Loading summary
Transcript5 lines
- [00:00]
A
Welcome to Living in the Light.
- [00:03]
B
What if Joseph had just given up and said, I'm not doing anything. I'm just going to sit here, rot on this prison floor because I am sick of my life? And instead he did it and he got up and got to work and God blessed him. God wants to bless you in the midst of your suffering. God wants to give you favor in the midst of your suffering. God wants to showcase his glory through your suffering.
- [00:23]
A
Welcome to Living in the Light, the Bible teaching ministry of Anne Graham Lotz. You know, the Bible unhesitatingly says that God has you on a path. There's a plan and there's a reason for all you've gone through in your life. God promises he's going to use your specific suffering for a purpose and his glory. So let's join Rachel Ruth now as she continues her message from the book of Genesis titled Living for God in a Wicked World.
- [00:52]
B
Joseph, it's hard enough. He's a slave, okay? But he's making the best of it. And Potiphar is just booming in business now because of Joseph. Potiphar can just sit back by the pool. I mean, because Joseph's got everything under control because of God's favor in his life. And it's amazing what God's done through him. But sometimes you can be in a bad situation and then it gets worse. And so then at verse six, it says, now, Joseph was well built and handsome, and right now he's probably around 19, 19 years old or 20. And it says, and after a while, his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, come to bed with me. But he refused. So here's Joseph and he's working hard. He's a slave. He's away from his home. He's not out dating like all the other people his age. And he'd like to be, probably. And he could have thought, you know what, I'm young, I'm handsome, and I've got desires and this woman's willing. And it's like, why not? You know, where is God? I don't know what's happening. And he could have toyed with the temptation and talked to her, flirted with her, and Joseph did not. He was firm in his conviction, even in his suffering. He didn't just give in because he's like, well, everything else is going bad. I might as well just add this to the list and enjoy something for a few moments. But Joseph stood firm in conviction. We have got to have a backbone. We have got to be women with a backbone. And do the right thing and be women of conviction that when temptation hits us, people know, no, she's not going to fall for it. And we have to be firm against that temptation. And Joseph was firm. He didn't fall for it. And you think about like a castle under siege, and you just keep getting hit and hit. The castle would just keep getting hit and hit and hit and try and wear down its defenses. And we just have to stand firm. And Joseph stood firm. But the thing that amazes me in this is. So she asked him, he refused. And. And this was his response. He said, with me in charge, he told her, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house. Everything he owns, he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. And then listen to this. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? Oh, don't you just love him? I mean, that his main concern wasn't, you know, I'd really like to, and you are a hot woman and. But I know I'd probably be killed for it. I'd lose my position, I lose some of my privileges or I might get thrown in prison. So I'm just going to hold off for now. What he was concerned about was he didn't want to sin against God. He didn't want to do this wicked thing against God. And that needs to be where our heart is, that everything, every situation we face, what is it that God wants me to do? And I don't want to fall for a temptation. Of course we're going to be tempted, but I don't want to fall for a temptation. I want to glorify God. And we don't want to do a wicked thing. And boy, we live in a wicked world. And there are temptations at our fingertips. You know, you can have it on your phones, whether with texting, whether with things we look up or on our TVs, what we watch. Even commercials, you know, are bad sometimes. And maybe you're in a book club and they're reading a book you shouldn't be reading, but you're like, oh, well, you know, just read it. Don't do it. You don't do such a wicked thing. Before God and Joseph was set apart, he didn't want to fall for that temptation. And so we want to glorify God. And so what is it that you're tempted with? What is it that right now is tempting you? And maybe it's A man at work, and maybe he's relentless, and you've just got to say no, and you refuse it. And you stay away from them and be holy, flee from those temptations, which we'll see he did in the next scene. But what is it that is coming after you to wear you down and to tempt you to turn against God? You know, that's the enemy. Just saying, I'm going to get her. She thinks she's walking with the Lord and doing all this stuff, and I'm going to tempt her with this. And you be aware that temptations come, but when they come, don't fall for it. And sometimes that means making the decision beforehand. You know, my grandfather was so good about. He never got in an elevator alone with a woman. He never had a meeting alone with a woman. Never had a luncheon. Even if they're discussing about some meaning he had. He was never alone with a woman. And I know my uncle, I think it was Uncle Cliff, he did the music for my grandfather's Crusades. And he would put a towel over the tv. He didn't even turn the TV on in all the hotels that they stayed at. And we do things. We set up these boundaries, and we don't cross them. Be very careful of the situations. You don't even want to have the appearance of evil. And so be careful of the places you go, the people you hang around, because they can wear you down. And if you're in a group of friends and you want to be a light, that's great. But you need to have a group, your core group, that