The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. If you would like to know how you can become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org.
That's harvest.org. It's no secret morals in our culture have been on a downward slide. Pastor Greg Laurie says stay true to God's Word. We live in a time where wrong is perceived as right and right is perceived as wrong.
And you might say, well you know it's okay because I'm single and I'm lonely. But listen, wrong is wrong even if you don't get caught. Wrong is wrong even if others are doing worse things.
And listen to this, wrong is wrong even if it doesn't bother your conscience. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound. Again you hear when the angels are singing. This is the day, the day when life begins.
If we ignore that still small voice, it may grow more quiet. Eighteenth century clergyman Richard South said, Guilt upon the conscience, like rust upon iron, both defiles and consumes it, gnawing and creeping into it, and eats out the very heart and substance of the metal. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us listen to our conscience, or accurately listen to the prompting of the Spirit. Insight today from the life of one of our spiritual forefathers. This is the day, the day when life begins. Alright well let's grab our Bibles and let's turn to Genesis chapter 39 and we are in our series that we are calling World Changers based on Hebrews 11 that is a collection of great men and women of the Old Testament that changed their world.
And the way they did it was by faith. But in this message I want to talk about the temptation of a world changer. Because we are going to look at the life of Joseph. Remember his life could be divided into three sections. Start, struggle, and success.
Start basically birth to age 17. A pampered young man favored by his father over his brothers. Having his amazing dreams which actually were given to him by God. Then struggle.
That is age 17 to 30. And that is what we are going to be looking at in this message to some degree. The struggle he had. And then finally success.
30 years to death. And so Joseph's world changes overnight. But he was going to find in time his dreams were going to come true. His dreams were others would bow before him.
But there was going to be some tough sledding first. He was sent to Egypt. Egypt was a godless place. A completely pagan country filled with religious superstition. They were also given over to gross immorality. And they would build these incredible structures.
And they would utilize slave labor and their own citizens. So here in this teeming metropolis. This city of wickedness and idolatry comes Joseph who has really lived a sheltered life. He is only 17 years old.
He is effectively the country boy coming to the big city. And he is purchased by a man named Potiphar identified in verse 1 as captain of the guard. This meant that he was a high ranking Egyptian official. A man to be fair. But Joseph wasn't intimidated at all.
Why? Verse 2. The Lord was with Joseph. In fact he is so successful that Potiphar has made him his executive assistant.
He is second in command. Potiphar is saying, look son you are over the books. You are over the house. You are over everyone that works for me.
In fact all I am worrying about today is what am I having for lunch. And here is what happens now to Joseph after great success. The devil attacks. Genesis 39. Read with me. Starting in verse 7.
By the way I am reading from the New Living Translation. Potiphar's wife began to look at him lustfully. Come sleep with me she said.
Wow she was far from subtle. But Joseph refused. And he told her, look my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you because you are his wife. Like hint, hint.
Remember you are married. How could I do such a wicked thing. It would be a great sin against God. Then I would underline that verse.
A great sin against God. But she kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day. But he refused to sleep with her. And he kept out of her way as much as possible.
One day however no one else was around. He wanted to do his work. She came and grabbed him by his cloak, his coat demanding come on sleep with me. And Joseph tore himself away but left his cloak in her hand and he ran from her house.
Well stop there. She did everything to allure him but in spite of her persistence, in spite of his natural desires and tendencies, in spite of the advancement it could have given his career, in spite of his own miserable background at home, he resisted. How did he do it? Verse 9 gives us the answer.
He said, how can I do such a wicked thing. It would be a sin against God. So how do we overcome temptation?
If you are taking notes here is a few take away points. Number one. Everyone will be tempted. Everyone will be tempted. Again as I said temptation is not a sin. It is a call to battle. It can't even be an indication you are on the right track and moving in the right direction.
Listen to this. Jesus was tempted at the beginning and the end of his ministry. Remember right after he was baptized by his cousin John in the Jordan River and the father spoke and said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. What happened after that? The Bible says immediately he was driven into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Immediately.
