Mike Davenport's sermon titled 'Joseph: The Man Who Resisted Temptation' explores the biblical story of Joseph from Genesis 39, focusing on his resistance to the advances of Potiphar's wife. Joseph's ability to resist temptation is attributed to two main factors: his sense of duty to his master Potiphar and his fear of God. Davenport emphasizes that while other motivations such as fear of parental disappointment, pride, or self-righteousness might temporarily deter one from sin, the fear of God is the only enduring and sufficient reason to resist temptation consistently. Drawing from various biblical examples, including Job and teachings from Proverbs, Davenport argues that the fear of God should drive believers to shun evil and align their actions with God's will. He references the commentary of Jameson, Faustin, and Brown, who assert that the desire not to sin against God is always and solely sufficient for maintaining moral purity. Matthew Henry's insights on Joseph highlight the importance of recognizing sin for what it is and understanding the significance of sinning against a holy God. Davenport challenges the audience, particularly young men, to cultivate a fear of God that permeates their thoughts and actions, urging them to rely on divine strength rather than their own when facing temptation.

I was really grateful for that last message and glad we were able to start out with that message this morning. I couldn't help but think as Scott was preaching in terms of if we fear God, we fear nothing else. And my mind ran to a hymn that's found in the Trinity hymnal called Through All the Changing Scenes of Life. And it says, through all the changing scenes of life in trouble and in joy, the praises of my God shall still my heart and tongue employ. Of his deliverance I will boast till all that are distressed from my example comfort take and charm their griefs to rest.

Oh magnify the Lord with me, with me exalt his name. When in distress to him I called, he to my rescue came." And then the last verse is, fear him, ye saints, and you will then have nothing else to fear. Make you his service, your delight, he'll make your wants his care. So may God give us as we study this these two days, may God give us grace to fear Him above all other things. Well, if you could take your Bibles with me and turn to Genesis chapter 39 and please stand as I read.

Genesis 39, the first 10 verses. Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an 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 made him overseer of his house and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's 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 from 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?

You may be seated. If there ever was a young man who could have provided excuses had he given in to his temptation, Joseph would have been the poster boy. You see, it was God's providence that had placed him in the home 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. In other words, he was ripped and he was good looking.

This was God's providence. It was God's providence that had carried him far away from home and had placed him as a servant in a foreigner's house. No one knew Joseph. No one knew his family. No one knew his God or the laws of his God.

No one knew the expectations of his upbringing back home. And he had no accountability partner. And worst of all, He had very little ability to avoid the temptation He was a servant in the very household that was the scene of this daily Temptation for it was day by day by day. So if anyone could have ever given an excuse, had he fallen into sin, Joseph would have had a list. But there were two things that were working in Joseph's heart as evidenced in his response to Potiphar's wife.

One was a sense of duty to his master Potiphar, but there was also a right fear of God. These two things were operating in his heart. It was these two things that were at work in Joseph that allowed him to resist this temptation. And these two responses flow out of obedience to the two great commandments, loving God supremely and loving your neighbor as you love yourself. There are other pressures, other impacts, other realities that may hold us back from a specific temptation for a time.

For a time. There may be other things that hold us back from a temptation for a time, such as love, honor, and fear of parents. You may love or fear your parents enough that it will keep you from doing a specific thing young man oh if my mom or dad find out I am going to get it. Or you know my mom and dad really love me a whole lot they would be disappointed and for a time that may keep you from sin. Or it could be pride in consideration of what others would think if they found out that we had done that particular sin.

It would be embarrassing to think that our friends would know that we were caught doing this particular sin or that particular sin. And pride can hold us back from that sin because we don't want others to think low of us. Or it could be self-righteous justification. You want to think of yourself as strong enough to Fight against that temptation others may fall But not me Such was Peter a Lord. I hear you, but you know what those guys they might flee they might fall to pieces Not me.

I'm cut from a different cloth Self-righteous justification may hold us back for a time because we don't want others to think, well, he thought he could, but look, he fell too. I will go so far as to say that the fear of God is a necessary, if not the necessary element of continuous victory over sin. You may have victory today, but if it's not the fear of God that's driving you, young man, you will fall tomorrow. It is the fear of God alone. Jameson, Faustin, and Brown, the commentators of the Old Testament, they write the following in regards to Joseph's determination to not sin against his God.

They say this remonstrance, when all inferior arguments had failed, embodied the true principle of moral purity, a principle always sufficient where it exists and alone sufficient. So they said where all other inferior arguments fail, What are those inferior arguments? That was what we just discussed. Love and honor for your parents, a pride that doesn't want others to think low of you, and self-righteous justification. When all those other inferior arguments fail, there is only one argument, and that's, I don't want to offend my God.

That's the only one that they say is sufficient where it exists and alone sufficient. And so I think Jameson, Faustin, and Brown make two important points in that statement. The desire to not sin against God is always sufficient to keep us. That's the word they used. It is always sufficient to keep us.

