Heart Lift

Purity: Freedom from Lust, Part 2

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Jill Morikone

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Series Code: HLFT

Program Code: HLFT000013A


00:25 Hello, and welcome to Heart Lift.
00:27 I'm Jill Morikone, and I'm so glad that you
00:29 have joined us today.
00:31 We're on a journey toward hope, toward healing,
00:34 toward the transformation that the Lord Jesus Christ
00:37 wants to work in your heart and in mine, as women,
00:42 as daughters of God.
00:43 If you're just joining us, we're in the middle of several
00:47 programs, a discussion on the topic of purity.
00:51 I know purity can be a difficult and sensitive topic,
00:55 but the beautiful thing is that the Lord Jesus Christ
00:58 wants to cleanse us.
00:59 Whatever our impurity, He can take it away.
01:03 Last week, last program, we discussed the first three keys,
01:09 the first three steps toward experiencing purity,
01:13 experiencing purity of heart and life.
01:16 Impurity is really a measure of how much we accept and receive
01:21 the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
01:24 The first three steps to recap: 1. Is to seek forgiveness.
01:28 Go to God right now and say, God, You know the shame
01:32 all over me. You know the junk in my past.
01:35 Will You forgive me?
01:37 And He says, Yes, immediately.
01:39 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just.
01:43 He will forgive us, and He will cleanse us from
01:46 all unrighteousness.
01:47 2. Is to surrender.
01:50 Surrender those lustful thoughts,
01:52 surrender those emotions.
01:54 Or if you're currently acting out with somebody, surrender
01:58 that person, and break off that relationship before God.
02:02 Now we know we cannot do that of our own strength.
02:05 We go to God and we say, God, we need Your help.
02:08 I ask that You take this from me.
02:10 And sometimes we surrender, and those thoughts,
02:13 those emotions, those feelings, they pop right back up again.
02:17 But we go back to God and we re-surrender.
02:20 3. Is to behold Jesus.
02:22 We don't want to just surrender, and leave our
02:24 hearts an open vacuum.
02:25 We want to behold Jesus.
02:27 We behold Him in His Word.
02:29 We behold Him with Scripture, with song, through prayer.
02:34 Today we're going to be discussing the next four steps
02:38 to experiencing purity of life and heart.
02:42 Our Scripture for today is Romans 13:14, Romans 13:14.
02:49 And I love this Scripture.
02:51 If you have your Bible, open along, and follow along.
02:54 If not, you can always jot down the reference
02:57 to look it up later.
02:59 The Bible says, But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
03:02 and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill it's lusts.
03:07 Let's pray. Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus,
03:12 and we thank You for Your purity.
03:14 We thank You that You can exchange our filthy rags
03:19 for Your dazzling white robe of righteousness.
03:23 We thank You that nothing we've done in the past can be too bad
03:27 that you cannot cover, and You cannot forgive.
03:30 Right now we open up our hearts to receive what You want to give
03:34 us today from Your Word.
03:36 And we thank You in the precious and Holy name of Jesus, Amen.
03:41 One of my friends, she's actually one of my very
03:45 good girl friends, is a beautiful picture
03:48 of what Jesus is like.
03:50 She ministers to other people.
03:53 She walks in authenticity.
03:55 She's not one of these fake Christians who paste on a
03:59 smile, and it's not really genuine.
04:01 She's real, she's genuine.
04:04 She's honest about where she's been, and she shares,
04:07 This is where God is taking me.
04:09 This is where God has led me.
04:13 Hers is a beautiful experience.
04:15 She shares with other people often her story.
04:19 She ministers. She blesses my heart incredibly.
04:23 In her past she was an alcoholic.
04:26 And she is quite honest about that.
04:29 And she shares about that.
04:31 But God broke that addiction off of her life.
04:34 In addition, as well as that alcoholism from her past,
04:39 and this was years ago, she also had a love addiction.
04:43 Now you might say, What in the world is the difference between
04:47 a sex addiction and a love addiction?
