Look at somebody next to you and say, "You made the right decision. " Say that you made the right decision by coming to church this morning. >> All right, you all made a very small decision to come to church this morning. You don't have to keep repeating.

Okay, that was such like a youth group thing. I'm so glad that you made the decision to be here even though it's hot. It's going to be a hot one. Not just in here, but man, when you walk outside, it's like, oh, the air hurts my face, but not in the way that it does in January. So, , you made the right decision by being here.

, and I'm so happy that you're here. And have you ever noticed that in your decisions, it can be as simple as that. One decision, one text, one conversation, one yes, one no.

All of our lives are just an accumulation of a bunch of different decisions. Some of the decisions are really, really big decisions and some of them are tiny decisions and some of us have decision fatigue because we're constantly making the big and the small decisions, right. But all of those decisions have the the ability to almost change the direction the course of our lives. And that's why I believe that one of the biggest spiritual skills that we can learn is how to discern good god centered decisionmaking. And so my prayer in this new series that we've kicked off is that that we as as people wouldn't just be good people or people that make really good decisions, but we would make be people that make God centered, God-honoring, God glorifying decisions.

You guys with me. I'm going to be fired up for this message series. We kicked it off last week.

, and last week we talked about how emotion can drive decision. We talked about how emotions are real, right. But they make really bad decision makers. And so this week we're looking at making decisions that in that kind of require this thing called integrity. And I want to I want to kind of premise this with a little bit of a story.

, a couple of weeks ago on Baptism Sunday, I told the story about me saving for a engagement ring for hopefully my future bride, right. , spoiler, she said yes. But I as I was saving, I realized, man, rings are really expensive. And I was working as a hospital's night security guard and I was walking the hallways one night and I was just praying, God, would you provide for me.

Would you provide a way that I can just give my wife a really nice, beautiful ring so that way when I get down on one knee, I'm not like holding something that I got out of a quarter machine. Like I really want a beautiful ring to give to my future bride. And as I was walking, out of the corner of my eye next to a garbage can sat the biggest, I'm not exaggerating, the biggest diamond that I have ever seen.

A diamond ring sitting right there on the ground next to the garbage can. What would you do. Okay, what would you do.

And so my inner dialogue went crazy. My inner dialogue was like this. It was like, , well, I mean, I was praying about it. It's right here, right.

Like, I should just pick it up. And like, this is this is my ring. This thing is huge and it's it's awesome and it's it's beautiful. And so I just take it like they wouldn't know, right.

And look, it's next to the garbage. Like, they're not going to miss it, you know. I I have all that inner dialogue, but then I'm like, well, what if the person is, you know, frantically looking for it or something happened or whatever. And so I have this internal dialogue for a solid 90 seconds and I'm going through in my head all of these things and pros and cons about keeping the ring or not keeping the ring. Should I keep it by the garbage so in case they come back or what should I do.

And I decided to stop in at my hospital supervisor's office and I told her what I found. And we did the right thing. We took pictures of it.

We locked it up in the safe and we categorized it as lost and found. And how I know that that was the right thing is because three days later, the daytime security officer said to me, , this lady came in this week. She had tears in her eyes and she was frantically looking for her lost wedding ring from the night that her daughter was in the hospital. And so that was just like a big wakeup call to me and shows a really good example of what it means to do the right thing even though sometimes it's an internal struggle.

And so integrity for us and for the sake of what we're talking about today is like that. Integrity is choosing to make God-honoring decisions in every tension. Because within that inner dialogue that I was having, there was a tension.

What should I do. What would people notice. What would people pick up on.

And so for all of us, we need to learn how to address our decisions when we sit in those kinds of tensions. And so last week, we met a guy named Joseph. This isn't Joseph from the Christmas story.

This is the OG Joseph going all the way back to the book of Genesis. He's a 17-year-old kid with a really cool coat and a really cool dream. And Joseph's brothers in this first message let their emotions get the best of them and then they made a really bad decision. But now it's Joseph's turn. It's Joseph's turn as he gets sold into slavery to make a decision.

And this week, as we follow the Joseph story, I want you to see how he's faced with a decision like that ring story at every moment. And in every tension for Joseph and for us, he's faced with, do I make the God-honoring decision. And so for all of you today, I want you to be asking yourself this question about the three tensions we're going to look at that Joseph endures. What tension deserves my attention.

