David was tempted with lust. He gave in to it. Joseph was tempted and he fled from temptation. Why? Joseph knew he wanted to keep the Holy Spirit in him because he kept his mind focused on Jesus. Results: We know David lost his son as a result of his adultery plus murder. But he also lost the Holy Spirit. Samson did the same thing: Judges 16:20 (NASB) Delilah said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him One of the saddest verses in the Bible, Samson did not know … the Lord had left him !! And with the Lord departed, his strength departed and he was captured. Later David fully repented. He wrote this shortly thereafter: Psalm 51:11 (NASB, NLT) Do not cast me away from Your presence. And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me In these passages, we see that David has learned what Joseph already knew. The sin was a huge problem, but losing the presence of the Lord was a complete disaster. We look at Joseph as someone who was “Prepared” for temptation. He was prepared, but I believe he knew that the last thing in life he wanted to lose was the presence of the Lord. Secondly, we need to live our lives correctly so that we experience the awesome presence of the Lord. Then, we need to learn from Joseph – the last thing in life that we want to lose is the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is in us we are productive, vibrant, energetic, and filled with joy and purpose. Later in life, David learned what Joseph knew: One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord And to meditate in His temple. Psalm 27:4 (AMP) Thirdly, David continues with Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. Finally, David at first undervalued the Holy Spirit, but later repented and fully valued the Holy Spirit. Joseph fully valued the Holy Spirit's presence. And he lived his life without the disasters that David received. But... David had maybe the greatest passion for the Lord (in the end) that anyone ever had in the history of the world. In conclusion, study David and Joseph. Learn from both, and always value the Holy Spirit as a priority. Parts of this article were taken from laymanointing. For the full article: https://laymanointing.wordpress.com...your-holy-spirit-from-me-how-was-he-restored/
Yesterday, we saw how sin caused David to lose the presence of the Lord. Today, let's examine how it happened. David looked at temptation, then stared with lust, then committed adultery, then murder. But at what point did he lose the presence of the Lord? My guess is that he lost it when he stared with lust. Note, I have stared for a second or two a couple of times during my run... but then, with horror, I repent, realizing that I have already fallen, already sinned, and am flying 100 mph down a slippery slope towards destruction. Full repentance when we slip up for a second may mean – turning the TV off for 20 minutes, humbly asking for forgiveness, reading the Bible, praying, and then watching something that has no risk. Wow, all this for one second of lust? Ask Joseph what he thinks? He fled instantly. Ask David what he thinks after Nathan the prophet told him his fate! One second really? That is only slightly worse than Eve taking a bite out of the Apple. Oh... I guess that merely ruined her life. Joseph believed the Bible, he believed God, he trusted that God's way is best, he believed that his life would be way better if he lived the way God wanted him to live. Pray David's prayer: “Do not cast me away from Your presence. And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” Secondly, go to war with sin and pray this prayer 500 times this week. Doing that will help us to know what Joseph knew! This prayer will help us learn what David learned. This focus will help us believe the Bible. Help us believe like Joseph that our lives will be way better if we live the way God wants us to live. Pray: “Father, help me to show my full respect for you through my obedience.” Pray: “Father, help me to flee instantly from sin just like Joseph did.” You just can't pray that too much! Lastly, increase the amount of time you spend fighting addiction. It is the first step towards changing you so that you can start changing the world around you.
These articles are helpful, you have to try to live perfectly basically. I wonder if it is possible for a man to come to Christ and then never sin again. People seem to have different views on that. I want to believe its possible, and there are bible verses that imply it. But most people say we will always have flaws. And that seems to be the experience Christians have. There is this idea of a slow sanctification that goes on for your whole life. But since God does not tolerate sin, would he not want to help us overcome all our sin, as fast as possible?
We are in Christ. Christ is without sin. That is our destiny, too. Perhaps some achieve that in this life -- although I have never met one. But we will all achieve it without fail in the next life. I think he is helping us overcome sin as fast as possible. We are just mostly slow learners.
