Genesis 39

BECAUSE GOD IS WITH YOU

 

·        You take a quiet walk in the woods, and see all sorts of wild life, from deer to wild turkeys and you realize that God is with you.

 

·        You are spared from a sudden car wreck, coming within inches of what could have been a fatal accident and you realize that God is with you.

 

·        You witness the birth of one of your children and you realize that God is with you.

·        You are healed from a bad illness and are now totally recovered and you realize that God is with you.

·        You are surrounded with friends during a time of tragedy and you realize that God is with you.

·        You see a glorious sunset and you realize that God is with you.

·        You are moved by the worship choruses, traditional hymns reading of the Scriptures, and the sermon in church and you realize that God is with you.

 

If you are a born again Christian, you should have a recurring realization of the presence of God. 

 

The moment you turned from your sins and trusted the Lord Jesus as your Savior, the one who died for your sins, the presence of God became a great reality.

 

Romans 8:15-17 - For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. [16] The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: [17] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

 

Romans 8:9 - But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

 

Hebrews 13:5-6 - Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. [6] So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

 

Matthew 28:20 …and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 

So, if you are a born again Christian, God is with you.

But do you understand that means you have some responsibilities because God is with you?

 

One of the biggest responsibilities that you have is to live a changed life in His power.   

   

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

1 Peter 1:15-16 - But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; [16] Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

 

This morning we are in the book of Genesis and are studying in the life of Joseph. 

 

Joseph was the next to youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons.  He had made a godly stand against his older brothers.  His older brothers were jealous of him and unknown to His father, had him sold into slavery in Egypt.   

   

Eventually Joseph would rise to power in Egypt as Prime Minister and deliver Egypt though a great time of drought and famine.  Also he would save his father’s household and be reunited with His brothers.

 

As we meet Joseph in Genesis 39 his circumstances are not good at all.

 

Vs. 1 – Upon coming to Egypt, Joseph was purchased as a slave by Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guards. 

He had gone down from being a privileged son of a wealthy herdsman to being a slave.  Circumstances were not good for Joseph, but there is an encouraging thought found here in verse 2.

 

Genesis 39:2 - And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

 

The Lord was with Joseph, but Joseph did not use this fact as an excuse for not doing his best.  Because the Lord was with Joseph, he demonstrated certain qualities that should be true of us, if the Lord is with us.

 

In this chapter there are three ways Joseph behaved because the Lord was with Him.  We should behave in the same three ways because the Lord is with us.   

 

BE CONSCIENTIOUS BECAUSE GOD IS WITH YOU – 

Vss. 1-6

 

Joseph had been mistreated by His brothers and sold into slavery (Genesis 37). He could have had a bad attitude because of the mistreatment.

 

Instead he evidently did his best and God prospered Him. 

 

Vs. 3 – Notice that Joseph was active.

He would have done his work well.

He was probably what some would call an overachiever.

God is not impressed with laziness.

God blesses those who are willing to work.

 

Proverbs 13:4 - The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

 

God blessed Joseph and what he did God prospered.

And please note that it was obvious to Potiphar that God was with Joseph.  He could see the success that God was giving Joseph.   

 

Vs. 4 – Joseph was put in charge of everything that Potiphar had in the house and in the fields.  Later, Joseph would be in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

 

God blessed Joseph, but there is no doubt that Joseph was conscientious about what he was doing.

 

Vs. 5 – God blessed Potiphar for Joseph’s sake.

Here is a challenging question: Does God bless your boss’s business for your sake?

Are you so conscientious about your Christian testimony and wanting to do a good job that God blesses the business where you are employed?

 

Vs. 6 – Joseph was so conscientious that Potiphar only concerned himself with one thing at home, “What’s for supper!?”

Joseph was so conscientious that he was trustworthy.

Let me tell you one thing about my Dad when he worked part time for a florist.  He treated the business as if it were his own.  As a result he was trusted, as Joseph was in Egypt. 

Doing our best, being conscientious, is a requirement for all Christians.

 

Colossians 3:17 - And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

 

If God is truly with us, it means that we have named Jesus as our Savior, our hope for Heaven.

If we have claimed Jesus as Savior, He is also to be the Lord of our lives.

If He is the boss, the Lord of our lives, whatever we do in word or deed should be done in His name, and be thankful to God because of Him and through Him.

 

Very simply, if we can do something in the name of Jesus, we should be doing it.  If we can not do something in the name of Jesus we should not be doing it.  Let us ask ourselves conscientiously, “Can I honestly do what I want to do in the name of the Lord Jesus?”

 

Colossians 3:23 - And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

 

This verse was spoken to slaves.  There were millions of them in the Roman Empire when Paul wrote these words.

Although we are not slaves today, I believe that this verse applies to all of us who are employees or even students.

 

Whatever we do is to be done heartily, with enthusiasm.

That’s hard to do sometimes if we don’t like the employer or the teacher.

It’s easier to do when we are conscientious enough to do everything for the Lord first, and then for the boss or teacher.

 

Warren Wiersbe had a friend, “who many years ago was fired from his job for working too hard. He was earning money to go to college, and he wanted to give the employer a good day’s work each day. The trouble was, his zeal was showing up the laziness of some of the other employees-and they started fighting back. One of them falsely accused (his) friend of something and he was fired. He lost his job but he kept his character, and the Lord rewarded him.” Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Volume 2, (Wheaton IL, Victor Books, 1989), pp. 144-145

   

The man did that which was right in the name of the Lord Jesus even though it cost him being falsely accused and ultimately his job. He was conscientious because God was with him.

Joseph was conscientious because God was with Him.

BE CONSCIENTIOUS BECAUSE GOD IS WITH YOU

BE COURAGEOUS BECAUSE GOD IS WITH YOU –

Vss. 7-19

 

Joseph was doing a great job, but temptation came his way through the advances of his boss's wife.

