be this category here.

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Uh, usually a man doesn't become a
serial adultery without taking mitigating

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steps leading up to the larger sin.

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I don't want you guys to sin by blowing
your marriages or giving yourselves away

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in inappropriate ways and sexual ways.

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I don't want you to go into massage
parlors and asking for happy endings.

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I want you to be men who
are above reproach this.

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These stats tell me where
we are as a culture.

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It doesn't tell me about where we
are as a church, but it gives me an

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idea and, and I've been counseling
men long enough to know that this

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is one of the most difficult and
pernicious sins that men struggle with.

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I don't know where you're at
with this, but I do know that.

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You're, if you have red blood
running through your veins, you

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likely have a sex drive and perhaps
have struggled with this before.

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I remember being a young man struggling
with this and saying, Lord, I'd

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rather not have this if this is the
way that my mind works and my, I'd

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rather just not have a sex drive.

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If it means I'm going to do
things that dishonor you.

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If you know what that feels like,
um, then you're in good company.

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Here's how scripture tells us
to wrestle with these things.

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Uh, of course we're gonna talk about
accountability and openness, but I

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wanna look at the story of Joseph.

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Joseph's gonna give us a really
good picture of what it looks like

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to resist sexual temptation and to
run in the polar opposite direction.

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And sure, there are techniques that I can
give you and I'm gonna give you today.

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I think things that
will be helpful for you.

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But what we really have to wrestle with
is the heart behind Joseph's denial.

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It's one thing for me to
say, Hey, don't do this.

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Don't go to these places late at night.

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Make sure that your computer has this kind
of software on it, and that's helpful.

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Sure.

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But that's not gonna be ultimately.

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It's not gonna ultimately
deliver you from this.

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There has to be something massive that
takes shape in your heart, such that you

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want to say, no more sexual sin, no more
idolatry, no more sexual immorality.

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And that's gonna be the
heart of the sermon.

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So while there's gonna be practices
and techniques, I want to give

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you the heart of the issue.

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But before we get there, let's open
up the story of Genesis chapter 39.

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We're gonna pick up in the
middle of Joseph's story.

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You might know at this point,
Joseph has been sold into slavery.

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He has now been, uh, moved from,
from walking with nomads to now he's,

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he's living in Potiphar's house.

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Potiphar's, a high
ranking Egyptian official.

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Not exactly sure what rank he is or
what, what, why he is what he is.

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But he's a high ranking person.

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He has, uh, he has
authority, he has power.

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He has a kind of prestige that
a lot of people would look for.

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Oh, well one of the things that
God blesses Potter for with is

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Joseph, take a look at chapter 39.

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We're gonna at least get the
gist of what's happening here.

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So I can focus in on verse
seven through 12, but follow

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with me Chapter 39 verse one.

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Now, Joseph had been brought down
to Egypt and Potiphar, an officer

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of Pharaoh, the captain of the
Guard in Egyptian, had brought,

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not bought him from the Ishmaelites
who had brought him down there.

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So he sold, he's handed
off to Potiphar, verse two.

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The Lord was with Joseph and he
became a successful man and he

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was in the house of his Egyptian.

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So he's not just a field slave,
he's a high ranking slave.

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Joseph is shown to be valuable to
pot defer, and so he's not gonna be

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out in the fields doing other things.

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He's in the house, which is the
honorable place to serve as a slave.

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This is where Joseph is Verse three, his
master saw that the Lord was with Joseph.

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Now, the Lord caused all that
he did to succeed in his hands.

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So Joseph found favor in
his site and attended him.

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He made him overseer of his house and
put him in charge of all that he had.

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So now he's not just a house
slave, he's not just honored as

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being a slave within the house.

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He is slave who's in charge of over,
over all the house, and this charge is,

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is put, it puts Poter in a good place
because he says Joseph is trustworthy.

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Look at verse five.

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From that time, he made him overseer
in his house and over all that he had.

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The Lord blessed the Egyptian's
house for Joseph sake.

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A blessing of the Lord was on all
that he had in the house and field.

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Everything that Joseph
touches is being blessed.

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He's got, he's got the
Midas touch here, verse six.

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So Potiphar left all that
he had in Joseph's charge.

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And because of Joseph, he had no concern
about anything but the food he ate.

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So in verse six here, the, the concern
about only food is interesting because

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it's kind of odd that it stands out.

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Why does he give Joseph charge
of everything but not the food?

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And there's two ways to
approach this, either a.

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There's a ceremonial thing that
the Egyptians prefer not to have.

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The, the, the foreigners touch their food.

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And we see a sense of this later on.

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When Joseph, remember his brothers come
to him, they're bowing down to him.

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They have a meal.

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Joseph eats at the other table because
the Egyptians don't eat with the Hebrews.

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That could be it.

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Or the context leans or suggests
that maybe that what he means

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by this is actually his wife.

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And I'll point out, I'll
point out the proof to you.

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For that in a second.

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Carrying on this, this
next paragraph here.

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Now, Joseph was handsome in form
and appearance and after a time

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his master's wife cast her eyes
on Joseph and said, lie with me.

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But he refused and said to his
master's wife, behold, because of

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me, my master has no concern about
anything in the house and he has put

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everything that he has in my charge.

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He is not greater in this house
than I am, nor has he kept back.

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Kept back anything from me except
you because you are his wife.

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There you go.

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Everything he's in charge of except you.

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His food perhaps.

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So maybe the food is a
reference to his wife.

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He's kept everything back.

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He's kept nothing back except for you.

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How then can I do this Great
wickedness and sin against God.

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And as she spoke to Joseph and, and
as she spoke to Joseph Day after

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day, Joseph would not listen to her
to lie beside her or to be with her.

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But one day.

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When he went into the house to do his
work and none of the men of the house

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was there in the house, she caught him
by his garment and said, lie with me.

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But he left his garment in her hand and
he fled and got out of the house, and

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as soon as she saw that he had left his
garment in her hand and had fled out of

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the house, she called to the men of her
household and said to them, see, he has

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brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us.

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He came into me to lie with me,
and I cried out with a loud voice,

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and as soon as he heard that, I
lifted up my voice and cried out.

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He left his garment beside me and
fled and got out of the house.

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Then she laid up his garment by
her until his master came home.

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That's her husband, and she told her
husband the same story saying, this Hebrew

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servant whom you have brought among us
came in, came into me to laugh at me.

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Mocking playing with her.

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As you know, of course it's
sexual innuendo, but she's saying

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the this young servant that you
brought in, he's mocking us.

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He's laughing at us, he's
making sport of me, verse 18.

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But as soon as I lifted up my voice
and cried, he left his garment

225
00:10:55,385 --> 00:10:57,365
beside me and fled out of the house.

226
00:10:58,055 --> 00:11:02,405
As soon as his master heard the words
that his wife spoke to him, this

227
00:11:02,405 --> 00:11:03,724
is the way your servant treated me.

228
00:11:03,875 --> 00:11:09,005
His anger was kindled and Joseph's
master took him and put him into prison.

229
00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,310
The place where the king's prisoners
were confined and he was there in

230
00:11:13,310 --> 00:11:18,530
prison, but the Lord was with Joseph
and showed him steadfast love and gave

231
00:11:18,530 --> 00:11:21,680
him favor in the side of the keeper
of the prison, and the keeper of the

232
00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:25,189
prison put Joseph in charge of all
the prisoners who were in the prison.

233
00:11:25,670 --> 00:11:28,160
Whatever was done there,
he was the one who did it.

234
00:11:28,490 --> 00:11:31,729
Keeper of the prison, paid no attention
to anything that was in Joseph's charge

235
00:11:31,729 --> 00:11:38,540
because the Lord was with him and whatever
he did, the Lord made it succeed in this.

236
00:11:39,260 --> 00:11:40,130
Introductory.

237
00:11:40,700 --> 00:11:43,550
Well, this is not the intro
in, in this story about Joseph.

238
00:11:43,550 --> 00:11:44,510
We see a few things.

239
00:11:45,110 --> 00:11:47,120
We see Joseph's commitment to the Lord.

240
00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:51,410
We see his resistance against sin, and we
also see Potiphar's wife going after him.

241
00:11:51,410 --> 00:11:53,240
She cares, she, she not,
doesn't care about him.

242
00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:54,140
She lusts after him.

243
00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:55,610
And we see this operative here.

244
00:11:55,940 --> 00:11:58,160
I wanna focus your attention
starting on verse seven.

245
00:11:58,160 --> 00:11:59,780
In fact, the second half of verse six.

246
00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,750
But I wanna focus your attention
on a few key details as we start

247
00:12:02,750 --> 00:12:04,580
to open up verses seven through 12.

248
00:12:04,820 --> 00:12:07,250
Look at verse six B where
it says now, Joseph.

249
00:12:08,045 --> 00:12:11,344
Now, Joseph was handsome
in form and appearance.

250
00:12:11,704 --> 00:12:15,604
This same exact phrase is used
for Rachel in contrast to Leah.

251
00:12:15,995 --> 00:12:19,535
Now, Rachel was beautiful
in form and appearance.

252
00:12:19,745 --> 00:12:21,515
It is exactly the same phrase.

253
00:12:21,545 --> 00:12:23,944
The word yaffe for beautiful
or handsome just means someone

254
00:12:23,944 --> 00:12:24,995
that's really attractive.

255
00:12:25,324 --> 00:12:28,655
He is really attractive and not
just attractive in appearance.

256
00:12:28,655 --> 00:12:30,395
He's not just good to look
at, but he's well built.

257
00:12:30,604 --> 00:12:31,655
Some might say he's chiseled.

258
00:12:31,805 --> 00:12:32,974
He is a gifted man.

259
00:12:32,974 --> 00:12:34,370
God has given him the gift of.

260
00:12:35,390 --> 00:12:37,370
Just, you know, one of those
people that's like, wow, that

261
00:12:37,370 --> 00:12:38,960
dude's handsome and he's stacked.

262
00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:40,580
He's got great muscles and whatever else.

263
00:12:40,790 --> 00:12:44,960
He's a, he's a standout kind of guy
of the beauty and likeness to Rachel.

264
00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:46,069
He's a standout guy.

265
00:12:46,189 --> 00:12:50,450
Now, this gift actually is a, a two edged
sword because in verse seven, notice here,

266
00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:57,800
after a time, that is after a long period
of time, his master's wife cast her eyes

267
00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,050
on Joseph and said to him, lie with me.

268
00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:02,780
Now, here's what you have
to know about Joseph.

269
00:13:03,170 --> 00:13:05,719
He was sold into slavery
about 17 years old.

270
00:13:05,719 --> 00:13:08,089
At least that's what we find
out in Genesis 37, verse two.

271
00:13:08,780 --> 00:13:11,510
He's 30 years old when he
begins to serve Pharaoh.

272
00:13:11,900 --> 00:13:15,380
So we now know that Joseph was sold
at 17 and he was serving Pharaoh

273
00:13:15,380 --> 00:13:19,819
at 30, which means that time inter
in between is when he's with Poter.

274
00:13:20,510 --> 00:13:22,010
Can we narrow it down a little further?

275
00:13:22,010 --> 00:13:25,609
Well, we find out that he's 28 years
old when he's imprisoned by pot.

276
00:13:25,670 --> 00:13:25,790
Her.

