YP Talk—Ted Allan
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All right, we can go ahead and get started.
I think most people are here who will be coming, so we'll go ahead and get started. Let's start by singing a hymn 276.
And I was thinking of the 1St 4 lines in this hymn. Let's say guide us, O thou gracious Savior, pilgrims, through this barren land. We are weak, but thou art mighty. Hold us with thy powerful hand. Let's sing 276.
Guide us so thou.
Gracious Savior.
Pilgrims through.
This barren land.
We are.
Weak, but thou art mighty.
Holy.
Swift, thy power.
Never.
Mind.
Of heaven.
Bread on heaven.
Feed us now.
And evermore.
While we.
This.
Vela Sorrow.
May we?
End thy love.
Abine.
Keep us ever.
Gracious.
Savior.
Cleaving closely.
To.
Thy son.
Storyline.
Story line.
On the.
Father's.
Changeless love.
Story.
Lying.
Storyline.
On the.
Father's.
Changeless love.
Save your come. We long to see the.
Long to dwell.
They are about.
And to know when.
For Communion.
All the sweetness.
Of thy love.
Come, Lord.
Jesus.
Come, Lord.
Jesus.
Take.
My.
Waiting people home.
Come, Lord.
Jesus.
Come Lord Jesus.
00:05:06
Take.
My waiting.
People.
Let's ask the Lord's help.
Father, we come to you at the start of this hour and we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee. I just ask, Father, that the words that are spoken in these next few minutes might be made clearly simply for the help of these dear young people.
We just pray that they would be strengthened, Father to continue on in the path of faith and Thou would continue to guide all of us till we reach the promised shore. We just give Thee thanks for Thy love and Thy grace to us.
In Jesus name we do pray, Amen.
September 18 last year, I got a phone call in the evening. It was probably about six, 7:00 at night.
And there was a various serious phone call. For those who don't know me, I work in the electric power industry and electrical engineer and part of my responsibilities was.
Being responsible for a lot of the tree trimming that we do as a company.
And I got a call saying that a man that worked for the company got in a very, very serious accident. His name was James, He was about 51 years old. I was told that they had called the paramedics, he was taken by a flight to the nearest hospital and that he was in very, very serious condition.
And the employee who called me was very shook up. I knew it was bad.
And I made immediate phone call to my boss to let him know what had happened.
And as the details became apparent.
I found out a little bit more what had happened. This particular employee had pulled his truck off to the side of the road. There was actually about 7-8 people working there in this part of eastern Pennsylvania, very close to the New Jersey border. And there are, like I said, about 8-9 people on that particular crew. There was a general foreman who was there, and this employee was working with what we call a bucket truck. It's a truck with a lift on the back. It has a bucket that stands in and.
That's what they use to trim branches away from the wires.
That carry electricity.
This particular person, when he went up there, his bucket got snagged on a branch and the lip of the bucket where they're controls, where they control goes up, goes down, it got snagged on a branch.
And that particular man, he maneuvered the control to have it go free, but unfortunately with the built up energy that was there with that bucket as he began to move it and it was stuck when it finally broke free.
It thrust that bucket up a few feet, not much, but enough to propel him out of the bucket, and he fell about 30 feet headlong to the pavement.
Everybody, of course, rushed over and started administering CPR.
When I got the call, they knew enough to know that he wasn't moving from the chest down, so we knew there was paralysis and he was in bad shape. Severe trauma to the face and the head.
Unfortunately, about 30 days later, we found out that that man passed away due to the severity of his injuries.
The reason it happened was obviously he got snagged on the branch, but there are protection in mechanisms in place to prevent if that type of thing happens to save their life. And so some of you might be familiar with the harness that people may use, whether you're doing tree work in your backyard, these particular people use the same thing. And this particular employee was using something called H style harness just over the shoulders straps here.
And also straps around the legs.
He had the harness on, but he forgot one step.
And that was he did not clip what we call the leg straps on that particular harness. So when he fell out, it just slipped over the upper part of his body and fell to the pavement.
00:10:10
That particular person made a very, very poor decision, something that would have taken just a few seconds to do.
Taking a shortcut cost him his life.
