Divinely Guilty

What does it mean to have God with you?

Sometimes people say, “God be with you.”

Is it like the force?

“May the force be with you.”

Does it mean, “May there be no traffic on the freeway, on your journey through life..”

If I were to say, “God is really with that person?”, what does that mean?

Does it mean he’s successful?

How do you know you haven’t wasted your life away?

Does it mean he’s rich?

That’s a great verse.

Is there any kind of standard?

Does it mean prospers at what he does?

It’s a powerful verse.

Remember when there was such thing as newspapers?

What does it mean to say God is with a person?

The coolest thing was seeing your name in the newspaper.

It’s a verse with a promise.

I was in 5th grade, and the Press-Enterprise came to my school.

Is it like the force?

I had been selected to give a quote in the paper.

“May the force be with you.”

It was near Thanksgiving, and I was the 5th grade representative.

I was asked what I was thankful for.

I’m sure, you are all wondering what I said.

The truth is … I have no idea.

Is God being with a person some mysterious recipe for success?

I look back, I can’t remember.

I do remember that I had an awesome flat top.

God’s a lucky charm who makes everything go right for a person?

I carried one of those little flat top combs.

And if any of this is true, then if you are a Christian, and God is with you, does that mean everything works out just perfect for you?

My picture was taken and it was put in the paper next to my quote.

The answer to these questions is obviously no.

What I do remember though is knowing my name and picture would be in the paper.

Yet, we have a tremendous blessing in God.

The Holy Spirit lives within the Christian, and so we can confidently say, “God is with you.”

I was more excited about that then anything else.

Is that what makes a life well lived, when people know your name and face because it was in the newspaper?

And according to , not only is God with you, but “... we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Is a life well lived based on your accomplishments?

What I’d like you to see today, what it means to have God with you.

Is a life well lived based on how well you accomplish your dreams?

And if God is with you, then how do we do with that?

How do we live in the presence of God.

This is all appropriate, because we are diving into the life of Joseph.

And he was a man who was said to have God with him.

Open your Bibles up to .

Read .

The Lord was definitely with Joseph.

It wasn’t just in the good times either.

Not that there were that many good times in Joseph’s life.

But the Lord was with him.

Whether it was through the dreams that God gave him.

Whether it was here in verse 2, when it specifically says, “The Lord was with Joseph ...”

Or whether when it was later on and he was in the presence of Pharaoh and told to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams.

God was with Joseph

You cannot argue that God was with Joseph.

The great thing about Joseph is that he’s real.

His life is relatable.

He experiences failure.

He experiences disappointment

He lives a life similar to you and I, and yet, “The Lord was with Him.”

Do you see the similarity yet?

God was with Joseph.

Christians, you have the Holy Spirit.

The Lord is with you.

We see the similarity, but how do you live with this?

How do you live in the presence of God?

And like Joseph’s life, life is not monotonous.

It’s filled with variety.

There are tough times.

There are times of temptation.

And there are times of just plain confusion.

First, let’s look at God’s Presence in Tough Times.

This is found in verses 1-6 of our text.

Joseph is working in Potiphar’s house and everything seems to be going well for him.

Verse 2 says that Joseph became a successful man.

That the Lord caused everything that Joseph did to succeed.

Joseph found himself in charge of Potiphar’s life.

He ran the home.

He ran the business.

Potiphar was becoming a wealthy man with Joseph working under him.

You might be wondering, “Look if this is tough times, you’ve got to find a new definition of tough times.”

But, I mean tough times.

Have we forgotten where Joseph is and how he got there?

He was attacked by his brothers.

He was going to be left for dead.

But then he was sold into slavery.

Now he finds himself 400 miles from home.

No longer free, but under bondage.

He’s the property of a man named Potiphar, who happens to be a very important leader in Egypt.

These are most definitely hard times.

No one should have to go through what he is going through.

Yet, the kindness of God, is that things are not as bad as they can be for young Joseph.

He’s not chained.

He’s not beaten.

He’s not working outdoors, building a pyramid.

It specifically says that he was in the house of Potiphar.

This was a desirable location.

He was put over Potiphar’s house and business.

The Lord was with him.

This was the kindness of God.

God’s plan is for Joseph to be in Egypt.

But God isn’t having Joseph tormented in Egypt.

Instead, in the kindness of God, things are not as bad as they can.

Being in God’s presence in tough times, means recognizing His mercy in preserving you from things being as bad as they could be.

Things are bad.

But they could be worse.

And it was God’s kindness from keeping the worst from you.

