Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - How to Resist Temptation | Torah | Genesis 39

Episode Date: April 6, 2022

"If it feels good, it is good." "Do whatever makes you happy." Is indulging always what's best? What should Christians do when faced with temptation? On today's episode, Jensen shares what Genesis 39 reveals about temptation. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Passages: Genesis 39 Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to 10-minute Bible talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. Right now, we're going through the first book of the Bible, Genesis. Temptation. We're surrounded by it. An extra cookie or two hitting the snooze button one more time for just five more minutes of sleep in the morning. Only a few more scrolls on our phone. We face small temptations like these every day. We have to make wise choices like eating the food in our fridge instead of, say, ordering Chipotle takeout every night. We have to use our free time wisely to clean up the dishes instead of binging another episode of the dropout. It's hard to say no and stay focused on what we should be doing when we're surrounded by hundreds of easier, tastier, and more fun options. I have found in my life that it's

almost impossible to fight these temptations when I have no conviction behind what I think I should be doing. When I don't have a deadline, I don't focus on the work that needs to be done. When I don't mind living with a small pile of clothes in the corner of my bedroom, I don't take the time to put away the laundry. When I'm not convinced I need to be saving money, I get a coffee while I'm out running errands and order in when I get home. When we don't have a why behind fighting temptation in our lives, then it turns out we probably won't fight it in both the small and the big things. And it can be hard to have a why in our world. We're surrounded by messages and mantras that tell us to do what feels best to you. Commercials and inspirational speakers tell us to treat ourselves,

to indulge our deepest desires, because we know what's best for ourselves. If something is tempting, it means we want it. And if we want it, it must be good for us. We've come to a place we're denying yourself, your desires. That's repressive. Follow your heart. You do you. Only you can know what's right for you. If it feels good, it is good. Right now, the show Temptation Island is back on TV and popular. The premise is that four couples go to an island and live apart from each other, and while they're living separately, they instead live with a group of singles of the opposite sex. The whole point is to test their relationship and see if they can withstand the temptation. Inevitably, they don't, and they, along with the rest of America, watch as their

partners give in to temptation and cheat on them. When it first aired 20 years ago, it bombed. People didn't like watching people giving into temptation. But now, back and popular, the host of the show reflected on why it's succeeding this time. He says, this generation, the people that are on the show now, we kind of dispelled some of the fakeness of how we were back then. In other words, if you feel sexual, you're allowed to be sexual. There's less shame behind action. So people are living their best life without worrying about it. To repress your desires, the old way of living, it's fake.

Be real, be you, be who you are, and do what you want and you'll be happy. In the end, Temptation Island isn't really about fighting temptation. it's about indulging it. Our current cultural way of thinking makes the idea of fighting temptation seem archaic, outdated, and repressive, which can make it hard for Christians to fight or even want to fight temptations. The world's take on things is so much more appealing. If it makes you happy, do it. But in today's passage, we see a different story, and we're reminded of our why behind fighting

temptation. We're picking up with Joseph's story. The last time we saw him, he was being sold into slavery by his own brothers. And today we see that their choice led him to be a slave in Egypt and house of Potipher. Verse three tells us that Potiphar saw that the Lord was with him. And the Lord gave him success in everything he did. And so continuing on, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potover put him in charge of his household and he entrusted to his care every he owned. The Lord is with Joseph. He prospers in his position, and so Potiphar elevates him. He trusts him to care for his entire estate, and he trusts him so completely that the text tells us he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Things are going well.

Joseph went from a slave to a trusted member of the household of one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard. And yet, we find out that not all all as well. In verse six, we read, Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while, his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, come to bed with me. But he refused. With me in charge, he told her, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house. Everything he owns, he is entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you. because you are his wife.