277
00:13:26,435 --> 00:13:30,484
So somewhere between 17 and
28 is where Joseph is now.

278
00:13:30,484 --> 00:13:32,675
For most of us, we're gonna
acknowledge this is the pri,

279
00:13:32,675 --> 00:13:33,935
this is the prime of our lives.

280
00:13:34,175 --> 00:13:36,484
This is when your body is as
strong as it's ever gonna be.

281
00:13:36,484 --> 00:13:38,944
This is when you're, you know, you're
gonna be as young and attractive

282
00:13:38,944 --> 00:13:40,175
as you probably will ever be.

283
00:13:40,505 --> 00:13:41,584
Hope I'm not offending any of us.

284
00:13:41,584 --> 00:13:42,515
This is just the reality.

285
00:13:43,084 --> 00:13:47,344
This is the prime of his life
when she casts her eyes upon him.

286
00:13:47,915 --> 00:13:51,094
So let's make some observations
then, if this is a high ranking

287
00:13:51,094 --> 00:13:52,954
official in Pharaoh's house.

288
00:13:53,585 --> 00:13:56,885
These guys got the best
pick of the land, right?

289
00:13:56,885 --> 00:13:59,975
And when it came to the ladies, there
was not a shortage of beautiful,

290
00:13:59,975 --> 00:14:01,415
attractive females for them to choose.

291
00:14:01,415 --> 00:14:04,025
And so it makes sense that
Potiphar would choose a very

292
00:14:04,025 --> 00:14:05,555
attractive woman to be his bride.

293
00:14:05,915 --> 00:14:06,545
We agree with that.

294
00:14:06,545 --> 00:14:07,775
There's nothing in the
text that says that.

295
00:14:08,105 --> 00:14:10,145
Just making an observation,
that's likely the case.

296
00:14:10,145 --> 00:14:13,325
She was probably not a bad
looking woman, is my, is my point.

297
00:14:13,835 --> 00:14:15,365
Joseph is in the prime of his life.

298
00:14:15,515 --> 00:14:17,015
She's not a bad looking woman.

299
00:14:17,555 --> 00:14:21,215
She comes to him and remember,
she is his master's wife.

300
00:14:21,995 --> 00:14:22,835
His master's wife.

301
00:14:23,540 --> 00:14:26,630
Which also suggests that she's
got authority over him as well.

302
00:14:26,900 --> 00:14:30,890
So this woman now looks at Joseph,
and I want you to pay attention here

303
00:14:30,890 --> 00:14:32,210
to how this actually comes about.

304
00:14:32,689 --> 00:14:35,870
And verse seven says, after a time
that is over the matriculation of

305
00:14:35,870 --> 00:14:40,070
time, there's a, there's a growing of
her lust in her heart toward this man.

306
00:14:40,430 --> 00:14:43,400
And then notice here, after a
time, his master's wife, it's not

307
00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,390
Joseph's wife, it's his master's
wife, she cast her eyes on Joseph.

308
00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:49,070
Think about the phrasing of that word.

309
00:14:49,070 --> 00:14:50,150
Cast her eyes.

310
00:14:50,540 --> 00:14:51,230
That's a decision.

311
00:14:51,815 --> 00:14:55,595
It's one thing to notice that someone is
attractive, yaffe, beautiful or handsome.

312
00:14:55,595 --> 00:14:57,605
It's one thing to say, oh, that's
a really attractive person.

313
00:14:57,605 --> 00:15:00,125
But there's a difference between
saying, oh, I noticed that, versus,

314
00:15:00,755 --> 00:15:03,935
I'm gonna look at that and I'm
gonna feast upon that with my mind.

315
00:15:04,475 --> 00:15:05,435
That's what she's doing.

316
00:15:05,915 --> 00:15:08,165
Potiphar's wife casts her eyes on him.

317
00:15:08,165 --> 00:15:12,275
There's a decision to say, I'm going to
feed now what feels attracted to you.

318
00:15:12,275 --> 00:15:13,565
I'm going to enjoy that.

319
00:15:13,565 --> 00:15:16,805
I'm gonna feast them and maybe I'm maybe
gonna visualize what all that means.

320
00:15:17,464 --> 00:15:20,824
We see in Potiphar's wife, the
beginning and budding stages of lust.

321
00:15:21,185 --> 00:15:24,874
Finally, her feasts, uh, the feast
of her eyes can't be satisfied.

322
00:15:24,874 --> 00:15:26,764
She now has to consume it with her body.

323
00:15:26,795 --> 00:15:29,014
And so she comes to him
and says, lie with me.

324
00:15:29,314 --> 00:15:33,334
Come and in, and forsake,
forsake the Lord and lie with me.

325
00:15:35,014 --> 00:15:39,905
Joseph could have said, well, A, she's
attractive, and B well, she is my master.

326
00:15:41,165 --> 00:15:41,884
She is my master.

327
00:15:41,884 --> 00:15:43,055
I should, I should do this.

328
00:15:43,055 --> 00:15:43,834
This is my master.

329
00:15:43,834 --> 00:15:46,114
And think about the timing of Genesis 39.

330
00:15:47,060 --> 00:15:48,770
When do you get the 10 Commandments?

331
00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:51,650
This is not meant to embarrass you, is it?

332
00:15:51,650 --> 00:15:52,370
Is it in Genesis?

333
00:15:52,370 --> 00:15:53,209
Do you get the 10 Commandments?

334
00:15:53,209 --> 00:15:55,040
In Genesis, you do not.

335
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,910
10 Commandments doesn't appear
for several hundred years.

336
00:15:59,509 --> 00:16:00,680
We are in Genesis 39.

337
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,890
So Joseph doesn't have anything to
point to and say, well, the Bible

338
00:16:03,890 --> 00:16:06,529
says, you know, he doesn't have that.

339
00:16:06,739 --> 00:16:07,489
There's no there.

340
00:16:07,489 --> 00:16:08,779
There is no law of Moses yet.

341
00:16:08,810 --> 00:16:11,509
Moses isn't even on the scene
until after Joseph is dead.

342
00:16:11,749 --> 00:16:16,009
So you have Joseph potentially
saying, well, she is my master.

343
00:16:16,414 --> 00:16:17,705
There's no law that says I can't.

344
00:16:17,705 --> 00:16:20,074
It's at least nothing from that I've
heard from Yahweh that says, I can't.

345
00:16:20,705 --> 00:16:21,574
She is attractive.

346
00:16:21,995 --> 00:16:24,965
Well, maybe this is a gift of
God for all the wrongs that have

347
00:16:24,965 --> 00:16:26,134
been done to be to this point.

348
00:16:27,785 --> 00:16:28,745
Joseph doesn't do that.

349
00:16:29,074 --> 00:16:29,795
He denies it.

350
00:16:30,305 --> 00:16:33,154
Joseph rejects this, of course,
but I wanna point your attention to

351
00:16:33,154 --> 00:16:34,475
something that should be obvious to us.

352
00:16:34,475 --> 00:16:35,525
But sometimes we just forget.

353
00:16:36,124 --> 00:16:37,324
I want you to see how this.

354
00:16:38,525 --> 00:16:43,745
The devil uses everything that
could be positive against Joseph.

355
00:16:44,045 --> 00:16:50,225
The devil was quick to take him and misuse
him and and deliver him to temptation.

356
00:16:50,255 --> 00:16:51,424
And I want you to do the same.

357
00:16:51,664 --> 00:16:56,134
I want you to expect that when you are
in a good season of life or whatever

358
00:16:56,134 --> 00:16:58,324
God is taking you to, actually,
Joseph was not in a good season.

359
00:16:58,535 --> 00:17:01,035
You should expect temptations
targeted attacks to your life.

360
00:17:01,895 --> 00:17:03,814
Remember, Joseph is
young, he's attractive.

361
00:17:04,055 --> 00:17:07,115
Joseph has a sex drive like any
other guy, she comes to him.

362
00:17:07,234 --> 00:17:09,515
I could, I can imagine that
he would struggle with that.

363
00:17:09,785 --> 00:17:12,454
Again, he could use all these kinds
of justifications to say, well,

364
00:17:12,454 --> 00:17:13,505
maybe this is the gift of God.

365
00:17:13,535 --> 00:17:14,525
Maybe this is the right thing.

366
00:17:14,525 --> 00:17:15,935
Maybe this is what God wants me to do.

367
00:17:16,474 --> 00:17:18,665
And yet Joseph recognizes,
no, this is not of the Lord.

368
00:17:19,685 --> 00:17:22,835
I need you to expect temptations,
targeted attacks, expect that

369
00:17:22,835 --> 00:17:24,125
temptation is gonna come after you.

370
00:17:24,125 --> 00:17:26,255
And I don't mean temptation
as a per a persona.

371
00:17:26,645 --> 00:17:28,925
Uh, the world, the flesh and the
devil are all working against you.

372
00:17:29,255 --> 00:17:30,035
You expect that.

373
00:17:30,350 --> 00:17:35,480
Your enemy has time to observe you, to
find your weaknesses and to exploit them.

374
00:17:36,230 --> 00:17:39,710
In fact, have you guys ever had
this suspicion that your, the ads,

375
00:17:39,740 --> 00:17:43,310
uh, on, on your phone or the ads
on your Facebook are coming from

376
00:17:43,310 --> 00:17:44,720
somewhere that aren't exactly good?

377
00:17:44,930 --> 00:17:46,580
You think maybe your, my
phone is listening to me.

378
00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:51,380
It was a Washington Post article that
ran a few years ago, uh, trying to dispel

379
00:17:51,380 --> 00:17:55,460
the myth that your phone is listening to
you and so they have conclusive evidence.

380
00:17:55,460 --> 00:17:56,900
Your phone is likely not eavesdropping.

381
00:17:58,145 --> 00:18:01,355
Maybe that's comforting to you, but it
should not be because they actually say

382
00:18:01,415 --> 00:18:04,505
they have so much more information on you
that that's the least of your concerns.

383
00:18:04,955 --> 00:18:06,005
Here's the things that they said.

384
00:18:06,005 --> 00:18:09,245
They're getting such a deep picture
of us as individuals, more so than

385
00:18:09,245 --> 00:18:10,535
listening to your conversations.

386
00:18:10,955 --> 00:18:16,145
In other words, the, the ad data
available for you online is so vast

387
00:18:16,355 --> 00:18:17,735
that they don't need to listen to you.

388
00:18:18,275 --> 00:18:20,765
All they need to do is
have your wifi network.

389
00:18:20,765 --> 00:18:24,005
All they need to do is, is have your,
you know, the cookies that track you on

390
00:18:24,005 --> 00:18:27,155
the different websites, and so they say
in the hypothetical dinner conversation

391
00:18:27,155 --> 00:18:28,265
that you think they're overhearing.

392
00:18:28,655 --> 00:18:31,505
Maybe you didn't search the web for
ice skates after your chat, but your

393
00:18:31,505 --> 00:18:35,195
spouse did over your shared wifi
network and perhaps your home apps, your

394
00:18:35,195 --> 00:18:38,945
phone apps rather have logged the time
you've spent in or near a skating rink.

395
00:18:39,335 --> 00:18:42,065
Advertisers could also have bought
information about the age of

396
00:18:42,065 --> 00:18:43,295
the children in your household.

