Me- Quick Review (Pride vs.Humility, Envy vs. Kindness, Gluttony vs. Abstinence)
Survey(How many have ever been greedy, angry, lazy?) Everybody would have no problem admitting that they have done at least one of these sins. But I would bet that nobody here would raise their hands to admit lust. Nobody wants to admit an addiction to sex.
Lust- sensitive topic to me because it was my thorn in the flesh (background info- struggled with it for 8 years, destroyed many of my relationships- couldn’t watch TV without wanting to look at pornography)
We- I don’t apologize for sharing- many men and women in and out of the church who are gripped by this sin that nobody wants to admit. They are people we never expect. They range from Pastor’s to soccer mom’s. They could be the neighbor next door or the spouse you go to bed with every night. This is a secret sin nobody wants to admit and always destroys people when it’s discovered. I strongly believe that there are even men and women here today who are struggling with this sin. But maybe your scared because you don’t know how to over come it. Your afraid of being judged. I understand because I was were you are.
I don’t hear many pastor’s preach on this subject today because it’s uncomfortable, it’s embarrassing, it’s convicting. It’s a whole lot easier to focus on health, wealth and prosperity, but God is more worried about removing all sin from your life. But I would be failing you as a pastor if I preached on one scripture but I wouldn’t preach on this scripture.
Lust is a topic that is brought up over and over again all through out the bible. Romans 1:25-27-
And now because of technology our appetite for a sexual fix is right at our fingertips. Just press a key on the keyboard or turn the channel and it is readily available.
Lust (Definition)- "Lust is an excessive craving for the pleasures of the body. Desire for something or someone that is not yours. It’s a desire to possess, to own, to consume without caring about the needs of feelings of any other being or the will of God."
Lust bypasses love and moves to passion. Eliminates relationships and turns the other person into an object or thing.
Paul says, “Love never ends” but lust always ends the minute the craving is satisfied.
Quote- “Love is a marathon runner, lust runs the 10 yard dash.” (unknown pastor)
Statistics- let me read you some stats that maybe you didn’t know.
75-90% of pornographic material, if used by an adult, will end up in their own child’s hands
38% of adults today believe there is nothing wrong with pornography (114,000,000 Americans)
47% of Christians today say porn is a problem in their home
Pornography is downloaded an average of 1.5 billion times per month - statistics taken from xxxchurch.com
According to these statistics there is a strong chance that more than one family in this church right now is struggling with sexual addiction. It is a problem that you have battled to overcome for years and yet you feel totally sucked right back in. It is like that with any addiction. Alcohol, drugs, work can all become addictions, but it is sexual addiction that God speaks the most about.
This is the ultimate flesh vs. spirit. Overcoming sexual addiction is an incredible test of self discipline because it is made so readily available today, because we hear all the time sex sells. Because you can’t watch hardly anything today without hearing some reference to sex or hear some joke about sex. Even our children’s movies or what we would consider children’s movies have adult humor in them. And we justify it saying,
“Well its not like my child understands the joke. It’s over their head.” “Well the movie only had partial nudity, it wasn’t a big deal.” I want to tell you from personal experience that it may not seem like a big deal. We may not be bothered by it ourselves. You may be able to watch any R rated movie with full nudity and it doesn’t effect you one bit, but all it takes is a spark for some. All it took for me was not even seeing the site but curious as to what it was and that was how it all began.
We have to decide are we willing to sacrifice ours or someone else’s soul for 2 hours of personal entertainment. Call that extreme all day long. Call me crazy conservative out of touch I don’t care. It only takes a spark to set someone down a path that will destroy them for eternity. We may think, “Well why should I have to sacrifice my “fun” just because someone else can’t control their own problem?” I guess all I can say is why are you so selfish that you wouldn’t sacrifice whatever it took so that you could help someone get to heaven?
Last time I checked, “It’s not about us.” Life is not about making sure you have everything you want, or making sure you are completely entertained. Life is about serving him and sacrificing for others.
That’s why Jesus died, so we could go to heaven. That’s why the apostles were murdered so that you could hear about Christ. That’s why the “others” in Hebrews laid down their life. They sacrificed and dedicated every energy they had to living for God and sacrificing for others. What did the early church do in Acts 2? It says they sacrificed. They sold all their possessions and gave to those who were in need.
So we shouldn’t be saying “Why should I give up?” We should be saying “What can I give up to help him or her? What can I sacrifice in my life that would help others have an example of what it means to live a godly lifestyle.
God- I John 2:15-17- we crave things of this world- gluttony. Lust is not different. It is a craving of things we can’t have. And like drugs or alcohol or any other addiction it always starts small. It can start with watching a music video and end in an affair.
It always begins innocently, “He’s just a friend.” But if we are not careful our innocence becomes a craving and that friendships turns into emotion and emotion turns into lust. And soon not just you but families are destroyed by our actions.
Matthew 5:29-30- not literally cut off- do whatever it takes to get rid of sin in your life. Christ is saying if you want to overcome a sin then cut out the things in your life that cause you to be tempted to commit that sin. Even if it hurts. And it will.
Heb. 12:11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
God calls us to the virtue of Chastity in order to overcome sexual sin. Chastity means, “The condition or quality of being pure, having virtuous character.” A morally pure person in God’s eyes is someone who does not allow themselves to be placed in a position that will cause temptation.
Phil 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
You- You have to look at your life and give an honest evaluation of what things do you do that might put you in temptation. Is there a person you work with that you find yourself attracted to? Do you get tempted when you are on the internet or watching television? Find what it is that causes you to be tempted and cut it out of your life.
Yes that means sacrifice. Quit your job, cut out television or internet. What!!!?? Crazy!! What does it hurt to shut out TV once in a while or to cut out TV at all. (Brandon and Jennifer wonderful married couple who have never owned a TV they have date nights, get creative, spend time together)
To not be willing to cut off what causes you to sin is to say that you don’t care if you live a life of sin. It goes back to pride and selfishness. If you are not willing to give up anything to better your life for God then you don’t really want to live for God at all. Jesus says it. Cut off anything that causes you to sin. It is better to change jobs than to spend eternity alone in hell. It would be better to never see another television again that to be in hell forever. Sounds extreme but its true. Practice the virtue of chastity by living a pure virtuous lifestyle.
This choice will not only effect you but it will effect your family and friends around you.
We- If you are struggling with sexual addiction in your life then let me provide some material that can help you.
Books- Every Man’s Battle, Every Woman’s Battle, When His Secret Sin Breaks Your Heart
Website- www.xxxchurch.com
