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Guest (Female): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. If you want your dreams to survive, to be sustained and strengthened through the years, if you want to know the presence of God in your life, then cooperate with him in building character. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about finding true success in the midst of your struggles. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, "Staying Strong, Standing Tall."

Jack Graham: I want to invite you to take God's word and turn with me now to the 39th chapter of the book of Genesis. The key to the story of Joseph is a phrase that appears again and again: the Lord was with him. God was with him. And the providence of God, the invisible, invincible hand of God was upon him all the days of his life. And his dreams never died. He continued to be faithful to God and fervent in his work and his service. It's important to have a dream.

My friend George Sweeting wrote these words: "Success in life depends not on the dreams we dream, but the choices we make." Now, that's a fabulous quote because it's so true. It's one thing to have a dream, but remember that our dreams are fed, fortified by the choices that we make. And often, our dreams crash and burn because of wrong choices. But when we make the right choices in life, our dreams are sustained.

We're going to have an opportunity today to look deeply into the private world of Joseph, to see something of his heart because it is there in the heart of this man, guarded and graced by God, that character was built. If you want your dreams to survive, to be sustained and strengthened through the years, if you want to know the presence of God in your life and the providence of God, the personal touch of God in your life, then cooperate with him in building character by making choices.

It's been said that character is the sum total of the choices we make in life. Who we are today, who you are today, is a result of the choices that you have made and are making. And so, we're going to be examining some choices that Joseph made and choices that we need to make in order to strengthen our character in all the seasons of life.

Look in verse one of Genesis 39. Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. There was just something about Joseph.

So, Joseph found favor in the sight or his sight and served him. Then he made him an overseer of his house, and all that he had, he put under his authority. Joseph has now moved from adversity to prosperity, to success. He is a successful man, albeit a slave, but rising to prominence in the house of this Egyptian by the name of Potiphar, who was, in effect, the chief of police in all of Egypt.

Verse five: "So it was from the time that he had made him overseer of the house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field." Thus, he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he had to my hand. There is no one greater in his house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"

Character. Unfortunately, we've got a lot of characters in the world, but not too much character. And of all people, Christian men and women and students should be people of character. How? Number one, by choosing humility. Verse four tells us that Joseph served in the household of Potiphar. He worked hard. He could have easily sloughed off, decided that his life was a waste, that his dreams were gone, and therefore just to get by.

When told to do something, he could have said, "I don't speak Egyptian. No comprende." But rather, he worked diligently and faithfully and fruitfully, and God favored him. There was a consistency in his character that throughout the circumstances of his life, he was always the same. I admire that quality in a person's life: the consistency of character, the loyalty of life, not up and down and moved by the wind, but the stick-to-itiveness and the stay-with-itness of people who are humble, who served.

And this is what Joseph did. He was prospered and favored by God. There was something unique about his life, and it was observable by all. Potiphar himself saw it. It's one of the most appealing, attractive characteristics in life: genuine humility. Where ego is set aside—and you've heard that definition of ego, E-G-O, Edging God Out—where ego is set aside. For the scripture says that we're to humble ourselves under the hand of Almighty God, that God resists the proud but that he gives grace to the humble.

God resists the proud. He holds us off when, in our arrogance, we think that we're something when we're not. But when we empty ourselves—humility is not thinking lowly of yourself, it's simply not thinking of yourself—and when we're willing to serve. Today, people talk about leadership. Everybody wants to be a leader. Everybody wants to lead. Well, let me tell you how to be a leader.

A leader is not someone who has all these servants serving them. You don't measure a leader by how many people are serving the leader, but rather you measure the leader by how many people the leader is serving. And that's what Joseph did. He was a leader because in his heart, he was a servant. And he practiced humility. There was no task or no assignment that he thought he was too good to do. He didn't have an indulged sense of self-importance or an inflated opinion of himself, but he possessed rock-like character.

He chose humility. And by the way, humility is something we choose. The Bible says humble yourselves under the hand of Almighty God. Now, God often humbles us when we don't humble ourselves. But frankly, we should not pray, "Lord, humble me." Be careful about praying that. The Bible emphasizes that we should humble ourselves. There are some things that God will do for us. There are some things that God says you do for yourself. And one of them is to humble yourself. And that's what Joseph did to serve God.

Not only do we choose humility in order to build character, but we choose integrity. As we read the passage down at verse six, this man Potiphar trusted Joseph with his entire household affairs. He was so trustworthy, this man Joseph, that the man of the house, this very important figure in Egypt, just turned it all over to him, this slave who had now risen to a place of responsibility, great responsibility.

He was willing to do what he could where he was. He knew that he was there by God's appointment. Somehow, in the providence and the plan of God, Joseph knew he was there for a season, for a time, by God's appointment, and that God would lead him through the circumstances of his life. There for God's time, by God's appointment, and with God's strength and God's help. And therefore, he was a man of integrity.

It's been said that integrity is not only the way one thinks but even more the way one acts. Simply put, integrity is doing what you said you would do. It is as basic as keeping your word and fulfilling your promise. We live in a world of corporate mismanagement and greed and business collapse because of dishonesty and deception and cheating. And God is looking for men and women in the business world today who are men and women of character who practice genuine integrity. Integer—we get our word integer—it means wholeness, put together. And people of character possess this wonderful quality of integrity.