397
00:18:43,955 --> 00:18:47,345
All that data could be collated
to, to building a really powerful

398
00:18:47,345 --> 00:18:51,245
picture of who you are in order
to target you with advertisements.

399
00:18:51,275 --> 00:18:54,275
And so when it seems like your
phone, or your Facebook or whatever

400
00:18:54,275 --> 00:18:57,665
else is listening to your phone
conversations, it's not that they're

401
00:18:57,665 --> 00:18:58,745
actually listening to your soul.

402
00:18:59,465 --> 00:19:02,435
They're inva invading your privacy
by learning a whole lot of things

403
00:19:02,435 --> 00:19:05,015
about you, and that information
is sold to the highest bidder.

404
00:19:06,065 --> 00:19:08,285
What's interesting about that
is that they're really good at

405
00:19:08,285 --> 00:19:10,505
targeting attacks because they're
observing things about you.

406
00:19:10,715 --> 00:19:12,785
They observe that you know the
car that you drive, you know the

407
00:19:12,785 --> 00:19:13,775
apps that you have on your phone.

408
00:19:13,775 --> 00:19:15,095
They can collate all that data.

409
00:19:15,395 --> 00:19:16,955
Who do you think has been
doing that the longest though?

410
00:19:17,855 --> 00:19:18,875
It's not advertisers.

411
00:19:18,875 --> 00:19:19,805
It is our enemy.

412
00:19:20,225 --> 00:19:23,735
He's had a lot more time to observe you
than anything your phone has ever done.

413
00:19:23,735 --> 00:19:25,985
In fact, advertisers are
just late to the game.

414
00:19:26,045 --> 00:19:28,325
The devil's been doing this
for all time in eternity.

415
00:19:28,685 --> 00:19:29,585
Well, it's not exactly true.

416
00:19:29,615 --> 00:19:30,155
Not eternity.

417
00:19:30,155 --> 00:19:32,255
He's not, he's not an eternal
being, but you get my point.

418
00:19:32,705 --> 00:19:34,395
He's had a long time to watch you.

419
00:19:35,450 --> 00:19:38,570
There are, I'm sure demons assigned
to our church that are said, just

420
00:19:38,570 --> 00:19:40,880
go watch them, see what they're
doing, see what their weaknesses

421
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:42,860
are, listen to their conversations.

422
00:19:42,950 --> 00:19:44,360
Find ways to exploit them.

423
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:47,510
If you ever read screw tape letters,
uh, screw tapes, letters from CS

424
00:19:47,510 --> 00:19:48,620
Lewis, that's well worth your time.

425
00:19:48,620 --> 00:19:50,180
It's hard to read 'cause you
have to kind of do the reverse

426
00:19:50,180 --> 00:19:51,200
and say, okay, this is not God.

427
00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:52,040
This is the opposite of God.

428
00:19:52,460 --> 00:19:56,210
Read that and I think you, you, you
get a clear picture of how, how the

429
00:19:56,210 --> 00:19:58,160
spiritual word world tends to work.

430
00:19:59,150 --> 00:20:00,710
There are three areas that
I want you to be aware of.

431
00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,170
Three targeted areas of, of
the phone, not the phone.

432
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:04,250
The devil attacking you.

433
00:20:04,850 --> 00:20:05,630
These are huge.

434
00:20:05,990 --> 00:20:10,790
Um, I got the ideas for these three
areas from Costen Berger, but I need

435
00:20:10,790 --> 00:20:11,750
to give you my own spin on them.

436
00:20:11,750 --> 00:20:13,940
He, he offers them in the
context of his book on marriage.

437
00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:15,230
Lemme give you a couple of these though.

438
00:20:15,410 --> 00:20:17,090
Number one, of course, sexual temptation.

439
00:20:17,420 --> 00:20:19,280
There's never a time in your
life I think that you can

440
00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:20,150
never let your guard down here.

441
00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,330
Sexual temptation is gonna be one of
those areas that you should expect

442
00:20:23,420 --> 00:20:26,090
the devil to use things against you
because you're a visual creature.

443
00:20:26,090 --> 00:20:27,770
You're designed by God
to have a sex drive.

444
00:20:27,950 --> 00:20:29,270
It's his good gift to you.

445
00:20:29,420 --> 00:20:32,270
And you should expect that This is
always going to present a challenge

446
00:20:32,270 --> 00:20:35,780
for you unless God makes you a eunuch.

447
00:20:36,470 --> 00:20:39,050
And you know, when I was a young man, I
used to pray, God, please take this away.

448
00:20:39,170 --> 00:20:39,740
I used to pray this.

449
00:20:39,740 --> 00:20:41,300
God, please, I'd rather not have this.

450
00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:43,790
Um, I realize now that's
a foolish thing to ask.

451
00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:44,750
I don't want that.

452
00:20:44,750 --> 00:20:46,190
I want the good gift, man.

453
00:20:46,190 --> 00:20:47,990
I'd rather not sin, but
I want the good gift.

454
00:20:47,990 --> 00:20:49,365
I wanna enjoy the good
gift that God has given me.

455
00:20:50,570 --> 00:20:51,410
And I'm sure you do too.

456
00:20:53,210 --> 00:20:55,670
You need to be aware that one of
the areas a devil will attack you

457
00:20:55,670 --> 00:20:56,990
is in the area of your sex life.

458
00:20:58,580 --> 00:21:01,310
Um, let me just open the kimono with
you and talk a little bit about some of

459
00:21:01,310 --> 00:21:02,210
the counseling sessions that I've had.

460
00:21:03,980 --> 00:21:05,000
Obviously no names here.

461
00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:09,470
Um, you probably haven't talked
to a man who's married, who

462
00:21:09,470 --> 00:21:11,330
struggles to perform for his wife,

463
00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:15,110
doesn't know why he's perfectly healthy.

464
00:21:16,295 --> 00:21:19,295
But if you dig below the
surface, you might uncover that.

465
00:21:19,295 --> 00:21:22,745
He spent a lot of time with pornography,
spent a lot of time with pornography,

466
00:21:22,745 --> 00:21:27,545
and so his mind struggles now to be
attracted to his not so attractive wife.

467
00:21:28,295 --> 00:21:32,105
I mean, she's not, she's not gonna
be someone on a cover of a magazine.

468
00:21:32,105 --> 00:21:33,754
You know, you're not gonna
see her on an advertisement.

469
00:21:33,785 --> 00:21:39,004
She's just ordinary, and he now
struggles to feel the strong attraction

470
00:21:39,004 --> 00:21:40,835
that is necessary for that performance

471
00:21:43,115 --> 00:21:43,955
when he does.

472
00:21:44,855 --> 00:21:46,865
He struggles to take it
all the way he could.

473
00:21:46,925 --> 00:21:50,315
He could get the car started, as
it were, but struggle to get to the

474
00:21:50,315 --> 00:21:52,475
destination and the car loses gas.

475
00:21:52,565 --> 00:21:53,645
We're tracking with what I'm saying here.

476
00:21:55,595 --> 00:22:02,735
One of the worst satanic attacks
that we are facing today is this

477
00:22:02,735 --> 00:22:06,635
ongoing feeding of our sexual
proclivities with pornography.

478
00:22:07,055 --> 00:22:08,285
Our young men are facing it.

479
00:22:08,315 --> 00:22:08,945
We're facing it.

480
00:22:08,945 --> 00:22:09,785
We know what this is like.

481
00:22:09,965 --> 00:22:11,615
You just have to know this is
something that the devil is

482
00:22:11,615 --> 00:22:12,635
using against your marriages.

483
00:22:13,295 --> 00:22:14,135
Your kids' marriages.

484
00:22:15,665 --> 00:22:17,825
This is an area that you
have to guard and protect.

485
00:22:18,305 --> 00:22:20,975
You are the one that God has
called to protect your home.

486
00:22:21,935 --> 00:22:23,045
That means protecting your own heart.

487
00:22:23,525 --> 00:22:26,945
That means making sure that you are not
giving yourself to these things, and

488
00:22:26,945 --> 00:22:30,095
then telling your sons and your daughters
and your grandkids, Hey, don't do this.

489
00:22:30,305 --> 00:22:31,985
Do as I say, don't, don't do as I do.

490
00:22:33,275 --> 00:22:37,595
You know, speaking of a, a husband and
wife engaging in physical intimacy, I

491
00:22:37,595 --> 00:22:40,025
want you to write down one Corinthians
seven, five, right this down.

492
00:22:40,025 --> 00:22:42,545
You're gonna, I'll have you look at
it later, but here's what it says.

493
00:22:43,250 --> 00:22:44,150
First Corinthians seven, five.

494
00:22:44,150 --> 00:22:48,320
Do not deprive one another except
perhaps by agreement for a limited

495
00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:52,520
time that you may devote yourselves
to prayer, but then come together

496
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,960
again so that Satan may not tempt you
because of your lack of self-control.

497
00:22:58,430 --> 00:23:02,450
First Corinthians seven, five tells
you married men, that you are to

498
00:23:03,110 --> 00:23:05,330
give your wife her conjugal rights.

499
00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:07,050
You are to give them to her.

500
00:23:08,810 --> 00:23:09,800
You're to perform in this area.

501
00:23:09,830 --> 00:23:11,060
This is, this is your obligation.

502
00:23:11,450 --> 00:23:15,110
In fact, scripture, this is one of
the only places, and this is the only

503
00:23:15,110 --> 00:23:16,760
place Scripture says You have rights.

504
00:23:17,630 --> 00:23:18,410
You have rights.

505
00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,770
Your right is to receive your
conjugal rights from your wife.

506
00:23:22,130 --> 00:23:24,500
Her right is to receive her
conjugal rights from you.

507
00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,070
You are commanded to give
your wife what's hers?

508
00:23:29,420 --> 00:23:31,280
This is, this is something
I can't overstate.

509
00:23:31,460 --> 00:23:33,890
Uh, I've, I've canceled couples
and we've talked to other

510
00:23:33,890 --> 00:23:35,450
pastors who counsel couples who.

511
00:23:36,740 --> 00:23:37,640
It just doesn't happen.

512
00:23:37,910 --> 00:23:39,560
It doesn't happen for a lot of reasons.

513
00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:42,950
You know, there's busyness and there's,
there's seasons of life where there we

514
00:23:42,950 --> 00:23:44,900
can't find time and all, you know, things.

515
00:23:45,140 --> 00:23:48,560
One month turns into two, turns into
six, and then suddenly it's like,

516
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,260
well, we don't really need to, I
don't feel the attraction anymore.

517
00:23:51,260 --> 00:23:53,810
Like, we've got our, our got
our plans working, you know,

518
00:23:53,810 --> 00:23:54,860
we're getting our jobs done.

519
00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:57,080
This is an area you have to protect.

520
00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,420
You have to protect this,
and you have to pursue this.

521
00:23:59,420 --> 00:24:01,640
This has to be an ongoing
practice of your life.

522
00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:03,710
If you're married, this is
something you have to do.

523
00:24:05,090 --> 00:24:09,410
It's can imagine a single guy hearing
this saying you have to pursue your wife.

524
00:24:10,220 --> 00:24:10,430
Yeah.

525
00:24:10,430 --> 00:24:12,260
When you're young, you don't
even think that this is an,

526
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:13,760
this is gonna be an issue.

