#55: Fleeing Temptation, Finding God’s Presence

This week we trace Joseph’s descent into Egypt and the temptation in Potiphar’s house to show how God’s presence steadies us when compromise looks easy. We map out practical ways to flee sexual sin, teach our kids with courage, and build homes with wise guardrails and honest talk.

• Egypt as a symbol of descent and danger
• God’s presence in suffering and injustice
• Why fleeing sexual temptation is wisdom
• Costs of compromise versus long term joy
• Practical boundaries for phones and media
• Parents as the primary sex educators
• A positive, biblical vision for sex
• Warnings from Proverbs 5–7 as daily tools
• Accountability, shared access, and trust
• Keep talking as children grow

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to Beyond the Pulpit, exploring the life and ministry of Walnut Creek Church downtown. Walnut Creek Church exists to glorify God by making authentic disciples of Jesus Christ who love and worship him in all they do. All right, welcome to Beyond the Pulpit. My name is Derek Wadley, and I'm joined by Lou Cookie. Hey everybody. And Dan Rood. Good morning, everyone. And this last weekend, we jumped into Genesis 39, which is the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife. Classic. Classic. Even Veggie Tales covered Joseph and Potiphar's wife, albeit slightly different in the way. What vegetable was she? A strawberry? I don't remember. I think maybe a cucumber. I think Larry might have been involved. So Larry the Cucumber, yeah. In case they have Veggie Tales. I haven't watched very many, but I do remember that. But there's a lot to this story that it almost seems impossible that we're only spending one week in chapter 39. But totally. But there's a lot there. And so how was that process for you? Dan getting getting ready.

Down To Egypt: Ominous Descent

SPEAKER_02 1:11

Yeah, I I made it, I made it through about 80% of my notes. And uh on Friday, I had uh I I had a lot of a lot of content and I was whittling it down, and I thought I would get through everything, but only got through about 80%, which is which is okay. A lot of on-the-fly editing a lot of Sunday morning. Yeah, that's right. That's how it works. I know that is how it works. And um Yeah, just a a few a few details uh uh in the story that I think are just kind of interesting. Um in verse one it says, now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And um verse one of chapter 38 that says at that time Judah left his brothers and settled near an Adolamite named Hirah. And um So what you don't see in the English is that there's a there's this a common word that connects verse one of chapter 38 and chapter 39, and it means to go down, that that Judah went down and Joseph went down, and in the in the Old Testament, um to go down to Egypt. Egypt is the it is the symbol of death and slavery in the Bible. Oh yeah. It is it's like a picture in some ways of hell. And um Exodus chapter one. That's exactly right. And and so when it says Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, you're supposed to pause there and go, oh no. No, no point. This is bad. He is he's in the belly of the beast, and um, and so it's an it's an ominous thing. It's it's the dark clouds are rolling in. Um, God's got uh a covenant child of God, and Joseph, son of Jacob, is is in Egypt. And so that you know this is gonna go bad. And uh and and even though he's gonna be tempted, we're we're told four times that God is with him. And I just I love the truth that uh regardless of what you're going through, you know, if life is really good or it's really terrible, if you're if you're on uh Mount Sinai or you're down in Egypt, you know, God, God's with his people. That's right. God is with his people. That bad circumstances are not it's not a sign of God's absence in our life, that God is really with us. And and uh Joseph, he's gonna be tested to the max. Um he's gonna be tested uh with sexual uh temptation that is, I mean, it's it's overwhelming. Um, Joseph's 17, maybe 18. Um, he's away from his family. He's been horribly mistreated by the covenant people of God, his brothers, the tribes of Israel. He's been treated absolutely horribly. He's sold as a slave by his family members, the Ishmaelites. Remember that that's Ishmael, the son of Abraham. So these are his cousins, his distant cousins have sold him, his brothers have sold him. Um this is he is horribly mis mistreated, but God is with him. God is God is with him, and he has every opportunity to give in to Potiphar's wife's advances. And um sense every reason.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

He has every reason to. I mean, but you know, like it's like the like you went through the list of excuses, you're like, boy, it'd be hard not to not to uh give in. Justify myself with one of those. I know.

SPEAKER_02 4:38

And you know, the one that really was the the the the one excuse that I think probably would have been in his head, like for sure, is like if I don't do this, I'm gonna get in trouble.

SPEAKER_03 4:49

Yeah.

