Pastor Shane L. Johnson, D.Min.7/18/10

New Life Church

1. Joseph will know great pain and suffering in his lifetime- Do you have a theology of suffering?- In other words, how do you explain it?- CS Lewis; pain is God’s megaphone to a deaf world

2. God will use this suffering to make of Joseph much more than the man he would ever be otherwise

3. God will use Joseph to be a pivotal person for millions of people

4. Joseph will only know some of this later on, and never all of it

Was it chance that Potiphar bought Joseph from the Midianites?

He prospered because of the presence of the Lord in his life

The presence of the Lord was apparent to Potiphar

Because the presence of the Lord was apparent to Potiphar, he made Joseph overseer of his house- Lincoln; “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power”

Because Joseph was handsome, Potiphar’s wife propositioned him

“But he refused.”

He remembered the confidence his Egyptian master had placed in him- we too soon forget the goodness of God via the hand of others

He called the proposition what it was- “a wicked thing”- you cannot call sin what it is without making others upset

He saw it as a sin against God- all sin is ultimately against the Fatherhood of God

Though she was “unrelenting” he refused to be sexual with her or even be in her presence- Satan never lets up, 1 Cor 9.27- Joseph put up healthy boundaries

He left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house- why?- to have stayed one more minute would have been dangerous- God’s love for us always offers the way of escape- our love for Him determines if we will take that escape, 1 Cor 10.13

We live in a culture that enables, glories in, facilitates, and explains away, sin- we blame parents, bosses, presidents, pastors , spouses, children, police officers, anybody but ourselves

There is no longer any individual accountability- if all sin is personal before it is corporate, then we must begin with individual accountability

The 2 biblical responses to sin- resistance (James 4.7) and escape

Understand the process of sin, James 1.14-15