September 26, 2021 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll preaching, “The Integrity of Moral Purity”

[Music] so so probably [Music] so so so [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] okay [Music] you cannot play those instruments too loudly i love it that's great we woke up the first morning service so we're doing that the second as well in case you still feel a little sleepy stick around it gets louder i love it it's great so glad you're here if you're a guest of ours especially pleased to have you and speaking of guests we have some who are online a number of you from all around the world we thank you for tuning in to be a part of our family here in frisco welcome and if you're a guest please know that you're always welcome and we have a place for you thank you for coming come again as you're able now we don't have a mandate on this but we'd love to have you greet one another some of you are sitting in another time zone so you won't be able to have time to walk all the way over but if you're close enough to someone else just stand up little little fist bump maybe a little agreed a little handshake no kissing no no no kissing all right [Music] all right thank you thank you [Music] some of you are sharing your testimony just say hello that's all you need to do just hello now thanks to the amazing reality of electronics alan hightower can be sitting right over here in this chair and also be on the screen it's remarkable i'll never figure it out but what he has to say up here is far more important than what he's whispering to don right now so listen closely because he's going to tell you about something you don't want to miss if you live in this area you certainly will want to be a part of this okay alan take it away what a joy it is to experience live music again isn't it on october 9th you're invited to hear one of america's finest collegiate ensembles live in concert here at stonebriar community church [Applause] is the university of north texas a cappella choir is proud to present abide with me a concert that will deeply encourage and inspire all who hear it come and enjoy selections ranging from favorite hymns to billy joel hits to classical treasures performances will be held at 2 and 4 p.m on saturday october 9th in the stonebriar worship center as part of the center stage series abide with me will be presented with the audience seated in the choir loft for a more intimate concert experience tickets cost ten dollars each and space is limited so purchase your tickets online today at stonebriar stonebriar.org events allen is a professor at unt he's chairman of the choral department i'm i'm also happy to add that he also serves on our music team yeah as a matter of fact we're so we're so proud to have him as a part of our music ministry uh he's going to direct the call to worship this morning let me tell you what the theme of the song is the church is one foundation it's one of our favorite hymns it talks about the church after the death and resurrection of christ came the day of pentecost and that was the birth of the church and for 2 000 years we and others have been a part of the body of christ here on earth it's a grand hymn the choir will sing the first three verses and then i'll get up near the end of the song ask you to stand and we're going to sing together that that great finale the church is one foundation so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] three oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Music] shall be so [Music] [Music] foreign is so [Music] ah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] is oh uh [Music] is is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh so the secrets of the is [Music] is oh [Music] [Music] um [Music] oh perfect [Music] [Applause] is is my pathway [Music] is is fearless my r [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] my [Music] um [Music] [Music] my friends [Music] okay i bite with me fast forward lord with me blessed with me of our lives [Music] see [Music] [Music] is foreign uh [Applause] heroes is is ah [Music] more so so [Music] the longer you live the more you realize that there is nothing quite like the word of god to sustain you you'll be in a place where you know no one else thousands of miles from home you may have a small copy of maybe a new testament or a little bible you carry with you you open it and wherever you turn you find truth to live by i remember being 8 000 miles from home going through all the withdrawals of being away from my wife and family for 16 months and my sister sent me a book i and it was so meaningful for me i i devoured it within a matter of really a matter of days but i remember she inscribed in the front of it these words whom have we lord but thee soul thirst to satisfy exhaustless spring the water is free all other streams are dry reminded me that though i am far away from those i knew and loved he is right there speaking to me words to guide me at that time today we encounter a section of scripture that is intimate it is raw but it is real you'll not have trouble identifying with much of it because in one way or another you've been there and whether you realize it or not you will be there again it's the story of a man who sustained his moral purity when no one else was looking and no one else would know except the one tempting him we'll read of it in genesis chapter 39 it's one of those chapters that grip you when you realize the bible does speak to us in today's terms i'll be reading genesis 39 1-12 and then 16-20 from the new living translation we're not in a hurry we'll take our time once you find your place please stand with me for the reading of the scriptures [Music] when joseph was taken to egypt by the ishmaelite traders he was purchased by potiphar an egyptian officer potiphar was captain of the guard for pharaoh the king of egypt the lord was with joseph so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his egyptian master potiphar noticed this and realized that the lord was with joseph giving him success in everything he did this pleased potiphar so he soon made joseph his personal attendant he put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned from the day joseph was put in charge of his master's household and property the lord began to bless potiphar's household for joseph's sake all his household affairs ran smoothly and his crops and livestock [Music] flourished so potiphar gave joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned with joseph there he didn't worry about a thing except the kind of food to eat joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man and potiphar's wife soon began to look at him lustfully [Music] come come and sleep with me she demanded but joseph refused look he told her my master trusts me with everything in his entire household no one here has more authority than i do he has held back nothing from me except you because you were his wife how could i do such a wicked thing it would be a great sin against god 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 when he went in to do his work she came and grabbed him by his cloak demanding come on sleep with me joseph tore himself away but he left the cloak in her hand as he ran from the house verse 16. she kept the cloak with her until her husband came home then she told her in her story that hebrew slave you've brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me she said when i screamed he ran outside leaving his cloak with me potiphar was furious when he heard his wife's story about how joseph had treated her so he took joseph and threw him into the prison where the king's prisoners were held and there he remained [Music] the words i have to share in a few moments will be very personal words for all of us i hope you will not soon forget any of them [Music] i've thought about them for weeks planned them carefully knowing that there will be some hearing these words who have failed and fallen to moral temptation i understand that our god is a great god of grace he longs to forgive you and give you a beginning point to start over [Music] who knows what the future holds for any of us or what we will face on the morrow you can be sure of this in this day and age [Music] temptations will come may god use today's message to equip us for what's coming let's pray we are weak our father our father we are only human you know that you made us that way you could have made us angelic-like you could have kept that old nature away but you have permitted that and it weakens us it lives within us and how easy to forget how great you are how great is our god and greatly to be praised give us the perspective of a joseph to see you as more powerful and more important than any seductress or any predator or anyone tempting us may we realize our father that though others may not see you see us and remind us father that sex without marriage is a wicked thing you planted to be a beautiful thing you created it how marvelous are your works and you are great so give us a perspective today we've not had before and rather than seeing ourselves as a helpless victim may we realize that with your spirit greater is he who is in us than he who is in this world and though satan may prowl you are our protector our shield and our defender just as we have sung today guide us use these words may we realize that the print on this page of scripture is preserved for us for our application may we take it to heart may we ponder it may we live by its principles o great god in the name of christ i pray everyone said amen please be seated [Music] [Music] um wow bye wow so so [Music] on april 9 1945 dietrich bonhoeffer was hanged by the nazis he was only 38 years old a beloved man certainly by his fellow prisoners he had endeared himself already as a pastor and counselor and certainly as an author his native country germany loved him he distinguished himself in the writing of a number of books some of which could be called classics such as the cost of discipleship life together ethics and papers from prison but there was one work that he released that i rarely hear about though it is among my favorite of bonhoeffer's works it's so small it would almost remind you of a booklet one word title temptation in it the man offers a description that is as good as i've ever read outside of james 1 13-15 and other portions of the scriptures listen to his very clear vivid description of temptation in our members there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden and fierce with irresistible power desire seizes mastery over the flesh all at once a secret smoldering fire is kindled the flesh burns as and is in flames it makes no difference whether it is sexual desire or ambition or vanity or desire for revenge or love of fame and power or greed for money joy in god is extinguished in us and we seek all our joy in the creature at this moment god is quite unreal to us and only desire for the creature is real [Music] satan does not hear fill us with hatred of god but with forgetfulness of god how insightful the statement we don't hate god we just forget him the lust thus aroused envelops the mind and will in deepest darkness the power of clear discrimination and decision is taken from us it is here that everything within me rises up against the word of god there's not a person sitting here today or hearing me now or has ever cast a shadow on this earth who has not experienced this slumbering inclination towards desire and there is not a person except christ who is not yielded a few times perhaps often to its cry for fulfillment of all the different categories of temptation the most aggressive then the most scandalous is sexual temptation it is not an exaggeration to say that it is in a category by itself you question that you need to read first corinthians 6 18 to 20. for it states all other sin is outside the body but sexual sins are against the body you can work through the passage on your own but it puts it in a category that reveals how it impacts a person you are not quite the same after yielding to sexual sins due to its aggressiveness some of the strongest commands in the bible are used for standing against it words like abstain from sexual immorality flee youthful lusts run from sexual sins we're never told to argue with it or reason with it or try hard to resist it we're not even told to pray for extra strength regarding it we're told to run from it get away get out it's amazing how that works you cannot run and lust at the same time it works the god who made us knows what he is talking about when he says run from it and all of that brings us to one of these finest examples and personal integrity in the realm of moral purity in the entire bible his name is joseph his admirable story of victory over temptation is found in the 39th of genesis if you haven't yet turned please turn with me to the chapter joseph is