527
00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:18,050
Um, but as you know, as you get older,
things change, plumbing changes.

528
00:24:18,770 --> 00:24:20,210
Uh, you have to, you have
to do the work though.

529
00:24:20,510 --> 00:24:21,530
This is something God calls us to.

530
00:24:21,530 --> 00:24:23,360
This is a right and
good thing for us to do.

531
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:24,379
You have to pursue this.

532
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:26,420
God gives you the opportunity.

533
00:24:26,420 --> 00:24:26,930
You have to do it.

534
00:24:26,930 --> 00:24:28,670
At some point, things change.

535
00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:29,510
You're not able to anymore.

536
00:24:30,230 --> 00:24:30,740
I get that.

537
00:24:32,915 --> 00:24:34,115
This is one area you need to be aware of.

538
00:24:34,145 --> 00:24:36,065
Relational, uh, sexual temptations.

539
00:24:36,065 --> 00:24:37,175
Relational temptations.

540
00:24:38,105 --> 00:24:39,935
Can I tell you one of the,
the tools of the enemy?

541
00:24:40,115 --> 00:24:42,485
Um, and obviously we're talking about
sexual morality here, but one of the

542
00:24:42,485 --> 00:24:44,135
tools of the enemy is to isolate you.

543
00:24:44,795 --> 00:24:48,395
And so one way to isolate you and get you
bored and figuring like, what do I do now?

544
00:24:48,395 --> 00:24:49,385
And I have friends I hang out with.

545
00:24:49,385 --> 00:24:52,595
I'm just gonna go look at porn,
um, or I'm gonna pursue this

546
00:24:52,595 --> 00:24:54,155
relationship on this, you know, this.

547
00:24:54,635 --> 00:24:55,475
Nefarious website.

548
00:24:56,105 --> 00:24:58,985
One of the ways that the devil does
that is by isolating you from other men.

549
00:24:58,985 --> 00:24:59,705
And so I'm glad you're here.

550
00:24:59,705 --> 00:25:00,545
I'm preaching to the choir.

551
00:25:00,545 --> 00:25:01,055
This is good.

552
00:25:01,055 --> 00:25:01,805
I'm glad you guys are here.

553
00:25:02,405 --> 00:25:05,915
But if the devil can get you by
yourself, left to your own devices,

554
00:25:06,185 --> 00:25:10,115
this then frees you to do things
with a slightly less loud conscience.

555
00:25:10,175 --> 00:25:11,764
'cause I don't have you
to tell me this is wrong.

556
00:25:11,764 --> 00:25:12,455
I don't have you confronting me.

557
00:25:12,455 --> 00:25:14,225
I don't have anyone asking
me, Hey, how's your pro?

558
00:25:14,254 --> 00:25:15,125
How's your browsing going?

559
00:25:15,485 --> 00:25:16,355
How's your marriage going?

560
00:25:16,790 --> 00:25:17,810
How's your intimacy going?

561
00:25:17,990 --> 00:25:19,760
I mean, that's not the question
we ask each other, but maybe

562
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:20,570
it's a question we should start.

563
00:25:20,930 --> 00:25:22,520
We should start investing time to ask.

564
00:25:22,670 --> 00:25:23,810
You can't ask this to everybody.

565
00:25:23,810 --> 00:25:26,570
I know that you can't ask anybody in the
room, Hey, how's your sex life going?

566
00:25:26,810 --> 00:25:28,400
But you could say, I care
about you and not say How.

567
00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:29,060
How's your heart?

568
00:25:29,270 --> 00:25:30,230
How's your walk with Christ?

569
00:25:30,500 --> 00:25:31,250
What does it look like?

570
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:32,510
Uh, you're single.

571
00:25:32,510 --> 00:25:33,140
You're single right now.

572
00:25:33,140 --> 00:25:33,440
How?

573
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,690
How is, how is your sexual
purity in your singleness?

574
00:25:36,050 --> 00:25:36,440
Um.

575
00:25:37,145 --> 00:25:40,445
This is the area where we have to
care for for each other enough to say,

576
00:25:40,445 --> 00:25:43,625
look, I'm gonna risk offending you
and potentially hurting your feelings

577
00:25:43,625 --> 00:25:44,675
when I talk about these things.

578
00:25:45,095 --> 00:25:47,975
Relational temptations are
those that the church is

579
00:25:50,015 --> 00:25:55,175
a uniquely susceptible to because our job
is to be in each other's kitchen, and when

580
00:25:55,175 --> 00:25:58,865
that happens, the risk that I possess here
is that you, you get mad at me for that.

581
00:25:59,435 --> 00:26:01,475
Even as your pastor,
my job is to call you.

582
00:26:01,475 --> 00:26:03,050
If I send something's up,
my job is to call you.

583
00:26:03,055 --> 00:26:05,285
You should expect if things are
going wrong in your life, one of

584
00:26:05,285 --> 00:26:07,085
your pastors is gonna find out
about it and they're gonna call you.

585
00:26:08,045 --> 00:26:09,485
You know how much trepidation
I feel about that?

586
00:26:09,485 --> 00:26:12,095
'cause like he's, I'm gonna get him
mad, he's gonna be upset, he's gonna

587
00:26:12,095 --> 00:26:14,585
leave our church because he's not gonna
appreciate the fact that he's being

588
00:26:14,585 --> 00:26:15,965
called to the, the mad about something.

589
00:26:16,355 --> 00:26:19,805
The relational temptations that
are part of this whole equation are

590
00:26:19,805 --> 00:26:24,665
legion, and all I'm saying here is
that you should expect this targeted

591
00:26:24,665 --> 00:26:25,985
attack because of where you are.

592
00:26:26,405 --> 00:26:27,740
The devil doesn't want you
to be part of a church.

593
00:26:28,535 --> 00:26:30,965
Devil doesn't want you to have godly
friends who call you to the mat.

594
00:26:30,965 --> 00:26:33,755
The devil doesn't want you to pray
with other Godly men so that you

595
00:26:33,755 --> 00:26:36,065
can guard your marriage and love
your wife and lead your kids.

596
00:26:36,065 --> 00:26:40,325
Of course, he doesn't want that, so he's
gonna bring you by herself, put you in

597
00:26:40,325 --> 00:26:45,035
isolation so that you'll focus on other
things, fleshly temptations or just

598
00:26:45,425 --> 00:26:46,835
disassociating from the church altogether.

599
00:26:47,190 --> 00:26:50,405
The targeted attack for you may
not look the same as Joseph.

600
00:26:50,405 --> 00:26:53,555
You may not be a strapping young
man with bulging muscles, but

601
00:26:53,555 --> 00:26:54,905
you're a husband, you're a father.

602
00:26:54,905 --> 00:26:56,285
Those are areas that God.

603
00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:00,530
Will want you to expect that the, the
enemy will attack you in if you're single,

604
00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,370
you should expect the enemy to attack
you in your singleness and to lure you

605
00:27:04,370 --> 00:27:05,390
and say, well, you're not married yet.

606
00:27:05,390 --> 00:27:05,960
It's fine.

607
00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:07,070
It's fine.

608
00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:10,040
There are some images
that you'll never forget.

609
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:17,000
Relationships for those in the
room who are married, marriage

610
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,650
temptations, there's a lot of them.

611
00:27:19,910 --> 00:27:21,950
I thought about this given the fact that
there's a lot of singles in the room,

612
00:27:21,950 --> 00:27:23,210
but I, I think marriage is so important.

613
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:27,440
Hebrews chapter 13 tells us that
marriage should be held in honor

614
00:27:27,470 --> 00:27:29,330
among all, not just the marriage.

615
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,180
Marriage should be held in
honor among our congregation.

616
00:27:32,870 --> 00:27:35,840
There are unique temptations that come
with marriage and it's a good thing.

617
00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,240
So we should expect the targeted
attacks of the enemy to try

618
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:39,440
to break our marriages apart.

619
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,580
Um, marriage temptations for you
would be anger, unforgiveness,

620
00:27:43,580 --> 00:27:47,660
bitterness, a wife that will not
submit, a husband that will not lead.

621
00:27:48,020 --> 00:27:50,960
These are areas where you need to
recognize that God is going to hold

622
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:51,890
us accountable for these areas.

623
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:54,920
In fact, verse Peter, chapter three,
we're gonna get to it in a couple

624
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:58,550
months, I believe, where Peter says,
your relationship with God can be

625
00:27:58,550 --> 00:28:03,500
disrupted because you're not showing
honor to the woman as the weaker vessel.

626
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,050
You're not caring for her the way
that God calls for, and therefore,

627
00:28:06,050 --> 00:28:07,310
he's not gonna listen to your prayers.

628
00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:13,250
You need to expect targeted attacks
from temptation, from your enemy,

629
00:28:13,250 --> 00:28:14,330
the world, the flesh, and the devil.

630
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:16,340
That's what happened to Joseph.

631
00:28:16,580 --> 00:28:17,540
That's what's gonna happen to you.

632
00:28:17,780 --> 00:28:18,405
It's part of the story here.

633
00:28:19,595 --> 00:28:21,005
Let's continue on the
next few verses here.

634
00:28:21,275 --> 00:28:24,095
Let's take a look at how Joseph
responds to this, and this, of course,

635
00:28:24,095 --> 00:28:26,105
is one of the reasons why we're
studying this in the first place.

636
00:28:26,105 --> 00:28:29,285
Take a look at verse
eight, Genesis chapter 39.

637
00:28:29,285 --> 00:28:31,325
If you have your Bibles, look,
look along with me, please.

638
00:28:33,215 --> 00:28:36,185
I love this, but he refused.

639
00:28:36,815 --> 00:28:38,345
Let's just take a moment to honor that.

640
00:28:39,125 --> 00:28:42,935
This attractive woman's coming
up on him, but he refused.

641
00:28:43,745 --> 00:28:45,485
And I want you to pay special
attention to what he says.

642
00:28:45,485 --> 00:28:45,755
Take.

643
00:28:45,755 --> 00:28:46,265
Take a look at here.

644
00:28:46,925 --> 00:28:48,935
He said to his master's wife,
again acknowledging that

645
00:28:48,935 --> 00:28:49,805
she doesn't belong to him.

646
00:28:49,835 --> 00:28:50,975
She belongs to Potiphar.

647
00:28:51,095 --> 00:28:51,965
It's says Master's wife.

648
00:28:52,235 --> 00:28:57,755
Behold, because of me, my master has
no concern about anything in the house.

649
00:28:58,145 --> 00:29:01,655
And he has put in, he's put
everything that he has in my charge.

650
00:29:02,135 --> 00:29:07,955
He is not greater in this house than I
am, nor has he kept back anything from

651
00:29:07,955 --> 00:29:11,100
me except you, because you are his wife.

652
00:29:12,275 --> 00:29:15,665
As though she needed the
rationale to understand, and

653
00:29:15,665 --> 00:29:16,565
I guess that is a point here.

654
00:29:16,565 --> 00:29:17,585
Lust does make you stupid.

655
00:29:18,095 --> 00:29:20,405
Lust and sin is not sanity.

656
00:29:20,435 --> 00:29:21,455
It's not sensical.

657
00:29:22,445 --> 00:29:25,805
This is why we, we go after each other
because we know we're just, and sin.