And to do that, we're going to do what we do every week and open up the word of God. So, go ahead and grab your Bibles. We're going to be in Genesis 39. It is on page 35.

If you don't have a blue Bible, I want to encourage you, take this one home with you. It is our gift to you and it is our prayer that you would open up the word of God and let it just transform your life. Also, , just want to encourage you, grab your phones, notebooks, take notes. Not because what I think I have to say is so great, but I believe fullheartedly as I've been praying through this series that God is going to speak to you about a decision that you're making now or in the future that this will be a a message that is get a little bit very relevant to you.

So, let's start reading all the way in verse one and we'll get a little bit of context for what's going on. So now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potterer, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, brought him from the Ishelites who had taken him there.

Okay, so that's a recap from last week. Joseph gets sold into slavery, sold to some Ishelites, and then he is taken by those Ishelites, and they in turn sell him to a royal official named Piper. Okay, verse two. The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. Now this is a big deal just so you know.

When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes because his attendant. Piper put him in charge of the household and entrusted everything he owned to his care. From this time on he put him in charge of the household and all that he owned. And the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on Pipher and everything he had both in the house and in the field.

So Pterer left everything he had in Joseph's care. You getting it yet. He said it about three times.

With Joseph in charge, he didn't concern himself with anything except the food he ate. I totally get that last line. You know, you want to have control over your dinner. Okay, but here's the thing.

Here's what I want you to get. Joseph gets put in charge as a slave of almost everything. He is successful in everything that he did. But I want you to see the tension that Joseph lives in in this moment.

And it brings us to this first tension, the circumstantial tension, the circumstance tension. Because what Joseph is actually answering here in these slew of verses is will he be faithful when life isn't when life isn't fair. And will you will you be faithful when life isn't fair. I want you to remember Joseph.

Okay, let's get the emotion of his story for a second. He is a 17-year-old kid who gets beaten and thrown into a pit by his brothers and then sold off into slavery. He has every right by our 2026 standards to be a little mad, right.

To be a little bitter, to be a little like, "Come on, God. What's going on here. " and he he had he could stand up or stand out and try and make a big fuss about it, but he doesn't.

And so, let's just make that tension personal for us for a second. Have you ever been in a circumstance that you didn't intend to be in. >> The answer is yes.

Okay, we all have. The relationship ended, the job laid you off, the bill came in that you weren't expecting. I've had that one.

The diagnosis read something unexpected. Even the small things like the flat tire or man, I dropped my phone and the screen cracked. All of us have had big and little circumstances that we didn't intend to be in. Now, here's what I want you to see. You got to lock in on this one.

This is this is a really important little detail. It says consistently in these groups of verses that God was with Joseph. So, Joseph gained success in all his circumstances.

But that didn't change the circumstance. You see, Joseph was always in this verse a slave. He always didn't have this freedom. He wasn't a he wasn't free from slavery.

He was just successful as a slave. You see, sometimes God changes you before he changes your circumstances. And that is a really hard thing to sit in. It's a really hard thing because we want the circumstance to change, right.

And then God all changed. But within the circumstance, God is doing something. And you might say, "Man, that that seems really really difficult.

" But integrity chooses to trust God despite the circumstances. And so this is where that gap comes in. That gap between what we our our actions and our faith.

And so what we need to do in this integrity decision in the tension of that thing that was unexpected is that we need to be able to have faith. And I know I know that that can just sound like the cliche like pastor thing to have like hey just have more faith but I want to like kind of premise it like this. Years ago I was watching a a documentary about a musician. You ever watch these. I love these.

And she was on a world tour like night after night after night. New stop new thing. And she was going through it emotional, physical, mental, like she was struggling so much with anxiety and just different relationships and all of this stuff.

And every single night, night after night after night, she would come out and give the top-notch performance. And she would just knock it out of the park every single time. And when one of her crew members in the documentary asked her, "How do you do it.

" She just kind of shrugged and said, 'Well, fake it till you make it, right. And she needed to do that because she wanted to make it right for her fans, right. The the fans didn't know what she was going through.

She still had to show up. And see, that's the tension for us is in our circumstances, we still need to show up, right. The musician has to play music.

The surgeon has to do surgery, right. Because otherwise, something would happen. The mom has to still be a mom even though they need a break, right. So, we all have these circumstances that still require us to show up.