Right away. So he was tempted in the beginning. And what was the devil effectively saying to Christ? Hey worship me right now and you don't even have to go to the cross. Here is all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. I will give it to you on a silver platter if you will worship me. Worship me.
I will give it to you. No. Jesus resisted that temptation. Now fast forward to the end of his ministry. He has gone to the cross. He is hanging there.
Nails have been driven through his hands and his feet. And people are saying if he is really the son of God let him save himself. You see the temptation was forget it. Throw in the towel. Why die for these people that laugh at you and mock you and reject you. No.
He went through with it. If he faced it in the beginning and the end of his life do you think it will be any different for us? I heard about an old preacher who was asked by a young man. Preacher when I get older will I cease to be tempted?
The old guy wisely said son I wouldn't trust myself until I had been dead for three days. Temptation will always hit. So number one everyone will be tempted. That means you.
That means me. Number two Joseph understood there are consequences to sin. He understood there are consequences to sin.
Look at Genesis 39 verse 8. Look he said my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one has more authority than I do and he has held back nothing from me except you because you are his wife.
I find this kind of interesting. Here is Potiphar who was a slave owner. He bought Joseph but yet Joseph had a loyalty to him. Oh well you know he has given me so many great opportunities.
I wouldn't do this to him. He seemed like he would want to get that guy for what he did buying you as a slave. But no Joseph had sort of a loyalty to Potiphar and I think he also thought about his reputation. People knew he was that Jewish man.
People knew that he believed in a different God than the people of Egypt. And I just wish people would think a little bit before they go in to sin. You know when you start contemplating that affair. Worst word ever. Affair. Sounds like fun.
Sounds like a cruise. Where have you been? I have been having an affair.
Well la-di-da man. No you have been committing sexual sin. You have been in adultery.
But we have this nice word we have attached to it. But before you go into that sort of thing think about the repercussions. Think about how it is going to affect your spouse. Think about how it is going to affect your children. How it is going to affect your parents. And then what about the person you are involved with.
How will it affect their spouse and their children and their family. We don't think about things like that. We just think about ourselves.
But we will justify and we will say, well you know what my marriage isn't fulfilling anymore. And this new person I just met. They are my soul mate.
And they understand me like nobody else does. So I am going to divorce my spouse and marry them and then I will be happy. Well actually the statistics are against you. Of those who do marry their lover. Which is only about 10 percent. 70 percent of them get a divorce.
And of that 25 to 30 percent that stay married only half of them are happy. So think about that. There are consequences. Number three. God's standards are absolute.
They don't change. Now I know Joseph had had a rough time. He had a rough childhood. He had really mean brothers. He had been taken from his homeland to a foreign place. He was living in Egyptian culture surrounded by Egyptian morals.
And he was forced to be a slave. But some things never change. And that includes the Word of God. God's Word does not change. Even if culture changes God's Word does not change. See they would say to Joseph, man go for it.
This is an opportunity. But for him he knew it was wrong. We live in a time where wrong is perceived as right. And right is perceived as wrong. And you might say well you know it is ok because I am single and I am lonely.
Or my marriage isn't all that I want it to be. But listen. Wrong is wrong even if you don't get caught. Wrong is wrong even if others are doing worse things.
Listen to this. Wrong is wrong even if it doesn't bother your conscience. Because sometimes people will say well you know what I feel good about this. I feel good about divorcing my husband though I have no biblical grounds. I feel good about this. I have had people say that to me by the way.
I feel good about having sex with my boyfriend. You know it is ok the Lord spoke to me and said I am cool. Did God actually say that?
Yeah He said I am cool. Ok God didn't say that to you. Because God will not contradict His word. And you know what you are saying to me in so many words when you make a statement like that? You are saying my conscience isn't working anymore.
You are telling me my heart has gotten hard. Because if your conscience doesn't show you what you are doing is wrong that is a problem. If you have become desensitized to the voice of your conscience Pastor Greg says God can re-sensitize it. He will talk about that in just a moment.
