Sermon Tone Analysis

Court

I have spent the last two weeks on Jury duty.

Lots of waiting around - I got through two books, I was home early, I was able to get up late for.

It was almost as if the timing was planned to give me a breathing space at this time of transition.

Court can appear a strange place full of what to an outsider are strange rituals and procedures, people dress differently, speak a different set of languages (legalese) and behave in ways that appear odd compared to everyday life.

It is quite daunting.

Church is not dissimilar – it can appear a strange place full of what to an outsider are strange rituals and procedures, people dress differently, speak a different set of languages (Christianease) and behave in ways that appear odd compared to everyday life.

It is quite daunting.

I won’t go into the details of the case that I was on the jury for, but it centred around an individual being in a place that was not a healthy place for them to be.

They went to a place that could have been ok to be at but when they arrived it was filled with people they should not associate with.

They had a choice – flee or remain.

From the fact they were in court, I think you can surmise that they chose to remain.

Flee from the unhealthy places

In the Old testament we hear of Joseph in a similar situation, with a similar choice to make.

As you will know Joseph, of Techicolor coat fame, and of big mouth and cocky attitude.

“I’m dad’s favourite, just look at this amazing coat he has bought me, your all-in rags”

Was ambushed by his brother, beaten up, thrown in a pit and sold in to slavery.

Joseph

In Genesis 39 we read the following…

Genesis 39:1–23 (NLT)

Joseph in Potiphar’s House

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.

2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.

3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.

4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant.

He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.

5 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 flourished.

6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned.

With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!

Sound pretty good at this point – God is blessing Joseph even though he is in slavery

Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, 7 and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully.

“Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.

This is the first moment

8 But Joseph refused.

“Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household.

9 No one here has more authority than I do.

He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife.

How could I do such a wicked thing?

It would be a great sin against God.”

10 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.

He has distanced himself from the place that is unhealthy for him to be in – near Potiphar’s wife.

-he could cope with it…?

11 One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work.

12 She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!”

Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.

PARAPHRASE THIS

13 When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled, 14 she called out to her servants.

Soon all the men came running.

“Look!” she said.

“My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us!

He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed.

15 When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.”

16 She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home.

17 Then she told him her story.

“That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said.

18 “But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!”

Joseph Put in Prison

19 Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her.

20 So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.

21 But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love.

And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.

22 Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.

23 The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything.

The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.

I think many of us have unhealthy places.

Places that we know we should not visit but we don’t always flee from.

I am not saying that each of us in in danger of being seduced by our bosses’ spouse.

Or in danger of breaking the law and ending up in Lincoln Prison but there are places that stifle our growth as Christ followers or keep us ‘prisoners’

Places that stifle growth

Places that are our own little gods

What places, what activities do we put in front of God.

Some of these places we actively choose to put above God in the importance stakes and I appreciate that sometimes it is hard to reconcile the clashes in our calendars and our busy lives.

And this is certainly not about legalism.

You do not go to heaven because you have not missed a church meeting this year.

98% attendance at Thursday morning prayer does not grant you the favour of God, necessarily – though God does reward both obedience and faithfulness.

The danger comes when we start to justify that our decision is not what it actually is.

When placing other things as more important than God stops being a conscious decision and becomes either the norm - it is reckoned that you only have to miss church for 4 weeks to massively increase the chance you will not attend again.

More worryingly is when the behaviours we put ahead of God become un-noticed.

Where we stop being concerned that what we are doing, where we are is taking us away from God.

What am I talking about, well often it is the really small things.

The things that squeeze God out of our daily routines the distractions and time fillers that seem to take over.

At the One Event this year I bought a paper bible.

Why? Well you see I tend to read my bible on my phone, or on my ipad.

But this is where one of my little gods creeps in... you see I am of small brain and I am easily distracted.

My distraction is generally BBC news alerts – I start with every intention of reading God’s word and end up losing an hour reading the worlds words.

There is nothing wrong with reading the news but not at the expense of elevating it above God.

My solution is to flee that place – turn of my device and pick up a paper bible – one that does not have little alerts popping up about the news, or a new email.

For others it will be the TV, or the Gym, or shopping or…..

Sometimes we need to take a look at the things that are filling our time.

Are they wholesome.

Are we placing them before spending time with God or doing what God has called us to?

Are they time fillers that have become time demanders.

Do you sit there watching a tv programme and think why am I watching this?

Or I need to go to bed but I am just going to watch…

In The Screwtape Letters C.S. Lewis’ writes and imaginary letter from a senior demon, Screwtape, who is trying to help his new tempting nephew, Wormwood, keep the new Christian sliding away from his faith.

Screwtap writes:

As this condition becomes more fully established, you will be gradually freed from the tiresome business of providing Pleasures as temptations….

you will find that anything or nothing is sufficient to attract the christians wandering attention.