What Jesus Has To Say About Sex.

“What Jesus Has to Say about Sex”

August 5, 2007

Me: This is a difficult and scary topic. Today needs to be transparent and honest so that we can get to the bottom line, which is a life more like Christ. This is not an area that I have complete mastery over in my life and I am not sure anyone can say with 100% certainty that they never struggle with these issues. So, let’s journey together through this to see if there are some lessons to be learned.

You: Sexual temptation and struggles may not be the area you deal with. But, the lessons we are going to look at and hopefully apply in our lives are transferable to every area of human indulgence. So maybe your thing is greed, or food, or competitiveness, the principles of scripture apply to every area of your life.

God: Today we want to look at a section of scripture that Jesus laid out for us to help us understand the inner heart condition. We want to look at some common lies we believe and then counter them with truth from scripture.

"You have heard that it was said, ’Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28 (NIV)

Jesus is instructing people about the need to not only follow the letter of the law of God, but to let the law penetrate your heart.

Lie #1: As long as I don’t physically act on my thoughts, they are harmless.

Truth: Fantasy destroys reality.

We like to assume that we can simply live in fantasy mode and no one is hurt. The reality is that lust cheapens the real relationships we have.

Lust denies relationship.

People become objects for our satisfaction and we de-humanize them for our own gain.

Jesus condemned lust because it cheapened the depth of marital relationships.

Pornography is a deadly intoxicant in our society. The availability of sexual images has caused a distortion of reality. No one can live up to the images portrayed in pornography. So when our spouse does not respond the way we desire, it causes us to have a disconnect at the heart level in the most intimate of human relationships.

“Pornography is harmful because it makes sex trivial, uninteresting and dull.” Lewis Smedes

The Deadly Cycle:

Indulgence  Guilt  Remorse

Lie #2- I am beyond temptation.

Truth: Everyone is tempted by something.

We all struggle with temptation. It is not a sin to be tempted. The key is to understand your weaknesses and then try to protect yourself from falling.

Facts about temptation:

• You are more vulnerable when you are fatigued.

• You are more vulnerable when you are stressed.

• You are more vulnerable when you are angry.

• You are more vulnerable when you are alone.

(Shane joins me onstage and show clip from “In Living Color”)

“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping.” 1 Peter 5:8 (The Message)

Lie #3- I can never be forgiven for what I have done.

Truth- God’s grace is available to everyone.

We live in a world that is filled with sexual images and distortions. We are at times going to stumble and fall. When we do, we must realize that God’s grace is enough to put us back on the right path.

“When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s Cross.” Colossians 2:13-14 (The Message)

Practical Steps:

Develop authentic relationships.

“It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there’s no one to help, tough!” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (The Message)

Re-train your brain.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

Feel good about small victories.

Resources:

“Every Man’s Battle”, Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker; Waterbrook Press, 2000

“Every Woman’s Battle”, Shannon Ethridge; Waterbrook Press, 2003.

“Sex God”, Rob Bell; Zondervan, 2007.

“A Way of Escape: Freedom from Sexual Strongholds”, Neil T. Anderson; Harvest House Publishers, 1997.

XXXChurch.com Accountability Software

Covenant Eyes Accountability Software

You: Are you tired of living in the deadly cycle?

We: We must become honest and open about our struggles in order to gain the victory found in Jesus.