658
00:29:25,865 --> 00:29:26,585
We're not sane.

659
00:29:27,785 --> 00:29:30,965
He hasn't kept back anything from me
except you, because you are his wife.

660
00:29:32,075 --> 00:29:34,535
Now, I want you to pay attention
to this last sentence because it's

661
00:29:34,535 --> 00:29:35,790
the opposite of what you'd expect.

662
00:29:36,605 --> 00:29:37,745
It's an ironic twist.

663
00:29:37,745 --> 00:29:39,425
You expect something, but
you're gonna get another thing.

664
00:29:39,425 --> 00:29:42,005
And that's what emphasizes
this verse among the rest.

665
00:29:42,035 --> 00:29:42,185
Okay?

666
00:29:42,185 --> 00:29:44,525
Pay attention, I'll read it the way
that we expect it, and then you'll

667
00:29:44,525 --> 00:29:45,455
read it the way that it's there.

668
00:29:45,725 --> 00:29:47,525
Here's the way that we're gonna
expect, let, let me back up just so

669
00:29:47,525 --> 00:29:48,935
I can give you the sense of this.

670
00:29:49,595 --> 00:29:52,265
Um, because of me, my master
has no concern about anything.

671
00:29:52,415 --> 00:29:54,005
He's not greater in this house than I am.

672
00:29:54,005 --> 00:29:56,825
He's not kept back anything
except, uh, from you, except

673
00:29:58,025 --> 00:29:58,955
kept back anything from me.

674
00:29:58,955 --> 00:30:00,125
Except you because you're his wife.

675
00:30:00,305 --> 00:30:03,065
How then can I do this great
wickedness and sin against my master?

676
00:30:04,385 --> 00:30:04,955
Do you see it?

677
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,690
Where you would expect
him to say, my master.

678
00:30:09,290 --> 00:30:11,240
He says, my master.

679
00:30:12,260 --> 00:30:15,530
So this whole time Joseph is
giving her a litany of reasons.

680
00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:19,340
My master's authority, my master's
trust, my man, my master's care,

681
00:30:19,580 --> 00:30:20,780
everything my master's given me.

682
00:30:20,780 --> 00:30:24,080
I, man, how could I, how
could I dishonor my master?

683
00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:25,610
And yet he doesn't say that.

684
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:29,240
He says, how can I do this great
wickedness and sin against God?

685
00:30:29,900 --> 00:30:33,470
This, this verse is in neon blinking
flashing lights in the Bible.

686
00:30:34,385 --> 00:30:37,475
Because it goes in a completely different
direction than what you're expecting.

687
00:30:37,475 --> 00:30:38,735
It's like going on a rollercoaster.

688
00:30:38,855 --> 00:30:40,445
You expect it to go right, and it twists.

689
00:30:40,445 --> 00:30:42,125
You left and you're like,
whoa, I wasn't expecting that.

690
00:30:42,125 --> 00:30:42,845
You got whiplash.

691
00:30:43,145 --> 00:30:43,925
That's what's happening here.

692
00:30:44,315 --> 00:30:48,305
Moses, who we believe to have written
the Pentateuch is writing to highlight

693
00:30:48,305 --> 00:30:50,405
off the page what drove Joseph.

694
00:30:51,335 --> 00:30:54,365
What drove Joseph to say no
to this great wickedness.

695
00:30:54,365 --> 00:30:58,355
While it was his high view of God,
his honor for God, everything leading

696
00:30:58,355 --> 00:31:00,335
up to that one sentence is my master.

697
00:31:00,365 --> 00:31:01,205
My master, my master.

698
00:31:01,205 --> 00:31:03,095
But then he reveals his true master.

699
00:31:03,815 --> 00:31:04,475
And he says, I could.

700
00:31:04,535 --> 00:31:07,715
I could never do this against
God, my sin against God.

701
00:31:08,765 --> 00:31:09,965
So temptation will come.

702
00:31:10,595 --> 00:31:12,005
The question is, will you be ready?

703
00:31:12,275 --> 00:31:15,935
And I want you to do at least a little
bit of what Joseph does, and I want you to

704
00:31:15,935 --> 00:31:18,395
list the reasons why sin is very stupid.

705
00:31:19,295 --> 00:31:21,005
List the reasons why sin is very stupid.

706
00:31:21,005 --> 00:31:22,805
Actually, I put enumerate
'cause I wanna be fancy.

707
00:31:23,315 --> 00:31:24,605
Number a system.

708
00:31:24,695 --> 00:31:28,685
Number two, enumerate the
reasons why sin is very stupid.

709
00:31:30,110 --> 00:31:33,350
I dunno about you, but in my house,
stupid is not a word that we encourage.

710
00:31:33,860 --> 00:31:34,850
It's close to a cuss word.

711
00:31:34,850 --> 00:31:38,510
In my family, we only allow our kids
to use it when it's appropriate.

712
00:31:39,350 --> 00:31:40,190
So I hope you understand.

713
00:31:40,190 --> 00:31:42,710
I'm not trying to be, I'm not
trying to, uh, insult you.

714
00:31:42,770 --> 00:31:46,520
Uh, I'm just trying to help you understand
here, I'm not using this word casually.

715
00:31:46,580 --> 00:31:48,170
I, I don't think stupid is a helpful word.

716
00:31:48,170 --> 00:31:50,300
Most of the time we, we don't
tell our kids to use it, but I

717
00:31:50,300 --> 00:31:53,150
wanna use it with you guys and
I think all of us would agree.

718
00:31:53,390 --> 00:31:54,650
Sin is very stupid.

719
00:31:55,370 --> 00:31:57,470
But rarely do we take the time
to do what Joseph does here.

720
00:31:57,470 --> 00:32:03,020
He's got a list of, I can find elements,
things that he says to Potiphar's

721
00:32:03,020 --> 00:32:04,940
wife to diffuse the situation.

722
00:32:04,940 --> 00:32:07,160
At least in his mind, I don't even
know if she's talking to her as

723
00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:08,270
much as he is talking to himself.

724
00:32:08,750 --> 00:32:10,130
He's saying, look, my master.

725
00:32:10,940 --> 00:32:11,720
Has no concern.

726
00:32:11,810 --> 00:32:13,940
I've got my master's trust,
I've got my master's charge.

727
00:32:13,940 --> 00:32:15,680
I've got my master's
position and authority.

728
00:32:15,830 --> 00:32:19,130
I've got my master's generosity, and
I really care about King Jesus Honor.

729
00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:21,230
I mean, obviously it's an anachronism
here, but you get the idea.

730
00:32:21,410 --> 00:32:25,190
He has a list at the ready to pull out
whenever temptation comes along, do you,

731
00:32:25,700 --> 00:32:27,500
do you have a list ready to pull out?

732
00:32:27,500 --> 00:32:30,650
When temptation comes along, you need to
have something in your heart and mind.

733
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:35,420
You need to have a list of reasons why
sin is very stupid, at least one practice.

734
00:32:36,305 --> 00:32:38,555
You spend time doing this, you're
journaling you and the Lord.

735
00:32:38,765 --> 00:32:41,135
What would happen to
my life if I did this?

736
00:32:42,005 --> 00:32:47,615
What's the fallout of my sin
against my wife, my kids, my church?

737
00:32:48,605 --> 00:32:49,415
This began a fallout.

738
00:32:50,285 --> 00:32:55,625
Um, we recently passed the 80 year mark
where the, the first atomic bombs are drop

739
00:32:55,655 --> 00:32:59,345
dropped on, uh, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

740
00:33:00,035 --> 00:33:02,945
So time, uh, time Magazine
produced an article.

741
00:33:03,860 --> 00:33:05,720
From, from survivors of the fallout.

742
00:33:06,290 --> 00:33:06,979
This is gnarly.

743
00:33:07,010 --> 00:33:10,430
I mean, they have little stories
from people, uh, little anecdotes

744
00:33:10,430 --> 00:33:15,830
about what it was like to experience
the fallout of an atomic bomb.

745
00:33:17,330 --> 00:33:18,979
Here's Yasujiro Tanaka.

746
00:33:19,070 --> 00:33:20,930
Let me just read to you
briefly what he says.

747
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:23,270
I was three years old at
the time of the bombing.

748
00:33:23,660 --> 00:33:27,500
I don't remember much, but I do
recall that my surroundings turned

749
00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:32,209
blindingly white, like a million
camera flashes going off at once Then.

750
00:33:32,704 --> 00:33:33,845
Pitch darkness.

751
00:33:34,325 --> 00:33:35,885
I was buried alive under the house.

752
00:33:35,914 --> 00:33:36,454
I've been told.

753
00:33:37,354 --> 00:33:41,044
When my uncle finally found me and
pulled my tiny 3-year-old body out from

754
00:33:41,044 --> 00:33:43,024
under the debris, I was unconscious.

755
00:33:43,265 --> 00:33:44,465
My face was misshapen.

756
00:33:44,825 --> 00:33:46,144
He was certain that I was dead.

757
00:33:46,265 --> 00:33:47,374
Thankfully, I survived.

758
00:33:47,374 --> 00:33:51,695
But since that day, mysterious scabs began
to form all over my body, I lost hearing

759
00:33:51,695 --> 00:33:53,945
in my left ear, probably due to the blast.

760
00:33:54,575 --> 00:33:57,965
More than a decade after the bombing,
my mother began to notice glass shards

761
00:33:57,965 --> 00:34:01,805
growing out of her skin debris from
the day of the bombing, presumably.

762
00:34:02,450 --> 00:34:05,270
My younger sister suffers from
chronic muscle cramps to this day

763
00:34:05,630 --> 00:34:09,860
on top of her kidney issues that has
her on dialysis three times a week.

764
00:34:11,299 --> 00:34:12,920
That's what that says, I'm told.

765
00:34:13,279 --> 00:34:15,259
So that's a translation for you.

766
00:34:16,639 --> 00:34:21,589
You know, I suspect that if we were able
to see the fallout from sexual sin as

767
00:34:21,589 --> 00:34:25,670
easily as the fallout of an atomic bomb,
we would probably more eagerly fight it.

768
00:34:26,839 --> 00:34:28,460
You can see the fallout of an atomic bomb.

769
00:34:28,460 --> 00:34:30,955
Its physical effects
are, are, are terrifying.

770
00:34:32,404 --> 00:34:35,974
The disfigurement of the bodies and you
can even today still see black and white

771
00:34:35,974 --> 00:34:39,964
images of people's bodies that were
charred, charred to a, I mean, to a crisp.

772
00:34:40,143 --> 00:34:43,083
You could see this, you could see the
fallout, and yet with sexual sin, I would

773
00:34:43,083 --> 00:34:44,764
argue the fallout is actually worse.

774
00:34:45,063 --> 00:34:48,094
Spiritually speaking, it's not a physical
fallout, but the spiritual effects

775
00:34:48,123 --> 00:34:52,384
of sexual sin are so pernicious, so
evil, and so far reaching that we'd

776
00:34:52,384 --> 00:34:53,884
be crazy not to give it attention.

777
00:34:54,665 --> 00:34:55,685
So here's what I wanna do for you.

778
00:34:56,165 --> 00:35:00,515
Um, as you think about this, I'm
going to ask you to, to do a, a little

779
00:35:00,515 --> 00:35:01,775
bit of a, a practice with me here.