How many times have you heard of someone going to the hospital for an issue, only to find out that there was a bigger issue, and that trip to the ER is how the bigger issue was discovered?

That is the kindness of God.

When we are in the midst of tough times, a good practice is to look for God’s blessings.

Maybe you’re going through a particularly rough time.

We don’t.

But now you find yourself praying more than you used to.

And you are experiencing a revitalized walk with the Lord.

That’s the kindness of God.

He’s using these times to awaken your spirit.

Maybe it’s something financial. Finances are tight, and you’re having to reevaluate how you spend your money.

Each of us have sinned.

And in our sin, God is not obligated to give anything good to us.

Maybe you find out that there are certain things you thought you needed, and now you are learning that you had made idols out of those items, and you don’t need them.

His mercy is that He does not give us what we deserve.

This is the kindness of God, freeing you from the grip of materialism.

Going through hard times in the presence of God means that there are special blessings, graces from God, that are worthy of praise.

I think of that quote from Corrie Ten Boom.

While in a concentration camp, watching her family die, she had a small Bible, that they would read from.

Listen to the mercy of God, in a time of trouble.

“These were little previews of heaven, these evenings beneath the light bulb.”

Time in a concentration camp was a little preview of heaven.

There are blessings for going through tough times in the presence of God.

Learn to look for God’s blessings in the midst of hard times.

And when that happens … make it known.

Tell people.

Give praise to God.

Let others join you in your times of joy.

Next, we find God’s Presence in Temptation.

Look at the second half of verse 6 into verse 18.

Joseph’s a good looking guy.

It says he’s handsome in form and appearance.

He’s got a nice body and a good looking face.

Not only is he good looking, but he’s successful, he’s powerful.

And Potiphar’s wife takes notice of him.

She would like to be more than just friends.

More than just an employer/employee relationship

She tries to seduce Joseph.

But it doesn’t happen.

Day after day, she takes a special, romantic interest in Joseph.

And day after day, Joseph says no.

Lots of people find themselves tempted.

Lots of people find themselves trapped in a situation, where the wrong thing seems so easy.

There’s countless AA Halls, where people admit each meeting their powerlessness over alcohol.

Millions of men, are seemingly addicted to images of women on the internet.

Anger dominates the lives of people, like the clouds in the sky, it simply comes and it goes, raging out of control.

And when they give in to the temptation, they sin, the reaction is, “Oh well.”

They shrug it off.

“It was a mistake.”

“Better luck next time.”

People are far too casual with their sin.

Why is that?

Because they think they’ve sinned only against themselves.

They got drunk … they let themselves down.

They get angry … they’ve hurt their reputation.

When temptation is viewed this way, then it is dealt with on man’s own strength.

But that’s not how Joseph faces temptation.

Joseph realizes that Potiphar trusts him.

He understands that he is to take care of everything in Potiphar’s family.

So he refuses Potiphar’s wife’s advances.

But the real reason for restraining his behavior is not what Potiphar will think about him, or do if he gave into the temptation.

The real reason for him rejecting Potiphar’s wife’s advances is because of God.

Look at the end of verse 9, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

Joseph’s main motivation for not sinning was not what Potiphar would do or think, but what would God think.

He says that it would be a great wickedness and sin against God.

For Joseph, temptation is not just between, him and Potiphar’s wife.

Temptation was between him and God.

King David understood this as well.

After his own sin with Bathsheba was revealed, in he says, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,”

The worst thing about sin, is not what others will think, but what God will think.

We forget that.

We think the worst thing about sin is what others will think about us.

What will my friends think.

What will my church think.

What will my children think.

What will my spouse think.

What will Facebook think.

When really, the worst thing about sin, is that it is against God.

Just prior to the flood, in , the world was completely evil.

It says that every intention of man’s heart was continually evil.

Then in , it says, “And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”

Can you imagine that?

It’s one thing to offend fellow humans.

How about offending the Creator?

This should break your heart.

This makes sense because of God’s authority.

He’s the one that judges.

He’s the one that condemns.

And it makes sense because of His love.

He’s desires obedience so strictly, that the penalty for sin is death.

But He loves so much, that He sent Jesus to die for us.

You may disappoint people, and they may think less of you.

But when you sinned against God, you grieved Him, and you earned Hell.

Hell is so terrible, that the only way to get me out of it … is if Jesus died for you.

Do you see the difference in the cost?

How do you live in God’s presence while facing temptation?

You need to remember who the sin is against.

It’s really not against me.

It’s really not against whoever you offended.

It is against God.

Therefore, you must become disgusted by sin.

We see that with Joseph.