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, the way my favorite pastor Dr. Neil Anderson explained it was as you grow in your faith it starts as 2 steps forward and 1 step back, eventually it grows and grows and becomes 20 steps forward and 1 step back, we are slowly becoming more Christ-like. We are not able or suppose to become sinless or perfect in this life because we still live in the flesh, perfection is what awaits us in heaven, all we can do now is struggle and cling to Christ, what we do now is in preparation for heaven.
Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." While your comments are a reality for me and for everyone else, this verse is still a good goal and one of the many reasons we work so hard to quit.
Also worth considering: What does it actually mean to be perfect? Why does Jesus encourage us to do something that it seems we can not actually achieve? Does he perhaps mean something other than what we might intuitively think based on the surrounding context?
A commitment to be perfect allows the Holy Spirit to flow through us for good works. I think when we lower the commitment satan drags us so low that good works are merely an afterthought.
90% of our problems come from either – not enough passion for God's will, (David always had a huge passion), or from not running from sin like Joseph habitually did. Prayer increases our passion and Bible verses teach us to be ready to run like Joseph. When we add passion to a habit of running from lust, we might just change the world as Joseph did.
Why was David God's favorite instead of Joseph? Obviously, David's passion for God was the greatest passion ever. Consider praying: “Father, increase my passion for You,” ten times per day every day this week. Second, God knew that 98% of us were going to be like David. Struggling mightily with lust. In His great love for us, He made David a very high-profile hero in the Bible. A hero who did later go to all-out war with his lust and who renewed his great relationship with God. But Joseph was almost as high on the favorites list as David. In Deuteronomy 28 the Bible says that someone who obeys will be blessed when he is in, when he is out, basically always blessed. This chapter is talking about long-term obedience, consistent obedience, and God-fearing obedience. Joseph had that obedience and he ended up as the 2nd most powerful man in the richest country in the world. Joseph focused on running from sin so often that it became automatic for him. Consider praying: “Father, help me to double how often I pray to run from sin.” As often as it takes to make running from sin a habit. David's life ended with victory, but with many sorrows. Joseph's life ended great. If we learn to have a passion like David had, plus the habit of running from sin like Joseph had... life will become great.
Psalm 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Rodney Kleyn noted the following: “To set the Lord before him means to have a deliberate and conscious resolve to have God, front and center, in all of his life and in all of his thinking, so that the thought of God captivates all of his senses and all his activity and focus in life. Notice the psalmist says he will do this always, in every situation, whatever comes his way, in every pleasure, in every trouble. Nothing in his life will be a distraction, to take his thoughts and his mind and his eye of faith away from God. In every responsibility, in every relationship, in every temptation, in every difficulty, even in the prospect of death, he will not be distracted from the reality of God. In the second part of the verse, the psalmist speaks of the resulting strength: “Because he is at my right hand,” he says, “I shall not be moved.” The psalmist is in a solid position. He is strong. He does not waver or doubt, and that is because he knows that the Lord God, Jehovah, the faithful, unchanging covenant God, is at his right hand and is his helper.” We have 3 examples to follow in a fight with lust. We can try to be like Jesus who said, “Be ye perfect.” When we fight to be like Jesus we get on a rocket ship to find joy. We can follow Joseph's example of trusting God in hard times. Joseph had faith in God even when in prison. 2nd, if we spend enough time working on it as he did, we can all develop the habit of turning from lust. We can follow David who said he will set the Lord before him in every trouble. When disaster strikes, turn to God. In every pleasure, set the Lord before you. In every difficulty, always be aware that God's way is best. Finally, I added this verse about “Setting the Lord before me,” in a version that ended with, “I shall not be shaken.” Satan knocks me off my focus of keeping my eyes on Jesus. This verse inspires me to keep my eyes on Jesus, and on the abundant life, He offers. “The pursuit of purity is not about the suppression of lust, but about the reorientation of one’s life to a larger goal.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I'm going to go ahead and add some thoughts to this to help us continue to pull the thought process out from the life of joseph. It's a very neat part of the Bible that is key to our success in fighting off adultery. Joseph had 3 Rs that he used to fight off Potiphar's wife, and it worked! So if we need a clickbaity title, let's just say " These 3 R's are the trick to winning!", though your success is not on knowing these, it's doing these. I'm going to give you them, with the dictionary definition so that we have a better working definition that we can align ourselves to. First of all, Joseph Reasoned. He reasoned with Potifers wife. The reason, v.i. 1. To exercise the faculty of reason: to deduce inferences justly from premises. 