And I had it on my heart as I was praying about what to talk about with you young people. And that is something I'm going to call decision points. That will be the theme, really, of my discussion with you. And I want to take up various people in Scripture who made conscious decisions in their life that I'll say affected the trajectory of the remainder of their life.
There are many, many examples. I wouldn't hope honestly in the time today or tomorrow to cover all of them.
But they were ones that I have thought about and really over the last number of years, some of them I've thought about deeply because of circumstances in my own life. And I wanted to share them with you. So it'll be a help to you.
Before I do that, I want to pass around a picture of that story I was talking about. This picture was taken at the scene.
Just within a few minutes of the accident happening.
And I find it's a very powerful photo because if you look at that bucket that's up in the air, you can see that harness hanging down. It's orange. You'll see it when you pass it around. But it's a very powerful reminder to me of a conscious choice that somebody made that cost them their life.
The examples I'm going to give, some people make good choices. In fact, I'd say the majority of them make good choices, but some of them made poor choices. So with that, I'm going to start this. I'm just going to hand this over to Ben and have him pass it around.
While I'm talking.
And I thought I'd start by turning to Matthew chapter 4.
And we'll start there.
You know, the stories that I'm going to read about and the people, the men, the women are going to talk about really I would think are known to most if not everybody here.
But I hope to certainly draw some examples that may be of benefit to you. So the first person I want to talk about Matthew 4 here is Peter. He's not the only one referenced here, but I'm going to read Matthew 4 verse 18.
And I'll read 3 verses. It says in Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea. For they were fishers, our fishermen. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their Nets.
And followed him.
I think it only appropriate to start with this example because.
This is really where I'll say the journey begins, if you will.
And it starts with the gospel. It starts with making a conscious decision to follow Jesus Christ.
You know, I've said it before, I'll continue to say it, but in a group like this, I can never, you know, I'd say any group, you can never obviously assume that everybody in the audience is a believer in Jesus Christ. I've seen too many examples of people I've known very well growing up who I thought were Christians and then, you know.
They they gave everything up and it really called into question us to really whether they were a true believer.
But here we find Simon Peter and Andrew. They were out, they were fishing, and Jesus, it says, was walking along. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Follow me. You know, I would suspect that most of you probably made a decision early in your life to give your life to Christ, accepted him as Lord and Savior. But I found from talking to people too, it seems as if there comes a point, especially in teenage years, where there's also a decision of a sorts as to whether you're going to live out the reality that faith in your life.
00:15:06
Or, in a sense, lose your life.
By not following the Lord.
And.
And I am by no means insinuating at all you can lose your salvation. That is not the case. The Bible is clear on that. But you know, I speak from personal, my own personal testimony and also my wife. And I asked her about sharing this with you, and I know that she said it was fine.
But, you know, when she was a teenager, she was not making good choices in her life and really got involved with the crowd where, you know, they were leading her down a wrong path. And I remember her, you know, telling me after we started going together about a conscious choice she made in her life where she knew if she continued on that path.
Really, there it would be a life that would have very, very little fruit for God.
And she knew that she had to make a decision really to separate herself from the friends she was currently hanging out with and make a conscious decision to follow the Lord in her life in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
She would tell you if she were here tonight that she was clearly a believer at that time, but she knew she was making choices in her life where she had to make a conscious choice to follow this man, Jesus Christ.
She made that choice, she says. In some ways it was easy, but in other ways it was hard. She had to stop taking phone calls from people and say, I'm sorry, I can't hang out with you anymore. And she had, in a certain sense, to start over.
She asked for her place at the Lord's table some time later, and I won't get into the full story, but it was a turning point, I think, in her life. I know it was. And Peter here, when Jesus came along, he made a decision in a sense, although it was immediate, it was clear as immediate that they left their Nets and followed him. You know, this is representative really of a person that would leave their livelihood.
Job to leave whatever it took to follow Christ. In Mark chapter 10, Peter said very clearly that they left all to follow Christ.
You know, there are many things that can detract us, to drag us down, but there really should be nothing in life that would tie us down or to hold us back from doing what Peter did and following Christ. You know, I think of those two words.
Follow me.
You know it's not.
You know, in a sense, following a religion or going to meeting and doing those things, although, you know, obviously regular study of the Bible and prayer, these things are important, but we're talking about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And I wonder each of you, if I were to ask you this question, you don't have to answer, but could you say that you are a true follower of Jesus Christ and have that relationship with him?