“How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

Sin must be the most vile and offensive thing you can think about.

Whatever it is that offends you the most.

Maybe it’s white shoes after labor day.

Sick kittens.

Murder.

Rape.

Adultery.

Sinning against God needs to be seen as worse.

God’s descriptions of sin against Him is never light.

In Hosea, it’s compared to a man who marries a prostitute, and who continues in her practice.

In Ezekiel, sin is compared to young girls trapped in sexual sin.

These are not light things.

And it’s how God views sin.

Sin should strike a chord in your heart.

Making you sick to think about.

And when we see sin the way God sees sin, then when we encounter temptation … of any kind, you firmly run from it.

, Paul told Timothy, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

Don’t see how close you can get to it.

Don’t try and beat it.

Just run from it.

How do we face temptation in the presence of God? We run from sin.

And for this to happen, we must have a heart that is in line with God’s heart.

Dear Christians, there is an attempt to pull you away from this new heart.

says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

This takes effort on our part.

Continue to develop spiritual disciplines.

Reading God’s Word.

Resting in prayer.

Pursue discipleship.

Continue to be about prayer.

Talk to your prayer partner.

But in order to face temptation in the presence of God, we need to get serious about sin.

Then there’s our final part, God’s Presence While Lost.

I’m sure you know what comes next.

Joseph continues to resist Potiphar’s wife’s advances.

She’s been humiliated too many times by his rejection.

So one day, when all the men are out of the house, she grabs him, and he takes off running.

She’s there left with his clothing in her hand, and he’s gone.

She then accuses Joseph of rape.

When Potiphar hears about this, Joseph is thrown into a secret prison.

This is no ordinary prison.

Potiphar is captain of the guard.

He’s an important man.

He is able to pull some strings, and Joseph is placed into a prison for political prisoners.

Who knows how long he will be there.

He could be forgotten in prison for all we know.

At this point, you might ask, “Is God still with Joseph?”

At the beginning of our text, it was clear God was with Joseph because he was successful.

He made Potiphar money.

Joseph was Potiphar’s personal good luck charm.

God was definitely with Joseph.

And we do the same thing.

Things are good.

I got a promotion.

My wife loves me.

My kids love me.

My grass is green.

God has really blessed me.

God is with me.

When things were easy, it was easy to say that God was with Joseph.

But what about now?

Nothing seems to be working out.

He’s lost it all.

No longer powerful.

Falsely imprisoned.

In jail.

Lost.

Is God still with Joseph?

It’s easy for us to have this same view?

When life is good … God is with you.

Life throws a series of disappointments at you, and you begin to wonder, “Did I do something wrong?”

You ever look back on your life and see where things didn’t add up?

You were younger and you had so much potential.

You wanted to do so much.

You could have gone so many places.

You had so much potential.

And you look at where you are, and you wonder what happened?

If anyone could do that Joseph could do that.

He was the favored son.

There’s potential.

Then sold into slavery.

Once in slavery things were good.

He was successful.

He was powerful.

It’s easy to think, this is where God wants him to be.

Then everything goes haywire.

Did God hate him?

Why did God let things go wrong?

Surely, God didn’t desire for Joseph to be wrongly accused and put into an Egyptian gulag prison.

Because that’s what happened.

But the point of this last part is being in God’s presence while lost.

It seems as if nothing is right.

Your life plan has gone off the rail.

You feel lost.

Here’s the beautiful truth, back in verse 2 when it said “The Lord was with Joseph ...”

That wasn’t just at the beginning of the chapter.

That was the thesis of the chapter.

That was the main point of the chapter.

This chapter is a story of God being with Joseph.

Verse 2 says, “The Lord was with Joseph ...”

How was the Lord with Joseph?

He was with Joseph through slavery, when things were good.

He was with Joseph through temptation, when Joseph obediently rejected it.

And here, God is with Joseph, even while falsely charged and in prison.

In fact the very next verse in the text, we will look at it next week, says, “But the Lord was with Joseph ...”

Even while lost, the Lord was with Joseph.

The problem here is we view life from our plan.

And we walk through life running headlong into our dreams.

And when we stumble and don’t achieve them, we get angry.

We get disappointed.

We think God has abandoned us.

But when we live life that way, we are not living in the God’s presence.

We are living on our strength.

Parents have you ever had your kid come to you and tell you about the plans they made.

“Mom, tomorrow, you have to take me to the mall, cause I’m going there to be with my friends.”

There’s a couple problems with that.

First, she never asked you if that was okay.

Second, the family has plans for tomorrow.

Mom’s what do you say?

“I have to take you to the mall?”