loves the Lord, that is feeding into you and speaking into you and holding you accountable so that you can go out and be a light to these other friends. But who is bringing you down? Who is tempting you? What is it that's tempting you? And cut it out. Cut it out of your life right now. And so the next we see in Joseph's life is we want to be firm with consistency. And so she kept coming back and didn't stop her. In verse 10, it says, and though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. Look at that. He didn't have somebody counseling him or discipling him. He was on his own in Egypt, and he still stood firm. He still didn't bend or bow or anything to this woman's demands. And she was going after him day after day. So he saw her down the hall. He was probably going the other way. And that's what we have to do. And so then it says, one day he went into the house in verse 11 to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, come to bed with me. I mean, this woman's desperate. And then it says, but he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. I mean, he wasn't having it. And he took that cloak off and ran. He was not going to fall to the temptation. And he could have. He could have just given in, you know, just to appease her for a minute, you know, just something. And he didn't. He was absolutely firm in his conviction to live for the Lord, to not compromise in any way. Even though he was a servant, in a sense, he was underneath her, he still didn't bow down to that. And he ran out, he fled, he left. And that's what we have to do. We can't stay in a situation and think we're going to be strong enough to withhold it. You flee, you run, you get away from that temptation. And if it's your phone, put it away. You know, if it's your tv, turn it off and whatever. If it's alcohol, get it out of the house. Sometimes what that looks like flee may look like never engaging with that person again, never talking to that person again. Maybe it means you need to quit your job. Maybe it means leaving a meeting abruptly. And for the alcoholic, it means never entering a bar again, never going to a house, a party, a wedding that is serving alcohol. I've got so many friends that are dealing with this. And in fact, I had one friend that he. He was looking for a church to attend that had wine in the communion. That's how desperate he was. And I have talked to so many pastors about that to. To cut that out. Don't even have it in your communion, because it can cause somebody to fall for a temptation when they're trying to not have that alcoholism. And so be careful if you're a porn addict, never using social media, never using a computer in a room by yourself. And so do you see what I mean? Just put up these boundaries. Don't fall for the temptation. Don't put yourself out there and see. Suffering can weaken us, can it? It can just make us tired, it can make us feel sorry for ourselves. And that's when the enemy knows, you know, comes around and tempts you with something. And I mean, it could be food, you know, whatever it is. And that's when we have to withstand that Temptation and flee and flee and be like Joseph. Oh, Joseph was amazing. And his attitude, all that he did, and even in his affliction and fleeing the situation and being consistent and watching out for these temptations. And so we want to choose to be faithful, we want to choose to be firm, and then we want to choose to be focused. In verse 13, oh, here comes this dramatic woman. So when she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and he had run out of the house, and she called her household servants, look. Oh, you can just imagine the dramatics, you know. Oh, look. She said to them, this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house. And you know, those servants knew Joseph, and they're all like, give me a break. We know Joseph did not do that. I mean, you know it. And you know, they tried to get the cloak, but it said she kept it. In that next verse, it said she kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. So she probably laid on the floor, you know, just planning it out. How am I going to say this? And I'm going to leave the cloak here and all this stuff and, you know, punch her eyes and make tears come out. And then her husband comes home and then she makes up this story. She lies about Joseph and says all this stuff after her husband and has his cloak laying there. And, you know, her husband must know too, and what kind of woman he is. But in his pride, he was angry and he threw Joseph in prison. And have you been betrayed? Has someone lied about you? Has someone spread gossip about you that's not true. And you've been serving the Lord and then you get slammed with betrayal and how painful it is when you're trying to do the right thing. And Joseph, who's had one thing just bad thing after another happened to him, thrown in a pit, sold into slavery, and now, you know, serving and then got tempted, did the right thing and still suffered for it. And you think I just keep serving the Lord, but everything wrong keeps happening. Maybe God is angry at me. Maybe he doesn't love me. Maybe I shouldn't serve anymore. Maybe I'm wrong in this, you know, And Joseph never did that. Even in betrayal, he still kept his focus on God. And that's what we have to do. In fact, I read this article that this Navy SEAL wrote, and he was a sniper, and he talked about this thing that snipers Have. It's called bubble compartmentalization. And it's where snipers are out there in the field and they're focused on a target. They have to absolutely cancel out every distraction around them and pretend it's not even there. So that if they get stung in the neck by a bee, if a snake starts crawling over their shoulder, if a spider bites their leg, you know, if they hear people coming up behind them, they cannot lose their focus. They just keep the focus on that target. They look, they look, they