But I don't think I don't think that for Joseph and I don't think that God's word would reflect a fake it until you make it kind of attitude. I want to change fake it till you make it. And I want to coin this term faith it until you make it. And what this means is that faith by definition of the Bible is having confidence in what we hope for and assurance in what we do not see.

That's what the book of Hebrews teaches us. And so instead of trying to be fake Christians, we be faithful Christians. And faith doesn't deny the reality. Joseph is never denying that he is a slave.

But he is having faith that God has a bigger purpose for his life. Do you have that faith that God has a bigger purpose and plan for your life beyond your circumstances. That God is bigger than your circumstances.

This is good news for us that as we walk in faith, we can trust God with that. One of my favorite quotes, you'll hear it from me often from Corey Tinboon says this, "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. " Never be afraid to trust what you don't know in your future circumstances to a God who knows all and sees all and can make everything work for your good and his glory. And so God has a plan for you and for Joseph.

But unfortunately, it doesn't get any easier for Joseph. Let's read on. Starting midway through verse six, if you pick up there with me.

Now, Joseph was wellbuilt and handsome. He's like the Ryan Reynolds of the the Old Testament here. And after I I don't know who who's the guy. You tell me. I don't know.

And after a while, his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me. " All right. Just as a forewarning. We're about to get into like PG12 territory here.

So, come there with me. 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. No one is greater in the house than I am.

My master has withheld nothing from me. " What does the What do these words say. Except you because you are his wife.

How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God. And she spoke to Joseph day after day, but he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. One day though, verse 11 happens.

One day, he went into the house to attend to his duties and none of the household servants was inside. Oh man, we might see where this is going, right. But she caught him by the cloak and said, "Come to bed with me. " But he left, his cloak in her hand, and ran out of the house.

I'm going to leave you on that cliffhanger. We'll pick this up in a second, but listen to this tension. Now, we're talking about the circumstantial tension. Now, we're talking about the temptation tension.

This is the question that we ask in the temptation. Will I honor God when sin looks attractive. Look in this scripture. We've all heard these stories before, right. We've all heard these stories even in the Old Testament.

And we usually can complete the gap of how they end, right. You guys are not getting this. Okay, let let me just say this. He's in his late teens and early 20s.

He is away from home and away from accountability. He is alone and is a slave. He is not badlooking and successful in his life. By 2026 standards, we would have said, "We know where this is going, right.

We would have said that. " But Joseph does something different. He says, "How could I do such a wicked thing against God and he flees from the sin.

" He runs from it. He tries to escape it at all cost. Now, what about us. Oh man, that's heavy. What about us.

When we're tempted by the diamond ring on the ground, are we going to react and interact the same. Because the truth is that our browsing histories, our AI conversations, our regular conversations, our diets, all the temptation tells a story of the sin that brings tension into our lives. And if you read even in the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4, Satan has a way of coming and making sin look really attractive. And then we get stuck in this sin cycle. , I journaled this out a few years ago about how temptation works and I taught it to a group of men and I'll probably teach it here often here at Destination.

This is something that's really, really important. When you are tempted by the enemy in scripture, he uses this tactic. It's the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

It is to convince you that what you are about to walk into in sin is not a big deal. You'll hear this inner dialogue that says, "It's not a big deal. God won't care if I God won't care if I talk negatively about this person. God won't care if I look at this thing I shouldn't look at or do this thing that I shouldn't do. God won't care.

It's not that big a deal. " And that is where the enemy comes in and feeds lies in the tension. And then what happens is we we go forward with that sin and then the script does a a full 180. And it's and it's this inner dialogue of how could you how could you do that. How could you call yourself a Christian and continue to walk in that sin.

How could you even show up to church and call yourself a Christ follower for doing that. Shame on you. And that's the inner dialogue that happens. And we live in that guilt and shame for a little bit and then here's the enemy's tactic. Comes back in and says, "You know what would make you feel better.

And we get stuck in this cycle over and over, addicted or just stuck in the temptation of the world. Now, let me show you what God does in this temptation. God gives us an escape out of sin. That's what the the word constantly teaches us. And so in the temptation, you need God's word.

As Jesus is battling his temptation in Matthew 4, what does he do. He uses the word of God. Listen, I'm not telling you to read this book because you are a reader and you love to read.

I'm not telling you to read this book because to make you feel guilty or anything like that. I'm telling you to read this book because it is literally a sword against all of the lies and deception that the world throws at you time and time again. So, pick it up and if you don't know where to start, let's get you started.