Phillips Brooks, a 19th-century preacher, said that character is made up of the small moments of our lives. It's who we are in the secret place. It's who we are in the small place. It's who we are when no one is looking but God. That's integrity.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, "Staying Strong, Standing Tall." We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting the word CONNECT to 59789. Again, text CONNECT to 59789.

Every gift given to PowerPoint Ministries before June 30th will be doubled through a $200,000 matching grant. This is a crucial moment as we close out the financial year because your support helps ensure that the truth of Jesus continues reaching people who are searching for something real they can trust. And as our thanks for your gift, we'll send you *The Jesus Discoveries* by Dr. Jeremiah Johnston, a resource designed to strengthen your confidence in the truth of the Gospel. To give your gift and request your copy, text JUNE to 59789. That's JUNE to 59789. And thank you for helping share the truth of Jesus with a searching world. Now, let's get back to today's message, "Staying Strong, Standing Tall."

Jack Graham: Joseph was a man of character; therefore, he had integrity. He didn't get integrity when he got over there to Potiphar's house. He had integrity. The crisis of his life, the circumstances of his life, only revealed the character that was on the inside. He was a man who stayed strong and stood tall because he chose humility, and so should we. Because he chose integrity, and so should we.

But then in verse seven, a great test is offered, and that is the test of moral purity. And Joseph comes to a moral intersection of his life, a critical moment in his life. And potentially, had Joseph not chosen properly, everything about his character could have been destroyed. Isn't it interesting that you can spend 30 years building a character, but it only takes five minutes to throw it all away?

But Joseph, God's man in Egypt, not only chose humility and integrity, he chose purity. Potiphar's wife—now, she's a somebody, a sophisticated woman. I mean, we know her as Mrs. Potiphar or Potiphar's wife. But think of her as Paula Potiphar. Little different, isn't it? Put a name with this girl. And she's seductive and attractive. She's the boss's wife. Here's Joseph, a long, long way from home. And these temptations are in his face. They were private temptations. Who would know?

He's a long way from his family, a long way from his friends. Potiphar's wife certainly shouldn't tell. It was private. It had to do with the inner recesses of his heart and of his life. It was a persistent temptation because when you read the text, you discover that she came after him day after day after day after day. And you know, in the world in which we live today, the world systematically attempts to seduce us with sexual temptations. We are living in a sex-saturated society, a sex-crazed world. It's in your face everywhere you go, day after day after day after day.

And the temptations are there, persistently in our lives, no matter how old you may be. I love the story of Prof Rae over at Southwestern Seminary. Old guy, he was about 88 years old, still teaching at the seminary. And one of the students, they were having a Q&A with the prof, and one of the young preacher boys said, "Prof Rae," they were talking about the life and the character of the minister and said, "Well, Prof Rae, how old do you have to be before you're not tempted anymore physically?" Old Prof Rae said, "Well, I don't know. It's past 88."

It was persistent. It was persuasive. And it was powerful. It's a powerful temptation. And yet, according to verse eight, he said no. And ultimately, when she came after him and actually tried to take him into bed with her, he ran out of the room and left his cloak behind, but he never lost his character. He chose purity. He said, "How could I do this sinful thing, this evil thing against you, against my boss, Potiphar, against myself, against my family?" But ultimately, he said, "How could I sin against God and do this wicked thing?"

The Bible clearly tells us that we're to choose purity, that purity is the lifestyle of the believer. Purity in heart, purity of life, purity of lifestyle, purity of dress. He guarded his heart, and God graced him with power to overcome the temptation. Years ago, I wrote down a checklist for guarding your heart. And it's something that I would encourage you to write down with me as I share them today and maybe something you'd want to put in your Bible, take with you on your business trips, take with you to college.

But these are some guidelines, if you will. I'm going to give you eight of them to help you say yes to God and no to sin, to help you to choose purity in your life. Number one: recognize your potential for moral failure. You begin by recognizing that you're weak. "Let him that stands take heed lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:12 and 13 speaks of our need to beware, for to be forewarned is to be forearmed.

And therefore, when we recognize the evil propensity of our hearts, when we recognize the sinful nature of our humanity, then we'll not put ourselves perhaps in positions that would cause us to fall, nor would we indulge ourselves. So many want to see how close they can get to the fire and not be burned. But we begin by recognizing that all of us are susceptible to any kind of temptation. That's why we must guard our hearts. Recognize your potential for moral failure.

Secondly: realize you do have a choice. Genesis 39 and verse eight: "He refused." He said no. He made the right choice. You are not the devil's plaything, the devil's dope. You're a child of God if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. God will enable you to say no to sin when you say yes to him. Realize you do have a choice. You have a choice to live a godly life or an ungodly life.

Thirdly: renew your resolve to purity day by day. Make a decision to be pure and then on a daily basis, by hiding God's word in your heart, forging, fortifying your faith through the word of God, strengthening yourself, resolving yourself every day. Make the big decision and you're halfway there on all the little decisions.

