How the Fear of God Protected Joseph by Mike Davenport

Every area and aspect of the Christian life should bear the fingerprints of a healthy fear of God. The areas of resisting temptation and mortifying sin are no different. When sin seems to continue to get the upper hand in our lives, it is evidence that there is a lack of the fear and awe of God. If we are to succeed in our battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil, we will need to be gripped by such an awareness of our glorious God. Then we would be able to say like Joseph, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9).

Thank you. It's good to be with you all this morning. If you would take your Bibles and turn with me to Genesis chapter 39. Genesis chapter 39. If you would please stand as I read the first 10 verses of Genesis 39.

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard and Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight and served him. Then he that is Potiphar made Joseph overseer of his house and all that he had he put under his authority.

So it was from the time that he made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field thus he left all that he had in Joseph's hand and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance and it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph and she 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 for me but you because you are his wife. How then 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 or to be with her.

Amen. You may be seated. So the title of this message is how the fear of God protected Joseph. In time that is before us, I would like to consider this subject under the following headings. The heat of the moment or a motive for a fear of God.

Secondly, the heart of the matter which is the mainspring of a fear of God. And then lastly, the habits of mortification, which is the maintenance of a fear of God. And you will hear often from the Puritans throughout this message. Their doctrine and experiential religion runs deep in comparison to the shallowness of evangelicalism in our day. So that being the case, they had much to say about the fear of God and the mortification of sin.

So first of all the heat of the moment, the heat of the moment, the motive for a fear of God. So we read in verses 7 and 10, and it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph and she said lie with me. So it was as she spoke to Joe Joseph, day by day, that he did not heed her to lie with her or to be with her. We have all been there. The heat of the moment.

That moment went temptation crosses our pathway, and we are faced with a decision to make. Temptation is no respecter of persons or of places. It came to Eve in the garden. It came to Cain in the field and to Achan in the city. It came to David on a rooftop to Ahab in a vineyard to our Savior in the wilderness it came to Judas in the upper room to Peter in a courtyard and to Ananias and Sapphira within the walls of the very church of Jesus Christ.

And it came to Joseph in the house of his Egyptian master. And if there ever was a man who could have provided a multitude of excuses had he given into temptation, Joseph would be the poster boy. Think with me, after all, it was God's Providence that had carried him far away from his home and had placed him as a servant in a foreigner's house and it was God's providence that of all the houses in Egypt God had placed him in the house of a man who was rarely at home, and whose wife was an aggressively immoral woman. It was God's providence that had fashioned Joseph into a young man who was handsome in form and appearance. On top of that, no one in Egypt knew Joseph.

No one knew Joseph's God or the laws of his God. No one knew the expectations of his upbringing and he had no accountability partner. And worst of all, he had practically no means, no means of avoiding the temptation. He was a servant in the very household that was the scene of this daily temptation when the heat of the moment comes to you it's too late to get serious about the fight it is too late to start contemplating how you're going to respond it's too late to go and run and get your spiritual armor Jesus instructed his disciples to watch and to pray so that they would not enter into temptation. He instructed them concerning these matters because he knew, he knew that moments of temptation can arise would arise at any time and from any where by watching and praying they would make themselves ready for the heat of the moment.

The United States Special Operations Forces have garnered much attention in the last few years. The dangerous missions of groups like the Navy SEALs have been the topic of many books and movie productions. These teams are ready to be thrown into the most intense and heated conflicts. They never know what a mission will entail. Awareness of these realities and the danger that goes with it drives these teams to prepare and train in the most extreme environments, pushing themselves to their physical, emotional and mental limits.

And for what reason? For a readiness, for a readiness for the possible heat of the moment that lies just around the corner. Joseph, Unlike Joseph, we are more often like the man described in Proverbs 627 and 28, who takes fire into his bosom and expects his clothes to not be burned, and walks on hot coals and expects his feet not to be seared. We have no intention of falling into sin but we go about our life as a man with a candle, walking in a room full of gunpowder and dynamite. And rather than being blindsided by this heat of the moment, Often we sit and play by the cobras hole and wonder why we are bitten.

