It's one of the most challenging tests for believers. staying pure in a culture that celebrates lust and temptation. It's a test Joseph faced. and passed. Today on Turning Point, Dr.
David Jeremiah explains how. as he shares one of the most dramatic and triumphant chapters in Joseph's life. with important applications for our own. to introduce today's message, Temptation. Here's David.
Thank you for joining us today. Um Today we're going to talk about one of the more serious moments in the life of Joseph. whose life we are studying under the heading of God Meant It for Good. Joseph is going to be tempted sexually tempted physically, and we're going to see what happens to him when he faces that temptation. For those of you who say it's not possible to overcome temptation because it's so severe, First of all, let me just give you a verse that would deny that.
It's in 1 Corinthians, and it says. There is 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 you are able, but will with the temptation also provide a way of escape. There you have it. God's promise that you can overcome temptation.
But if you need a personal illustration, just watch Joseph beginning today. And um You'll be encouraged and you'll find out that in the real life of a man you can read about, temptation was overcome. Hey, friends, I want to remind you that during the month of September, we are featuring a wonderful resource. We do this once a year, and it's only for a month.
So if you wait too long, you don't get to have it. But this is our annual calendar month. And this year, the calendar is called Following in His Footsteps. It's a 2026 calendar, literally a 14-month calendar that begins keeping a space for every day in the month of November.
So you can get ahead of everything as you face the holidays and be ready to face the challenge of incredible schedules. I know what you're talking about there. This beautiful calendar will be a grace to any wall in your house or in your study or wherever you can put something up on the wall. The photography is beautiful. The Bible reading lesson is Really small on the bottom, so it's just for you to see when you're up close.
You can. Use this calendar. Every day, through the new year. And I hope it will be a reminder to all of you to pray for us when you see the calendar just to remember Turning Point in your prayers.
Well Thank you so much for joining us today for this edition of Turning Point. Let's Learn more about the temptation of Joseph from the 39th chapter of Genesis. Today I want to talk to you about Temptation. Temptation from the life of Joseph. Oscar Wilde, the Irish wit of the past century, was often quoted as saying, I can resist anything but temptation.
I know a lot of people like that, don't you? And yet, the fact is, every one of us will face temptation. You know what the Bible says about temptation? It says it is common to man. The Bible says there is no temptation taken, but such is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
Underline in 1 Corinthians 10:13 these words. It is common to man. We all need to know how to deal with temptation. Even the saints of the scripture had problems with temptation. For instance, there's Noah's drunkenness and Abraham's deception and Moses' temper and Elijah's murmuring and David's sexual sin and Jonah's rebellious spirit.
And then you come to the New Testament and you see people. defecting like John Mark You see Peter denying, you see Judas betraying. A lot of Temptation, every single person who has ever walked the face of the earth. Has been tempted. Even Jesus, did you know that?
Here's what it says in Hebrews 4.15. We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. but was in all points tempted as we are. Yet without sin. Did you ever read that?
Temptation is not sin. If it were, Jesus would be disqualified because the Bible says Jesus was tempted. And if you go to Matthew chapter 4, you can watch him being tempted by the enemy. Temptation is not sin. Yielding to temptation is sin.
Wilbert Chapman once said that temptation is the tempter looking through the keyhole into the room where you are living. Sin is drawing back the bolt and making it possible for him to enter. Temptation is not sin. Yielding to temptation is sin. J.
Allen Peterson once wrote: You can't stop the devil from dropping his offspring on your doorstep. and knocking incessantly on your door. But you don't have to get up and open the door and take them in and warm them and clothe them and feed them. In other words, don't coddle your temptations, resist them. Get past them.
So The Bible does not give us hope that we will ever be free of temptation. There's not one verse in the Bible that says, when you get to this point in your spiritual walk, temptation will go away. In fact, the very opposite is true. This is kind of discomforting for those who do what I do and some of you who are in leadership. The Bible seems to say that the more leadership you have, the more you grow in Christ, the greater will be your temptation.