by now a young adult single 20-something he has been through the fire of adversity that fire has been blazing in recent years growing up he was hated by his brothers all of them abandoned by them in fact sold into slavery to a group of strangers in a caravan on their way to egypt the brothers knew none of those men they sold him to for 20 pieces of silver joseph wound up on the slave block in egypt as an abject slave he was seen by a man named potiphar who is the captain of pharaoh's guard quite likely potiphar was a wealthy man had a nice home and needed help in his household and he saw this young slave as the answer to his need joseph's story is another rags to riches story of success but his success had nothing to do with luck will you please if you've not already take luck out of your vocabulary there is no such thing [Music] god is the secret of joseph's success and punctuated through the chapter and later you read again and again god was with him god's hand was on him god was there he saw him he protected him at the same time joseph worked diligently and the success he experienced he earned the hard way he worked for it as with many promotions privileges come alongside and with privileges more and more secrecy less and less oversight and you're able to enjoy privacy joseph certainly did by now we could we would use the our colloquial statement he had it made and don't miss the concluding comment before we get to the temptation we read joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man nothing wrong with that just isn't fair but there it is chiseled features young jewish man muscular it is only said of three others in the scriptures king saul david david's son absalom so this is a rare trait this characteristic of physical attraction what seems subtle and surprising in detail is in fact an eloquent turning point in the narrative for it is that which attracts the eye of potiphar's lustful wife [Music] whose name is never given and she began to make her moves toward him in no uncertain terms she sees him attractive handsome quite a catch and she says to him come live with me she is not the subtle type she's about as forward as a mack truck and she comes after him fully loaded with lust she has one interest and that's his body she couldn't care less about his soul or about the outcome she wanted him in that bed with her so she drops the bait no one is there to hear her except joseph it's interesting thomas carlisle the scottish essayist is spot on when he wrote adversity is sometimes hard on a man but for one man who can stand prosperity there are a hundred who will stand adversity you see when you are prosperous temptation is around the corner you read nothing in his days of adversity of being tempted but now that he has it made he becomes the object of mrs potiphar's attention but joseph refused will you remember the three words but joseph refused he said no and he meant it if you question that read on verses 8 and 9. what a powerful powerful message joseph refused verse 8 look he said i i even like the opening look almost as if you're saying look lady or listen up mrs potipher my master trusts me with everything in his entire household no one here has more authority than i do he has held back nothing from me except you because you're his wife how could i do such a wicked thing it would be a great sin against god no here's why my master your husband trusts me whether he's around or miles away he trusts me i hold the keys to every room around here the gate outside i'm the one that oversees the crops and the cattle i have a responsible position furthermore i serve a god who is all seeing and he sees everything i do please notice what he calls the act not an affair [Music] not our little secret but this wicked thing out of date though it may be that is exactly what sex is outside of marriage it is a wicked thing nothing wrong with sex itself it just needs the proper context to be preserved for the marriage of a man with a woman joseph meant it he wasn't playing games with her he was saying no in no uncertain terms clarence edward mccartney for years the pastor of first presbyterian church in pittsburgh has written a number of books one of them is the greatest man in the bible and he lists joseph as one and in that particular chapter he writes this joseph was no order this was no ordinary temptation joseph was not a stone a mummy but a red-blooded young man in his late 20s and it was not one temptation on one day but repeated temptations there's an old story that tells when joseph began to talk about his god to the temptress she flung her skirt over the bronze bust of her god that set on a pedestal in the chamber and then said now now god will not see joseph answered my god sees joseph is great theology he understands that his god is the all-seeing god the all-caring god the god who was holy yesterday is still holy today the same god who has entrusted him with success is now trusting him to uphold his commands and he sees god as very real more real than the woman lying in bed begging him to join her joseph stared her down with admirable discipline and in no uncertain terms he communicated his healthy and awesome fear of god in a word no no but that wasn't enough for this woman i didn't turn her away we can see that in her relentless pursuit and his strong determination again and again verse 10. she kept putting pressure on joseph day after day but he refused to sleep with her she is on the prowl and he is the object of her lust she is determined but not more than he i was reminded when i read this and pictured in my mind the scene of peter's words in first peter 5 8 which begin watch out watch out your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour it occurred to me that if the lion misses its prey the first plunge and the prey escapes the lion doesn't stop the pursuit [Applause] he remains a predator he stays at it day and night he stays at it she stays at it and joseph continues to refuse finally the setting is such that she sees it's the perfect moment it begins with a rather innocuous one day verse 11 one day however no one else was around always remember lust has its greatest moments in privacy no one watches when you close the door and pull the blinds and pull up on your internet scenes of sex that not even your family knows about no one knows when you yield usually at night and the other person is there soft to the touch available and you become lost in