You know Peter.
He had his ups and downs in his life, we know that.
We know that he was a very impulsive person, very zealous by nature and but he had to go through a time in his life where he denied Christ three times. We know the account, but he was restored and used in a powerful way by the Lord in Book of Acts that makes mention that over 3000 people were brought to Christ through his teaching. But again, those two words follow me.
You know, as I was thinking about those two words before today, I was thinking of that, him that sometimes we sing that says I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back. I was curious about that. It just came to my mind. I looked up the story. It was actually based on account of a man, an Indian man in northeastern India. A missionary had come to that area. They were preaching the gospel and this man and his wife, his two children.
Where some of the first converts in that particular area in India.
And.
The village chief, as I recall, he was extremely upset when he saw what was happening. The people were listening. Some people were becoming Christians. And he brought this man in with his wife and his two children. And he said, if you don't renounce basically your faith, I'm going to kill your wife and children. And that's exactly what they did. They first shot his two children with arrows. This was back in the late 1800s.
00:20:13
And.
When they did that, he quoted the first couple lines of that hymn. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back. They then threatened him and said, if you don't, if you continue saying what you're saying and don't change, we're going to kill your wife also. And then he said those next words of the hymn that said, though none go with me, I still will follow. And he said that because he recognized he would lose his wife and he would be.
And so they killed his wife also.
And before they killed him, he said those words without him. He said the world behind me, the cross before me.
And they took his life. And apparently from what I've read, this hymn is still popular in India Today. And later on, from what I've read, most if not all the people in that village gave their life to Christ, including from what I read, whether true or not, the village chief was one of the first ones to give his life to Christ after seeing the courage and the bravery that man.
You know.
We would all like to think we would have that courage of that man in India.
But tonight I'm asking you, do you have the courage to follow this man called Jesus Christ?
No matter what the cost, because young people, as I said in my prayer before our time here, this world is becoming increasingly hostile to Christianity, to Christians. It's not that Christ, in a sense, was ever accepted in this world, but storm clouds are gathering. I see it. I feel it in the workplace. We see it in the schools.
And really there needs to be a decision on your part as to whether you will have the courage.
Like Peter did to leave all and follow Jesus Christ. So that's where I wanted to start because as we think about these next examples.
We're going to use that as kind of the baseline. So I want to turn first to the next example, one that I've really been thinking about over the last number of years, and it's in Hebrews 11, and it is in relation to Moses. So obviously the story of Moses is an Exodus, but here we're going to read the account.
From the chapter that recounts men and women of faith.
And I'm going to start at verse 24 and read through 28.
It says, by faith, Moses, when he was come to yours, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.
For He endured as seeing Him who is invisible through faith. He kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest He that destroyed the first born should touch them.
Moses. There's a lot written about Moses in Scripture.
And.
As I said, I've thought a lot about Moses out over the last number of years and there came a time in Moses life where he made a decision. It was a decision point and it says here at the beginning when he was come to years. I don't know exactly how old he was. We do know when he made the decision to visit his brethren the Israelites and he committed murder.
We see that next Chapter 7.
And Stephens account that he was 40, but, and I don't know if this is in relation to that same time or time prior, maybe somebody has a thought on that. They like to share that afterwards. But there came a time in his life when he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Moses, as we know, was with his in his mother's care until he was weaned.
Remember, he was put in the ark, He was brought back. He was nervous.
00:25:00
And then he went to live in Pharaoh's household.
I've no doubt that those early years, though perhaps he, I don't know if he had any memory of them. I think back then when people weaned children, it was later than today, but it clearly had an impact on him, I believe. And but by and large, he grew up in Pharaoh's household in another place. In Act seven, I believe it says that he was mighty in Word and deed. He was educated.
In the ways of the Egyptians, he probably was trained in military tactics.
By all accounts, he, you know, grew up a very elite lifestyle, you know, with a lot of prestige and privilege. But, you know, he saw what was going on with his fellow countrymen, the Israelites, how they were treated badly. And he made a choice that he was not going to be associated with Pharaoh's household, that he would not be called.
Basically Pharaoh's daughter's son.