When will you find yourself once again, like Joseph, in the heat of the moment? What are you doing to prepare yourself for that moment? Well, not only do we see in the passage, the heat of the moment, but secondly, we see the heart of the matter, the heart of the matter, and it is the main spring of a fear of God, the main spring of a fear of God. As we have already considered, Joseph could have pointed to a multitude of circumstances exterior forces and realities that could have given birth to excuses as to why he couldn't obey God how often we excuse our falling into sin by pointing to our circumstances. But James makes it clear that sin does not come to birth because of the outward circumstances that we may encounter.

He says in chapter 1 verses 14 and 15, but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. That when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full grown gives or brings forth death it is the desires within a man's heart that are the agents of enticement It is the desire of a man's heart that conceives and gives birth to actual sin. Christ also spoke of this very thing in Matthew 15 19 He says for out of the heart out of the heart proceed evil faults, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Again, in Matthew 1235, Jesus said a good man out of the treasure of his heart brings forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things keeping ourselves from sin abstaining from the desires of the lust of the flesh, mortifying the deeds of the body, this is all ultimately heart work. The battlefield that will determine the outcome of our war with sin, that battlefield is our hearts.

Do you recall Solomon's wise counsel to his sons? Do you remember keep your what? Keep your heart. Keep your heart. For out of it spring the issues of life." Proverbs 4 23.

There were two things that were at work in Joseph's heart, as evidenced in his response to Potiphar's wife. The first thing was a sense of duty to his master Potiphar. And the second thing working in his heart was a right fear of God. Look back at verses eight and nine. But Joseph 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 was no one greater in this house than I nor is he kept back anything for me but you because you are his wife how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God It was these two things at work in Joseph's heart to produce his resistance to temptation?

And these two responses, this love for his master, and this fear of God, these two responses flow out of obedience to the two greatest commandments. What are the two greatest commandments? Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength with all your might and love your neighbor as yourself yes there are other pressures there are other impacts other realities that may hold us back from a specific temptation for a time. Such as you young people, such as love, honor, or fear of parents, you don't want to disappoint them or you are afraid of the repercussions. If they find out that you've done a particular thing that may hold you back for a season such things as pride and consideration of what others would think if they found out your reputation before men another is self-righteous justification justification You want to think yourself strong enough to not yield to that temptation.

Well these and other pressures may prove helpful for a season but they will not hold back the heart from temptation very long. Something greater, something stronger is needed. And that is a heart that is governed by the fear of God. I will go so far as to say the fear of God is a necessary, if not the necessary element for continuous, continuous victory over sin. The Puritan Richard Sibbes writes of three kinds of fear.

In the fifth volume of the works of Richard Sibbes page 12. He says, spiritual fear may be branched into three diverse kinds. First a fear of reverence, which is a fear mixed with love when we fear one or stand in all of him for his greatness yet love him for his goodness to us and thus a Christian fears God secondly hence proceeds the second kind of fear which is a fear of watchfulness. And thirdly, a fear of jealousy lest we should offend against God. And this arises from the consideration of our weakness and that falseness of our hearts.

So that Paul, here saying in Philippians 2 12, work out your salvation with fear, bids them that they proceed on in their course with reverence watchfulness and jealousy so mr. Sibs makes some interesting observation first he pinpoints three different kinds of fear, and they each one proceed from the one before. Reverence gives birth to watchfulness, which in turn gives birth to jealousy. Second, he observes that reverential fear is not devoid of love. You remember the illustration that Sam Waldron gave last night of his granddaughter's fearing this large man with the booming voice and yet extend in the arms.

True fear of God is not devoid of love and Mr. Sibbes realizes that we stand in all of his greatness and yet we respond in love to his goodness to us. And thirdly Mr. Sibbes says that these three kinds of fear flow out of a healthy realistic acknowledgement of our own weakness as well as the deceitfulness of our own hearts. Jamison, Foster, and Brown in their commentary on this passage before us this morning in Genesis 39 they write the following in regards to Joseph's determination to not sin against God.

This remonstrance, how then can I sin against God, when all inferior arguments had failed, embodied the true principle of moral purity, a principle, always sufficient where it exists, and alone sufficient? So I think he makes two important points in this statement regarding facing temptation. First, this desire to not sin against God is always sufficient for us. It is always sufficient. If this desire is at work in our hearts it will not fail us.