2. To argue; to infer conclusions from premises, or to deduce new or unknown propositions from previous propositions which are known or evident. Second, Joseph Resisted his fight with Potiphar's wife. Resist, v.t 1. Literally, to stand against; to withstand; hence, to act in opposition, or to oppose. 2. To strive against; to endeavor to counteract, defeat or frustrate. Finally, as the most effective thing Joseph knew, he ran away or escaped. Run, v.i. 1. To move or pass in almost any manner, as on the feet or wheels. 2. To move or pass on the feet with celerity or rapidity, by leaps or long quick steps. 3. To use the legs in moving. 4. To move in a hurry! Tl;dr for this section coming up. " Joseph first reasoned, resisted, and then resorted to running, and completely avoided sinning against the Lord and his master." Now we look at Genesis 39: 1-23. 1-5: The definitive authority Joseph had in his work ethic should be noted here. Notice this man's perseverance going from being thrown in a pit, to being sold as a slave, to being headmaster of an Egyptian captain of the guard. This set up joseph, for higher success in his later days, and would prove very beneficial for the trials he would stumble upon. John Davis in his book "paradise to prison; A Genesis commentary" states " One cannot help but be impressed by joseph's courage and determination. Despite his treatment at his brothers' hands, he sought no sympathy and solicited no pity. On the contrary, he energetically committed himself to whatever task was laid before him.". Fellow Christians, be strong and continue to fight this battle. Encourage yourself with verse 3, and stand fast in your faith, stand firm in your battle, and stand strong in your Lord. 6: Joseph was handsome, and yet this wasn't his excuse or reason for what would have been a perfect excuse to fall into temptation. Yet Joseph, though handsome and sharp in literal looks, did not fail. The writer of Genesis, attributed to Moses, set this up perfectly. This isn't to say, " men, be ugly and people won't hit on you, and you'll not be tempted". Joseph was blessed by God to be handsome in both form and appearance. Verse 7 sets up the rebuttal nicely, as it wasn't josephs handsomeness that became the temptation, it was the wicked reply to that handsomeness. 7: After all of this success and triumph, comes the temptation. For those not savvy in Bible talk, when the verse says "...wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, " lie with me." This is her being indiscreet and crying for joseph to have sexual intercourse with her. Men, sometimes the temptation is so blatantly obvious that it seems sly. There wasn't a 5 step process that this wife tried to seduce joseph. Only one single phrase, for she knew if she continued time after time it would prod and break joseph, but yet his response stood strong. 8-9: " But he refused and said, "look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand." Thus we see, that Josephs's Refusal, began his Reasoning. It starts with a no fellow Christians. It starts with first committing in your mind, " no." No is a complete sentence, and we should be very good at speaking this no in love. Do we refuse? Do we reason? When the thoughts inbound with wickedness and the bombs of the world are hefty and forcefully demanding, have we built in our heads a strong reason to refuse? Say no. Without this beginning premise, there would have been no faculty to reason indifferently. 10: " so it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.". Read that again. Day by day, continually, constantly, and consistently joseph was barraged and blitzed with verbal cues. So what did Joseph do? He continued to Resist. Fellow followers of Christ, please do not just reason in your mind, but follow up that reasoning with constant resisting. The arrows of fire will fly, but will you put up your shield, or allow one to hit you? 11-1: And one day, this wife, this adulterer, this fornicator, grabbed at joseph. There was no more Refusal, reason, or resistance. This was a more pleaded and begging earnest plea from the wife for joseph to lie with her. Joseph knew what he had to do. He knew what any young handsome man can do! He did not come up with any scheme, bargain, or plea. The answer sometimes is not complicated fellow companions. He ran! He moved his feet really quickly and used them to get out the door and away from the sinner. I'll leave you with this quote from author Jim Berg in " Changed into his image" " Sin starts with deception- often a twisted truth. We mull over and over in our minds the deception, considering the benefits of indulgence until we are so convinced of the virtues that we choose to embrace it. Only then do we find that a hook is embedded in the lure. "
Great stuff! We must first reason with ourselves -- not entertaining the lies of the enemy and the flesh but instead focusing our hearts and minds on the truth. We can see the hook if we stop and look for it before committing ourselves to any action.
