DAVID AND JOSEPH

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.

 

We love Joseph because he was our great example of running from lust. But often we forget to ask “why” he did that. When we look at Joseph and start at the beginning, we see that he was a great dreamer. He wanted to do great things, and he wanted to do great things for God.

In every situation, Joseph knew that God had a plan for his life, just like he has a plan for our lives. When Joseph was thrown in a pit, he still believed that God had a plan for him. When we get wrecked in life, we need to gain the habit of turning from lust, and continuing to believe that God has a plan for our lives. When Joseph was thrown into prison he still believed that God had a plan, and he still continued in constant prayer so that he could fulfill that plan. At every bad turn in life Joseph believed that God's way was best and that God had something for him to do.

When Joseph's great temptation came, he ran from it. He was able to run from it because before the temptation happened, he had practiced turning from lust and sin because he knew they would interfere with his purpose. He believed that God had something for him to do despite every signal around him flashing, no, stop, it's too hard. In the pit he believed, when sold into slavery, when in prison, when in a hostile foreign country, in every impossible situation, he believed that God had something for him to do.

He was right, God had something for him to do. If we also believe that with all our heart, and if we prepare to turn from sin, we will be able to run from lust, just like Joseph 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?

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