But they say also this desire to sin against God is alone alone sufficient to keep us. All other reasons will ultimately fail. It is this fear of God, fearing to sin against his love and his grace that we must learn the Bible couples the fear of God with departing from evil in several places consider the following passages job one eight and if you looked at job one eight you would realize that two three and one one say almost the exact same thing then the Lord said to Satan have you considered my servant Joe that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil. Again in Job 28 28 into man, God said, Behold, the fear of the Lord that is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding. In Proverbs three, five through seven, Proverbs three, five through seven.

And so often, when it's quoted, we stop at verse six, it's Proverbs three, five and six, as if to say, this is the way to find out God's will. But we need to hear what verse seven has to say because of the context. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes.

Fear the Lord and depart from evil. Proverbs 3 5 & 6 are not just saying conform your will to his will and everything will be great. It's saying when you follow God with your heart and don't lean on the strength of your own arm. When you acknowledge him, he will direct your paths just like he was directing the path of Joseph, such that Joseph was not wise in his own eyes, but he had the fear of Lord the Lord upon him and he departed from evil in his commentary on this passage Matthew Henry highlights the engagement of Joseph's heart Matthew Henry says he would not offend his God. In three arguments Joseph urges upon himself.

First, He considers who he was that was tempted, who he was. One in covenant with God who professed religion and relation to him. Secondly, Joseph urges upon himself what the sin was to which he was tempted, what the sin was. Others might look upon it as a small matter but Joseph did not think so of it call sin by its own name and never lessen it and thirdly Matthew Henry says Joseph urges upon himself against whom against whom he was tempted to sin against God sin is against God Matthew Henry says against his nature and his dominion against his love and his design those that love God for this reason hate sin You who confess Christ as Savior and Lord, do you know anything of this kind of fear of God? A fear of displeasing him, a fear of disappointing him, a fear of offending him, a fear of grieving him, and driving his presence away.

Does God even cross your mind when you are tempted? And as you consider how your own heart responds to those questions? Remember how the psalmist describes the wicked man in Psalm 10 for the wicked is in his proud countenance does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts. May God grant us the heart of this matter, even a very main spring of the fear of God.

Now thirdly, and finally, the habits of mortification, the habits of mortification, the manifestation of a fear of God. So we just dealt with the mainspring of the fear of God. But this is not sufficient in and of itself. We need the keeping of that mainspring so that the fear of God is not forsaken, or forgotten. This manifestation of the fear of God is best seen through the formation of habits in the area of mortification.

As we just saw from the testimony of Scripture in a few places, the fear of God and departing from or shunning evil operate side by side. They never walk alone. If you do not fear God you will not be habitually departing from evil and temptation and the converse is true as well. If you are not shunning evil and fleeing from youthful lusts, then you have no fear of God in your hearts. What is meant by the word mortification?

Mortification? It's, it's not a word that is used often in our day. Well, its roots are Latin, Morse, meaning death. Facio, meaning to make. So taken literally mortification is to make something dead, to make something dead.

Dear brothers and sisters do not underestimate the importance of the work of mortification. It truly is a matter of life and death. And you young people in the room, this is not something for adults. Mortification needs to be happening in your heart. Now, today, because it's a matter of life and death.

You are all probably very familiar with the well-known quote of John Owen, be killing sin or sin will be killing you. This is not overstated reality with an intent to scare the hero into action. It is an inescapable reality for every one of us in this room. The act of killing is going on in your life and my life at this very moment. It is going on.

The Apostle Paul highlights the necessity of mortification in the eighth chapter of his letter to the Romans. There in chapter 8 verses 5 and 6 and then 13 he says for those who live according to their flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh but those who live according to the Spirit the things of the spirit for to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace for if you live according to the flesh you will die But if by the Spirit you put to death, the deeds of the body, you will live. So there's death going on, there's killing going on in your life today. And if you have the original King James version before you, you will see that they actually use the word mortify, where the New King James from which I'm reading uses the word put to death, it actually says mortify. Note as well that Paul in this same Romans eight passage appeals to the filial relationship of the believer with God.

