Intro: Today’s message is dealing with the area of Lust.
This is the fourth message in the series on the Seven Deadly Sins of the heart.
How many of you like to fish?
I like to Bass and Saltwater fish.
When you go fishing; depending on what type of fishing you are going to do; there are many things to decide on before you go like rod and reel, bait or lures, and the place.
Well, I want to let you know this morning that lust and fishing have a little bit in common,
Today I am going to show you one of the best anglers in the business. His name is Lucifer and when it comes to fishing for souls he has got it down to a science.
James 1:14 warns, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away from his own lust and enticed.” If you were to look up the word enticed, you would see that it is a Greek fishing term. It means to bait something.
James says that each and everyone of us are tempted.
What is lust? It is many things, it is that lingering look at your new secretary, or surfing the Internet looking at the next image to download into a private file. Men who are huddling around a magazine rack gawking at the swim suit issue of Sports Illustrated, or Men’s magazines.
Lust plays on sexuality, but does not satisfy the physical need.
Now the devil is the best at what he does because he has had so long to prefect his art.
Just as Jesus told His disciples that they would be fishers of men, so is Satan a fisher of men.
I want to tell you of four Keys that are used to cauhgt fish. (men!)
I. Choosing the best place and time.
I can see Satan now (like every good fisherman) heading down to the fishing Hole; rod and reel in hand looking at his next prospect.
He is very aware of the type of fish he is looking for and he knows the best time and place to catch you.
Like the bass fisherman he is always looking for the best spot available.
He has his trusty depth finder that tells him where you are at and he knows when you are vulnerable.
The place and time make a big difference of how you are affect by the elements around you.
Are you in a bad mood or are you happy or praying? All of these play a big part in the best time to lure you in.
Next;
II. Choosing the best lure.
When he is ready to fish he must find the right lure to work for the moment.
A jig is one of the number one lures that can catch a trophy bass,
Most jigs baits in bass fishing have a little skirt that hides the hook.
Now when you are fishing you have to be very quiet or you will scare the fish away.
Not every lure works for every person. But, as perfected in his art as Satan is, he has a pretty good ideal what lure to use in your case.
But the best design to catch a fish is to hide the hook so that it looks o.k. to touch.
The third key to caughting fish is;
III. It’s Time to Lure.
To begin fishing you must be quiet as possible as you cast it out on the water making very little sound.
Those that are skilled know how to do this.
That is the way that the devil is too. Very quiet, no sound of popping when the lure hits the water just quiet.
Now no sin is involved when the lure is cast or if it is in the water. Some think that they have sinned if they are tempted by the devil.
No matter who you are; you are tempted, regardless of your age, color, ministry, or reputation.
Now, once the lure has been cast out on to the water, it is now time to work it, reel it in.
You reel it nice and slow trying to make that lure look as real as possible.
Satan follows the same technique, he works the temptation nice and slow not rushing he is in no hurry he has all day.
The temptation may be a little eye contact that was different from before, a smile or wink that caught your eye, a joke with a little lustful over-tone, and a lingering luncheon with the secretary.
What ever it is, the question may arise, “what would it be like if I…”
The Imagination begins to kick in, you move a little closer to the lure and your not striking at it yet but you have noticed it.
Listen; anytime a person begins to dwell in his mind on sin, He is already on his way to the sin.
Let me make it clear to you today it is not the first look and thought, “that’s a beautiful woman, or that’s is a hunk.” Billy Graham said it like this, “it is not the first look that gets you, it is the second and the third look that gets you.”
Lust begins to take over when you picture yourself with that person sexually.
You cannot keep Satan from tempting you, or from enticing your curiosity or even your imagination. But it is at that moment that you must stop. When you begin to think or dwell on the thought that has been place there.
I am not going to think those thoughts, I am not going to entertain that thought, I will not allow my imagination to go in that direction.
Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Jesus called men to be aware of the lust that causes a man to commit adultery, “In His Heart!”
The Fourth Key to caughting a fish is;
IV. Setting the Hook.
A fish the moment it strikes at a lure it has no idea that it has a hook on it at least not yet it doesn’t.
You see the devil has worked that lure to the point that you have been staring at it so long you can’t help but go after it.
That bass takes that lure and swims away happily with no thought of danger.
And when lust has been conceived it brings forth sin. You say,Oh no, well maybe I got away with that one, maybe no one will find out.
That is what most people think anyway, when they have taken the bait of lust. They engage in a lustful sinful act and think we got away with it.
But the fisherman knows that he has him one now. So he snatches on that rod and sets the hook in the mouth of that big ole fish and the fight is on.
Now the real fight is on, the devil has you in his field now,
The HIV test comes back positive,
The wife or husband finds out,
The pregnancy test shows the wrong color,
The lover now follows through with blackmail,
You lose your job, house, and car.
Sounds like a good ole country and western song if you ask me!
The hook is set and the pain begins;
Your sin will find you out, sooner or later.
1 Corinthians 4:5 (KJV)
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
Now that the fight is on the bass is thrashing and splashing around frantically, but the hook only goes in deeper.