I can help you get started, okay. Because in your temptation, you're going to need to know God's truth so that you can escape the temptation. But for some of us, it's just too much.

And so what do we need in the guilt and the shame. You need to know that Christ loves you unconditionally. That means there is nothing that you've done, are doing, or have yet to do that would change the way that God feels about you.

God loves you so much. And so please don't sit in this place. Especially if you know Jesus, please don't sit in that place because that is why he died and suffered on a cross to take you away from the temptation, the sin, and the guilt and the shame that all of that carry.

And so for us, choosing to to go into God's word and choosing in to go into God's love is almost a predecision that we need to make. So here's my big takeaway for this section. Ask God to help you decide now what you'll do and resist later. Ask God to help you decide now what you'll do and resist later. This is the power of predecision.

Joseph had the power of predecision. He said, "I am not going to give into temptation. I'm not going to do this. I've already predecided to do this. " Let me give you another example.

Destination. Can we get real this morning. Is it okay if I get a little like topical here. , let's talk about the porn problem.

There are 80 to 85% people right now like addicted to pornography. And a predecision for pornography is to say, I'm going to get something that keeps me away from going and falling into this sin cycle. Because that sin cycle can easily happen with something like this.

And so, you're going to download an app. , by the way, the one that I recommend to everybody is called Covenant Eyes. And you're going to grab an accountability partner, somebody who's really in your corner rooting for you. And you're going to give them access and accountability to all of your electronics. And you're doing that as a way to say, "I am prereddeciding now what I will resist later.

Because in the temptation, you can just easily say, "Well, I'm going to quit. " But when you're in the temptation, it feels different than when you've predecided, I am going to follow Jesus, and I'm going to do the right thing, even though I would love to to go a different direction with it. And so that is what the power of predecision does for Joseph in this.

He knows he knows the right thing to do. He knew it was wrong. And so he hesitated. He didn't negotiate. He didn't flirt with the line and he ran and he fled from it.

Now for all of us, let's pause for a moment. This would have been the way that the story ended, right. We would have applauded Joseph and said, "Hey, good for you. You resisted the temptation.

You did the right thing. We didn't have to make a movie or a Netflix documentary about you, right. Like he did the right thing. So he should get rewarded for that, right. Does that happen.

It does not. Look at verse 13. It says, "When she saw that he left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. Look, she said to them, "This Hebrew has brought to us to make sport of us. He came in here to sleep with me.

" Oh man, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house. She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.

So she's explaining this to potterer to all the masters and she explains it to to all of the servants to the master. She's spreading this gossip and then look at what verse 19 says. Verse 19 says when his master heard the story he of his wife all about this right he burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison. The place where the king's prisoners were confined.

So, Joseph here, he does the right thing and instead of getting congratulated, he gets consequences. And that brings us to the third tension, the consequence tension. Will I honor God when obedience costs me. You see, obedience also doesn't always change your circumstance.

And the hard question for us is, will you honor God when it doesn't. When that thing that is so difficult to do doesn't lead to the way that you want it to and instead of getting congratulated, you get consequence. Have you ever said that about your circumstance or about your temptation.

You do the right thing and then it just ends up being a negative outcome. Years ago, I had a friend, a really good friend of mine who was going through a divorce. And by every definition, this guy was doing the right things in his marriage.

He was praying with and for his wife. He sought out counsel. He communicated with her and and with others. He served faithfully.

He served her faithfully. And he was just a great guy. But in the end, , his wife cheated on him and left and he had a choice to make just as Joseph does here. That he was obedient, but it still did not have the outcome that he intended. And so after the divorce was done, that meant he could have just done whatever, right.

Well, God didn't help me then. Why should I be obedient now. But he chose to continue to be obedient, to continue to pray, to continue to seek God, to continue to to follow Jesus.

Now, it didn't mean it for Joseph in his circumstances either. Look at what verse 20 happens for Joseph. Let's kind of wrap up the story.

It says, "But while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him. " Does that sound familiar. By the way, while he was in prison, the Lord was with him.

He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden >> the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in prison and he was made responsible for all that was done there. Do you guys feel like we read this before.

Let's let's read on. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever we did in whatever he did. Now listen, by fact in this chapter, Joseph is by definition a slave. Nod your head in agreement. Joseph is a slave.