And I think about this because it says next he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
You know, I recognize that most of you are probably in school, some are in college, perhaps some are out working, but I cannot emphasize enough the importance of making it known that you are a believer.
Wherever you are in your severe and associating yourself with those who also have a desire to follow and please God in your life.
Umm, you know, there's a lot of peer pressure, obviously in the sphere that many of you are in. We all feel it. You know, I, I face it in the workplace, you face it at school, but I recognize more and more it's almost, there's almost a preservation point with making it known you're a Christian because people just by making that known and who you associate yourself with, I'm not saying fully, but.
Some cases will cause people maybe not to ask you to go a particular place, so they recognize that's not in keeping with that profession. And so Moses made a conscious decision that he would not be basically called an Egyptian, that he was an Israelite, and that he would choose rather suffer affliction with the people of God.
The life of a Christian is not easy. You know it talks about here the pleasures of sin for a season. And there are.
Pleasures in sin for a short time.
You know, the certainly the pressures and teenage years in particular are very, very strong. I remember them well. And I cannot say honestly that I dealt with them well in, in all instances. In fact, you know, as I thought about this topic, I, I thought about, you know, really I talked about this topic of decision points, not because I did things well, but I think many times because I did things not well and they were very painful.
Learning experiences.
But you know, this is one thing, Moses. He made a good choice here.
To be associated with the people of God.
You know, I readily admit, young people, these are difficult days. You're probably coming from assemblies where there's few, if any, other Christians. And it's tough, you know, and my heart hurts for you, really, because this is the reality in the day in which we live.
You know, when I in my home assembly growing up when I was your age, there was probably 10 young people in my assembly. We did things Friday nights through the week after meeting, Wednesday night, Friday night, Sunday night. And times have changed tremendously and I recognize that. But it still does not change the fact wherever those who are called Christians are found who have a desire to please the Lord.
Those in your assembly, those who you know to seek their company.
Knowing that that decision.
There will be persecution with it. It may be lonely at times. In fact, I dare say it will be lonely. And yet it is a path of joy. It is a path of peace.
It says that he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.
00:30:02
You know Egypt.
Speaks of the world in Scripture.
And you know, in effect here Moses was basically saying, I reject the world and all that it has to offer and I'm choosing to follow Christ and what comes with that. He clearly had an eye as to if he continued on that path that he was in, it was going to be a life that would have very temporal satisfaction. He would not be laying out treasures in heaven.
But rather, he had his eye on the eternal.
And serving the Lord Christ. And so he had his eye really on that, because it says in verse 27 He forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
I thought about that little phrase, not fearing the king.
Because, as I said, the cultural pressures today are immensely strong.
And I really believe it's very close when the authorities in this country are going to do things that we as are put into law, things that we as Christians cannot follow, you know, we are to submit ourselves to the authorities, yes, but we ought to obey God rather than man and.
In that sense, we ought not to fear the King, but rather fear him.
Who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?
And Moses did not fear the king here.
You know.
As I said, peer pressure is very strong. This is something really is going to have to be a conscious decision on your part. I, I, you know, I'm not planning on talking about Daniel, but we know the account where it says he purposed in his heart not to defile himself. And I think I know it takes purpose of heart on your part, beloved young people to really be preserved in this life.
The next verse I just want to touch on and make this one point. It says by faith he kept the Passover. We know that.
You know, they were instructed the Israelites before they left Egypt to put that blood over the door and on the side posts to kill that lamb. It really pointed forward to the death of Christ that would happen many years later.
I'll just bring out this point because sometimes I think it's perhaps not made enough to young people with this group that I would encourage you, if you've not yet made that decision, to remember the Lord, to think about it.
You know the Lord Jesus, it says in the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and he made that statement this do in remembrance of me.
You know, for whatever reason, sometimes young people put it off. They may think that, you know, my life is not completely in order. And, you know, maybe I'll wait till I'm in my 20s and, you know.
I they have various concerns, but I encourage you to think about it, to pray about it. That's something the Lord wants us to do to commemorate his death. Moses was acknowledged really for the faith that he had to do what they were instructed to do by putting that blood over the door and along the side post.
That really that shed blood that pointed forward to the death of Christ.