In fact, as we grow older, as we grow closer to God, the temptations may intensify. Lewis Perry, the president of Dallas Seminary in the beginning. He said, it has been well said that spiritual believers are honored with warfare in the frontline trenches. The fiercest pressure of the enemy is felt at the front line of the battle.
So, if you don't want to be tempted, don't get into spiritual leadership. Don't get into influencing others for Christ.
So, no matter how old or young you are, We all need to hear what God has to say to us on this important issue. And I'm going to speak freely. But with dignity, and I won't embarrass any of you. but I might make some of you a little bit uncomfortable. And I want to promise you, there will be a period of time in this sermon that will be very quiet.
So enjoy the quietness and hear what God is saying to us today. When we were last together, we discussed the issues of betrayal in Joseph's life. We followed his story as he tried to be faithful to his father's instructions. Only to be taken by his brothers and sold to a group of Midianite traders who took him to Egypt. As we open our Bibles today to the 39th chapter of Genesis.
Almost ten years have passed since that fateful event. The best estimate based on scripture is that Joseph is now about 27 years old. In Egypt, Joseph was brought to the center of town. where he was Auctioned off. At this auction, Potiphar, a well-connected figure in the Egyptian government.
sees Joseph and recognizes his potential as a good servant. Potiphar acquires Joseph, and suddenly Joseph transitions. from being his father's favorite son. to being a slave in a foreign land. But The unexpected turn of events sets the stage for Joseph's remarkable rise to success.
Potiphar appoints Joseph as his personal attendant. He entrusts him with the management of his entire household and all of his possessions. And from the moment that Joseph assumes this role, Every aspect of Potiphar's house just explodes into prosperity and success. His crops, his livestock, thrive under Joseph's stewardship. Joseph's rives through the house of Potiphar and into the ranks of Egyptian society is one of the greatest testimonies to an individual's prosperity in all of the Bible.
In the first six verses of Genesis chapter 39, the text uses the word prosperity, success, faith. Favor and blessing. Five times. to describe Joseph's situation. Another noteworthy aspect of Joseph's life was his looks, his appearance.
Genesis 39:6 describes him as handsome. In form and appearance.
Now, this trait seems to have been inherited from his mother, which is what most people say. About anybody. And in the Bible, there's actually a verse to prove that. It says in Genesis 29:17 that Rachel. Joseph's mother was beautiful in form and appearance, almost the exact same phrase.
You know, in Scripture, physical beauty is often noted. for both men and women. You have to kind of search for it if you're looking for it, but it's true. The Bible paints a picture of handsome men like Moses. The leader who guided the Israelites.
The Bible talks about Saul, the first king of Israel, as a handsome man. It speaks of the good looks of David. The shepherd turned king. His son Absalom is also said to be handsome. The prophet Daniel and his three friends are described as good-looking.
Among the women, several are celebrated for their beauty. Sarah, Rebekah, along with Rachel. The Bible also mentions the loveliness of Abigail. Queen Esther's beauty plays a beautiful role in her story. and even Job's daughters.
are noted for their striking appearance. It is this last characteristic that we read about Joseph. that puts him into harm's way. He is about to be in serious trouble. What follows in this record sounds like a modern-day soap opera that you would watch some afternoon when you thought nobody was looking.
But it is in the Bible. And if you have your Bible, you may want to look at Genesis 39 just to check up on me. because this story is so remarkable. Many people think that couldn't be a Bible story. We began this story with the power of temptation.
Here is the record. And it came to pass after these things, That Joseph's master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and said, Lie with me. But he refused and said to his master's wife, Look, My master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?
So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her. to lie with her, to be with her. But it happened about this time when Joseph went into the house to do his work. And none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand and fled.
and ran outside. That's in the Bible. I want you to notice some very specific things. about the power of this temptation over Joseph. First of all, It was a surprise temptation.
The Bible just says that Joseph experience this temptation after these things. In other words, It was sudden. The temptation was unexpected. striking when everything seemed to be going well for Joseph. He had just been elevated to a position of respect and prominence.