04:49 I think a sex addiction has more to do with an object,
04:52 and maybe you would disassociate a little bit from the person.
04:55 It's more you view that as an object.
04:58 A love addiction is a little bit different.
05:01 And she dealt with this.
05:03 She said that she would get a sort of high from those romantic
05:08 fantasies, from those thoughts, from going out and sleeping with
05:12 her neighbor, or whoever it happened to be.
05:16 She was seeking sex in order to feel better inside,
05:21 in order to fill whatever that brokenness was,
05:25 whatever that pain was in her heart and in her life.
05:29 You know what the beautiful thing is?
05:31 The Lord gave her deliverance.
05:34 The Lord freed her.
05:36 If you knew her today, you would have no idea that that was
05:40 ever a battle in her life.
05:43 You would have no idea that she ever struggled with that.
05:46 The Lord Jesus filled her heart, He cleansed her,
05:50 He filled her with His grace, and with His comfort
05:54 for all of those broken places in her heart.
05:57 And she is a new creation in Christ Jesus.
06:01 And now she ministers in a beautiful and effective way
06:05 to many men and women.
06:08 It's an incredible story of what God can do.
06:10 Now you might say, I don't have a love addiction,
06:13 and I'm not acting out sexually right now,
06:16 but I struggled with my thoughts.
06:19 That was exactly where I was, and I shared that
06:22 a couple programs ago.
06:23 I won't share the story again now.
06:25 But my battle was with my fantasies in my mind.
06:29 My lust was internal; it was in my head.
06:33 It was a result of those romance novels I read,
06:36 or those soap operas that I used to watch.
06:39 And God said, Jill, I want to break that off of your life.
06:42 Whatever your battle is, God says, I came to set you free.
06:47 I came to bring deliverance to your heart.
06:51 So we're looking at the four keys.
06:53 We looked at three last program.
06:55 This program is the next four keys in our battle to freedom
06:59 from sin to purity of heart.
07:04 1. Guard the avenues of the mind.
07:08 Galatians 6:7, 8 says, What we feed grows.
07:13 What we starve dies.
07:15 In essence it says that.
07:16 It's the law of sowing, and reaping what we sow.
07:20 If we sow to the flesh, we're going to of the
07:23 flesh reap corruption.
07:24 If we sow to the spirit, we're going to of the spirit
07:28 reap life everlasting.
07:30 Whatever you feed in your soul, and your spirit
07:33 it's going to grow.
07:34 And whatever you choose to push aside and to starve,
07:37 that is going to die.
07:39 Romans 13:14. That was our opening Scripture.
07:42 Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision
07:47 for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
07:50 Practically speaking, how are we to accomplish this?
07:54 How do we put on the Lord Jesus Christ?
07:57 And how do we make no provision for the flesh?
08:00 for that thing that would feed our sexual thoughts,
08:04 or those fantasies?
08:06 How do we do that?
08:07 I think, in my own experience, the solution, how we do this,
08:12 is to remove the temptation as far as possible from our homes.
08:17 What do I mean by that?
08:19 If you're struggling, and you're addicted to a certain program on
08:23 the TV, get rid of it.
08:25 Then you don't have that open temptation in your home.
08:30 Maybe it's a magazine subscription that you have
08:32 to one of those racier magazines,
08:35 and that feeds the lust in your heart.
08:37 Cancel that subscription.
08:39 Maybe it's a book that you have in your home that feeds
08:44 that romantic fantasy.
08:46 Throw the book away.
08:47 I used to think, I'm strong in Jesus.
08:51 I'm strong in Jesus.
08:53 And I'm okay. These things won't tempt me anymore.
08:56 And I could go weeks, months, and even years without even,
09:00 maybe pulling that book off the bookshelf.
09:02 But then in a moment, in a weak moment, it would be there,
09:07 right there on the shelf staring me in the face.
09:10 How much better to remove that temptation from your home at all.