God’s Presence In Dark Places

SPEAKER_02 4:50

Because uh he's a slave. It's part of the cult. And to say, and to say no to um your slave master's wife, you're gonna be you're gonna be in trouble. And that that's what actually happens. Like she has immense power over Joseph. And uh so if if you don't keep her happy, she's gonna do something bad to you. And she does. And and so that would have just been a you know another reason to little power dynamic. There is a power dynamic there. I mean, he's a slave, he's a Hebrew slave, a stud. I mean, he's he's looking looking really good. Testosterone flowing. I know. Jeez. Yeah, so this this is the the I think this is the single greatest chapter in all the Bible on what it looks like to live with sexual integrity.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Um I mean, just integrity in general. I mean, the crux of the story is about like fleeing sexual like temptation and like staying with God, but it's like he had a tremendous amount of power. Power is a corrupting force in a lot of people's lives because of our sins, and then access to untold riches because of his master's position and what he was in charge of, too. So this is I mean, this is self-control down to the core.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

Oh, yeah, absolutely. And and and he's a young man, you know, he's he's a young man. He he's he's the the picture of the the coming Daniel, you know, in the in Babylon. That's right. Uh he he's he's the he's the man who is sold as a slave and then he's gonna rise to power just like Daniel uh will eventually do. And um and something uh I I was I was thinking about, uh I don't know what you guys think about this, but uh I was just reflecting this last week on the power of sex.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

I mean it is it it really does have a unique ability to build relationships and destroy relationships. I mean, to build churches, to destroy churches, to build the kingdom, to destroy the ki the the work of God. I mean it it is so powerful and and just just the ability to have self-control, to honor God, you know, for a man uh to love one woman, for a woman to love one man the entirety of their lives, um and the blessing that flows from that. Oh my goodness. Um who who was the uh this is probably dangerous because I'm I'm just thinking of this right now. But who who's the isn't there a is it a it's not a senator in the house of in the house, I think there's uh in Texas there was a a man who was having an affair. Did you hear about this? In Texas?

SPEAKER_03 7:31

In the Texas like in Congress? City Congress? No, I don't think it's federal.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

National. And um this woman, the woman he was they were both married and he was sleeping with this woman and she actually lit herself on fire. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:47

Committed to the case. It was his uh staffer. Staffer.

Power, Abuse, And Sexual Temptation

SPEAKER_02 7:51

And and I thought, what what would possess someone? Yeah, the husband came out with the text messages and things, yeah. I mean just the the un the untold pain and sorrow that comes from uh breaking God's design for sex is just there there are uh too many examples to go through. I mean I mean it's countless in history, right now, in the world. I mean, it's just overwhelming. And and I and I think as Christians, uh we just need to embrace, totally embrace God's design. I mean it is totally it is l it is literally life-giving. I mean, gives gives life to children and it builds families, it builds cities, it builds churches. I mean, it it just it's it's brilliant to the core. And so what we see here is Joseph's gonna be tested. Um, he's gonna be tested to the core and he's gonna honor God. And uh something I didn't get into that much is when Potiphar's wife actually goes after him in verse 11 or verse 12. Verse 11 says, Now one day he he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there. She grabbed him, and that's very strong language there. She grabbed him by his garment, and and she's pulled the image is that she's pulling his garment off of him. She's like grabbing him and said, Sleep with me. But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. So he flees. He flees. Now, what do we learn in the Bible about fleeing? Well, that's a good question.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

We are to flee temptation. Flee temptation. Flee from sin.

SPEAKER_03 9:34

Yes, like d Joseph models what Paul later instructs us to do in 1 Corinthians 6, where Paul says, flee all sexual morality. And um and in this case, like uh Joseph is like literally fleeing, like he's running out of the house, uh robe being you know torn off, ripped off, uh to escape uh the sexual temptation that's in front of him. And um And so I think a question even to think about is like what what does it mean to flee sexual temptation? Totally. What does that look like? Um you know Joseph's an example of like literally running away from it. Uh Dan, I know of a guy, a pastor in a different state, but he's a friend of ours that hears a story about how his parents taught him this and he was on the bus, I think, for wrestling or something, and he someone like had pornography and tried to show it to him, and he you can correct me, I think this is right. He literally then ran off the bus. While the bus was driving. I'm just asking. Jumped out the door. But he is he he was trying to do it.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

No, he ran. He ran. He ran. He should have called his dad. He was like, You gotta come pick me up here. They're looking at porn on the bus. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:51

And and I think that was a good example of uh, you know, there are times where we literally must run away from things.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yeah, that's just like an important something that's important about that story is that uh when that story took place, given uh the relative age of of that guy and and us, is that there weren't smartphones on the bus. Like there are there was it's actually way easier for that to be on the bus, and it's definitely on the bus.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

Yeah, totally. It's true, it's true, totally. Yeah, so he so Joseph he he flees, and uh there is so there's something about sexual temptation where every every every time uh we encounter sexual temptation, the Bible tells it tells us to flee. Like sometimes you just you you need to stand. But never with sexual temptation. That's a good point. Yeah, it's interesting because the by the Bible says, take your stand, take your stand, you gotta stand, resist the devil. But the way you s you you resist the devil, the way you resist sexual temptation is you run. You actually run. Yeah. Like you don't you don't flirt with it, you don't mess around with it.