It is no longer a servile or slavish fear that is produced. It's not a spirit of fear again to bondage, but a filial or relational fear that the Spirit brings now to the believer. A rational fear that is born out of a realization that we have been adopted by God and being gripped with this reality would impress upon our consciences an attitude similar to Joseph. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Because Joseph's thoughts were vertical He was filled with the sense of the presence of God with the holiness of God and with the commands of God, because his thoughts were vertical.

He considered this to be great, great wickedness. A lack of the fear of God leads us to call sin by some other name than what God calls it. Sin becomes simply an error in judgment, a weak moment. It's a struggle, a failure, a mistake, And we actually robbed the sin of its heinous character, its hellish origin, its damning effect. If you watched any of the NCFIC's devotional video clips regarding the fear of God in preparation for the conference, You may recall one of those videos in which Joel Beekie highlighted three components of the fear of God.

If we are to be motivated to the hard work of mortification, hard work of mortification, we will need to be gripped by these three things. First, the greatness and the glory of God. But secondly, the enormity, heinousness, and dastardliness of sin. But thirdly, the beauty, glory, and all sufficiency of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In his book entitled The Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges explains the reality of habits in the areas of sin and mortification.

He says the more we sin the more we are inclined to sin. But the converse is also true. The more we say no to sin, the more we are inclined to say no. I couldn't help but think of this in light of the hills around this campus. As I've seen, even one of my children start to lean and then the incline of that hill causes them to fall and the more we run forward on that incline the more apt we are to fall and Bridges says the more we say yes to sin the more we're inclined to sin but the more we say no we are more inclined to say no the next time.

And Owen, John Owen also speaks to this reality when he says repeated acts of the consent of the will unto sin may beget a disposition and inclinableness of the will unto a proneness and readiness to consent unto sin upon easy solicitation. So how are we? How are we to fuel holy habits that tend to mortification. From whence will its strength arise? Well we see the answer in Joseph.

How was he protected from temptation? It was an overwhelming consciousness of God. He feared his God. Oh, and understood the role of the fear of God in the work of the mortification of sin. And volume three of his works page 461 he writes the following that fear which keeps from sin and excites the soul to cleave more firmly to God be the object of it, what it will is no servile or slavish fear, but a holy fear or due reverence unto God and his word.

But this is the most genuinely gracious fear of sin when we dread the defilement of it and that contrary which is in it to the holiness of God. This is a natural, a natural fruit of faith and love. Consider also the following from john flavor when his works volume three page 252. There is an holy and laudable fear of fear which is our treasure not our torment the chief ornament of the soul its beauty and perfection the awful filial fear of God This fear is a gracious habit or principle Planted by God in the soul whereby the soul is kept under unholy awe of the eye of God and from thence is inclined to perform and to do what pleases him and to shun and avoid whatsoever he forbids and hates. John Flable goes on to say first it is planted in the soul as a permanent and fixed habit.

It is not of the natural growth and production of man's heart but of supernatural infusion and implantation and we heard this last night from from Sam Waldron and he quotes here John Fable does Jeremiah 32 40 I I will put my fear in their hearts to fear man is natural, but to fear God is holy, super natural. Secondly, flable says this gracious fear puts the soul under the awe of God's eye. It is the reproach of the servants of men to be I servants. But it is the praise and honor of God's servants to be so. Thirdly he says this respect to the eye of God inclines them here's that word inclination again it inclines them to perform and do whatsoever pleases him and is commanded by him.

If we truly fear God, we dare not but do the things he commands. And if his fear be exalted in our hearts to an high degree, It will enable us to obey him in duties accompanied with deepest self-denial. And then fourthly, he says, this fear engages and in some degrees enables the soul in which it is to shun and avoid whatsoever is displeasing to God and forbidden by him. So how are you doing? How are you doing in this area of mortification?

Are you killing sin? Are you being guided by a constant awareness of the nearness of God, whom you call your Father? Do you love him? Do you love him? And do you fear him?

So that is how the fear of God protected Joseph. In the heat of the moment, he was able to resist temptation, because he had the heart of the matter in himself a mainspring of the fear of God, and he had developed habits of mortification. Wherein that fear of God was manifested. So as we close several applications, number one, Rule over every appetite of the flesh. Rule over every appetite of the flesh.

In Matthew 26 41 Jesus said to Peter, watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. In speaking these words, Jesus declares that there is something more than the readiness of the spirit that is needed in order to overcome temptation. The spirit may indeed be willing, but what of the flesh? What of the mind, the will, and the emotions?