09:15 I know that this principle seems harsh.
09:17 You might say, Jill, that's a little harsh.
09:19 But I can tell you it works.
09:22 Now how do you decide what's appropriate for you?
09:25 How do you decide, What do I watch?
09:27 What do I listen to?
09:29 What movies do I see?
09:30 What music do I listen to?
09:32 What books do I read?
09:33 What TV shows am I going to watch?
09:35 Philippians 4:8 gives us a really good litmus test.
09:40 Philippians 4:8 is a great litmus test for this.
09:45 The Bible says, Finally, brethren, whatever things are
09:49 true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are
09:53 just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely,
09:58 whatever things are of good report; if there's any virtue,
10:03 if there's any praise, think on these things.
10:07 So how do we know?
10:09 We go to God and say, Is this honest?
10:12 Is this going to strengthen my purity? Is this just?
10:17 And when you go down that list you'll find that there's a few
10:20 that might automatically be eliminated.
10:23 I think the key, nobody can come into your home and say,
10:26 You should do this, and you shouldn't do that.
10:28 Because that's control, and we are not talking about that.
10:32 I think the key is you yourself go to God and ask Him,
10:35 and keep an open mind, an open heart to be open to what the
10:41 Holy Spirit wants to tell you, to what the Holy Spirit
10:44 wants to teach you.
10:46 I know sometimes I'll read a book, or watch a movie...
10:52 And maybe you have this experience.
10:54 Say I watch a certain movie, and when I'm done at the end
10:58 of the couple hours, you know what happens?
11:00 I think, Wow, I want to follow God more.
11:03 Wow, I feel encouraged in my own walk with God.
11:09 Wow, I want to be a better wife.
11:11 I want to witness for Jesus more effectively.
11:14 If I watch a movie and it has that effect on me,
11:17 I know that's a good movie.
11:19 That's, for me, that's a good movie.
11:22 Now what if I watch a movie, and when I'm done I think,
11:26 Why doesn't my husband treat me like that?
11:29 Man, and I start fantasizing about some romantic thing
11:34 going on with the movie, or boy, that kissing scene,
11:36 I think I'm going to replay that in my mind a bit.
11:39 Or it starts to feed some of that lust in my heart, then I
11:44 know for me, that's a movie I'm going to struggle with.
11:48 That's a movie I need to be careful of.
11:50 And I need to say, Okay, I'm going to make that decision,
11:53 and I will get rid of that.
11:55 I think the more we seek God's face, the more we just desire
11:59 to serve Him, He's going to show you.
12:01 Open up your heart to Him, and He will reveal it to you.
12:06 So 1. We put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
12:10 We get rid of those temptations in our home.
12:13 We make no provision for the flesh.
12:15 2. Serve Jesus where you're at.
12:19 Philippians 4:11. It says, Not that I speak in regard of need:
12:23 for I have learned, in whatever state I am in,
12:26 therewith to be content.
12:29 Serve Jesus where you're at.
12:32 If you're single, and you wish that you could be married,
12:36 instead of sitting in self pity, pining, wishing for something
12:41 you don't have, surrender that to God, and seek to serve Jesus
12:46 where you're at right now.
12:48 If you're married, thank God for the husband He gave to you.
12:53 Don't pine for something else, or some other fantasy.
12:56 Thank God for who He blessed you with, and seek to serve God
13:01 together with who God has given you.
13:04 Now maybe you might be saying, Jill,
13:06 my husband's not a believer.
13:09 My husband doesn't believe in Jesus.
13:12 I'm serving God by myself.
13:14 And I know many of you might be in that category.
13:18 If that is the case, come before God and just say,
13:23 God I'm choosing to honor my husband, and at the same time
13:27 fill me with Your joy, and help me to serve You completely.
13:32 1. We make no provision for the flesh.
13:36 We put away those temptations, those things in our home
13:38 that are specially hurtful.
13:41 2. We just serve Jesus where we're at.
13:44 3. Become accountable.
