As we approach the return of our Lord Jesus Christ,satan has been very busy in trapping the minds of the unsaved and saved especially in the area of "sexual promiscuity"....people in general have become totally obsessed with self gratification of the flesh,yielding to sexual temptation with absolutely no thought of restraint resulting in relatioships being torn apart recklessly,minds seemingly beyond repair, innocent minds being manipulated by demonic perverts who find it exceedinly pleasurable to mete out destruction in the guise of love.
This lifestyle of "sexual promiscuity" has changed our society into a sodom and gomorrah,this free for all mindset has created a society full of "sexual deviants",ultimately paying the price for it's "spiritual regression". It is very important to stop at this point and ponder the life of one of the greatest servant of God who through his obedience to God was able to by restraint and self control become one of the all time greats of the Bible; his name was Joseph..In the book of Genesis we will examine the life of this leader, from the adversities he was faced with..his brethren betraying him as a youth, his entering a strange land..his being "sexually enticed" by Potiphar's wife, his courage to resist the temptation,his being imprisoned because of this restraint and his depending on God for guidance which ultimately led to him being used by God in a strange land to bring glory to His Name.
Joseph in the mid'st of all this turmoil trusted God for spiritual,emotional,physical and mental stability from his youthful days to his adult life. The situations he had to face in his life were very much real, he encountered jealousy from his "brethren", he had to overcome so much adversities in a "strange land" including sexual temptation. His life lived on a daily basis,moment by moment was one which was a godly,virtuous and disciplined example to those around him.
The storms around him blew relentlessly but despite the ferociousness of these storms Joseph always calmly rested in God's presence, a perfect example for christians today to also calmly rest in the presence of Jesus Christ our Savior when things threaten to come apart at the seams.
Joseph was able to forgive his "brethren" for their dispicable treatment of him in the past, this was a perfect example of Romans 8:28 " All things work together for good for those who love God, for those called according to His purpose"
All things,included, all the bitter and sweet experiences Joseph encountered, the purpose was for him to be used by God in a "strange land" so that everyone there would see the salvation of God's grace and mercy operating through his righteous and astute leadership especially during the crucial times they were facing, at that time there was an international crisis, there was a worldwide famine,there was a recession in the land and it required his leadership and wisdom to resolve the situation.
Joseph at this point was a mature, experienced, righteous, seasoned, discerning leader, he was also a forgiving leader as reflected by his attitude towards his "brethren", he addressed them by saying in Genesis 50:20," You planned evil agains't me but God planned it for good to bring about the present result" which was to bring redemption to the people around him which were lost , starving and suffering.
The lessons to be learned from this are so rich and profound!!, God will allow adversities in our lives by His Wisdom so as to prepare us for a bigger and more fullfilling task, a task that will enable us through His Holy Spirit to lead the lost to His Kingdom through their repentance and coming to know the redemptive grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ through His precious shed Blood.
Joseph through his life lived,through his commitment to trust God,through his self discipline was able to avoid sexual temptations and other fleshly temptations, ultimately overcame the wiles of the devil, stayed focussed and victoriously accomplished the purpose God set before him.
In closing let us remind ourselves of the the purpose God has before us, that purpose is to live our lives in a non compromising way.
Let us close in prayer, " Lord Jesus,thank you that through the story of Joseph we were blessed that we were able to see the need to trust you completely in good times and in bad times, in times of plenty and in times of scarcity, in times when we feel betrayed, in times when we are tempted, thank you Lord Jesus that through your redemptive blood shed at calvary,through being our Mighty High Priest and through the empowerment of Your Holy Spirit we have been equipped to realize Your purpose in our lives, which is to live our lives on a daily basis, moment by moment bringing glory to your precious name by the way our lives reflect your fruits of love and compassion lived on a daily basis. Amen."
Patrick Lyn . E mail address dragon_ 4482@yahoo.com