Once the hook of sin is in it only gets worse, Sin always involves pain, struggling, and negative consequences.
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say unto you, whosoever commits sin is a slave to sin.” A slave in Jesus’ time could win their freedom but it was a hard thing to do.
Now when the first round of thrashing and splashing are over the bass usually tries to run for it, the fisherman gives some line but by the time the bass is at the end, it is to tired to fight anymore and now it is even easier to pull him back in.
No question about it. Do we thrash and splash when our sexual sin has been discovered, sure you do.
“Everyone is doing it.”
“It’s no big deal.”
“It was only one time.”
“It won’t happen again.”
“I can control it, it wasn’t love.”
We are kidding ourselves right, Lust is a total Intro: Today’s message is dealing with the area of Lust so sit back and hold on.
How many of you like to fish?
I like to Bass and Saltwater fish.
When you go fishing; depending on what type of fishing you are going to do; there are many things to decide on before you go like rod and reel, bait or lures, and the place.
Well, I want to let you know this morning that lust and fishing have a little bit in common,
Today I am going to show you one of the best anglers in the business. His name is Lucifer and when it comes to fishing for souls he has got it down to a science.
James 1:14 warns, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away from his own lust and enticed.” If you were to look up the word enticed, you would see that it is a Greek fishing term. It means to bait something.
James says that each and everyone of us are tempted.
What is lust? It is many things, it is that lingering look at your new secretary, or surfing the Internet looking at the next image to download into a private file. Men who are huddling around a magazine rack gawking at the swim suit issue of Sports Illustrated, or Men’s magazines.
Lust plays on sexuality, but does not satisfy the physical need.
Now the devil is the best at what he does because he has had so long to prefect his art.
I want to tell you of four tricks that he uses to entice you.
So Pastor how do I stay off of the hook.
I. Guard your eyes.
Samson was one of the best tools to use in looking at lust.
Samson first wanted a philistine woman named Timnah, the very first words that are attributed to Samson are, “I have seen a woman,” he married her problems happened she was killed by her own people by fire, so Samson killed them, twenty years later he had slept with a prostitute in Gaza, and then it was on to Delilah a Prostitute.
Samson the whole time was filled with the spirit of the Lord. It never says that it parted from him, but according to scripture in sin we make Jesus apart of our sin.
1 Corinthians 6:15-17 (KJV)
15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
Samson was not letting the Lord lead him, he was lead by what he saw and in so doing he was draw away from his own lust and committed sin and sin brought forth death.
II. Look past the Lust to the consequences.
Believe me if we could see what would take place because of the sin that we have committed we wouldn’t do it.
We need to train ourselves to look at the end; instead of now, and look at the consequences.
1. Divorce and Marital Problems
2. The Diseases
3. Emotional turmoils
4. Pain and Heartaches
5. Loss; Mentally, Spiritually, and Physically
In condemning something the Bible has some pretty strong words to say; Abomination, Defilement, and Abhorrent.
III. Run from Obvious Opportunities.
Anytime a person makes a sexual advance to you run and put as much distance as you can between you and them.
No good can come from sin, and don’t worry about what people will say just keep running in the direction of the Lord.
There was a man by the name of Joseph that ran from that kind of an opportunity.
The woman was Potiphar’s wife (the man in charge of the CIA for Egypt) and Joseph was in the top management position for him.
Now Potiphar’s wife had her eyes on Joseph and He knew it. He had told her no before and one day she ask for him to come to her room and when she did she told him to lie with her and he ran leaving his coat behind. She told her husband that he had tried to rape her so Joseph was thrown in prison.
But, Joseph knew someone that she didn’t, God the father, now it took sometime for this but God had elevated Him from prison to the third highest in the Kingdom above Potiphar.
IV. Monitor your media intake.
In the world that we live in it is everywhere, “sin is in.”
We are bombard by what we see on T.V., Radio, Magazines, Billboards, and Movies.
In 1997 Americans spent over 8 billion on adult pornography.
This is higher than in any other country.
We need to do what Job did:
Job 31:1-4 (KJV)
1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? 2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? 4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
Monitor what you read, watch, and listen too.
The best defense is a strong offense.
Think about what you are going to do before his makes his move.
There is no such thing as a little sex.
No matter how far you run or how hard you struggle, Satan will get you in that boat of his eventually.
Once a person has committed a sexual sin it now becomes easier to do it again and again.
“Well, I’ve already messed up so what ‘s the point of trying to stop now.”
There is only one way to snap the line and that is to let the Lord Jesus cut it for you.
We can be assured of this that Satan does not practice the catch and release program. He is after eternal victims.
Believe me he has a trophy room to beat us all. Name and faces throughout time
Bass are caught twelve months out of the year, sounds like us Hmmm.
We need to do what Job did:
Job 31:1-4 (KJV)
1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? 2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? 4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
Monitor what you read, watch, and listen too.
The best defense is a strong offense.
Think about what you are going to do before his makes his move.