So I just mentioned that, you know, and Christendom today, it seems increasingly there's less and less of this commemoration of Christ's death, but it is something that he has asked us to do. So again, Moses, I think about this decision point.
Really, the decision of the path of life that you will follow, whether you will lay up treasures in heaven or whether you will lay up treasures.
On Earth.
You know, I'm going to mention one other person, a female in relation to this, and I debated whether to bring her up because in many respects it's similar to Moses but a little bit different, and that is Ruth. So I'm just going to read a few verses there from the book of Ruth, chapter one.
About the decisions she made, really.
To follow the God of Israel.
00:35:09
And I'm going to start a Ruth chapter one, verse 15, so we know this is Naomi talking.
And it says, And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and under her gods, return thou after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return.
From following after thee, For whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also if aught but death part thee.
And me when she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left, speaking unto her.
The account of Ruth.
You know both Moses and Ruth made decisions that affected the trajectory of their life. You know Moses and that decision.
I mean, we would never have the account of the rest of his life as we know it. You know, the following 40 years in the wilderness, the last 40 years will say back guiding the children of Israel.
Out of Egypt. And Ruth in a certain sense also did the same thing in that she made a conscious choice to leave her people.
And.
Basically join herself with Naomi to follow her wherever she went.
And I'll say this, that I think this is important to point out because.
I was thinking about Emma and I mentioned Emma, this girl who lived with us two years ago when I spoke here, but she came to my mind.
Because.
Emma came from China. She lived with us for one year.
And we presented the gospel to her many times when she was in our home.
But I saw that struggle she had because she came from a country where is predominantly atheists. In fact, she told me she she was deathly afraid if she made that choice to follow Jesus Christ as to what the repercussions would be to her family, to her whole way of life. She was deeply loyal to China.
And she openly talked about it. She was afraid about it. And I mentioned to that because I think of.
Ruth here because you have to realize she came from a country they did not follow God. They were they were idolaters there. You know, she obviously came to know about the God of Israel through Naomi and her husband and I presume her husband as well. But that choice to leave that country, the people she knew that that safety net.
That was a massive choice for her.
And I don't know the backgrounds of all of you here, but I did think it important to note because this decision point.
As to really leave everything behind to follow Christ no matter the cost.
Can, does and will really, for all of us, come with major implications to our lives.
But if you really think about what that meant for Ruth to do that, she left everything behind to go with her mother-in-law into the unknown, as it were. And her words are incredibly powerful. You know where she basically said, you know, I'll go where you go. Wherever you stay, wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, thy God, my God.
Where you die, will I die? And there will I be buried. I mean, talk about a, you know, unreservedly committing herself.
Fully to Naomi in the path that she was going. We know that Orpa, she turned around and went back to her people. But this choice that Ruth made was life changing. We know she's in the lineage of Christ. She was blessed immensely. A Moabitess brought in into Israel and married to Boaz. Just a wonderful, wonderful story. But again, I thought it good to bring out both male and female but also.
00:40:03
Recognizing that maybe not all here come from a Christian background necessarily, I suspect vast majority, if not all have. But the story of Ruth is a different situation. And again, I think I thought about it with Emma. And unfortunately when she left her home, she had not yet made that commitment to follow Christ. And I we still pray for her that one day she will.
But.
You know, I thought it very similar in many respects.
So let's go to the next example.
And this next example is found in Genesis 13. And this is a person who made not a good choice. And this was Lot.
Genesis 13.
And we'll start at verse 10.
It says in Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose them all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves, the one from the other.
Abraham dwelt, or Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent towards Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
You know, this is a very solemn example. Obviously somebody who didn't make a good choice, you know, a lot made.
A decision that I think many of us struggle with and that is, you know, what his eyes saw enticed him.
You know, he and Abram had to separate. I mean, there was strife. It's in the earlier verses talks about between the herdsmen and it was actually Abraham that told Lot in verse eight. You know, it said let there be no strife.
At the end of that verse says, For we are brethren, is not the whole land before they separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. Thou will take the left hand, then I will go to the right, and so on.
But lots heart, and I think about this really OK. It was really what his heart was drawn to.
And I think there was 2 words there, or maybe not two. I'll say 5. In verse 12 That really jumped out of the page at me, it says he pitched his tent towards Sodom Lot. I really believe his heart was in that place. For whatever reason. He liked the city, wanted to be the place where the action was.