Stay with us. So many listeners have commented on the encouragement they receive from these daily messages. God's word ministers to them and it often gets them through some of their darkest hours. I frequently listen to Pastor Greg on Christian radio in my area. He was extremely helpful when my husband of 43 years suddenly and unexpectedly went to be with the Lord in January of this year. He was retired and I had just retired in May and we had plans for our retirement years.
However God's plans were quite the opposite. Needless to say I felt like my life was ripped out from under me. While listening to Pastor Greg one day he spoke of the promise of hope after the loss of a loved one. Of course he was speaking about the loss of his son. I am still in the grieving process but his message helped me find hope and some peace.
I continue to move forward through this trial. God is so good. Every time I cry out for comfort and strength he puts the right message or person in my path. So thank you for all you do. Have these daily studies ministered to you and your family? If so would you let us know? You can tell your story by calling 1-866-871-1144.
That's 866-871-1144. Today Pastor Greg is presenting a study of the life of Joseph. And we're learning about the importance of listening to the voice of our conscience. Hearing the voice of God. It's a study called The Temptation of a World Changer.
See sometimes your conscience can just get messed up. The Bible talks about having your conscience seared as with a hot iron. I have a super powerful iron at home. It's from Europe.
It has a steam blast mechanism that is better than any American iron. And I love it. And you fill up the little tank with water. You need a hose to do it. It's so big.
No it's not that big. And a while back I ironed a shirt and there was a wrinkle in the middle. Now a normal rational person would take the shirt off and iron it. But I thought no I'll iron it while I'm wearing it. But better yet oh why touch that iron to my skin.
I'll just give it a blast of steam. So I held the shirt out as far as I could. And I held the iron out and I gave it a blast. And it hit me and I screamed like a little girl. So painful I had a big red welt. But the wrinkle was gone. But that night I was getting ready for bed. My wife looked at me and said, what's that big red welt? I said, don't ask. See our heart can get like that.
It can be seared. Years ago I had the privilege of being with Billy Graham in Portland Oregon where he just did a crusade. And he had just got done preaching. We got in the car.
We were driving out and I wanted to compliment him. And I was riding in the front shotgun seat. And his long time associate T.W. Wilson was driving. Billy was in the back seat. And Franklin is next to him. So I turned around facing the back and I said, Billy that was a great message tonight. And Billy looked at me with those steely blue eyes. And he said, it's just gospel.
I turned back around. Just trying to be nice. But I realized he didn't really want to be complimented.
So I thought I'll try again. Because he made this great point in his message. He said, Christ can resensitize your conscience.
I love that. So I turned back around and said, Billy I love the point when you said Christ can resensitize your conscience. And Billy said, well he can.
I was like, I know. So I just stopped trying to compliment him. Maybe that is one of the secrets of his success. He didn't want that praise.
But it was true what he said. Christ can resensitize your conscience. Listen to me. If you are doing something right now the Bible says you should not be doing and you don't feel bad about it. You need to pray that God will resensitize your conscience. No you should not always let your conscience be your guide. Apologies to Jiminy Cricket. Because your conscience can mislead you.
No listen. You should always let the Bible be your guide. This is the one absolute you can always stand on and be certain of. But Joseph understood this. All sin was against God. He understood all sin was against God.
That is point number four. I love what he says to her. He says, how can I do this thing and sin against God. He did not want to do this thing that would bring dishonor to the Lord. So he ran as fast as he could. Verse 12. I love this.
He ran as fast as he could. Sometimes that is the best way to deal with it. It is just real simple. You are getting tempted. I don't know why I am always getting tempted. Well tell me about the last time. Well I was getting tempted to have sex with my girlfriend.
Wow. Ok. Where were you? Hotel room.
What? Yeah hotel room. You were in a hotel room with her? Yeah. Where were you in the room?
Laying on the bed. Uh huh. And you got tempted?
Yeah. You are an idiot. Yeah I really struggle with drinking man. I am an alcoholic and I can't drink.