look. And that's what we have to do in the Christian life, that bubble compartmentalization. No matter what hits you, no matter what slow suffering comes after you, no matter how hard it is, you keep your focus on Jesus. God has a plan. He has a plan in your suffering, even when it keeps getting hit and you get. Get slammed and slammed and slammed, and it's just, you're getting worn out and you're tired, and you think you can't do it anymore. You want to throw in the towel. And the betrayal that you've just experienced, it's like, all right, God, where are you? Don't give in to the temptation to complain. Don't give in the temptation to doubt God. You want to stay focused on the Lord, even in the midst of betrayal. Don't lose sight of the big picture. God had a plan. And you know what God's plan was for Joseph all along? He could have stayed, you know, in Canaan, but God had a plan and needed Joseph to get to Egypt. So this was God's plan to get Joseph to Egypt. And he didn't need Joseph staying in Potiphar's house, He needed Joseph in prison because that's where he was going to raise him up to second in command of all of Egypt. And Joseph gets thrown into prison, which is the lowest of the low. It doesn't get any worse than that, I think, you know, for Joseph, unless he had died. But he's in prison now. And in prison, he could have thrown in the towel and just said, you know what? That's it. And that's where we have to be focused, you know, when betrayed and when bound. Because in the Psalms describes it, they put shackles on his neck, they put shackles on his arms and his legs, and he was bruised by it, cut up by it, it hurt. And he's sitting there on this damp prison floor. And how hard that would have been and how difficult and how easy it would have been to feel sorry for himself and to be angry with God. And the challenge in our wicked world where suffering has really been epic for the believer, it's been so hard and probably one of the worst in human history, the suffering that Christians are going through. And how have you been bound? You know, what is it that's bound you? And maybe my mom used to always talk about being bound at home with little kids and sticky fingers and all this stuff when we were little. And maybe you're just in a house with little kids, you know, or maybe you're bound because of chronic pain and suffering. And my grandmother suffered. My mom's mom, we called her Tete, which means old lady in Chinese. She was born and raised in China. Her parents were missionaries in China for 40 years, and there were medical missionaries there. And she was wonderful. But wow, she suffered physically and in pain all the time and had four hip replacement surgeries and all kinds of pain. And she glorified the Lord while she was bound. And she always used to tell me, Ray truth, I'm like a mouse on a glue board. I'm just stuck here, but I can pray. And she would pray for us. And so whatever situation you find yourself in that where you're bound, know that God's got a plan in that and he's going to see you through. And so what prison of suffering are you in? How is it, after all that I've talked about today and seeing Joseph Weiss and how he was, he suffered. What suffering have you been in? And, you know, Joseph got into that prison cell, dusted himself off in a sense, you know, and just said, all right, get me to work. And he went after it in prison just like he did in Potiphar's house. And it said in end of verse 20, but while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him again, okay, the Lord was with him. He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. The warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made restored responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. What if Joseph had just given up and said, I'm not doing anything. I'm just going to sit here, rot on this prison floor because I am sick of my life? And instead he didn't. He got up and got to work and God blessed him. God wants to bless you in the midst of your suffering. God wants to give you favor in the midst of your suffering. God wants to showcase his glory through your Suffering. Maybe you need to start sharing with people, being more open with people, and just saying, you know what? I've had this chronic pain forever and it's not something I usually talk about, but I just want to give glory to God because he's brought me this far. I want to give glory to God because he gave me this verse and encouraged me this week. And how is it that God wants to use you in the midst of your suffering and be a Joseph, that whatever hits you in life, you just take it from the Lord that it has to go through God before it comes to you? You do know that it goes through the Lord before it hits you. Nothing catches God off guard. And so whatever has hit you, God's allowed it, and so you can trust him in it. He doesn't take his eyes off you. He knows what it is, and he's got a plan to see you through a greater purpose. And so ask God to give you eyes to see. What is that greater purpose? Lord, in my life, in my suffering, and just in closing, I want to just take this little outline that I had and show you how Jesus was our perfect example. And Jesus has been faithful to us. He was faithful in his affliction on the cross. He knew God was with him all the way on the cross, suffering, nailed to a cross and the thorns in his head and the spear in his side, and the pain of having to try and breathe on the cross after just being beaten. Jesus was faithful, faithful in his affliction. He was faithful in his attitude, even knowing what he was about to go through on the cross. At the Last Supper, he gave thanks and it says he sang with his disciples. And on the cross, he looked down and asked John to take care of his mother. He was thinking of others. In the middle of his suffering, he forgave the thief on the cross next to him. Jesus showcased what it's like when you're in the midst of