When David stared at Bathsheba he did not understand what the Bible meant when it said: “The wages of sin is death.” But after he sinned and sinned and sinned, he began to understand. He understood that the wages of his sin was actual death (his son). He realized that something always dies or starts to die when we sin. The problem was that he had really bad timing in his full realization of this verse. When he was staring at Bathsheba he was totally unaware that something would start to die if he looked with lust. Joseph Joseph was likely tempted by the Pharoh's wife. She was likely the most beautiful woman in the land. But... he was highly aware that something would start to die if he snuck a look at her with lust. If he began to fantasize about what could be. The key point: Instead, he turned instantly from that sin, and kept his joy by worshiping God. Then, when she tried to seduce him, he ran. Why? Because he knew that something would die or start to die if he gave in. Joseph fully realized what this verse meant before temptation arose. He fully realized what it meant during temptation. He was so aware of what that verse meant that it would have seemed like the dumbest thing in the world for him to have given in to lust. Consider memorizing the key point paragraph. Why? Because #1, Joseph was fully prepared for temptation in advance. #2, Joseph turned from lust and kept his joy. #3, he knew exactly what would happen if he gave in. #4, satan tells us how much fun sin will be. He leaves out minor details of what dies or starts to die. Finally, always be aware of sin's consequences. Always keep praying: “Father, show me Your will." Always have plans for other things to do. Always be aware, then get busy doing something else.
The first problem is not when we completely fall. The first problem is when we lose the presence of the Lord. David looked, and kept looking. What happened later is important, but his first sin was to undervalue God’s presence and to overvalue his pleasure. David had the fullness of joy as a boy. The Spirit was with him and he saved the Israelites with his victory over Goliath. But he gave in to many pleasures and lust became a stronghold. After Bathsheba Later David learned how important it was to turn instantly from lust to keep the presence of the Lord. Try to be aware of that darkness coming, be aware of that restlessness that is a signal that all is not right in your life. When you feel a bad cloud coming pray: “Psalm 51:11 (NASB, NLT) Do not cast me away from Your presence. And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” David had everything when the Holy Spirit was fully with him. Later in life, he learned to have the highest value possible for staying in God’s presence. Consider praying: Father, help me not to overvalue pleasure, help me to value Your presence as I should.” List 3 things that take you from God’s presence. Today, find an article to help you form a plan to defeat these things. What if you spend a whole week fully valuing God’s presence while striving to undervalue the importance of pleasure? It might just be the best week of your life.
Consider starting every day with a determination to react to temptation like Joseph did instead of how David did. Consider praying: "Father, teach me Your Word so that I can start to run from lust like Joseph." Lifeway.com noted: 1. God calls us to radical purity. Regardless of your circumstances, your needs, your disposition, this is God’s will for your life: For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God (I Thess. 4:3-5). “What do you mean by radical purity?” Listen to the standard of moral purity God expects of us in Eph. 5:3-5: "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 2. Guard your heart and mind. What is implicitly clear about Joseph is that he had made up his mind about lines he would not cross before the temptation came. Like Job, who said, “I have made a covenant with my eyes not to gaze upon a young maiden,” Joseph had established specific standards which governed his responses (Job 31:1). Not only that, but Joseph was careful about what he exposed himself to. He didn’t try to be polite about the issue. Verse 10 tells us that he refused to even listen to her or linger in her presence. As much as he was able, he kept his distance from temptation. And when things started closing in, v. 12 says he literally ran from the tempting moment Let’s shoot straight here. We all know how we justify tuning in on tempting stuff. We toy with sin, thinking we are the master. We linger when we should be running. Joseph didn’t play games with something so lethal. He guarded his mind." Consider praying 5 times every day: "Father, help me to run instantly from lust." Finally, David's life ended up as a mess. Joseph's life ended great. Learn the habit of running from lust like he did.