13:48 I believe addiction thrives in secrecy.
13:51 If you're married and your husband is open to talking
13:54 with you about your struggles, share with him.
13:57 If you're not, find a trusted Godly woman
14:01 that you can share with.
14:03 Find a Christian counselor.
14:05 Those are all good options.
14:07 My one counsel would be, Don't go sharing with another man
14:10 who's not your husband.
14:11 Because that's going to lead to some sort of intimacy.
14:14 And right now you're struggling to break that emotional
14:16 bondage that you're in. Pray together.
14:19 Seek God's face together over what you're struggling with.
14:23 I think an accountability partner is huge.
14:26 In my own life I shared my battle with my husband Greg,
14:29 and then we prayed together, and I sought to be
14:33 accountable to him.
14:34 In addition I found a Godly woman that I
14:39 pray with every week.
14:40 Every week we pray together.
14:42 And she's my prayer partner.
14:44 Every week she will ask me, Jill, how can I pray
14:49 for you this week?
14:51 And I'll say, You know what? I'm really struggling this week
14:56 with... whatever it is.
14:57 Maybe I'm feeling jealous about a certain situation or a person.
15:01 And I'll say, Pray that the Lord Jesus breaks off that
15:04 jealousy from my life.
15:05 Maybe there's pride in my heart, and I say, I see it cropping up,
15:09 and I don't want it. Pray for that.
15:11 Maybe I'm not having joy in Jesus this week.
15:14 And I say, Please pray for me that I experience
15:18 anew the joy in Jesus; the joy of my salvation.
15:22 Maybe it's something else.
15:24 Maybe it's dealing with lust.
15:26 Whatever it is, I share with her.
15:28 Then she shares with me.
15:29 This was how my week was.
15:31 This is what God did in my week.
15:34 And then, This is my battle.
15:36 This is my struggle.
15:38 Jill, would you pray for me here?
15:41 And then we pray together on the phone every week.
15:44 It's a beautiful time.
15:46 It encourages me. It strengthens me.
15:49 It's changed me. I know it has.
15:52 She is a beautiful picture of Jesus,
15:54 and I can be honest with her.
15:56 I think there's five steps when you are looking,
16:00 when you're looking, when you're analyzing, finding an
16:03 accountability partner.
16:05 There's five things to look for:
16:06 1. You want to find someone who's Godly.
16:10 That is important.
16:11 Now you don't need someone perfect; nobody is perfect.
16:14 So if you're looking for a perfect accountability partner,
16:17 they don't exist, so just scratch that idea.
16:21 But look for someone who is at least seeking God.
16:24 Obviously, you don't want someone who's attained.
16:27 Because if we think we've attained, then we know for
16:30 certain we have not.
16:32 So just look for someone who's heart follows after God,
16:36 who every day wants to seek more of His face,
16:40 who wants to become more like Jesus.
16:42 1. Find someone who's Godly.
16:46 2. You want someone who's confidential.
16:50 This is huge! You don't want your struggles passed
16:54 around the church.
16:55 The worst thing could be you sharing with a woman,
16:58 who is Godly, but you can say, Oh, I'm struggling here.
17:02 Would you please pray for me?
17:03 And the next time you come to church the Pastor talks to you
17:06 about your own struggle, or another member over here.
17:09 And you think, I thought it was safe.
17:11 I thought she was confidential.
17:14 Now if the woman you choose is truly Godly, then we pray that
17:17 she would be confidential as well.
17:19 But that would be a key.
17:21 And sometimes we say, How do we even know who we can trust?
17:24 How do I know if this woman is confidential?
17:27 Share a little bit at the beginning, and then if you find
17:31 that they are trustworthy, share just a little bit more.
17:35 Sometimes we could over share at the beginning.
17:37 So I think trust takes time to build.
17:39 I would say it's going to take a year or two
17:42 before you truly know.
17:43 But in the beginning share just a bit.
17:46 And then, over time, you can share more.