SPEAKER_03 11:58

Yeah, Proverbs is five or six, which says, Who can who what man you know can walk across burning coals and not get burned? It's like the idea is that to s to stand and not to flee, you're just setting yourself up to uh more than likely to get torched by it. You're gonna get burned.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Yeah. Yeah. And I I think early in my life, I think in high school and as I was just getting older, maturing, walking with the Lord, I I think I I had this idea that you know you should you like a strong Christian should be able to kind of face sexual temptation and be okay. And that lasted like a hour. That was like a one out in it makes so much more sense, Dan.

SPEAKER_03 12:40

High school makes so much more sense to me why I'm joking.

The High Cost Of Compromise

SPEAKER_02 12:44

No, but it's like you know, you think, oh yeah, you Christians, you really should be able to like kind of face the temptation and yeah, you're not strong enough. Yeah, you're yeah. But but really the Bible says that wisdom is just you just flee. You know, in Proverbs it says don't go down the door, or don't go near the door of her house. Right. Proverbs 7. Yeah, you don't you don't you don't screw around with that, you don't mess around with it. You just you have to flee. You have to run. You have to run. Don't engage with the flirting. Yeah, I know. There and so there there is something about um the Christian the Christian life where um if we're gonna honor God, we we want to do what uh Paul says in First Corinthians six, where he says, Don't you know that you were bought with a price? Therefore, honor God with your body. And then he says, Don't you know that your t your body is a temple of the living God? And therefore honor God with your body. That's the the Holy Spirit who's in you, whom you have from God. You have from God. And there is something about uh the life of uh sexual integrity where there there has to be an edge in our souls. Yeah. Like if we're casual about sexual temptation, if if we flirt with temple uh sexual temptation, uh we're we're we're gonna fall. You're you're we're gonna fall. And uh there has to be uh an edge, a strength, uh, a conviction in our souls, uh clarity about what uh what it means to honor God with our bodies. Um and and and so that that means like as Christian men and women, we we ought not be flirting with inappropriate movies. Um, I I sometimes I hear about movies people are watching or TV shows that people are watching. And I'm not saying there's you know, you can never ever watch a movie that has some you know hint of inappropriate, you know, an inappropriate scene. I'm not I'm not trying to regulate.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Well, it's a Angel Studios has not yet made enough movies to replace an Fox.

SPEAKER_02 14:45

Yeah, yeah, but I I sometimes I hear about it and I just think, man, you're just exposing yourself to like I mean, some very graphic images and evil, evil images. And so again, I'm not uh we're not trying to like regulate what everybody watches, but there there has to be an edge that like there is a battle that we're in.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

Was it I think it was Martin Luther said, You can't control the birds that fly over your head, but you can control what birds build a nest in your hair.

SPEAKER_02 15:16

Yeah, that's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

So and he had a good head of hair for a nest or a lack of hair. That's right. But but it's like we, you know, there just to exist in the world and in the culture, it's like there's temptation left and right all over the place. The music that plays at restaurants that you choose to go, you know, that you go to. It's like uh or what's past is like family friendly. Um, just the signs on on you know, on the street or the billboards, anything like that. There's temptation everywhere. And we can't we can't control everything. We we just can't, but but we can be self-controlled enough to not let these ideas take root in our minds and in our hearts.

SPEAKER_03 15:54

And I think too, like to your point, like we can't control everything, certainly. But um, I do think that doesn't we should be careful not to let that become a justification for letting certain things into our homes.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Absolutely.