How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, Come to bed with me. But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

So Potiphar's wife notices Joseph as well. He's a handsome young man. He is power in their household, and all that he has done has succeeded. Joseph might be feeling on top of the world. He might be tempted to think that Potiphar has elevated him and trusted him with everything. Why wouldn't he have a right to this also? We're told that she pursues him day after day. It's not a one and done thing. This temptation is around day and night. And yet, Joseph says no. And his doing so leads to his downfall. As the story continues, we learn that Potipher's wife takes the cloak he leaves, and she uses it to falsely claim to their household that Joseph tried to take advantage of her. And because of this, Joseph ends up back in prison. He lost everything all over again because of someone else's choice

to betray him. So why? Why is Joseph so adamantly saying no? Why is Joseph so adamantly saying no? Why is he so set on turning down Potipher's wife even when it leads to devastating consequences. Well, he has a why. Did you catch it in the text? Joseph turns down Potifers' wife for two reasons. One, he has respect and care for Potipher. And two, he refuses to sin against God. See, Joseph understands that choosing to give into this temptation will not just affect his life. He knows that giving into this sin will harm the people around him as well. Badafer trusts him. He's given him a place of honor and Joseph refuses to hurt him in this way.

He respects and cares for the people around him. And he's committed to remaining faithful to God. The text tells us that Joseph knows what is right and what is wrong in this instant. And it isn't determined on how he's feeling or what he wants, but on what God has called him to. He knows that to sleep with Potipher's wife is wicked and a sin against God and he is committed to following God's view of right and wrong, not his own. And it is these two wise that keep Joseph grounded in this time of temptation. He knows that his actions do not exist in a vacuum of self-fulfillment, but in a world where he's called to care for the people around him more than his own desires

and to follow God's commands before all else. And that's the world. we live in today. No matter what this cultural moment is telling us, God created the universe. He set it in order and he calls us to be obedient to his commands. And his commands aren't just archaic rules from a distant God, but real commands that help us live within reality. It's when we live within these truths that we find real human flourishing. When we flee sin like Joseph, it is then, that we live our lives as fully human. We live within the design that God created for human flourishing. We're the most whole, most healthy, most real to our true selves when we live inside of God's design for our lives. So we flee temptation. Not because God told us to and we don't want to get into trouble.

That's not a convincing why. No, we flee temptation because we're running towards a flourishing fulfilled life inside of God's kingdom. When Jesus faced the temptations of Satan in the desert, he used scripture. He used truth to fight the lies that Satan threw at him. Again and again, he refuted Satan's claims with truth found within the Bible. We live in a world that is throwing lies at us, asking us to believe them, to give ourselves over to our desires, our wants, our own self-fulfillment, and telling us, it is only when we do this that we can be fully free, fully who we are. This is a lie. It is a lie straight from Satan's

mouth. When we believe it, we become slaves to our feelings, trapped by the passing whims of culture prey to our own wandering hearts. Look to the truth. Remember your God, steadfast, unchanging, all powerful and true. Remember what He said. He has called you to. Find freedom. Find out who you are and who you have always been created to be as you faithfully live within God's design for human flourishing. God calls us to fight temptation, to flee it, to run out of the room and set up boundaries and hold ourselves accountable to the truth even when it leads to immediate negative consequences, even if it means losing out on a promotion, or not being able to provide the newest gossip at coffee, or not feeling the rush

of satisfaction from looking at pornography, or ending a relationship you know is sexually unhealthy for you, or missing out on social situations because you can't be around alcohol night after night. Fleeing sin doesn't always feel immediately good, but we know that ultimately, as we fight sin again and again, God is molding us, shaping us into the humans that he created. us to be. As we follow the commands of Scripture, not our desires, we are living in line with reality. We are flourishing, and that is worth facing real difficulty in this life, even when it's hard. When the world is telling you that you're crazy, that you've got it all wrong, when temptation is hounding you day after day, remember that God is with you. Three times in this passage were reminded

that God is with Joseph. When things are going well, when he's facing temptation and when he finds himself back in prison. The same is true for you. God is with you. He is fighting alongside you. He is your why. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help

encourage you in the middle of the work week and bring you deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.