We know that he was pulled out of Sodom. In fact, he was pretty much begging the angels to let him stay in this little city.
But he was drawn to that.
What looks good, what feels good. And you know, I think of this as our fleshly desires here as to what entices us. And he paid a heavy, heavy price for it.
You know, so I think about you young people, the direction of life that you're going to go. It takes many twists and turns. I know mine has some good, some not so good.
But if what motivates us is by what looks good externally, you know, if our heart is drawn really to the place where the world and it's enticements are, it's going to lead to a terrible end. And that's really what it was for a lot. You know, what does your heart?
Seek after. That's really something you need to ask yourself.
I think a good litmus test.
Of that first thing in the morning, what do you pick up first? You pop open your phone. What's the first Internet website you go to? I think if I were to search your Internet browser history for the last two weeks, I think it would say a lot about really where your heart desires are at.
00:45:02
Umm, these are things that affect all of us.
And.
They come with a heavy price when our motivations are bad.
We certainly know what Sodom was all about.
Rampant with immorality.
And we know that Lot was there. He vexed his soul day-to-day. Abraham, in a much contrasted character we know, was living in a tent outside of that place, totally separate.
But don't think that you can live as it were, amongst all of that and not be affected.
You know, we're all affected in some capacity in the culture in which we live. I think about that.
But again Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan that it was well watered.
You know, he probably, he had no idea that in time that entire place would be judged by fire and brimstone, by a holy God for the wicked immorality that was there.
He pitched his tent towards Sodom. So I think about this again as the decision point of the places and life that we go and what our motivations are.
So we have time for one more, I think, before we.
Closed for this evening. This topic is going to continue in tomorrow. It will be expanded upon a little bit more, but the next one is in Genesis 39.
And this has to do with Joseph.
And this next decision point has to do with purity. You know, this is an uncomfortable account. I acknowledge that as a parent, I know when we get to this chapter and Bible readings with their own kids, it's, you know, might make us squirm a little bit, but I know it is extremely important.
So I'm going to read a few verses here from Genesis 39.
Start at verse 7.
It says, And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife, Mrs. Joseph, now cast her eyes upon Joseph, and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master, what if not, what is with me in the house? And he hath committed all that he hath to my hand. There is none greater in this house than I. Neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife.
How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
And it came to pass about this time that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand and fled and got him out.
This decision point, I'll say, has to do with purity.
You know.
It was struck me in verse 7, the first few words there, it starts by saying after these things, you know, I thought about up until this point, much of Joseph's life had been, I'll say, decided for him. You know, he grew up in his father's house. We know he went to seek his brethren. They conspired, they threw him into the pit. They, you know, sent him by the.
Midianites down into Egypt.
Sold him, rather went to Potiphar's house. He was basically they took note of him, that he was a good worker, that God was with him, you know, life.
For him, and in many respects, I'll say he wasn't making those decisions other there were external factors that really got him to this place. And it felt like to me that this was the first time in a sense where Joseph was faced with a test.
And keep in mind now he was far from home.
Very far from home, he was away from his parents.
And he was faced with this very serious test.
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You know in verse 8 when she basically seduced him, it starts by saying but he refused. The ability to say no young people is such an important thing.
You know I would ask you that you lay that before the Lord to give you courage to say no in areas like this.
You know, it was a couple weeks ago, the verse was just on my mind in this regard with matters of purity and it's in Romans chapter 13, verse 14. You don't have to turn to it, but I'm just going to read it because I I think this is such an applicable verse in this respect. Romans 13, verse 14, it says, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ to make not provision for the flesh.
To fulfill the lust thereof.
Make not provision for the flesh. Get those words ingrained in your mind.
If that means take the phone and throw it into the garbage can, then that's perhaps what you ought to do.
If your eye offends thee, cut it out.
Joseph did. There was a point here where he was alone in this house with this woman. We don't know the circumstances that led up to it, but it happened.
And we know that he again refused her seduce her seducing here.
That she caught him by his garment, basically had to get up and flee.
This is an area life where many young people fall.
And I speak of this, not of somebody who has excelled perfectly in this area. I'm a Sinner just as much as you are.