your own lust for that person let no one say when he is tempted i'm tempted by god for god cannot be tempted with evil neither tempts he anyone but everyone is tempted hear this when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed interesting word enticed it's used for dropping a bait when catching fish and when the bait is dropped you're usually alone no one else around one day no one else was around when he went in to do his work he has work on his mind she doesn't and she's there she came and grabbed him now there's a there's a little change in the scene she's now desperate for him she's determined and she demands come on sleep with me many a man would have been flattered she's older no doubt gorgeous she's available for sure she saw it as their little secret he saw it as this wicked act but now he argues with her no more we read that joseph tore himself away from her and left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house now you're talking exactly what god says to do if you're in a car and the person you're with is making moves get out of the car and run if you're in an office and you cannot seem to get away open the door and get out of the room it's exactly what joseph does he leaves no room to play around with this his nature is too strong we all have an old sin nature that is ready to be enticed everyone sins when he is enticed the late doug hommerschold has written in a fine work titled markings you cannot play with the animal without becoming holy animal or play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth oh that our people in government would hear that or play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth or play with with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind he who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn't reserve a plot for weeds no weeds in joseph's garden what a man the balance of the story is shocking when she saw that she was holding his cloak in her hand and he had fled she called out to her servants soon all the men came running and she said my husband has brought this hebrew slave here there's there's anti-semitism in those words this hebrew slave he's brought this hebrew slave here to to to make fools of us he came into my room and tried to rape me i screamed when he heard me scream he ran and he got away but he left his cloak behind with me she kept the cloak with her until her husband came home and then she told him her story says it again that hebrew slave you brought into our house try to fool around with me she said and here i have the cloak and he was furious if i may offer just a little imaginative insert here i'm not convinced he was fully convinced [Applause] or he would have killed a man but he threw him in prison got him out of the way and there joseph remained before you clock your tongue and and and stir up a little cynicism in your own mind about the living god pause for a moment don't react too quickly god isn't like a man he isn't like us with a long beard and white hair and blowing wind from the north this isn't god he is our almighty holy magnificent heavenly father who always has the long view in mind in our lives he has great plans for joseph some of which will only be learned through unfair treatment oh he has other hurdles to clear in the days ahead he'll learn them only in this prison forgotten by fellow prison mates who get out even though they promise to remember him they leave him god does not forget him his ways are not our ways neither are his plans like our plans as the heavens are high above the earth so is god our god's ways higher than our ways and his thoughts greater than our thoughts or the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of god how unsearchable are his judgments how unfathomable his ways well i would have rewarded joseph instantly i would have built him his own house not god this is application i'll get to in a moment i find four must nots when i apply this story to our lives today all four tie in with our world in this 21st century first we must not be weakened by our situation you might write these down you may need them we must not be weakened by our situation as you remember joseph had it made you may also you may be making more money than you've ever made in your life which means you probably have more prophecy than you've ever had before which means you have more privileges than you've ever known before in that upper level position you've been promoted you've been trusted you may be handsome you may be a very attractive lady you may be available you may be single you may have lots of privacy don't be weakened by your situation handle yourself as though you have not been promoted as though you are being watched for you are the one who made you never takes his eyes off you in fact he doesn't even have eyes he being god sees everything here's the second we must not we we must not be deceived by others persuasion oh you will you you will hear it i made a quick list you'll hear this said to you in the privacy of the car uh who will ever find out our secret it's between us but trust me on this any sin you commit with another will be found out or how about this one look we'll be married soon why wait i mean a marriage is three months away how about i'm so lonely surely god understands after all and listen to this one he is a god of grace isn't he don't cheapen grace by making him responsible for a wicked act how about this one no one else can ever meet my deepest needs like you or men love this one by this you can prove how much you love me we must not be deceived by others persuasion here's a third we must not be gentle with our emotions your inner desire will plead for satisfaction oh please come on joseph said no not interested you're married to someone else he trusts me if necessary be rude especially when your flesh is screaming for satisfaction and when is it not joseph repeatedly said the right thing and she never backed off the great thing about joseph is he was not gentle with himself may i suggest a very simple discipline make a list of the consequences do it this afternoon under the light of your kitchen table sit there and write them out randy alcorn did that several years ago it came out in leadership magazine i made a copy and i review it rather regularly it's a good reminder keeps me from being gentle with my emotions [Music] listen to the consequences that al corn listed he says whenever i feel particularly vulnerable