Help Wanted: Temptation

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Introduction

Everyone is tempted. When we experience temptation, we’re faced with a choice of how to respond.

Today we’ll be discussing how God can help us overcome temptation and make the right choices. Let’s jump into this truth today!

Group Activity

Detangled

Sometimes it can feel like we get tangled up with temptation.

Our goal should be to untangle from the sins we’re tempted to do.

Let’s play a game that symbolizes that. For our game, let’s gather in one group. Each of you will receive one piece of string. The goal here will be to get tangled. Hold your string with one hand, and grab the string of someone that’s not next to you with the other. The group will get tangled up as we do this.

Getting away from sin when we’re tempted is always our goal. So now we need to attempt to detangle all of our group without letting go of the string. Let’s see if we can untangle everyone.

Do you think the size of the group would affect how easy it is to detangle? Why or why not?

The more tangled that the group became, the harder it was to get out of the mess.

When we face temptation and we give in, it’s sin. Sin entangles us.

The more we sin, the greater the struggle can become to get out of the mess. Keeping temptation in check keeps us from getting tangled up in sin. Let’s watch today’s video.

Who can give us a quick review from last time about what happened to Joseph?

Include that Joseph had two dreams,

his brothers became jealous,

they sold him into slavery,

they lied to their dad about Joseph being dead,

and Joseph ended up a slave in Egypt.

Today we’re going to see that God helped Joseph overcome temptation.

Temptation is when we’re faced with the desire and opportunity to sin.

It’s a tactic of the enemy to cause us to do things that displease God.

Temptation can lead to sin if it goes unchecked and we give in to it.

Don’t Be Surprised by Temptation

We might think that temptation only happens to people who aren’t living for God or only in certain circumstances, but the Bible tells us that isn’t the case. Temptation happens to everyone, even when things are going well in our life.

Genesis 39:1–7 NIV

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. 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!”

Potiphar was a big wig in the Egyptian power

What temptation did Joseph face?

Even though Joseph was a slave, God blessed him.

His owner, Potiphar, put Joseph in charge of his household. But even in the middle of God’s blessing and favor, Joseph was still not exempt from temptation.

Joseph chose to trust God in the face of temptation

Do you think Joseph sinned by being tempted? Why or why not?

You Can Be Tempted and Choose Not to Sin

Temptation isn’t a sin.

Sin happens when we choose to give in to and act on what tempts us. When Joseph experienced temptation, he had a choice to give in or not. We will see that he chose to get away as fast as he could!

Genesis 39:8–12 (NIV)

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 has 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.

Joseph was in charge of everything in Potiphar’s house, except his wife.

She was off-limits. But suddenly, Joseph found himself in a predicament.

He was being tempted to take the only thing he couldn’t and shouldn’t have.

Sometimes temptation is a consistent battle to do the right thing.

Joseph chose to honor God by avoiding sinning with Potiphar’s wife. But she didn’t give up! She continued to pursue him.

Joseph remained strong.

His desire to please God was greater than his desire to give in to temptation.

How did Joseph model for us what to do when tempted?

You May Face Rejection for Doing the Right Thing

Even when we do the right thing and resist temptation, we may be met with rejection from others.

Genesis 39:13–23 (NIV)

When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Joseph did the right thing, but Potiphar’s wife didn’t. She retaliated against him. She didn’t like his God-honoring choice. So she decided that Joseph would pay, even if it meant lying about what happened.

Have you ever been lied about or accused of something you didn’t do? What was the outcome?

Joseph appeared to succeed in all his work.

He overcame the challenges he faced with God’s help.

Why is it difficult to remain focused on the dreams and promises God has for our life when we face hard times?

Even though others may attempt to hurt us or destroy our dreams, God never leaves us. He loves us no matter what we face.

God Helps Me with Temptation

God never leaves us, even when we’re tempted to do the wrong thing.

Each of us has a choice to make when we face temptation. We can honor God and do the right thing, or we can choose to give in to temptation and sin.

Even if we face rejection from others for doing the right thing, God’s favor is far better than anything else.

No matter what, God gives us the strength to overcome temptation.

Ending

It’s not just God that can help us when we’re tempted.

Other people can help deal with temptation, too.

In addition to praying for us, we can learn from their experiences facing temptation.

Break off into groups and pray over the different things tempting you.

Conclusion

All of us experience temptation in our life, and we each have a choice. Even when we face the strongest temptations, God is with us and helps us! We can be victorious over temptation when we choose to honor God instead of giving in to how we feel and what we want. Even when we’ve done the wrong thing, God’s love is still there for us. He forgives us and gives us the ability to overcome. It’s because of God’s great love for us that we can be free. We can overcome because of Jesus and what He did for you and me!

Don’t forget about all the personal devotions provided for you on the Bible Engagement Project app. These devotions will help you in your walk with Jesus every day. I can’t wait to see you next time as we continue learning about overcoming in Jesus!