 

Vss. 7-9 – Although Joseph was in charge of his master’s house, he was still a slave.

 

It would have been easy for him to have given in to the sexual advances of his master’s wife.  Out of expediency, pride and pleasure it would have been quite simple to give into the master’s wife.  He could have even rationalize it.

 

Joseph had the courage, the guts to say “no” to something that was wrong.

 

Joseph refused because his master trusted Him as Vs. 8 says.

In Vs. 9 Joseph states that the only thing that was “off limits” to him in the house was his master’s wife.

And Joseph was bold to call adultery what it is, wickedness and sin!

And Joseph was bold enough to state that the wickedness and sin was against God!

Do you know why we often fall into sin?  It is because we often give it another label, like a “mistake” or “indiscretion”

We fall to identify it as wickedness and sin against God!

 

Vs. 10 – Joseph had to say “no” more than once. This woman was persistent.  And some of the temptations we face will be equally persistent.

 

Vss. 11-12 – The woman was even bolder than before when nobody was around.  She grabbed him and he fled as quickly as possible, leaving the coat in her hand.

 

It takes courage to call sin what it is, sin against God!

It takes courage to consistently say “no” to what we know is wrong.

And it takes courage to run when the only way we can resist is by running.

 

When God is with us, we need to learn to run from temptation and not towards it.  God provides the way of escape.

 

1 Corinthians 10:12-13 - Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. [13] There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

 

“Do you want courage to say “no” when you are tempted?

  “The father of a small boy would occasionally sneak into a neighbor's orchard and pluck some of the choicest fruit. He always made sure, however, that "the coast was clear." One day with his son tagging along, after carefully looking in every direction and seeing no one, he crept through the fence. He was just about ready to help himself when the youngster startled him by crying out, ‘Dad! Dad! You didn't look UP! You forgot to see if God is watching.’ When temptation besets you and you're inclined to yield because no one else seems to be around, remember, if you're a Christian, your "Master is always in!" --James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 477. Bible Illustrator 3.0

 

I’d like to tell you that everything will turn out well when we say “no” to sin.

Sometimes we will be falsely accused if we don’t do what others are enticed to do.

Joseph was falsely accused as Verses 13-19 tell us.

The wife of Potiphar falsely accused Joseph.

 

Vs. 20 – Joseph ended up a prisoner because of saying “no” to sin.

So what about you?  Would you rather be falsely accused when saying “no” to sin, or would you rather answer to God at the judgment for not doing what was right?

 

Matthew 5:11-12 - Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. [12] Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

 

BE COURAGEOUS BECAUSE GOD IS WITH YOU –

BE CONSCIENTIOUS BECAUSE GOD IS WITH YOU – 

BE CONSISTENT BECAUSE GOD IS WITH YOU - Vss. 20-23

 

There is many a person who has stopped doing what is right because it got them in trouble.

It would have been easy for Joseph to just give up and stop serving God because doing right got him in trouble.

Joseph did not do this.  Was he devastated? Probably!

Was he outraged at the injustice? Most likely!

Was he defeated? No!

Did he give up on God? No!

 

Vs. 21 – God was still with Joseph.

               God showed Joseph mercy.

               God gave Joseph favor in the eyes of the keeper of

               the prison.

 

God did not deliver Joseph from jail because God had a plan that involved the jail (See Genesis 40-41).

 

God may not deliver you right away from suffering for what is right, but He will show His mercy upon you as you remain consistent.

 

Vs. 22-23 - Joseph again did a conscientious job.

Joseph remained faithful to God. He was consistent

Joseph did his job as well as he had before.

It wasn’t long before Joseph ran the jail.             

Remember this, my friend, God is keeping score.

 

God knows how you’ve been mistreated.

God will settle the score in his time whether it be in this life or at Judgment Day.

If you have stood for what is right and have been falsely accused, continue to be faithful!  Continue to be consistent!

 

Romans 12:19-21 - Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. [20] Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. [21] Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

1 Corinthians 4:2 - Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

 

“(EIGHTY) YEARS AGO, a remarkable man did a remarkable thing. Eric Liddell of Scotland refused to run a heat at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris because the race was scheduled on a Sunday, which his faith taught him would violate the Sabbath.

”As we know from the Academy Award-winning film, ‘Chariots of Fire,'’ Liddell managed to negotiate an unheard-of switch from the 100-meter race he had been scheduled to run to the 400 meter, for which he had not trained, later in the week. On July 11, 1924, Liddell won that race and was showered with Olympic glory.

”Instead of cashing in, Lidell turned his back on fame and fortune and followed in his parents' footsteps, becoming a missionary in China, where his most powerful contributions to God and to his fellow humans were made.

“In our day of focus groups and leadership weakened by uncertainty of belief, Eric Liddell's example continues to stand out. A fanatic might have demanded that others not run on Sunday, either, and organized a group to enact legislation to conform society to his point of view.

 

“Not Liddell. He just said he wouldn't run. Some newspapers denounced him as a traitor to his country and king. How quickly they changed their tune when he won a gold medal. Had he yielded to temptation and compromised his beliefs, we might never have heard of him again.” http://inspirations.spunge.org, http://www.sermonillustrator.org/illustrator/sermon1/chariots.htm

 

God was with Eric Liddell. If you are a Christian, God is with you. 

God was with Joseph. If you are a Christian, God is with you.

 

BE COURAGEOUS BECAUSE GOD IS WITH YOU –

BE CONSCIENTIOUS BECAUSE GOD IS WITH YOU – 

BE CONSISTENT BECAUSE GOD IS WITH YOU - Vss. 20-23

 

Is God with you?

If not, turn to Jesus and trust him as Savior today!

 

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

John 3:36 - He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.