And out of nowhere, this temptation came. This phenomenon is often described today as the Matterhorn syndrome. In Switzerland, there's a cemetery at the base of the Matterhorn filled primarily with bodies of climbers who died on this 14,000-foot mountain. But strangely enough, the majority of those buried there were casualties on their way down the mountain, not on their way up. Having achieved their goal of reaching the top, They let down their guard and became careless in their descent and ended up in the Matterhorn Cemetery.
Like the climbers of the Matterhorn who falter on their descent. We often are vulnerable to temptation when we feel that we have arrived. I want to show you something very interesting. You know the verse I've quoted a couple of times from 1 Corinthians 10.13? I'm going to quote that verse again, and then I want to tell you the verse that goes right before it.
There has 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 you are able, but will with the temptation provide a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Do you know what verse goes before that? 1 Corinthians Verse twelve. Here's the verse.
Take heed. that you not fall Because you are standing up. In other words, take heed that you don't fall when you're standing up in success. Did you know that the times we are most vulnerable to temptation are often times when we have achieved some great thing ourselves and we feel like we're not vulnerable? And then we fall.
We end up in the Matahorn Cemetery. because we got to the top. But we let our guard down. This was a surprise temptation. It was a sustained temptation.
This is so accurately described. And so it was, as she spoke to Joseph, Day by day. Oh my. It's one thing to be tempted once, but to be tempted day by day. I mean, just think about this for a moment.
Every time Joseph showed up in the master's house and he saw her, she was coming on to him. She was flirting with him. She was... Reminding him that she was available. She kept.
Her temptation before Joseph day after day after day, and no matter where she was when she touched Joseph's life. She tried to get him. to fulfill and succeed in her tempted offers. I need to say to you that temptation once and temptation daily are two very different experiences, are they not? The first temptation could have come as a great shock.
But what happens when you're tempted over and over and over again is the impact of your ability to withstand the temptation is weakened. You become accustomed to it, you become used to it, it becomes a normal kind of thing, and you are setting yourself up. for failure. It was a surprise temptation. It was a sustained temptation.
And number three, it was a secret temptation. Watch this. It happened about this time when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside. This story tells us that on that particular day, When Joseph went to work in Potiphar's house, all of the other male servants were gone. It sounds like it was Joseph and Potiphar's wife in the house by themselves.
And Potiphar's wife made her move. She thought privacy would ensure her success. She'd get him today, if never before. And let me just tell you something that you need to write down in your notes if you don't get anything else. The test of a person's character is what they would do if they were absolutely certain nobody would find out.
What you are is what you would do if you're absolutely certain nobody would ever know. I often think that some righteousness, in fact, a lot more righteousness than we would like to admit to. Is not due to our love for God, but it's born out of our fear of getting caught. We are not righteous because we want to be righteous for God. We just don't want to get in trouble.
But Joseph knew there was little chance of him getting caught. And so it was a secret temptation that made it even more powerful in his life. Are you building the case for Joseph? Watch this. A surprise temptation?
A sustained temptation. A secret temptation? Here's the fourth one. It was a sensible temptation. You say, how can temptation ever be sensible?
Well, if it didn't make a little bit of sense, you'd never do it at all. This was a sensible temptation. Listen. From a worldly perspective, giving in to the temptation might have seemed advantageous for Joseph. He wouldn't have been the first, certainly not the last, to sleep his way to the top.
He could have gained a powerful ally in Potiphar's wife. and it could have been a means of coping with his past trauma. Joseph had been through a lot. Yeah. came from a dysfunctional family.
His brothers turned on him and sold him into slavery. He obviously had some things going on in his heart. Maybe he thought this was a way for him. to enjoy some pleasure. at the expense of his own situation.