Therefore we must give diligence to the strengthening of our flesh, and not just our spirits. To state it another way, mortification is a work that though it begins in the heart, it involves our entire being. The Puritan Thomas Boston said the following. They that would keep themselves pure, must have their bodies in subjection. And that may require in some cases, a holy violence.

Jerry Bridges in his book, the pursuit of holiness also addresses the importance of bringing the body under subjection as part of the work of mortification. He says there, there must be an attitude of total subordination of the body and obedience in all areas. If we are to have success in mortification of any one particular area. There is no place for laziness and indulgence of the body in a disciplined pursuit of holiness. Physical softness leads to spiritual softness.

Softness leads to spiritual softness. Men, young men, I plead with you to listen to me. Potiphar's wife lurks behind every click. What do I mean by that? Well, most of us are not particularly like Joseph, handsome in form or appearance.

Most of us will probably never encounter such a bold and blatant proposal, as did Joseph, at least not in person. But just one click away on our computers. One click away on our phones, one click away on our tablets. Potiphar's wife lurks. Peter says in First Peter 211.

Beloved, I beg you is sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. Secondly, second application, live on the promises of God, live on the promises of God. Joseph never forgot is God. He clung to Jehovah and to his promises far away from his homeland far away from his family far away from the means of grace though he considered himself as afflicted he knew his God meant it for his good. And because of such a confidence in his God, he was moved to godly fear, and he sought to keep himself pure before God.

How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God the passage that mr? Pollard led us to second Corinthians 6 16 through 7 1 for you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate says the Lord.

Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty. Therefore having these promises beloved Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Live on the promises of God. Thirdly and Finally, dwell on the perfection of Christ.

Dwell on the perfection of Jesus Christ. We have in Joseph a type of Jesus Christ. Time does not allow us to examine all of the ways in which he is a type of Christ, but here in this passage we see a picture of Christ loving his father, seeking to do his father's will and keeping himself pure, though tempted, just as we are tempted. Brothers and sisters, we will fall. We will fall.

And sadly, we will do so more often than we like. It may not be in this particular area. It may be in other areas where where sin is rising up in our hearts and, and we're so enticed and drawn away in our own hearts, we will fall. But the Apostle john reminds us in the opening chapter of his book, first john in the opening chapter two, He says, if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. He, the righteous one, is our righteousness.

When we sin, we must confess that sin, which means to say the same thing about that sin as God says, great wickedness. And then we must rest ourselves afresh in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And for you who do not know Christ, I plead with you to cast your soul upon Jesus Christ, the righteous one. Repent and believe on him, And he will put his fear in your heart and give you a desire to walk in his ways. This righteous advocate is the propitiation of our sins.

That is the satisfying atonement for our sins. But not only for ours, says john, but also for the whole world. He is the only way he is the only righteous one. Dwell on his perfection. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?

Oh, oh that we had such a heart in us that we would fear our God and always keep all his commandments that it might be well with us. May God make it to be so. Amen. Let's look to him in prayer. Oh, God, our Father, we confess to you, I confess to you.

How often those times have come where you have not been at the forefront of my thoughts in that heat of the moment. That though I had the heart of the matter, I was failing in habits of mortification. Oh God, we ask to be gripped by such an awareness that you are always with us. That we have been covered with the blood of Jesus Christ. That we no longer belong to ourselves we belong to you and having died to sin and risen to newness in life that we might now give the instruments of our body as instruments unto righteousness and not unrighteousness.

Oh God make it to be so. Fill us with the fear of you so that we like Joseph in that heat of the moment might say like he did, how how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Help us we pray. We're so thankful for the Spirit. This is the fruit of the Spirit.

We ask that it would be more and more manifest in our lives. And for those who are strangers to all of this work, draw them by the Spirit to Jesus Christ and find in him that one who more than Joseph pleased you in all things and was sinless Jesus Christ the righteous who is our advocate in the propitiation of our sins in his great name we pray. Amen. For more messages, articles, and videos on the subject of conforming the Church and the family to the Word of God, and for more information about the National Center for Family Integrated Churches, where you can search our online network to find family integrated churches in your area, log on to our website, ncfic.org. You