You then explain why she’s not going to the mall tomorrow.

Then comes the whining.

“But mooom! I already said I would go.”

What’s going on?

Your daughter is living apart from your authority.

She has forgotten that you are the one who makes the plans.

And we approach God the same way.

God I have to do this tomorrow.

God these are my plans.

And how does God respond?

, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God says, “I’ve got different plans.”

The reality is that you are not lost.

You ever read during a difficult time?

Sometimes I’m caught off guard and someone wants me to read a Scripture during a hospital visit.

I jump to Psalm 23.

Why do we read during difficult times?

To remind us that even when things are awful, the Lord is sovereign.

is a song, a poetic version of everything we are talking about.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

He is leading me.

He is leading me.

He is guiding me.

He is guiding me.

What am I?

What am I?

I’m not the shepherd.

Just a sheep.

Just a sheep.

Who is He?

Who is He?

The Shepherd.

The Shepherd.

“Where we going today, Lord?”

“Where we going today, Lord?”

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ...”

Things are scary right now.

Death is all around me … but I will not be afraid.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; … Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me ...”

He is guiding me.

What am I?

Just a sheep.

Who is He?

The Shepherd.

“Where we going today, Lord?”

My enemies all have their guns aimed right for me.

Death is all around me … but I will not be afraid.

My enemies all have their guns aimed right for me.

God’s given me a meal to enjoy.

He’s given me mercy.

“I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

And I’m going somewhere.

I’m not lost, because I have a shepherd who’s leading me somewhere.

Joseph is going somewhere.

He’s going to Pharaoh.

In order to make it to Pharaoh, he’s got to make it to a political prison.

He’s not lost.

He’s going somewhere.

His fall into prison, was according to the plan of God.

There was a destination.

And you are no exception.

And where is your path headed.

Ultimately, it’s much worse than we even think.

Your path of humility goes further than a dead end job.

We are all on a path to death.

We are making a slow march towards it.

Our bodies break down.

Our health breaks down.

Our minds break down.

Where we used to be so strong and independent.

We will find ourselves dependent on others.

Until that terrible day when we breathe our last breath.

And even that is not purposeless.

says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,”

Doesn’t that describe the human experience?

Our outer self is wasting away.

There are momentary afflictions.

But we have a destination.

And the destination is beyond all comparison.

The destination is eternal glory.

The destination is the actual physical presence of God.

And this is only through the guidance of Jesus Christ.

We must never forget that there is a destination.

A couple of years ago, when we were driving to youth camp, Amanda and I had a couple of middle school girls in our car.

If you never seen the inside of my car, I’ve got the biggest screen ever.

It’s like an iPad.

Really, it’s just a giant map.

On long road trips, I like to put the address in there.

It shows all the turns.

It also has useful information like:

How many miles it is till we get there.

How many minutes it’ll take.

And my favorite, what the estimated time of arrival is.

So there we are, driving, for 5-6 hours.

And pretty much from when we left Riverside County I was hearing, “Hey Luke, how much longer till we get there.”

The first time I was asked, it was cute.

I showed on the screen all the different numbers.

I explained that they could look at see how long it would take.

Apparently, it didn’t take, because about a half hour later, I was getting asked again, “Luke how much longer.”

And this happened for the entire drive.

Over and over again, I’m trying to explain.

I show them on the map.

This is where we are going.

But they never understood.

So for them, it was an anxious, long and tedious trip.

Never forget there is a destination.

And we get to go there in the presence of God.

Who knows the destination.

Who knows how to get there.

Who knows when we will get there.

I know so often it feels like you are lost.

You’re just making it up each day.

Unsure of how you’ll handle the next crisis.

And yet, it doesn’t have to be this way.

That’s why Jesus came.

To seek and to save that which was lost.

tells 3 parables, all about something being lost.

A shepherd lost a sheep.

A woman lost a coin.

A man lost a son.

And in each one that which was lost was found.

How do we live in the presence of God while lost?

By remembering there is a Shepherd.

He has a destination in mind.

And He will get us where we need to be.

One thing cannot be assumed, and that is, are you in the presence of God?

Just because God sees everything, doesn’t means you are in the presence of God.

The text says, “The Lord was with Joseph ...”

That’s a special phrase.

Because not everyone is with the Lord.

Satan has had times where he can stand before God and talk.

But the Lord is not with Satan.

And just because you are a human, and God sees you, doesn’t mean you are in the presence of God.

This is only for those who have been born again.

This is only for those who have repented of their sins, and put their trust in Jesus.

This is only for those who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Are you in the presence of God?