Joseph Runs: Flee, Do Not Fight

SPEAKER_03 16:08

Certainly. And I think that's where that that is a well, I can't control what's always on the TV. Well, yeah, yeah. So maybe you shouldn't watch it, or you shouldn't watch that station or that, you know, whatever. So I do think there's something there too. Like we can't control, like, you know, um you know, you're you're in the grocery store and someone's wearing provocative clothes. You know, you can't control that situation. You can control it.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Even just where we're at as a church, walking around the East Village. It's full of all sorts of stuff.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

But I think you we want to be, you know, vigilant about our particularly our own homes and what's in coming into our own eyes from you know all the smartphone and and technology that we have, which I think is you know, you ask the question like what is uh the idea of like what is fleeing look like today? Because you know, in Joseph's day or in situation, it's very much like runaway. But even like in our culture now, with um, you know, we would be speaking to having an edge, like we would be dumb to not be aware of the fact that uh smartphones, tablets, you know, computers, like porn and sexual immorality, it's right around the corner all the time. All the time. And uh as uh it was Josh Windows said, it's like it's not a matter of like if but when, and it's just one click away. You're one click click away in many cases from not just seeing something and then you have the opportunity to make a decision and choice to like flee from that thing, but you're one click away from like just being caught up into it, into a life, a life of harm and pain. Certainly. And so I think there are some situations where like fleeing, it's like it may mean like you don't have a smartphone. Uh or it may mean like you reduce the certain types of technology that you're using in certain contexts.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Right. You don't have a Netflix subscription, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:56

Exactly. Like so there's there's a lot of like practical things, a lot of practical things, and people have to work that stuff out in their own life and before the Lord. But I think to myself, like, it's worth it. It's worth it. Sometimes we're like, well, I can't give this up because you know, like, how am I gonna connect with the world? It's like you'll be okay. There's better ways to do that.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

You're gonna be all right, or whatever. You're gonna be all right. So how do we how how do we uh talk to our kids about this? This is uh this I think this is a big a big question that uh a lot of parents are wrestling with. Like, how do you how do you talk to your kids about sex? Uh someone, someone uh in the church they they said, hey Dan, uh could could I have you come over in my house and um just talk to my kids about sex? We don't know how to talk to our kids about sex. Could you come do this? And I said that's not sure. I said, no, you can do that. You need to do that as as parents. Yeah. And so just maybe just um just a few thoughts on how to how to talk to your kids about sex and sexual temptation. Um I'd say number one, as parents, uh, you need to see yourself as the uh as responsible for talking to your kids about sex. Primary educator. The primary educator about sex. And um there's a philosophy that says, well, you know, if we talk about sex, um, that's gonna like kind of make our kids start interested. Then they're gonna be interested in sex, and they're gonna and we're we don't want to if we don't talk about sex ever, then our kids will never be interested in sex. You know what's happened is my parents didn't talk to me about sex and I was really interested in it.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Yeah, I was still quite interested. So it's just puberty.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

It's it's just acknowledging the reality that um your kids are going to be interested in sex. And so the so the question is um where do you want them to get the information? That's the they're gonna learn about sex there maybe from their friends or from social media or from teammates or school or TV shows. They're going to learn. That's right. Learned. They're going to learn about sex TV. And so I think I think number one, you just you just uh own that responsibility. Like and it it's a little bit awkward. Um, it can be a little bit awkward talking to your kids about about sex at times, but um that's where the conversation needs to happen with mom and dad and their kids.

What Fleeing Looks Like Today

SPEAKER_03 20:21

And can I add a uh I think something to help with the awkwardness? The sooner you do it and the more regular you talk about, like it's not a one and done, which is probably another point, but yeah, the more the less awkward it is. Totally.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

So if you if you wait until they're like 25, I've been married for four years, like somewhat familiar with the concept.

SPEAKER_03 20:48

I just wanted to let you know about something called sex. No, if it but if you're like and with the appropriate amount of detail and things as they're younger to different ages, but the more you just have it as a part of your conversation, totally, uh, the less awkward it's going to feel. Totally. And and I think we need to remember something. I think it's like the plan of like Satan to make it feel awkward and to make it look feel kind of like bad and weird so that we don't talk about it. So like where the education comes is uh from some other source that is actually going to corrupt and harm our kids in their uh understanding of sexuality.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

Yeah, that's good. That's good. And uh yeah, so I think parents just need to own that responsibility. And when when is when should you start talking to your kids? How old? I don't know. We started talking to our kids about sex. I don't know. Really young, I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 21:42

We use five, six, seven years old. We've used like different resources and materials, books to help you.