horrible suffering, the worst ever imaginable. And Jesus was faithful in his affliction and in his attitude. And then with conviction, he was firm. He didn't bend. He didn't. He kept proclaiming the truth. He didn't give up. He didn't leave. He could have just said, oh, y' all are the worst. You know, I created. You're the worst. He could have just gone back to heaven and not died on the cross. But he was faithful and firm, with conviction to stay, stay all the way to the cross. And with consistency, he went all the way to the cross. He went and finished the work that God had called him to do and did it perfectly, as we know he did. And then he was focused even when he was betrayed by Judas, by the Sanhedrin, by the people that had just put palm leaves down the week before. And he remained focused even though he was betrayed. He knows what it's like to be betrayed by the very people I think about that all the time, the very people that he gave them their eyes and their nose and knew their whole story and loved them, came to earth to save them. And they were the very people that put him on the cross. I mean, you just can't even believe that kind of betrayal. And he was focused when bound by ropes, when he was whipped, beaten, nailed to a cross. He never lost his focus because he knew the glory that was coming. Because on the third day, he was resurrected. And he's alive and seated at the right hand of God the Father, and he's reigning King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What if he had cut it short? Which, you know, he wouldn't have, but, you know, oh, I mean, God, Jesus showed us what suffering well looks like. And Jesus was strong to the finish. And that's what we need to be strong to the finish in our suffering. Just keep going, keep going. I feel like the Lord just wants to encourage you in your suffering. It's okay. He's there with you. He's going to see you through. Just keep your eyes on him, not on yourself. It's so easy to do. Just don't think about yourself. Eyes on Jesus and open to what he wants you to do, to bless others and in the midst of your suffering. So if you would just bow your heads with me and pray. Heavenly Father, it's hard to even know what to say, Lord, because I know there's so much suffering. How can there not be in a room with this many women, Lord? Every single one of us has something we're going through, Lord, and it's heavy and it's hard. It's not fun. We all want out. But Lord, I pray that you would just burn this message into our hearts, Lord, that we would never forget. There's a greater purpose. And Lord, you raised Joseph after all those years, 13 years of suffering and 10 years in prison, Lord, you raised him up to second in command of all of Egypt in a moment's notice, just like that, Lord. And it's amazing what you can do, Lord, through our suffering, when we're with willing to suffer well, oh, Father, would you use us in the midst of it, in our pain and our heartache and our long suffering, if it's been going on for years after years after years, Lord, help us in the midst of it to not lose our focus, to have that bubble compartmentalization, Lord, where we keep our eyes on you, our suffering Savior. Lord, thank you that you are in a high priest that just looked down from up above and just watched us go through it, Lord, you came down and showed us how to go through suffering, Lord. And so Father, I thank you for the glory that will come through our suffering, Lord, when we surrender our lives to you and we submit ourselves to you in the midst of it. So Father, I just pray that for whoever is in here who is suffering, Lord, would you strengthen her? Would you help her, Lord, would you encourage her through your word? Would you bring somebody along of her just to be that encouragement, to be that person they can lean on, Lord. And Father, I pray that, Lord, you would help us in whatever it is, Lord, for anybody in here that is suffering physically, Lord, right now, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I pray healing over them, Lord, I pray whatever it is, if it's the migraines, if it's the stomach pain, if it's chronic pain, pain in the joints, if it's cancer, whatever it is, Lord, all the glory is yous are the great healer, Father, and we just ask and pray just against anything that's coming from the enemy to attack any woman in here, Lord. We just command that Holy Spirit fire to come down and burn up every unholy attack on us in Jesus name and turn it to ash, Lord, I pray the blood of Jesus over each of us in this room, Lord, that we would know that you are with us in the midst of our suffering, Lord. You are with us as we walk through it, Lord, and we want to be warrior women. We want to go through our suffering and march through it, Lord, knowing that you've got a plan, you've got a purpose, you're going to see us through, you're going to carry us through, Lord. There's going to be mercy and affliction and we thank you for that, Lord, and pray that you would be glorified in our lives, Lord, to the finish. And so we commit all this to you and pray that our lives would be a sweet smelling aroma to you, Lord, as we suffer well like Joseph did. And we ask you to give us the strength to do it, Lord, and the mindset to do it, Lord, and the will to run away from temptation like Joseph, Lord, and repent of anything that we have fallen for, Lord, and know that you are there to pick us up and keep us moving, Lord. So we thank you for being our faithful heavenly Father, Lord, and so we commit this to you and pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
- [24:27]
A
To help and encourage you in your work for the Lord, we invite you to Angramla. It's a great opportunity to further read, study, live by and love God's Word. You'll find Ann's daily blog, her messages, Bible studies, books, audio and video that will enhance your study, your going forward, and plan to join us again for living in the light.