If the desire to not sin against our God is at work in our hearts, it will not fail us. Secondly, the desire to not sin against God is alone sufficient to keep us. Not as it always sufficient, but it is alone sufficient. All other reasons will ultimately fail. It is the fear of God fearing to sin against his love and his grace that we must learn.

Now the Bible couples the fear of God with departing from evil in several places. Consider the following passages. If you read through the list that was provided you in the few minutes before Scott's message, you would have read one particular one, and that's Job 1.1. And also, not only is it given to us in Job 1, which is just as an overview of the writer who wrote the book of Job, but later on in Job in verse 8 of chapter 1 and again in chapter 2 and verse 3, The Lord says this to Satan, have you considered my servant Job that there is none like him on earth, a blameless and upright man? But he doesn't stop there.

Why is he a blameless and upright man? God says to the devil, one who fears God and shuns evil. This is listed three times, Job 1, 1, 1, 8, and 2, 3, that Job was a man who feared God and shunned evil. Those things are coupled together. Job 28, 28.

And to man, God said, behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to depart from evil is understanding." So wisdom and understanding, we understand those as coupled together. The book of Proverbs teaches us that. And Job here says, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding. Proverbs 3 5 through 7 we often think of Proverbs 3 5 through 7 as as we need to seek the Lord and the Lord's will but listen to the context especially as verse 7 has something to say about verses 5 and 6.

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." Most people often stop there, don't they? But verse 7, do not be wise in your own eyes, Fear the Lord and depart from evil. As much as it is true that this is about the will of the Lord, don't lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge him.

He'll direct your paths. But there's an element to that which is don't lean on the arm of your flesh to fight against temptation. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. Not just depart from evil, You can't do that in your own strength. Peter tells you to resist the devil and he will flee from you.

People quote that often, resist the devil, he will flee from you, but they leave out the part before that. Peter says, submit yourself to God, then flee from the devil or resist the devil rather and he will flee from you. Submit yourselves to God. Fear God and depart from evil. And then Romans 11 14 says to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.

It's the putting on of Christ and you're putting him on in a fear that You can't do this on your own. And in fear of him, I need Christ, putting on Christ and then making no provision for the flesh. Matthew Henry in his commentary on this portion of Genesis about Joseph resisting Potiphar's wife because he said, how can I sin against my God? Matthew Henry says this, Joseph would not offend his God. In three arguments, Joseph urges upon himself.

First, he considers who he was that was tempted. One in covenant with God who professed religion and relation to him. So that's the first thing that Matthew Henry says. He considers who he was that was tempted. He says, I was bought with the price.

How can I sin against my God? Second, Matthew Henry says, what the sin was to which he was tempted. This is what Joseph urges upon himself, what the sin was to which he was tempted. Others might look upon this 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 he was tempted to sin, against God. Sin, he goes on to say, is against God, against his nature and against his dominion, against his love and against his design. And Joseph urges that upon himself when he says, how can I sin against my God? He's saying, how can I sin against his nature? He is a holy God.

How can I sin against his dominion? He owns me. He has a right. Paul uses that same excuse or reason in in Romans chapter 6. You've been bought.

Why take your instruments and give them as instruments of unrighteousness? You've been bought. You've been buried with Christ. You've risen to new life. Give God your life as instruments of righteousness to serve him and Joseph says how can I sin against my God against his love and How can I sin against my God?

Against his design his design for me. We read that in Romans chapter 8, to be conformed to the image of his son. How can I sin against my God? Young man, 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 from you.

Does God even cross your mind when you are tempted? Does God cross your mind? The psalmist describes the wicked man in the following way in Psalm 10 verse 4. The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts.

You profess to know God. Is God in your thoughts? Not just when you take up his word to read it in the morning, not just when you're sitting here like now, listening to a message. Is God in your thoughts throughout the day? And is he in your thoughts when you are faced with that temptation and that temptation, or you like the wicked man who God is in none of his thoughts.

I close with a quote from William Gernal in his book the complete armor Say not That thou hast royal blood running in thy veins and art begotten of God except thou canst prove thy pedigree by this heroic spirit to dare to be holy despite men and devils. You say you know God. Do you fear him? Is that fear keeping you from falling to temptation? There may be things today, especially for some of you younger guys, reasons today that keep you from sin, but if it's not the fear of God, they will fail you.

You cannot fight in the strength of the flesh. Fear God and shun evil. May God give you grace. Let's look to him in prayer. Oh Father we thank you for this example of Joseph.

Well we thank you that by your grace he was kept and by his fear of you of sinning against such love and such grace such a heavenly loving father he was kept from the power of the wicked one. Oh God give us grace to put on the whole armor of God in fear of you and to stand in the evil day and having done all to stand give us grace Give these young men grace to learn to face temptation in fear of you and not in the strength of their own flesh. Give them grace to stand, O God. May they fear you and shun evil. In Christ's name we pray.

Amen. We will now break for a few minutes for fathers and sons to think about these things and to discuss them together. And we'll reconvene in a second.