And then finally, His temptation was a subtle temptation. It played on emotional and psychological aspects like the need for recognition and admiration. The subtleness of Joseph's temptation could be summarized. By a statement that I read from a commentary on the book of Genesis by Marcus Dodds. This is what he wrote: It is too little observed, and especially by young men who have the most need to observe it, that in such temptations It is not only the sensual that needs to be guarded against.
but also the much deeper lying tendencies. The craving for loving recognition, the desire to respond to feminine love or admiration and devotion. A large proportion of misery, he wrote, is due to a kind of uncontrolled, mistaken chivalry. And I'd like to add my own thoughts to what he said. Over the years, I've had the unfortunate Experience of talking to numerous people who have gone through affairs.
and have committed adultery. and ruined their lives and their homes. At the beginning, they have said It really was nothing to do with the physical. She just listened to me. She seemed to respect me.
She had time for me. She showed me honor and all of a sudden we were spending more and more time together and then before we knew it, We were involved. Charles Swindall said marital infidelity is not a blowout. It's a slow leak. He's right about that.
It happens over a period of time as we let down our guard, as we begin to think about the fact that maybe at home we don't get an audience like we're getting from this person. And so what happened as Joseph was exposed to all of this, he knew. what the temptation was. But he didn't yield. And now I want to give you the positive part of this story.
How did Joseph win over this temptation? And you know what? This could have been written yesterday. Could have been written last week. Could have been in a Sunday school lesson that somebody wrote in But it's in the Bible.
and for that reason all the more powerful. How did Joseph overcome such a powerful temptation? Number one, He had convictions before the crisis. The Bible says that when she made this pitch to Joseph. Genesis 39 verse 8.
It just says this, but he refused. Notice the Bible says that Joseph refused. It doesn't say he prayed over it. It doesn't say he called his small group leader to see what he thought he should do. And I promise you he didn't call his pastor.
It just says he refused. Why would it say that? Here's the reason, because He had already determined long before this event ever happened what he would do if such a thing ever happened to him. The conviction was in his heart. before the crisis was in his life.
Dr. R. A. Torrey said that the reason why many fail in the battle. is because they wait until the hour of battle.
The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came. Anticipate your battles, he wrote. Fight them on your knees before temptation comes, and you will always have victory. I taught this passage of scripture to a bunch of young people when I was a youth pastor. I know you all don't think I could ever have been a youth pastor, but I was.
when I was more youthful. I remember teaching this passage, because this is a passage that's great. for young people to hear, they need to hear this. I remember saying something like this to them. I wrote it in my notes or I wouldn't have remembered it.
I said The back seat of an automobile is no place for you to make your decision about what you believe concerning premarital sex. And he got his quiet with those young people as it is right now. But you understand, Joseph succeeded because he already knew what he was going to do when the temptation came. My friend, if you don't know that, you better make sure you figure it out and make a covenant with God and with your partner. about your own sexual purity.
Amen.
Well, we'll have the rest of this story on Monday. I'm sorry we have to interrupt it with the weekend, but. I kind of think it's good because it makes you think about it for these few days. And join us again as we complete this discussion on Monday. In the meantime, Let me just remind you to go to church.
I've been telling you that every week, and maybe it's dawning on some of you that it's a good idea that gathering together can't happen in your pajamas in the living room. You have to be with God's people in His house. The Bible tells us not to forsake that. I hope you will take that seriously. And then, of course, we're on television all over the country on the weekends.
You can find us if you look for us. If it's during your church time, then just record it and watch it later, but don't use it to stay home from church. We don't need you to do that because your presence in the church is so important. I can't overemphasize that. I know that as a pastor.
I know that as a person. And whatever you do, have a great weekend, and be sure to join us right here next week on this good station. Thank you for listening. Today's message originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church and Dr. David Jeremiah, the senior pastor.
Turnpoint is also on radio and TV this weekend. To learn where to find it, visit our website davidjeremiah.org slash radio. That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio or call 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of our new 14-month calendar following in his footsteps and deepen your faith daily in 2026. It's yours for a gift of any amount.
You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions, available in your choice of durable and attractive cover options. If you're being encouraged by this ministry, let us know at Turning Point PO Box 3838, San Diego, California, 92163. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us Monday as we continue the series, God Meant for Good: The Story of Joseph on Turning Point.