780
00:35:01,775 --> 00:35:05,015
I want you to envision something and got
this idea from a book that I recently

781
00:35:05,015 --> 00:35:06,515
read on the subject of sexual purity.

782
00:35:06,515 --> 00:35:09,935
And I thought, oh, this is so good,
it's so helpful, I wanna give it to you.

783
00:35:10,505 --> 00:35:10,654
Okay?

784
00:35:10,654 --> 00:35:13,775
So I want you in your mind's
eye to envision what this

785
00:35:13,775 --> 00:35:14,615
might look like for you.

786
00:35:15,935 --> 00:35:19,175
You have just committed some kind
of sin against your, your wife,

787
00:35:19,175 --> 00:35:21,455
your kids, your family, your
grandkids, something like this.

788
00:35:22,685 --> 00:35:23,225
Sorry about that.

789
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:26,030
Okay, let me take you
through this scenario.

790
00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:30,920
Envision yourself calling together,
your elders, your pastors, and sitting

791
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:33,980
in their midst and telling them
how you have betrayed their trust.

792
00:35:35,420 --> 00:35:38,420
See their sunken faces and
feel their broken hearts.

793
00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:40,280
Listen to them.

794
00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:45,170
Consider how they'll tell your
community group and the church, and

795
00:35:45,170 --> 00:35:49,550
then imagine your brothers and sisters'
confusion and how it will affect

796
00:35:49,550 --> 00:35:51,259
those with whom you've done life with.

797
00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:56,750
Imagine how the name of Christ will be
mocked in your community and beyond.

798
00:35:58,250 --> 00:36:01,430
Then picture walking out
to your car and getting in.

799
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:07,370
Drive down the road near your house and
circle your neighborhood a few times.

800
00:36:08,390 --> 00:36:12,080
Picture the place where you walked
your dog, where you walked with

801
00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:15,020
your wife, and where you played
with your children in the evenings.

802
00:36:16,250 --> 00:36:20,005
Now pull into your driveway or your garage
and walk up to the door of your house.

803
00:36:21,575 --> 00:36:24,635
Hear the scampering feet of your
children running up to you and putting

804
00:36:24,635 --> 00:36:28,505
their arms around your legs saying,
daddy's home in your mind's eye.

805
00:36:28,505 --> 00:36:30,305
See the way they love and they trust you.

806
00:36:31,805 --> 00:36:33,065
Drink that in deeply.

807
00:36:34,175 --> 00:36:36,665
Now, tell your kids to go play
outside because you have to

808
00:36:36,665 --> 00:36:37,805
talk to mommy about something.

809
00:36:38,435 --> 00:36:41,135
And as you walk to the kitchen where
she's faithfully going about her day,

810
00:36:41,135 --> 00:36:44,915
serving you dinner, preparing the
meals, look at the smiling pictures

811
00:36:44,915 --> 00:36:47,690
on the wall, and remember the happy
days that you shared together.

812
00:36:49,115 --> 00:36:52,474
Lead her by the hand to your
bedroom where you used to make love.

813
00:36:53,615 --> 00:36:59,044
Ask her to have a seat and feel your heart
scamper and the lump form on your throat.

814
00:37:00,214 --> 00:37:02,164
See her eyes asking what's wrong.

815
00:37:03,484 --> 00:37:07,115
And then watch her weep as you tell
her that you've been unfaithful.

816
00:37:07,329 --> 00:37:09,305
Hear her whale.

817
00:37:10,144 --> 00:37:11,015
See her sob.

818
00:37:12,604 --> 00:37:17,524
Feel her hip your chest and watch her
knees fall to the floor in despair.

819
00:37:19,279 --> 00:37:21,859
Imagine the phone call to
her parents and to yours.

820
00:37:22,970 --> 00:37:25,490
Hear the silence on the phone as
they take in what you've told them.

821
00:37:26,749 --> 00:37:29,269
Imagine the day you gather your
children and sit them down to explain

822
00:37:29,269 --> 00:37:33,830
why mommy and daddy are going to spend
some time apart and why you have to

823
00:37:33,830 --> 00:37:35,930
sell the house that they love so much.

824
00:37:37,669 --> 00:37:40,370
See yourself taking down those
smiling pictures from the wall,

825
00:37:41,059 --> 00:37:44,569
taping up the moving boxes, unsure
if you'll ever open them again.

826
00:37:47,059 --> 00:37:47,959
Do you see that?

827
00:37:53,569 --> 00:37:57,200
I hope this helpful visualizing
activity gives you a sense of the

828
00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:03,079
gravity of sexual sin and its effects
on the lives of those around you.

829
00:38:03,079 --> 00:38:04,999
I know for some of you, this
is not the same season of life.

830
00:38:04,999 --> 00:38:05,479
I get that.

831
00:38:07,549 --> 00:38:08,689
What then is our solution?

832
00:38:08,899 --> 00:38:10,729
How do we, how do we deal with this?

833
00:38:11,035 --> 00:38:13,819
I, I would love for you to
think about all the things.

834
00:38:14,029 --> 00:38:17,990
If that could happen, if you give yourself
to sin like this, I mean, all you gotta,

835
00:38:18,019 --> 00:38:21,319
all you gotta do guys, is look at the
Dallas News and you'll see pastor after

836
00:38:21,319 --> 00:38:25,310
pastor after I am grieved by this pastor
after pastor, men who are disgraced,

837
00:38:25,939 --> 00:38:28,999
walking away from their congregations
because they gave themselves a sexual sin.

838
00:38:29,930 --> 00:38:30,439
I hate that.

839
00:38:31,249 --> 00:38:31,580
I hate it.

840
00:38:36,470 --> 00:38:39,374
Psalm 1 0 3 says that word to bless the
Lord and forget not all of his benefits.

841
00:38:41,119 --> 00:38:43,639
This is partly where this comes
from, or blessing the Lord and

842
00:38:43,639 --> 00:38:45,499
saying, well, I don't wanna forget
the things that you've given me.

843
00:38:45,499 --> 00:38:48,139
I don't wanna forget the way
that you've designed my life.

844
00:38:48,169 --> 00:38:49,279
I have a great life.

845
00:38:49,279 --> 00:38:50,389
I have a great wife and kids.

846
00:38:50,450 --> 00:38:51,079
They're not perfect.

847
00:38:51,079 --> 00:38:53,479
Sure, but thank you, God for
giving me all these things.

848
00:38:54,349 --> 00:38:55,819
Thank you for giving me all these gifts.

849
00:38:59,359 --> 00:39:02,269
Joseph ends where I need you to to begin.

850
00:39:02,930 --> 00:39:06,109
He says, how can I do this great
wickedness in sin against God?

851
00:39:07,039 --> 00:39:08,839
This is the secret to our sexual purity.

852
00:39:09,515 --> 00:39:13,685
This is the heart of our ability to
stand against the schemes of the enemy.

853
00:39:14,794 --> 00:39:18,785
And it is simply this, that we love
God so much that we hate our sin.

854
00:39:19,265 --> 00:39:19,894
We hate sin.

855
00:39:20,194 --> 00:39:23,555
I love God so much that this, the
idea of sinning against God is so

856
00:39:23,555 --> 00:39:26,734
pernicious, so repulsive, so repugnant
that I can't even fathom the idea.

857
00:39:26,765 --> 00:39:27,785
I love God so much.

858
00:39:27,785 --> 00:39:28,805
I just hate my sin.

859
00:39:29,794 --> 00:39:30,459
That's where we gotta be.

860
00:39:31,550 --> 00:39:32,600
That's where we have to be, gentlemen.

861
00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:34,490
This is what, this is what's
gonna cause us to live faithfully.

862
00:39:34,490 --> 00:39:37,190
This is what's gonna cause us
to, to love our church, to love

863
00:39:37,190 --> 00:39:39,590
Christ, and to continue doing the
things that we're called to do.

864
00:39:39,590 --> 00:39:42,590
Otherwise, what man among us could
withstand that kind of temptation.

865
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:48,259
I dare say not many, but here God shows us
the thing that drives Joseph is not just

866
00:39:48,259 --> 00:39:51,410
that he has his masters responsibility,
trust, and all, all his generous gifts.

867
00:39:51,470 --> 00:39:53,780
He's saying, but I could never
do this wickedness against God

868
00:39:53,780 --> 00:39:55,340
who gave me all these good gifts.

869
00:39:56,540 --> 00:39:59,150
God is the one that our hearts
have to circle to circle around.

870
00:40:03,290 --> 00:40:03,620
Okay.

871
00:40:03,620 --> 00:40:04,520
Time is of the essence here.

872
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:06,860
Let's continue on verses 10 through 12.

873
00:40:07,100 --> 00:40:11,360
I, I want you to see then how the,
how the response is helpful to us.

874
00:40:14,210 --> 00:40:17,150
Verse 10, and as she spoke to Joseph
Day after day notice, she wasn't,

875
00:40:17,150 --> 00:40:18,860
she, she was very persistent.

876
00:40:18,980 --> 00:40:20,450
She didn't give up after
the first rejection.

877
00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:22,130
He, she spoke to him day after day.

878
00:40:22,190 --> 00:40:23,150
He would not listen to.

879
00:40:23,944 --> 00:40:25,805
To lie beside her or to be with her.

880
00:40:25,805 --> 00:40:28,894
But one day when she went into the
house to do his work, when he went

881
00:40:28,894 --> 00:40:31,504
into the house to do his work and
none of the men in the house was

882
00:40:31,504 --> 00:40:35,464
there in the house, she caught him
by his garment saying Lie with me.

883
00:40:35,975 --> 00:40:39,544
But he left his garment in her hand
and fled and got out of the house.

884
00:40:40,055 --> 00:40:41,404
So many good things here.

885
00:40:41,765 --> 00:40:45,725
First of all, notice that Joseph
withstands her temptations day after day.

886
00:40:45,904 --> 00:40:47,374
This is what got Samson in trouble.

887
00:40:47,810 --> 00:40:51,319
Delilah, day after day said, tell
me the secret of your strength.

888
00:40:51,319 --> 00:40:53,690
And eventually his soul was
vexed to death is what it says.

889
00:40:53,900 --> 00:40:54,410
It's fine.

890
00:40:54,410 --> 00:40:55,009
I'll tell you.

891
00:40:55,220 --> 00:40:57,500
He gives in, and then of
course, his life is lost.

892
00:40:57,500 --> 00:41:02,270
As a result of that, Joseph consequently
could have given in and we, we may not

893
00:41:02,270 --> 00:41:05,660
even hold that against him, of course,
who could withstand that, and yet he would

894
00:41:06,049 --> 00:41:08,359
withstand her advances day after day.

895
00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:12,589
But one day, verse 11 says, one day.

896
00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:15,649
He finds himself at the wrong
place at the wrong time.

897
00:41:15,950 --> 00:41:16,729
She catches him.

898
00:41:16,729 --> 00:41:19,849
And it's interesting here, the word
for caught, the one that she says here,

899
00:41:19,849 --> 00:41:24,740
caught him by his garment is the same
word that's used in Deuteronomy 22 that

900
00:41:24,740 --> 00:41:26,359
describes the violation of a virgin.

901
00:41:26,809 --> 00:41:27,769
If you catch my drift.

