From Dream to Destiny -Purity Test

**Fenny West** Thu 30 Jul 2009, 3:26 pm

(part 4)

¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jer29:11

This is the 4^th part of this series looking at the Journey from the Promise to the Promised Land, from the test to testimony from God’s plan to the fulfilment. Using the life of Joseph we can see various tests that we are likely to go through before we enter the Promised Land.

We have examined the Pride, Pit and Prosperity tests so far.

Purity Test

Before you and I enter the Promised Land we need to pass the purity test. This is where we are test in our relationship with the opposite sex. The degree of the test will vary with each individual. It will be more intense with those who are gifted with good looks, well-built, hunky, macho (for men) and model-like figures like Naomi Campbel, Beyonce, and others who are famous on the cat walk, who are bound to turn heads as they walk past.

These celebrities know it and they exploit their gifts to the utmost to lure men and women, break homes and hearts with no thought on giving account to their Maker one day.

Joseph was well-built, but be ascribed his built to God, saw himself as accountable to God, his body as the temple of God and would not want to abuse his position. The fact that his Master trusted him and withheld nothing from him is no occasion to abuse his position and start sleeping with his wife. He knew where to draw the line.

Besides and more importantly He knew he belonged to God, accountable to Him and would not like to sin against him. He knew that despite the fact that he was in slavery, a servant in a strange land- a far cry from his dream to be a Master one day, God had not forsaken him. God was still blessing him and manifesting his presence to him. He would not ruin everything in one moment of madness.

Yes the temptation from Potiphar’s wife was fierce, repeated, unrelenting and intense. This is how the enemy works. He comes again and again hoping we would compromise our standards and yield to sin. Joseph refused bluntly.

Potiphar’s wife became desperate and held his coat, bent on forcing him into bed with her. Joseph did not give up and use the excuse ‘she made me do it, at least I tried to dissuade her’ We too must submit ourselves under the mighty hand of God and then resist the enemy before he flees. We must not be cocky and remain in the vicinity of the temptation and pretend we are untouchable, unconquerable, ‘flee every appearance of the devil.’ Give no place to the devil. The devils prowls about seeking whom to devour,’ the thief cometh not but to kill steal and destroy.’

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, ⁷ and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
⁸ But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. ⁹ No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" ¹⁰ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
¹¹ One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. ¹² She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
¹³ When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, ¹⁴ she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. ¹⁵ When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
¹⁶ She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
¹⁹ When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger. ²⁰ Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined.
He was the most powerful man on planet earth, eloquent, charismatic, with a beautiful, intelligent wife but he became attracted to a trainee attached to the Oval office and there in the seat of power perform lurid sexual acts with her and was found out.
He initially denied having any sexual relationship with the girl but was later forced to admit it. His actions brought the office into great disrepute and he was forced out of office as a result.
Denial