SPEAKER_02 21:48

Yeah, yeah, because they're they're going to learn. And obviously, it's age you want to be age appropriate. Yes, you know, but but it's it's they're going to learn. And you want your kids to think, oh We can talk, we can talk to our parents about sex. So, on that responsibility, I'd say number two is present a positive view of sex. Which is when they're young, is when they're young, they're young, especially. And help help them help your kids understand the beauty and the glory of sex. What is God's design? Like, why does what's the purpose of it? Because I think there's a big lie that uh Christians are anti-sex, the Bible is anti-sex, that uh that the Bible somehow somehow says that sex is is icky, evil, gross, shameful. It's like, no, no, no. That's not what the Bible does at all. The Bible begins with a man and a woman naked in paradise singing about having sex. That's Adam and Eve. And so the Bible has a glorious view of sex. And I think that that's that when you talk to your kids about sex, you want to talk to them and present the biblical view that is glorious, that it is good between what it is a group, a good gift between one man and one woman for one lifetime in marriage. That's that is the the image, and it's a gift because God lets uh people who have been created in his image uh join him in creating more image bearers through sex, procreation. That's right. It's bonding two people together uh for one lifetime. Our bodies are bonding through sex that we stay together permanently together and pleasure that that it's a pleasurable thing, it's something to be enjoyed uh between a husband and a wife who have given themselves to each other for life. And and that's a glorious thing. It's a glorious thing. And so you want to present a very positive view. Um, second, uh or third, you need to warn your kids about the dangers of sex. It is just like the dangers of fire. Yeah, just I so that's what um I uh I I often will ask my kids, is sex good or bad? And they say they go, Dad, it's it's like fire. Sex is like fire. And um and it's it's good in one context and deadly in another. And um and so just talk to them about it, warn them. Uh warn them. Um a little practical thing too. This is this is a small thing, but as they get phones, um you know, all all I don't know if I should share this or not, but all the the the roots, we have the same code on our phone to get in. We all have the same code, so it's like what that means is my wife can get on my phone at any time. I can get on her phone at any time. Um, my kids can get on my phone at any time, I can get on their phone at any time. So there's nothing that's that's off limits. And um, and so we we can check and we do check. We do check. And um, and we're we're smart about how we check. We try to like learn how does this all work, you know.

SPEAKER_03 24:53

So it Yeah, you don't like check at the same time every time, and then you tell your kids, oh, phone check, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. Or it's like you just I just randomly take their phones and look at them.

Phones, Filters, And Real Boundaries

SPEAKER_02 25:02

Yeah, yeah, that's right. And and in it, and if you do if you don't have a relate good relationship with your kids and you've never talked to them about sex, and you just randomly take their phone, um it's it's gonna be weird.

SPEAKER_03 25:15

We get at some point we should we should just get into like the technology. Yeah, because I think there's some good ways to think about how do you manage phones and those things totally as your kids get older. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:24

Because that's that's that's the the number one danger for sexual sin. I I think probably it probably number one is just through the phone. Oh man. It's through your phone, yeah. And um, and just even warning your kids and talking to your kids, like and monitoring your kids, like the idea of having allowing a a 15-year-old boy to be in his room with his phone by himself for an hour. Don't happen in our house. Yeah, that that's that's something that's probably probably not very wise. And I think it's good to tell your kids like this is the number one of the one of it might be the the greatest danger to your soul, seriously. And so that's why you can't do you can't do that.

SPEAKER_03 26:10

You so yeah, which there's a whole conversation there that'd be good to get into. One one thing that'd be helpful, I or that's been helpful for us and having regular conversations about sex is uh just reading the Bible. Amen. Yeah, and um, and particularly we we've had our kids for years uh read like the proverb of the day. And when you read the proverb of the day, you have at least three days a month from Proverbs five, six, and seven and more, but at least three where opportunities where you can you can have those conversations. And so we've used that many times to have that conversation. And in Proverbs 5 hits on partly on the glories of sex, you know, let your wife's breasts uh satisfy you, uh, or let the intoxicated to the the pleasure aspect of sex, but then also you have the uh clearly the dangerous aspects of sex, the warnings there. And um, and so those are opportunities just as you're reading through the Bible together, it's like, man, you can you there's no shortage of opportunities to talk about talk about sex. So that's been just a helpful thing that you're like it it naturally can bring up the conversation totally. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

So uh number one, own the responsibility to talk to your kids about sex. I think you can start pretty young, age appropriate, um to present a glorious picture of sex, the biblical view of sex. Number three, warn them and warn them about about it and look at them and talk with them and sit together and you know go through the proverb proverb of the of the day or go through I mean there's a million, a million passages. And I would add to that fourth one, keep talking. Yeah, keep talking, just keep don't let it be a one-to-one conversation. Yeah, yeah. And it and the more you have those conversations, I I do think it can feel a little bit awkward uh at times, but it's like it the more you talk about it, the more regular it becomes. Like I think the the more natural it is.

SPEAKER_03 27:58

And I think the long term is our kids will appreciate it. Amen. They'll be thankful.

unknown 28:02

Amen.