902
00:41:28,309 --> 00:41:29,839
It's a word that's used
for something else.

903
00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:32,689
She catches him in order
to consume him physically.

904
00:41:32,839 --> 00:41:36,049
He escapes and he leaves
his cloak behind, of course.

905
00:41:36,049 --> 00:41:38,839
Then she tells her her husband,
look at what he's done.

906
00:41:38,990 --> 00:41:41,119
This is the second time in
Joseph's life where his clothes

907
00:41:41,119 --> 00:41:42,259
are used to lie about him.

908
00:41:43,055 --> 00:41:43,535
Interesting.

909
00:41:44,075 --> 00:41:45,694
But here's the thing I
think we see in Joseph.

910
00:41:45,814 --> 00:41:48,154
One of the things that we can take
away from this experience that he

911
00:41:48,154 --> 00:41:52,264
has is that he does everything he can
to put temptation far away from him.

912
00:41:52,294 --> 00:41:54,514
Now he only has so much control
because he's a slave in the house.

913
00:41:54,724 --> 00:41:56,974
But I wanna take that lesson
for us and we'll put everything

914
00:41:56,974 --> 00:41:58,055
else here underneath that point.

915
00:41:58,055 --> 00:42:00,394
Number three, I want you to
draw the battle lines far from

916
00:42:00,394 --> 00:42:02,794
temptation, not on the edge.

917
00:42:03,154 --> 00:42:05,075
Draw the battle lines far.

918
00:42:05,779 --> 00:42:06,770
Not on the edge.

919
00:42:06,830 --> 00:42:07,730
There's freedom here.

920
00:42:07,730 --> 00:42:08,750
There's wisdom involved.

921
00:42:08,900 --> 00:42:11,810
You can make a lot of choices for
yourself about where you go, how you

922
00:42:11,810 --> 00:42:14,600
spend your money, what kind of, you
know, what kind of place you go to

923
00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:16,069
get a massage if that's your thing.

924
00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:17,569
You get to make decisions.

925
00:42:18,049 --> 00:42:21,350
But my encourag encouragement from you,
from Joseph's life is, Hey man, don't

926
00:42:21,350 --> 00:42:25,100
put, don't put the battle lines so close
that you could almost trip and fall over.

927
00:42:26,420 --> 00:42:29,270
As I thought about that, it reminded
me, uh, one of the most dangerous things

928
00:42:29,270 --> 00:42:33,140
that I've done, which is I took little
ones to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.

929
00:42:33,980 --> 00:42:38,210
My kids were small at this point, and we
went to this place called the Horseshoe.

930
00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:40,640
I colloquially named the horseshoe.

931
00:42:40,790 --> 00:42:42,770
But you'll notice here it's
a grass, uh, not grass.

932
00:42:42,980 --> 00:42:44,930
It's glass grass would be more scary.

933
00:42:45,230 --> 00:42:48,890
It's a glass, horseshoe shaped,
uh, window that you're walking

934
00:42:48,890 --> 00:42:51,379
on where you look down like six,
6,000 feet or something like that.

935
00:42:51,379 --> 00:42:54,410
I forget how tall it is, but you
go here, you, you, you walk on this

936
00:42:54,410 --> 00:42:56,029
thing, you see how far up you are.

937
00:42:56,450 --> 00:42:57,140
Terrifying.

938
00:42:57,710 --> 00:42:59,900
In fact, after going on
this horseshoe thing.

939
00:43:00,290 --> 00:43:03,680
I felt more concerned about keeping
my kids nearby 'cause now I could

940
00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:05,270
see how far the thing goes down.

941
00:43:05,420 --> 00:43:10,220
So when we passed our way through this, on
the other side of this, uh, I don't know

942
00:43:10,220 --> 00:43:15,440
what, on this side there's a lot of empty
space where there are no fences or gates.

943
00:43:15,830 --> 00:43:16,880
It's just the Grand Canyon.

944
00:43:17,630 --> 00:43:20,750
So I kept my kids really close
and I said, Hey, stay with me.

945
00:43:20,840 --> 00:43:22,070
Don't go near the edge.

946
00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:23,060
Stay with me.

947
00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:25,400
Stop running away, Tabitha, stay with me.

948
00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:27,230
I kept on keep, I kept him close.

949
00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:30,620
I knew the dangers were severe,
so I kept him really close.

950
00:43:32,240 --> 00:43:35,150
There are dangers that are severe
dangers that we need to be aware of

951
00:43:35,270 --> 00:43:39,560
that will keep us close from sin and
not, and not dancing on the edge of it.

952
00:43:41,210 --> 00:43:44,660
Thomas Brooks, he wrote a book called
Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices.

953
00:43:44,660 --> 00:43:45,800
I highly commend that to you.

954
00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:47,960
He said he who will be so bold.

955
00:43:48,890 --> 00:43:50,180
In fact, here I have it
for you on the screen.

956
00:43:50,180 --> 00:43:50,570
I forgot.

957
00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:56,720
He who will be so bold as to attempt to
dance upon the brink of the pit may find.

958
00:43:57,424 --> 00:44:00,484
Woeful experience that it is a
righteous thing with God that

959
00:44:00,484 --> 00:44:02,585
he should fall into the pit.

960
00:44:03,634 --> 00:44:06,904
In other words, if you're tempting God
by dancing on the edge of the cliff,

961
00:44:06,904 --> 00:44:10,295
don't be surprised if God lets you fall
over, is what Thomas Brooks is saying.

962
00:44:11,464 --> 00:44:14,285
And I wanna commend that to you
as a, as a really helpful thought.

963
00:44:14,705 --> 00:44:16,984
Let us not play with fire and
pretend we won't get burned.

964
00:44:17,015 --> 00:44:17,765
That's another way to put.

965
00:44:19,024 --> 00:44:20,795
I need you to draw the
battle lines far from sin.

966
00:44:20,944 --> 00:44:22,595
First of all, let's not take a day off.

967
00:44:23,225 --> 00:44:24,455
Joseph couldn't take a day off.

968
00:44:24,694 --> 00:44:27,004
Her persistence was day after day.

969
00:44:27,214 --> 00:44:29,375
She came after him without relent.

970
00:44:29,524 --> 00:44:31,174
She was going for him after.

971
00:44:31,174 --> 00:44:32,495
I mean, and she's seducing him.

972
00:44:32,495 --> 00:44:33,935
So she's not just being
passive about this.

973
00:44:33,935 --> 00:44:36,004
She's going after the guy
in a multitude of ways.

974
00:44:36,004 --> 00:44:39,575
I'm sure day after day temptation doesn't
take a day off, and neither should we.

975
00:44:39,815 --> 00:44:43,745
I need you to feel the sense that
temptation is always watching after you.

976
00:44:44,015 --> 00:44:46,200
In fact, one of the things
that Jesus asked you to pray.

977
00:44:47,404 --> 00:44:49,384
This lead us not into temptation.

978
00:44:49,595 --> 00:44:50,705
How often does he want you to pray?

979
00:44:50,705 --> 00:44:50,944
That?

980
00:44:51,935 --> 00:44:56,015
Always when the disciples ask him, Jesus,
how should we, you know, how do we pray?

981
00:44:56,134 --> 00:44:58,085
He says, okay, our Father, and
he goes through the prayer at

982
00:44:58,085 --> 00:44:59,345
the end, he says, and pray this.

983
00:44:59,615 --> 00:45:02,615
Lead us not into a temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

984
00:45:02,899 --> 00:45:08,015
This is how Jesus wants you to pray, and
until you're fully delivered from this

985
00:45:08,015 --> 00:45:10,565
bondage of sin and death in your body,
you're always gonna be susceptible.

986
00:45:13,715 --> 00:45:13,985
Okay.

987
00:45:13,985 --> 00:45:14,825
More to say about that.

988
00:45:15,275 --> 00:45:16,025
But let's just go on here.

989
00:45:16,025 --> 00:45:18,605
Don't, don't take a day
off close gateways to sin.

990
00:45:19,655 --> 00:45:24,485
Uh, Joseph did everything
he could, uh, to avoid her.

991
00:45:24,485 --> 00:45:28,355
In fact, in in verse 10, the second half
of verse 10, it says, uh, as she spoke to

992
00:45:28,355 --> 00:45:33,185
him day after day, he would not listen to
her to lie beside her or even be with her.

993
00:45:33,965 --> 00:45:34,985
He wouldn't even be with the woman.

994
00:45:35,375 --> 00:45:36,785
I don't wanna be anywhere near you.

995
00:45:36,964 --> 00:45:38,134
I'm not gonna lie beside you.

996
00:45:38,134 --> 00:45:39,245
I'm not gonna be near you.

997
00:45:39,245 --> 00:45:40,625
I'm just gonna, I'm
gonna be somewhere else.

998
00:45:40,625 --> 00:45:41,645
I'm gonna be on the
other side of the house.

999
00:45:41,645 --> 00:45:42,725
If I can avoid you, I will.

1000
00:45:42,875 --> 00:45:45,875
He does everything he can to avoid
being around this woman, and I would

1001
00:45:45,875 --> 00:45:49,234
love for you to do the same, close off
the gateways that lead you into sin.

1002
00:45:49,444 --> 00:45:50,525
This is not what Jesus said.

1003
00:45:50,734 --> 00:45:52,685
If your right eye cause you
to sin, what did you say?

1004
00:45:53,555 --> 00:45:54,725
Cut it off, Guse it out.

1005
00:45:54,725 --> 00:45:56,495
Do anything you can to avoid the sin.

1006
00:45:57,095 --> 00:45:58,535
Run far away from that.

1007
00:45:58,685 --> 00:46:03,185
Never allow yourself to be near where sin
can spark and, and take over your heart.

1008
00:46:05,915 --> 00:46:10,865
Third, don't tolerate little
sins, don't tolerate little sins.

1009
00:46:12,875 --> 00:46:15,365
She says to to Joseph, lie with me.

1010
00:46:15,395 --> 00:46:16,145
He says, no.

1011
00:46:16,475 --> 00:46:19,265
She says, in that case,
how about just be with me?

1012
00:46:20,404 --> 00:46:21,725
It's a mitigating step, right?

1013
00:46:21,875 --> 00:46:23,615
She tries to attempt him by compromising.

1014
00:46:23,615 --> 00:46:25,234
Well, if you weren't, if you're not
gonna lie with me, if you're not gonna

1015
00:46:25,444 --> 00:46:28,115
have a relation with me, how about
just, just lay with me right here.

1016
00:46:28,805 --> 00:46:30,845
Be with me and we'll talk about things.

1017
00:46:31,549 --> 00:46:33,589
She knows what she's doing
and he knows what she's doing.

1018
00:46:34,459 --> 00:46:37,700
He won't even tolerate a little
sin, A little compromise, and let

1019
00:46:37,700 --> 00:46:38,839
me encourage you to do the same.

1020
00:46:39,349 --> 00:46:41,089
You know your heart well
enough, or at least you should.

1021
00:46:41,660 --> 00:46:45,019
When your sin is trying to find
a reason to justify some kind

1022
00:46:45,019 --> 00:46:49,399
of illicit activity like Joseph,
don't tolerate even a little sin.

1023
00:46:50,329 --> 00:46:53,180
In fact, one Puritan said this way,
indeed there is no little sin because

1024
00:46:53,180 --> 00:46:55,729
there is no little God to sin against.