Joseph is falsely accused. Joseph is now by fact a prisoner. And God didn't take any of that away. He didn't take any of that away.

Yet, he was with Joseph. Y destination, take comfort in this that the Lord was with Joseph and the Lord is with you. That through all of your circumstances, all the decisions you need to make, all the temptations and trials that you will have, God is with you.

And what we'll learn from this story is that while God didn't take any of these situations away from Joseph, guess what. He uses it for Joseph's good and for his glory. And that is what God does for us because ultimately this story of Joseph points us to a greater story of Jesus. Listen, Jesus just like Joseph was tempted. Jesus just like Joseph was falsely accused.

Jesus just like Joseph suffered though he was innocent. And Jesus just like Joseph chose obedience even when it cost him everything. And guess what. Because of that sacrifice that Jesus made for each and every one of you, we don't just decide to do the right thing.

We just don't decide to to show integrity because it's going to change our lives. We do the right thing because our lives have been changed, right. And so the driver for us in the tension of all of our decisions is to say, "Look, God is going to work this out. God's good, God's glory. He has a plan and he sees all and knows all.

And I will trust him in all of those decisions. So what about you. What tension in your life deserves your attention.

Is it your circumstance. Is it the temptation. Is it the consequence. Because the good news for all of us is that in order to do the right thing, we don't have to do better or try harder like the rest of the world.

All we need is Jesus. We need Jesus in our decisions. We need Jesus in all of these tensions and situations that we find ourselves in.

And as we move into a time of response together, as a church, we're going to take communion together. And when Jesus introduced the first communion, he knew, like Joseph, that he was going to be falsely accused. He knew as he sat there with his disciples that he was going to suffer as a prisoner would. He knew that he was going to do that to the point of death. But he knew that that death was leading to a greater purpose, not just for back then, but for right now, for us.

And that's why he took the bread as a visual representation. And he said, "This is my body given to you. " And then he took the cup and he said, "This represents the blood shed for you, a sign of the new covenant. " and he took the cup and he said, "Drink and do this in remembrance of me.

" And so as you come to the table and you reflect on the tension that deserves your attention, whether it's a circumstance, whether it's a temptation or a consequence, allow this remembrance of Jesus sacrifice to bring you this peace. You don't face the tension on your own. He is with you. He is for you. He loves you.

And your integrity, the right thing that you choose to do is not the hero of the story. Joseph and his choice here is not the hero of the story. Jesus is the discernment from the Holy Spirit.

The way that you can walk into the right thing because you know the right one. You know Jesus. And so I'm going to invite the worship team up here.

I want to just invite you in this moment of reflection to just bow your heads, close your eyes, and think about all of those different circumstances, all of the different tensions that you may be walking in. Now, I'm going to tell you about three ways that you can respond this morning. The first is this.

If you have never made a decision to follow Jesus, that is the first and most important decision that you will ever make. For me, I never made that decision to follow Jesus until I was 16 years old. And it changed my life, and it will change yours, too. The second is maybe there's one of these decisions that just feels too much.

It feels too heavy. It feels like too much to endure. That you are stuck in a circumstance that has gone on way too long and has hurt way too much. You're in a temptation that you honestly cannot see an escape out of or you're being obedient to the point of tears. If that's you, I'm just gonna tell you myself, Wes, , few others may be in the back, and we just want to pray for you.

So, don't let the song just distract you. If you need prayer, we want to pray for you. As your pastor, I want to pray for you. You don't need to share with us the decision that you're making.

And we'll just pray over you. But for the rest of us, the table is open for all of those who believe to come forward and to grab this as a remembrance of Jesus's sacrifice for you. That you are not in all of your decision-making alone.

That he is with you. That he is for you and everything will work for his good and or for your good and for his glory. Let's pray together.

God, I thank you for your presence in this place. God, I thank you that we can gather and as everybody reflects on all of the different decisions that they have to make, maybe tough decisions with family members, maybe decisions about work or school, or decisions about just how to get through the day, God, that you would be with us. That every circumstance, every tension, every temptation would have no place in the mighty name of Jesus. And so God, I pray that we would be people that put Godhonoring decisions at the center of it all.

So help this time be a time that we would come without distraction and we would worship you. We would receive prayer and we would reflect and remember your amazing beautiful sacrifice for each and every one of us. It's in Jesus name we pray.