I just fall off the wagon and it is insane. I really got tempted the other night. Yeah I didn't see you at church the other night. Where were you? In a bar. Why would you hang out in a bar? Amazing chicken wings in this bar. And they have the screens.
You can watch the sports. Ok. Really? Are you that stupid? You have got to stay away from those things in areas where you are vulnerable. Ok. It is as simple as that. And sometimes you just need to run as fast as you can.
Joseph's no to her was a yes to God. Think of it this way. Let's see her walking along through a field and you see a coiled rattlesnake. The little rattler is gone.
Poised and ready to strike. What do you do? Well I think it is always good to let a snake smell your hand like a dog. No. Maybe just pet it on the head.
No. What is the best thing to do? Turn around and run. Run and get away from the rattlesnake. That is the way you deal with sin.
Put as much distance between it and you as you possibly can. So Joseph refused and then he was blessed as a result as we will see. Listen. There is a blessing waiting for the man or woman who resists temptation. I know it is hard in the moment.
I know the pressure is on. I know you are saying this is not easy but you say no to it and then it passes. It will come again but it passes. And you will be blessed because James 1.12 says, Blessed is the man who endures temptation for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life which the Lord promised of those that love him.
That word blessed could just as easily be translated happy is the man or the woman who resists temptation. So let's recap and conclude. Number one. Everyone will be tempted. And remember again. Temptation is not a sin.
It is a call to battle. Number two. There are consequences to sin.
No matter how clever you have been covering it up it will come out. Number three. God's standards are absolute.
They don't change. It doesn't matter if what you are being tempted to do is socially acceptable or if everybody is doing it. God holds us to a higher standard.
Number four. All sin is against God. All sin is against God. And our love for God is our greatest deterrent against sin. Joseph loved the Lord.
He said, Hey I can't do this thing. And sin against the Lord. Hey maybe you are living in an ungodly place right now. In your home maybe you are the only believer in the family. Or maybe in your classroom you are the person the teacher or the professor will often make jokes about because of your faith in God.
Or in your workplace you are the one person that believes. And so you know what it is like to be in a wicked place. And you say it is hard man. I am surrounded by temptation day and night.
I don't think that I can stay pure in a place like this. Well Joseph was able to. Let me tell you about another young person that resisted temptation. Her name was Mary. And she was the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. And guess where Mary lived? In Nazareth. Nazareth was a wicked city.
It was renowned for wickedness. That is why Nathanael said when hearing Christ or some Nazareth can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Let's say Jesus were born today. Where do you think He would be born?
If it wasn't prophesied specifically we would say well He might be born in Rome or He might be born in Paris or He might be born in some important city. What would you do if you found out the Messiah was born in Las Vegas? Jesus of Las Vegas. You would say what? Now I know the King used to be there.
Thank you very much. But the King of Kings from Vegas? Well can any good thing come out of Las Vegas?
And why would you say that? Because Las Vegas is called Sin City. Nazareth was Sin City. And there lived Mary. A godly woman in an ungodly place.
A pure girl in an impure place. And she was faithful. And the Lord handpicked her to have the greatest privilege of any woman who ever walked the face of the earth to bear in her womb the very Son of God. And when Gabriel came to Mary there in Nazareth he said greetings Mary.
You're going to give birth to a son and you'll name him Jesus and he'll save his people from their sins. Now that's why Jesus came. And that's why the devil tried to stop him. That's why the devil came in the temptation of the wilderness and said don't go to the cross.
I'll give you what you want. That's why he hid him again at the cross. Come down from there and save yourself because Satan knew when Christ died for the sin of the world we would all have access to God and he did not want that. But Jesus did that for you. Jesus died on that cross for you. And then he rose again from the dead. And listen to this. He's here with us right now in this place knocking at the door of our lives saying if we'll hear his voice and open the door he'll come in.
And here's my question. Do you have a personal relationship with God? Is Christ living in you? Maybe you've tried to resist temptation but you don't feel like you have any resolve or any strength or maybe you just need the Lord in your life. This is not about being religious.