1025
00:46:56,390 --> 00:46:59,539
Every sin against God is a high
handed sin against the Lord.

1026
00:47:01,265 --> 00:47:05,195
Recall David's descent, second
Samuel 11, David's descent began

1027
00:47:05,585 --> 00:47:06,665
with, I'm just not gonna go to war.

1028
00:47:07,385 --> 00:47:08,285
I'm just gonna sit back here.

1029
00:47:08,285 --> 00:47:09,155
You guys got this.

1030
00:47:09,185 --> 00:47:12,125
And then a decision to
say, I'm not going to war.

1031
00:47:12,215 --> 00:47:16,115
Turned into a decision just to
look, to look at the woman and that

1032
00:47:16,115 --> 00:47:22,835
look fostered lust, leading him to
take her and beyond that to murder.

1033
00:47:22,835 --> 00:47:23,705
Uriah, her husband.

1034
00:47:26,945 --> 00:47:28,025
Here's where this is hard, gentlemen.

1035
00:47:28,685 --> 00:47:31,565
We live in a day where
sexual sin is rampant.

1036
00:47:31,565 --> 00:47:32,165
It's pervasive.

1037
00:47:32,165 --> 00:47:36,634
You guys might have seen that Netflix is
promoting sexual sin to kids, um, trying

1038
00:47:36,634 --> 00:47:41,225
to, trying to win their affection to the
cause of, uh, same sex attraction and

1039
00:47:41,225 --> 00:47:42,785
transgendered ideology, things like that.

1040
00:47:42,995 --> 00:47:45,125
What we're experiencing is
what's called the Overton Window.

1041
00:47:45,785 --> 00:47:46,745
You know what the Overton Window is?

1042
00:47:47,194 --> 00:47:50,524
Overton Window is designed by a guy
named Joseph Overton who said that within

1043
00:47:50,524 --> 00:47:55,504
the realm of political discourse, there
is an accepted area of conversation.

1044
00:47:55,504 --> 00:47:56,435
That's the Overton window.

1045
00:47:57,095 --> 00:48:02,104
That window can shift left or right
depending on who's pushing the window.

1046
00:48:02,944 --> 00:48:08,794
In other words, what's acceptable and
popular and is able to be public policy.

1047
00:48:09,694 --> 00:48:10,954
This is the Overton window.

1048
00:48:11,345 --> 00:48:13,504
But someone can say, well, let
me, let me add something that's

1049
00:48:13,504 --> 00:48:15,124
sensible but not necessarily popular.

1050
00:48:15,124 --> 00:48:17,704
Now I can shift the window, right,
or it can shift the window left.

1051
00:48:17,914 --> 00:48:21,664
Just think about 20 years ago, same
sex attraction and, and homosexual

1052
00:48:21,664 --> 00:48:23,285
behavior was not what it is today.

1053
00:48:23,285 --> 00:48:25,924
It is now accepted,
embraced, and celebrated.

1054
00:48:27,515 --> 00:48:30,035
My, my grandparents would
be mortified at this.

1055
00:48:30,605 --> 00:48:31,475
I mean, I'm mortified.

1056
00:48:31,475 --> 00:48:32,705
I can't believe how quickly
things have changed.

1057
00:48:32,705 --> 00:48:35,495
That's because the Overton window, things
that are acceptable, have been shifted.

1058
00:48:37,055 --> 00:48:38,540
We cannot allow this to
take place in our hearts.

1059
00:48:39,245 --> 00:48:41,975
What's what we're talking about
politically here happens spiritually.

1060
00:48:42,004 --> 00:48:44,584
We become desensitized to sin
such that we no longer see it.

1061
00:48:44,765 --> 00:48:47,075
We're no longer bothered when we see
sin on the, on the screen or when

1062
00:48:47,075 --> 00:48:48,904
we see sin out in the in the wild.

1063
00:48:49,205 --> 00:48:51,725
Our job then is to say, I need to
be aware of these things and make

1064
00:48:51,725 --> 00:48:55,055
sure that my opinion of something
is not being shifted by popular

1065
00:48:55,055 --> 00:48:56,825
opinion, but by, but by scripture.

1066
00:48:57,095 --> 00:48:59,975
I need scripture to guide me and
tell me what is popular, what

1067
00:48:59,975 --> 00:49:01,504
is acceptable, what is right.

1068
00:49:01,910 --> 00:49:03,890
Don't let the Overton
window work against you.

1069
00:49:04,160 --> 00:49:07,789
So we can't tolerate little sins,
and as we see in Joseph's example,

1070
00:49:07,789 --> 00:49:09,289
we need to flee sexual immorality.

1071
00:49:09,529 --> 00:49:11,240
There are some things that
God tells us to run from.

1072
00:49:11,269 --> 00:49:12,289
One of them is idolatry.

1073
00:49:12,289 --> 00:49:15,140
The other one is this
flee sexual immorality.

1074
00:49:15,289 --> 00:49:17,240
There are some things God doesn't
want you to stand and fight.

1075
00:49:17,479 --> 00:49:19,519
He doesn't want you just to sit
around and say, well, let me just

1076
00:49:19,519 --> 00:49:22,009
see if I can knock this thing out
by, by standing up against it.

1077
00:49:22,249 --> 00:49:22,999
Maybe.

1078
00:49:23,269 --> 00:49:25,939
I'm sure there's a couple Christians in
the world who have done this successfully,

1079
00:49:26,120 --> 00:49:29,089
but scripture says, one Corinthians
six 18, flee from sexual immorality.

1080
00:49:29,315 --> 00:49:30,065
Flee from it.

1081
00:49:30,305 --> 00:49:33,305
Every other sin a person commits is
outside the body, but the sexually

1082
00:49:33,305 --> 00:49:35,105
immoral person sins against his own body.

1083
00:49:35,765 --> 00:49:37,715
This is an especially pernicious sin.

1084
00:49:38,615 --> 00:49:41,795
All sins send you to hell,
but some sins are heavier and

1085
00:49:41,795 --> 00:49:44,225
weightier and far more destructive,
and this is one of those sins.

1086
00:49:46,205 --> 00:49:48,665
As I close here, I just wanna remind
you what people have said before.

1087
00:49:49,565 --> 00:49:51,380
Alexander McLaren said
The best advertisement of

1088
00:49:51,380 --> 00:49:52,685
Christianity is a good life.

1089
00:49:53,585 --> 00:49:57,005
People read us a great deal more than
they read the Bible, and that's true.

1090
00:49:57,695 --> 00:49:59,825
But I have to ask where where
does a good life come from?

1091
00:50:00,335 --> 00:50:01,235
Where does a good life come from?

1092
00:50:01,235 --> 00:50:04,145
A good life comes from a good
heart, a good heart, and a good

1093
00:50:04,145 --> 00:50:09,305
heart has a good love mobilizing
it, a good love that drives it.

1094
00:50:09,425 --> 00:50:12,515
And the kind of love that God warns
us against is the love of the world.

1095
00:50:13,055 --> 00:50:14,345
Do not love the world.

1096
00:50:14,645 --> 00:50:18,455
If anyone loves the world, love of
the Father's, not in him, the way that

1097
00:50:18,455 --> 00:50:23,045
we love God, or lack love for God is
going to either win us or lose us.

1098
00:50:23,045 --> 00:50:25,685
The battle against sexual
temptation, Thomas Chalmers.

1099
00:50:25,745 --> 00:50:28,714
Um, who wrote, this is a sermon
I commend this book to you.

1100
00:50:28,714 --> 00:50:29,435
It's a short book.

1101
00:50:29,765 --> 00:50:32,944
Um, it's probably a 45 minute read, maybe
an hour 'cause it was from a sermon.

1102
00:50:33,605 --> 00:50:34,895
His short book said this.

1103
00:50:34,955 --> 00:50:38,734
This is basically the sum summarization
of his book, of his sermon called The

1104
00:50:38,734 --> 00:50:40,205
Explosive Power of a New Affection.

1105
00:50:40,775 --> 00:50:43,625
The best way of casting out an
impure affection is to admit a pure

1106
00:50:43,625 --> 00:50:47,855
one and by the love of what is good
to expel the love of what is evil.

1107
00:50:48,785 --> 00:50:49,805
That's exactly what I'm trying to say.

1108
00:50:50,255 --> 00:50:51,005
It says it better than I do.

1109
00:50:51,785 --> 00:50:54,815
Your Love for God will allow
you to expel a love for sin.

1110
00:50:55,399 --> 00:50:57,799
What will protect you against
sexual sin is not the practices,

1111
00:50:57,799 --> 00:50:58,879
the practices come afterward.

1112
00:50:59,329 --> 00:51:03,529
It's a development of love for God
that looks like faithfulness, day

1113
00:51:03,529 --> 00:51:07,099
in and day out, fostering care,
commitment, concern for his, his

1114
00:51:07,099 --> 00:51:09,410
affairs, and in fact, what does he say?

1115
00:51:09,410 --> 00:51:10,430
He's a seek first.

1116
00:51:10,430 --> 00:51:12,379
The kingdom of God and his
righteousness and all these other

1117
00:51:12,379 --> 00:51:15,229
things that you con concern yourselves
about could be taken care of.

1118
00:51:16,700 --> 00:51:21,470
You gotta resolve to love God so much that
you hate sin, particularly sexual sin.

1119
00:51:21,950 --> 00:51:23,479
The consequences are
devastating and deadly.

1120
00:51:24,424 --> 00:51:26,615
Please men resolve to be
faithful to Christ in this

1121
00:51:26,615 --> 00:51:27,545
particular era of your life.

1122
00:51:27,665 --> 00:51:29,495
Let's pray that help us.

1123
00:51:29,585 --> 00:51:31,475
Um, I, I know there are many
of us probably within this room

1124
00:51:31,475 --> 00:51:34,025
who have struggled with sexual
sin, maybe even still today.

1125
00:51:34,565 --> 00:51:36,694
Uh, be naive not to think otherwise.

1126
00:51:37,295 --> 00:51:39,605
Please help us, Lord, to be
honest about these areas and

1127
00:51:39,605 --> 00:51:40,955
to fight for purity in them.

1128
00:51:41,465 --> 00:51:45,275
Help us to be open and willing to
confess areas of, of weakness and,

1129
00:51:45,275 --> 00:51:49,475
and lapse or not to coddle one
another, but to help each other be

1130
00:51:49,475 --> 00:51:51,545
accountable and faithful to our wives.

1131
00:51:51,950 --> 00:51:56,450
Our kids, our grandkids, our churches,
ultimately to be faithful to you Lord

1132
00:51:57,289 --> 00:52:01,309
far be it from us, that we shame the
name of Christ by allowing sexual sin

1133
00:52:02,359 --> 00:52:03,649
to steal affection from our heart.

1134
00:52:04,549 --> 00:52:08,299
Help us Lord, to experience the
explosive power of a new affection by

1135
00:52:08,299 --> 00:52:10,430
loving you so much that we hate sin.

1136
00:52:11,269 --> 00:52:12,799
Give us grace to discuss
these things in our groups.

1137
00:52:12,799 --> 00:52:14,569
Now, we ask this in Jesus name.

1138
00:52:14,870 --> 00:52:15,229
Amen.