Fourthly: remove all bitterness from your life. That's what Hebrews 12:14 through 16 says. It talks about a root of bitterness. And a root of bitterness, this bitterness, when you bow down to the bitterness of your life with an unforgiving, unrelenting spirit, it can produce an attitude which produces immorality. Read it for yourself. You know why? Suppose Joseph had become bitter about the circumstances of his life. Suppose Joseph had said, "You know, I've gotten a raw deal. Life has treated me unfairly. God hasn't come through for me. I deserve some pleasure." Bitterness, you see, a sinful root of bitterness can produce the unholy fruit of immorality. Remove bitterness from your life.

Fifthly: run from every form of evil. 1 Corinthians 6:18 says flee fornication. 2 Timothy 2:22: run from immorality, run from sexual sin. Let me tell you something. There's some sins you fight. There are other temptations that we deal with by faith. But not sexual temptation. Joseph didn't stay there to fight. He didn't stay there to faith. He didn't say, "Well, Mrs. Potiphar, have you ever heard of the four spiritual laws? Could I talk to you?" When she came at him, he ran. He got out of there. He removed himself from the situation. Because let me tell you something. People that hang out around sin, you know what you call them? Victims. You run.

Then sixthly: resist the devil. You have authority in the name of Jesus to resist the devil and he'll flee from you (James 4:7). Seventhly: rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within you to enable you and to empower you to be more than a conqueror through him who loved you. And then finally, number eight: remember you will give an account before God for your choices. Joseph knew it, that ultimately his sin would be wickedness against God. And the way to overcome it is to recognize the consequences, the evil consequences, and to love God more than you love sin.

Doesn't it get down to that, really, folks? That we love him more than we love ourselves, more than we love our sin? It's our love of God and the love of God for us that keeps us pure. It's a greater love. And the love of God and the fear of God provides a guardrail, guideline, so that God will give us great success in overcoming the temptations of life.

I close with this. I got a letter from a friend who attended a wedding recently. Young athlete, about 25 years of age, college athlete, marrying the love of his life. And they stood at the altar together. And as they were coming to the moment of committal and vows, they stopped the ceremony and, as planned, the young man reached into his tuxedo jacket and he pulled out an old piece of paper that had been folded several times. It's obviously yellowed by time; it was old, crumpled.

And he unfolded this letter. And in the letter, he began to read his commitment to God and his commitment to his wife-to-be. And in the letter, he pledged his faithfulness to the one who would become his bride one day. He promised to be true to her, even though he'd never met her. He promised to be faithful to God. And he stood there and he read that to his bride. And you know, by then there wasn't a dry eye in that place. This strong, handsome young man, like Joseph, who chose purity, who chose integrity, who chose humility. And God was with him. And God gave him success in his life.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, "Staying Strong, Standing Tall." When you support PowerPoint Ministries, you help share God's word with people around the world through programs just like this one. And as a thank you for your gift this month, we'll send you *The Jesus Discoveries* by Dr. Jeremiah Johnston as our thanks. This powerful resource walks through real historical evidence that points directly to Jesus, helping strengthen your faith and giving you confidence in the truth of God's word.

And right now, every gift given before June 30th will be doubled through a $200,000 matching grant. This is a crucial moment as we close out the financial year because your support helps ensure that PowerPoint Ministries continues reaching people with the Gospel in the months ahead. To give your gift and request your copy, text JUNE to 59789. That's JUNE to 59789. We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint.

You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting the word CONNECT to 59789. Again, text CONNECT to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: Well, I'm not going to pretend that it's an easy choice to remain steadfast in our commitments to God. Our culture is a tempting, dangerous place. And Satan is deceptive. Sometimes it's hard to know what is right and what is wrong, to recognize the different shades of gray. And if you're not careful, you can be headed down the wrong path, a dangerous path, without even realizing it. But there are some important things we can do to help us in times of temptation.

First and foremost is remembering to arm ourselves with the word of God each and every day. We need to be diligent in this because staying in the word every day will keep our minds sharp and ready to detect the subtle nature of temptation. Psalm 119 says, "Your word, oh Lord, is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Make this a part of your morning and daily routine. When you make that first cup of coffee or order that mocha frap-so-whatever at the local coffee shop, take a moment and turn your heart to God. Sincerely seek him. Ask him to provide you with the armor needed to deflect every temptation and ask him to give you the strength and courage to be a man or a woman of integrity in everything that you do.

You know, it's easy to go into cruise control. Is your life routine and predictable? Well, watch out. In the lull of routine, that's where you find some of your biggest temptations. The Bible says, "Let him that stands take heed lest he fall." So, we need to always be careful and be ready. So when you find yourself going through the motions and your soul feels restless, turn your eyes to Jesus and stay strong. He's watching to see how you're going to handle this downtime, this routine time. And yet he's preparing blessings for those who will stand tall and choose integrity and character over compromise and excuse. Like Joseph, stay strong and stand tall.

Guest (Female): And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Jeremiah Johnston's book, *The Jesus Discoveries*. Just text JUNE to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about keeping your character even during the tough times. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.