17:49 Godly, confidential, safe.
17:52 Safe is a lot like confidential, but to me it's
17:54 a little different.
17:56 To me it would be someone who does not belittle your struggle.
18:00 You don't want someone who's going to make fun of you,
18:02 someone who's going to say, Oh, you're dealing with that?
18:05 That's nothing! You should have seen what I dealt with.
18:07 You want someone who won't belittle what
18:10 you are dealing with.
18:12 Someone who's encouraging, someone who will acknowledge
18:17 and affirm the progress that you are making. That's key.
18:22 And 5. Seek a woman who's prayerful, a woman who doesn't
18:27 need to know all of the answers, but someone who's willing
18:30 to pray with and for you.
18:33 First we go before God and we seek forgiveness.
18:37 This was last program.
18:38 Second we surrender those lustful thoughts,
18:41 or that person to God.
18:43 3. We behold Jesus.
18:45 Then, dealing with today's program, we put behind,
18:49 we put behind any of those things that are in our home
18:54 that are tempting us.
18:55 We don't make any provision for the flesh.
18:57 We serve Jesus where we're at.
19:00 We become accountable.
19:03 Finally, we don't compare ourselves to others.
19:08 I was, when I was teaching school...
19:11 I work at 3ABN full time now, but I taught music lessons
19:14 at our local church school for about ten years.
19:17 And when I was teaching, one of the little kids...
19:21 He was probably nine or ten.
19:23 He came into school and he's telling all of his friends
19:26 about this movie that he saw, and he was all excited.
19:30 And it was not a bad movie.
19:32 I'm just being honest.
19:33 It was not a bad rating.
19:35 It was a wholesome movie.
19:36 But when he shared, in my heart I was troubled,
19:41 because I've seen that movie before.
19:42 And I knew if I went back and watched it again,
19:46 it's going to rekindle all of that old lust in my heart.
19:51 It's going to bring it back to the surface.
19:54 And so I complained to my prayer partner.
19:56 Remember the accountability partner we just talked about?
20:00 And I complained to her, and I said, How come a ten year old
20:03 kid can watch the same thing that would bother me?
20:06 can watch the same thing that would stir up that
20:09 old lust in my heart?
20:11 And you know what she said?
20:13 You don't compare yourself to others, Jill.
20:15 All you need to do is look to Jesus.
20:19 If he can watch that, and that feed his soul, Praise the Lord!
20:24 That's wonderful! You're not accountable for anybody else.
20:27 You don't compare yourself and say, I do this, you don't.
20:31 We get into pride, we get into judging, we get into a critical
20:34 spirit if we get into that.
20:37 She said, Simply go to God.
20:39 God knows the way my heart works.
20:42 God knows my own battles in the past with impurity,
20:47 and so He has a special guard over my heart, and that's okay.
20:51 That's not only okay, it's a blessing. It's a blessing.
20:58 So don't, in your own experience, don't feel like,
21:01 if so and so does it, then it's fine for me.
21:04 And it might be fine for you,
21:06 and that's wonderful.
21:07 The key is go to God.
21:09 He knows the battles you have fought in your past.
21:13 Nobody else knows them like Jesus knows them.
21:16 No one ever knows us as truly inside as the Lord Jesus
21:21 cause He made us. He knows all about our struggles.
21:25 So come to Him and say, Is there anything that You want
21:30 me to get rid of? Is there anything that would pull me
21:34 back to that old cauldron of lust?
21:36 Is there anything that You say, I need to get rid of?
21:42 Go to God; He'll show you.
21:44 And then the key is, ask.
21:46 We, sometimes we can't even get rid of that stuff.
21:49 We just ask God for the grace, the courage,
21:52 and the strength to get rid of it.
21:56 We're going to take a short break here,
21:58 and when we come back we're going to do our practical
22:00 application for this week.
22:02 It's something that you can take with you this week in your own
22:06 journey with Freedom From Lust.


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Revised 2016-04-20