Joseph ran from lust because he was determined to find purpose (God's will). He was obsessed with doing God's will. He “knew” he was created to do God's will. He “knew” he had to go to war with sin to do God's will. He learned habits about how to go to war with sin by great effort over time. He strained so hard to learn those habits, but when the temptation came... He was ready, and he instantly ran. Joseph's great effort to go to war with sin brought angels into his life. Many probably. They protected him and guided him more and more over time. Saul was Israel's first king. He was good for a while but then he started going back and forth from the good side to the bad side spiritually. The Bible clearly says that Saul's sin brought dark spirits into his life. Repeated sin always puts us at risk for that. Saul was “driven” by his spirits. Driven to throw a spear at David, driven to hunt David, driven to kill David. Saul did not fear God despite knowing the passage that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Saul did not understand that passage. Fearing God partly means, fearing losing part of his ability to control his actions. We should be scared stiff of being “driven” by something else that is dark. Consider praying: “Father, help me to fear darkness.” Joseph did not know about such things. He was busy being obsessed with finding his purpose. His war with sin was so intense that the dark side only made limited attempts to sink him. And when they played their best hand, sending the most beautiful lady in the land to seduce him, they were completely defeated again. Joseph was also driven. Driven to find purpose. Driven to do God's will. Driven to overcome temptation. Pretty much everybody is “driven.” Which direction do you want to be driven in?
Reading through this thread I found this discussion. I think you are right, @Tao Jones , that Matthew 5:48 needs to be read in context. While it is true that all Christians ought to aspire to be, or set our aim at being, sinless, other passages make it clear that this is not possible in this life because of our remaining corruption in the flesh--this only goes away when we put off the flesh (die). ("Flesh" is a very nuanced word in Paul that is not synonymous with "sin" or with "human nature." Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:16 that we once new Christ according to the flesh, but now we no longer know him according to the flesh. In other words, Christ was at one time in the flesh himself, but now he is no longer in the flesh. This doesn't mean he was at one time a sinner, nor does it mean he's no longer a man/human, it just means he no longer participates in this present age--he entirely participates in the next age/age to come. Ugh, sorry, a long and unnecessary aside just to say: we cannot leave what Paul means by "flesh" until we've died, and corruption is in our flesh [1 Corinthians 15:42], thus we cannot be sinless in this life.) So what is Jesus talking about in Matthew 5:48? Well, if you read the entire chapter you can see that a contrast is set up being the externalized, incomplete teaching of the Jews/Pharisees and the internalized, heart-focused true meaning of the Scriptures. To this: "It's not adultery unless I actually went into her," Jesus says: "Adultery is a matter of the heart, and if you look lustfully, it's adultery." The same issue occurs with anger, oaths, "eye for an eye" justice (that law applied to the theocratic state of Israel, not to individuals to mete out against their "enemies" on their own), and, of course, in loving our enemies ("he's an enemy, therefore I don't have to love him; but my friends I will love"). Jesus says, "hey, even the Gentiles love that way. In contrast to what you have heard on all these topics, I say, be complete, entire, whole, single-minded the way your Father in heaven is, who doesn't show partiality. You must be complete in your love and in all you do, acting from the heart." "Complete" is probably a better translation than "perfect" in the context. The very next verse supports this, about not practicing your righteousness before others to be seen by them (that is, a merely external righteousness); instead, practice your righteousness and love from your heart, where only God can see, without any expectation of reward from others. This is what Jesus' statement means, as I see it: "you must be complete, as your heavenly Father is complete."
Also helpful for me is to read many of Scripture's "commands" as instead invitations or descriptions of life in the Kingdom. The 10 Commandments (a word found nowhere in the text) are more helpful as terrific descriptions of the lives of those who abide in God's house. "Be ye perfect" is better understood as an invitation to a certain kind of life, I think. It is, as you say, aspirational. When I think of Jesus commanding me to be like him, it is a great weight on my heart. When I instead hear him inviting me to join him where he is and in who he is and what he is doing, then I feel a joyful anticipation and a renewed hope.