This is a relationship. And you can know God in a personal way and have all of your sin forgiven. There might be some of you here who are struggling in sin. You know you're a believer but you're doing things you shouldn't be doing and this would be a great opportunity for you to repent of that and get right with God. So in a moment we're gonna pray and I'm gonna give an opportunity for you to ask Christ to come into your life.
An opportunity for you to come back to him if you're living a compromised life. This would be a great time to make this commitment as we all bow our heads. Everybody praying with me please.
Wherever you are. Father thank you for your word to us. Lord we want to live Godly lives. We want to be Godly men like Joseph. Godly girls like Mary. And Lord we pray for those here that don't know you. Help them to see how much they need you. Help them to come to you and believe in you.
We would ask. Amen. called Thriving in Love and Money.
Shanti and Jeff are with us today along with Pastor Greg's wife Kathy. And Pastor Greg it's a book about money but that's not really the crux of the matter. Explain that. We are talking about money but in some ways we aren't. We're talking about communication. Talking about relationship. We're talking about understanding one another. Listening to one another and much more. But it's all interwoven in topics of finances and other areas as well.
And we want to send you this book because I think it's really going to help you. Especially those of you who are married. How about those who are planning on getting married? Yeah I was just going to say that even if you're single it might be good to think about these things before you get married, right? Shanti often points out that even before you're married we all know what that feeling is when you're sitting around a table with someone at dinner and you're thinking how much debt do they have? Credit card debt and all of those sorts of things that cause us to have concerns even before you get married. When we do the interviews I can't tell you the number of times that I've heard a man articulate this question of am I going to be able to provide for our family? Like I can't get married to this woman until I know for sure that I'm going to be able to provide and that is looming in their mind and it causes all sorts of other things that is helpful for us as wives to know. So folks you're listening to Shanti and Jeff Feldhahn and they've written a book called Thriving in Love and Money.
It's about money, it's about those things that you deal with but it's all about relationships, it's about trust, it's about communication, it's about life. So for whatever you send we'll invest it in this ministry and we'll get you your own copy of this book by Shanti and Jeff Feldhahn, Thriving in Love and Money. Yeah that's right and we have a copy waiting for you and we'll send it your way to thank you for your investment in helping us reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ. You know that's the most important work we do, the most important work we all do and your investment helps us touch more lives. So write us today would you at A New Beginning Box 4000 Riverside, California 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300.
You can dial anytime 24 hours a day 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org. Well Pastor Greg you spoke today about having a relationship with the Lord. Someone can enter into that kind of relationship with God right now, can't they?
Yeah they really can, that's the amazing thing. I think people are surprised that it doesn't take years to become a Christian, it doesn't take months, it doesn't take weeks, it doesn't take days, it doesn't even take hours. You can believe on the spot and I would like to lead you in a prayer where you can ask for His forgiveness, a prayer where you can receive Jesus Christ into your life as your Savior and Lord. So if you want Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want a second chance in life, if you want to go to heaven when you die, stop what you're doing and pray after me these words. Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I'm sorry for my sin and I turn from it now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward as Savior and Lord, as God and friend, thank you for loving me and calling me and forgiving me, in Jesus' name I pray, amen. Amen. And listen, if you have just prayed those words with Pastor Greg, the Lord has heard you and forgiven you of your sin.
The Bible tells us Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And we'd like to send you some materials to help you begin to live this new life. We call it our New Believers' Growth Packet. Just ask for it and we'll send it to you free of charge if you prayed for the first time today with Pastor Greg. Write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. Someone is here to take your call 24-7.
Again, dial 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to Harvest.org and click on Know God. Well, next time Pastor Greg opens up the next chapter in the story of Joseph. We'll see one of Joseph's greatest virtues was his willingness to forgive. And that virtue was put to the test. More on that next time on A New Beginning with Pastor Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins. The preceding message from Greg Laurie was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Sign up for Pastor Greg's free daily email devotions at Harvest.org.
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