“But he refused…” (Gen 39:8)

The Saturday evening prayer meeting was very good. The hunger for the presence of the Holy Spirit was satisfied by Him. No one else can do it. Empty religion promises much but will always disappoint! Only The Holy Spirit can quench the longing of our hearts! The King of kings was in our midst receiving the evening sacrifice of willing hearts. “Lord, prepare me to be Your sanctuary pure and holy, tried and true… With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living, sanctuary for You!” This was our longing, song and prayer. God knows when hearts are united in a holy supplication. He never ignores the desperate prayer of His children. We worshipped at His feet… Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!!!!!!!

Then the Word came. We are in a prophetic season called ‘Shalom’. This is one of the most important words in Hebrew language. It means more than peace. It means a combination of health and wealth, favor and friends; peace and prosperity. We’ve already tasted from the blessings of Shalom. For some time we have been studying the life of Joseph, who is a type of Christ, the Prince of Peace. We read Genesis 39. We studied the secret of Joseph, how he overcame sexual temptation. His secret was the presence of God the Holy Spirit. Four times in this chapter we are told that ‘the Lord was with Joseph’. This is how he conquered the lustful liar! Lesson: if the Lord is with you, you shall overcome all trials and temptations! No man or devil can destroy your life, destiny or testimony! Warning: a Christian can grieve the Holy Spirit thru disobedience. In that case the protective fence of the Spirit is broken; the Christian becomes vulnerable because the devil has access to his mind. The devil is not original. Many servants of God, men and women, have lost their ministry and peace of mind because of falling into sin. The sexual sins and the love of money are top of the list. You cannot fight these sins in your strength. Filled with the Holy Spirit you can resist the devil and he will flee from you. In Christ, victory is not only possible but expected. To the glory of God!

One of the easiest ways to fight sexual sins is to obey six commands based on the Word of God. I found this ‘formula’ in a book written by John Piper. It has been very useful to me since then. I tried it and it works. It is to remember the word ‘Anthem’. ANTHEM!!!! Each letter is connected to a command.   Simply said, what do you do when tempted sexually?

A — Avoid! (Avoid sin and any person who you know is sexually impure. Like Joseph did, run for your life! Your legs will not fail you in your pursuit of passionate purity!)

N — No! (Say No to any proposal to commit fornication! Say it courageously, strongly and quickly! Say it within 5 seconds!)

T — Turn! (Turn your eyes away from sinful pictures and look unto Jesus! See Christ crucified! See the price He paid to set you free!)

H — Hold! (Hold on in your mind the picture of Christ crucified for you until the dirty image is gone and replaced with the wonder of His love!)

E — Enjoy! (Enjoy God and His Word! Enjoy the fellowship of the believers! Enjoy spiritual things, the greater pleasures of the blood-bought promises of God!)

M — Move on! (Move away from mistakes to a meaningful Christ-exalting activity. Work for God in the church. Any ministry is useful and holy if it is done for Christ’ sake. It is better to wash the floors in the sanctuary than to watch pornography on the internet!).

We ended the prayer meeting with grateful hearts for a good time in His presence!

‘Thank You Lord Jesus!”