to sexual temptation i find it helpful to review what effects my actions would have then he lists them grieving the lord who redeemed me dragging his sacred name through the mud following in the footsteps of those people whose immorality forfeited their ministries and caused me to shudder at the time inflicting untold hurt on nancy my best friend and loyal wife losing nancy's respect and trust hurting my beloved daughters karina and angie i like it that he named them names are helpful in a list like this name your children name your grandchildren name your life's partner he goes on destroying my example and credibility with my children and nullifying present and future efforts to teach them to obey god losing self-respect creating guilt that's awfully hard to shake wasting years of ministry training for a long time maybe forever undermining the faithful example and hard work of other christians bringing great pleasure to satan the enemy of god possibly bearing the physical consequences of such diseases as gonorrhea syphilis chlamydia and aids perhaps infecting nancy or in the case of aids even causing her death possibly causing a pregnancy with personal and financial implications including a lifelong reminder of my sin bringing shame and hurt to fellow pastors fellow elders congregational members and those i have led to christ invoking shame and lifelong embarrassment upon myself surely the act at that moment is not worth all that surely not and we all agree sitting here together the only place in our whole week where we're in the majority under bright lights where the word of god is opened on your lap and on my desk we're allowing yet to speak listen to it heed it remember it when you're alone or with that one other person who has never heard such things and wants your body get tough on your emotions practice no here's the fourth and final we must not be confused by immediate results with joseph there wasn't reward there was a false accusation rape there was a lie he did this when he didn't there was an imprisonment which wasn't deserved if the predator in your life is your boss and you turn him or her down you can be fired there's a price to pay for sustaining your virginity you may be committed to a life of moral purity in europe you're a member of a of a military organization and you're living in the barracks where no one else is committed to such a life you'll be ridiculed you're on a team and you're the only team member that's not having sex on the side you're the cheerleader you're the only cheerleader that's not playing around there's a price you're going to pay you're going to be made to look foolish don't don't please don't be confused by that that's the way the world operates furthermore your commitment only increases their guilt and they can't stand that in you because following their fall there is regret and they hate it that you do not know such things mistreatment mockery whatever may i remind you as a great conclusion of this marvelous story verse 21 look at it with me the warden that's in the prison oh that's verse 23 excuse me verse 21 but the lord was with joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love the lord made joseph a favorite with the prison warden even there he gave him success god honors it when you stand for him god is so pleased when your life measures up and you walk with him through it i closed where i mentioned something i mentioned earlier you may not have done this as you hear this it it may be hard to listen to because it doesn't describe the way you've lived your life the marvel marvelous story of christianity and the lord jesus christ is his magnificent willingness to forgive us he forgives us over and over and over again in fact if you've never come to the cross for salvation you know what when you come to him all your sins are washed away washed away take it as far as east is from west so far has he removed our transgressions from us this is a great moment for you to determine your life from here on i repeat the old statement i've said before it's never too late to start doing what is right start today start today there's no shame in that is everything great about it the shame is behind you now the joy and the hope is in front of you you take this before the lord lay before him your life and lifestyle tell him you desire to live like joseph if he could do it 20-something handsome single man you can do it there's power in the word no i urge you to use it often may we bow together please rather than moving about just sit there sit there and think the only one in this room or the only one listening to me right now who has no hope in this for victory is the one without christ just believe me before you try real hard you're not going to be able to resist on your own you need divine power you need strength from above you need christ's life at work within you you need him to speak through your mouth and to dictate to your heart your response to temptation without christ at work in your life that you're sunk it's only a matter of time before you'll fall again but as you trust in the lord jesus christ there's a power that isn't immediately available that never leaves you and as he goes to work in your life it's remarkable the changes he can bring so i urge you to turn to him now if you've never before trusted in christ it's like taking a gift with the gift come all the benefits rejecting a gift leaves you exactly where you've been all your life without hope how wonderful to be able to say following this meeting blessed assurance jesus is mine oh what a foretaste of glory divine blessed assurance [Applause] thank you lord god for hope that you give us for the forgiveness of grace for the joy of living above the drag of our old nature for a clear conscience for knowing that can today can be the beginning of the rest of our lives and a whole new walk in moral purity make us people of integrity beginning today and those without christ bring them to yourself dear father by the power of your spirit in jesus name we pray everyone said amen so so so thank you for joining us this morning if you're looking for hope and belonging we invite you to connect with our church family get started today at stonebriar.org we'll see you soon you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Stonebriar Community Church

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Length: 96min 39sec (5799 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021