Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning!

We are in our series Our mess His Masterpiece and we are in Genesis talking about the life of Joseph.

This morning we are going to be talking about the measure of man… we using that term in a generic sense… we could say what is the measure man or a women…

What do we mean by the “measure of a man?”

What we talking about is the character of man… what a person made of… when the rubber hits the road… How does that person respond.

Martin Luther King jr said.. that .

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King, Jr

The measure of a man speaks to his Character...

Josephs story is full of these dramatic twists and turns..

We are introduced to Joseph as this optimistic 17 year old… Who enjoys the favor and great privileges given to him by his father Jacob..

Jacob’s favoritism is symbolized in His gift of the coat of many colors which becomes this icon of contention and jealousy..

It is the hatred of his brother that triggers a new course of events in the life of Joseph.

Joseph’s journey is going to take him from the Pit in Shechem up to the Penthouse of Potiphar estate and then to the Prison-house of Egypt and then to the Palace of Pharaoh.... there are lots of loses in Joseph’s life.

…He loses the protection and favor of his father… He loses the respect and love of His family....He loses his position in Potiphar’s house…

Through it all.. there are two things that remain in TACT…the first is..

1. God’s Hand of blessing is on Joseph.. Goda hand was with Potiphar in the pit and also in the palace.

2. The second is his conduct and Character…

We don’t see Joseph at any point bitter towards his brothers.. we don’t hear him complaining.. his conduct is in check because of something deeper and trust is his characwr.. EM.Bounds makes this distinction.

Conduct is what we do; character is what we are.

Conduct is the outward life.

Character is the life unseen, hidden within, yet evidenced by that which is seen.

Conduct is external, seen from without; character is internal—operating within.

E.M Bounds said that..

In the economy of grace, conduct is the offspring of character.

Character is the state of the heart, conduct its outward expression.

Character is the root of the tree, conduct, the fruit it bears.

T/s This morning we are going to be dealing with this crucial moment in the life of Joseph where his Character is going to be tested.

T/s How do we become men and Woman of Character and integrity?

We learn from Joseph.

1. Men of Character have Healthy Boundaries in place.

When we living in Maine we owned our home and we decided to fence in our backyard…And So we built three sides of the fence and thought that we could just join our fence onto our neighbors fence.

Like you see in every other backyard in America...

What we didn’t realize is that my neighbor had built his fence a a couple of feet into his own property…

So, when we built our new fence we unknowingly crossed the boundary line onto his property…now some might overlook this but this was a huge problem for our neighbors…

So, what we ended up having to do is to build another fence parallel to his with a two feet between our properties… the Lesson learned....Knowing boundary lines are important..

What are boundaries?

I believe That Dr. Henry Cloud defines it the best...

in His book on, Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No, to Take Control of Your Life..

“Boundaries define us.

They define what is me and what is not me.

A boundary shows me where I end and someone else begins, leading me to a sense of ownership.

Knowing what I am to own and take responsibility for gives me freedom."

Why do we need boundaries?

Henry Cloud tells us that Boundaries Help us keep the good in and the bad out.

They help us take responsibility for the the choices that we make…

We are going to learn from Joseph that the boundaries He sets up in advance are going to keep… the good things in and the bad things out… His boundaries set up His moral and his ethic... Which is basically the way he responds to life..

The bible tells us that After some time had past....

Joseph is faced with a moral challenge… lets read our text

The Genesis 39 begins with Joseph being blessing and being promoted to the highest rank in Potiphar’s house..

Joseph became the Overseer of all of the households practical and business needs..

This was a huge responsibility… He had won Potiphar’s absolute trust… the only thing that Joseph didn’t have a hand in was preparing Potiphar’s meals..

Potiphar whose name means “Worshiper of the Sun.”

Recognized that hand of God of Israel (Yahweh) was upon Joseph and everything he touched prospered… We are told that the house of Potiphar was blessed because the hand of the Lord was upon Joseph.....

When we set up boundaries - we set up a president…a standard…when we do that there is going to be a high probability that they are going to be tested…

It’s interesting that we often describe character as being tested…

When you set up Boundary lines are going to be tested - Have you noticed that when ever you fast or set up a diet… all of sudden there is this abundance of food… People bringing donuts into the office… You get invited to a buffet… Everyone has a birthday...

Joseph challenge begins in a somewhat surprising place —

His temptation beings the good Genetics he inherited from his mother Rachael…

The scripture says “Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.”

Some would say in build and appearance.

Wenham one of the great commentators on the Book of Genesis… says,

“ Amid Joseph’s many blessings, he suffers from one endowment too many, stunning beauty.”

Wenham(WBC)

There is much to like about Joseph

Joseph was easy on the eyes…six pack and strikingly handsome.

Not only was Joseph outwardly attractive he was gifted leader and manager of household affairs…There was a lot to like about Joseph..

Again nothing that Joseph had done.. simply His good looks became a set up for a Sexual siege…

The story of the temptation is prototype of all fatal fatal attractions..

It begins through the glances of Pharaoh’s wife...

At some point Potiphar’s Wife developed this attraction towards Joseph.... she set her sights on Joseph... and after some time made her desires known… … She said to Joseph, “lie with me.”

Sleep with me..

When we set up boundaries… We have the advantage of an early warning system… When something goes over the boundary line… we can call it out..at least recognize it as being unhealthy.....

Potiphar’s Wife had disregarded Boundaries..

She made inappropriate Advances.

It started with this direct communication.. no doubt of her intentions…We are not given all the details we have to read in between the lines… She was forward… and was looking to sleep with Joseph… It is an indecent proposal… But, she was coming up against that boundary line… So she decided to change her tactics...

in ves 10

She soften her approach and made these interactions look innocent..…

Every day she started inviting him to just sit beside her, to come close, to keep her company.

Apparently her idea was, “If I cannot storm him, I can get close to him.”

I can make him fall for me… It’s going to take some time..

Now this is good advice..

Joseph would not listen to her… good advice for other woman… but men bad advice for the woman you are married too… It’ the opposite in marriage… good listening is probably the best skill you can have…

We need to remember that the story is not about the Wondering Eyes of PW… The story is about the Character of Joseph when faced with temptation… What kind of man is Joseph… What is the measure of Joseph?

Who was Joseph when nobody is looking?

It is not in the light that character is tested!

The famous Preacher D.L. Moody said.. “Character is what you are in the Dark”

The Story of Joseph is this mirror that throws it’s reflection back us… As we read the life of Joseph.. We need to put ourselves in the story...

How did Joseph enforce his boundaries?