But this is an area where you need to be like Daniel to have purpose in your heart.
Young people to say no to this.
You know this culture is promoting this.
You know, basically lifts it up on a pedestal at every turn, at every corner. And quite frankly, I don't know how many men would have the courage to do what Joseph did here. Joseph is a type of Christ.
But he had the courage to do what was right in the face when there was very little accountability.
Frankly, no accountability. I mean, his family wasn't there.
You know, he could have proceeded with that. Perhaps his family would never have known. But I think about this decision by Joseph affected the complete rest of the trajectory of his life, the nation of Egypt and really the nation of Israel. You think about it because if he had fallen here, imagine the repercussions of that.
I pray to God, young people, that you have the courage.
To be like Joseph here.
This is a scourge in our society.
And this room is no different.
Purity decision point to live a life honoring to Christ. A life of purity, you know.
Again, uncomfortable topic, but important to talk about.
So important to talk about, you know, I think about as being a parent myself and knowing how to advise, you know, in these areas, in the culture in which we live is so extremely difficult.
You know, as a parent, I've tried to set up, you know, you set up barriers as much as you can to block the inroads of these things. You know, obviously referring to ***********. You know, at times it feels like you're fighting a losing battle with this culture because it's not, you know, I'm speaking openly. But, you know, when I was your age, you know, these types of things are on the back rack of the store. Those who are older remember that. But now we live in a culture where.
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Seeks you out.
You know, we live in a world of big data. You know, I deal a lot with technology even in my industry. But they want you. They know the vulnerability of people, young people.
Takes purpose of heart.
And the Lord will honor that.
That being said, I feel obviously I need to say this, for those who have stumbled in this area, there is forgiveness.
You know.
Think about the verse.
If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
You have a father who's an advocate for us.
And.
I just encourage you that.
Get right with the Lord if this is an area that you're struggling with right now.
And make the decision these next two days, today quite frankly.
That it put a stop to it, because I can guarantee you that this is an area people in this room are struggling with right now. The statistics for Christians are very little different from, unfortunately, from the world.
So I don't like to end on a somber note, but I feel like it needs to be talked about, you know? And I'll just say one more verse that comes to mind in Psalms where David said thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee?
Scripture in your heart is such a powerful thing, and the Lord can use that.
At every opportunity.
I think about in my own life the times where scripture just popped in my mind at just the right time to either convict, to encourage. It could be a number of things. Exercise conscience. But David said thy word. If I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. And that's why I felt it necessary to mention that verse. Make no provision for the flesh.
Make no provision for the flesh.
That's why it's good to be in groups, young people. That's why it's good to have safeguards in place, you know, with technology to prevent against these things.
So again, I'm just going to recap and then we'll be done for this evening. We'll pick this up tomorrow. But the topic of what I'm covering these two days are around decision points with people who made conscious choices in their life.
Good or for bad, that affected the rest of their life. And we started today by talking about Peter.
The choice to follow Christ. We know that Peter was used tremendously.
We talked about Moses.
Who chose to associate himself with the children of Israel? He chose to forsake Egypt, the world.
We talked about Ruth made the choice to follow Naomi and to leave her country and her kinsmen behind. We talked about Lot, who looked upon what was pleasant to the eyes, and it led to a dreadful end. And then we finished with Joseph, who made a decision.
To say no to matters having to do with purity. And he retained his integrity.
It was used mightily by God.
Really. Not only for Israel, but for Egypt as well.
So with that, we'll close in prayer.
Father, we just.
Acknowledge that. I acknowledge that.
Decisions in life, Lord. We don't always do well. We fail, Lord.
But I pray for these young people that they will make conscious choices, Lord, to follow you whatever the cost, to be intentional about the matters that we spoke about, that in all their ways they would acknowledge Thee.
And we know that that will direct their paths, preserve them. O God, we do pray.
Preserve me, Lord, for I know that I am the basest among men and feel so unqualified to talk to them here this evening. I pray that they will have, and I will have, Lord, our focus upon you, the one who did no sin, the one in whom was no sin.
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And we just thank Thee for thy perfect example that we have to look to in the scriptures. We pray for blessing and encouragement for the young people in the remaining of the time. Here. In Jesus name we do pray. Amen.