Participants: Nathan Renner
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000639
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01:00 Good afternoon, gentlemen.
01:03 We've got an important topic to talk about this day. 01:06 We're going to be talking about the problem of lust 01:09 and its' fruits. 01:12 Specifically fornication, pornography and masturbation. 01:18 So we have kind of a heavy thing to talk about. 01:20 It's sort of not the thing that you know, when you're asked: 01:25 "What's your top ten favorite topics to preach on?" 01:28 This is like number 99 down the list. 01:32 So we have an important topic to preach about, something 01:36 that's not really that enjoyable to talk about. 01:38 So what I would like to do is begin with prayer and solicit 01:43 God's spirit to be here, to ask God to be here to guide us 01:46 as we talk about these important issues. 01:49 And I believe God will answer that prayer and lead us. 01:53 So let's pray together. 01:55 Our Father in Heaven we come before you humbly asking that 02:00 Your spirit will be here, that You will speak to our hearts 02:05 and our minds and You will give us understanding 02:09 and bless us and teach us. Father this is a serious problem 02:15 the problem of lust. Father I pray that Your spirit 02:19 will minister to our hearts. Jesus name, Amen! 02:29 As I've introduced it, we've said we're gonna talk about the 02:32 problem of lust and its' fruit, namely fornication and 02:37 pornography and masturbation. And to begin this talk I'd like 02:42 to just give you some statistics that sort of lay the issues out. 02:46 And I've just dug these statistics up and there's a lot 02:50 of statistics out there about these. 02:52 The first: porn revenue is larger than all combined 02:56 revenues of all professional football, baseball and 02:59 basketball franchises. 03:04 The US porn revenue exceeds the combined revenues of ABC, CBS 03:09 and NBC. 03:11 And of course we can understand that that's true 03:13 because Hollywood puts out 400 movies a year. 03:17 The porn industry puts out 700 films a month. 03:26 20% of men admit to using pornography at work. 03:36 The website address sex. com is valued at 65 million US dollars. 03:45 Forty million US adults regularly visit internet 03:49 pornography websites. 03:52 And when you look at the statistics for pastors, 03:56 for Christians, for believers, it is staggering that this 04:03 is not just a problem for "those people over there", if 04:07 you understand what I mean by that. 04:09 This is not a problem that has not attacked the church. 04:13 In fact I read one statistic that said 53% of men who have 04:18 attended promise keepers have used pornography 04:21 in the last week. 04:25 So we see that this is a plague in our land, that has 04:30 overtaken not just the "secular people" over there or the 04:35 "Godless people" over there, but it has infected even to some 04:39 degree or another God's people. And so we wanna deal first with 04:44 just outlining the problem. And then from the problem we 04:48 wanna move to God's solution, Amen? 04:52 And we don't need to dwell too much on the problem of 04:55 masturbation or pornography or those kinds of things, 04:59 because those things are a fruit. 05:02 They're a what? A fruit, that's exactly right. 05:06 The roots is the carnality of the human heart, the lust of the 05:11 human heart. Can you say Amen? 05:13 So here's the illustration that I'd give there. 05:16 If you pick, if you get rid of the pornography fruit you still 05:24 have a major problem to contend with. Amen? 05:28 And that is the problem of lust. 05:32 The problem of lust is kindled by pornography, but the 05:36 pornography is the fruit, it's not the root and so today we're 05:40 gonna deal with how to lay the axe to the root of the tree. 05:44 If you understand. We're gonna deal, we don't have 05:47 to deal with all that stuff. We're gonna go right to the 05:51 root and deal with it on a scriptural basis. 05:54 So, if you have your Bible, I'd like to have you go to 05:58 Ephesians chapter 5, verse 3. The Ephesians 5, verse 3. 06:05 We live in a society that is absolutely, completely 06:09 sex-charged. 06:12 You can't even go to the grocery store without feeling 06:15 like you have been assaulted. 06:25 And as I have shared the statistics, we see that they 06:28 have... essentially that pornography has become 06:32 ubiquitous in our culture. It's everywhere. 06:39 Now, Ephesians 5, verse 3 states and I'll read this 06:43 at least this one text from the NIV. It says: "but among you", 06:46 that is among God's people, "there must not even be a hint, 06:53 not even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of 06:59 impurity or of greed, because these are not proper for God's 07:04 holy people". Now notice, in the context of 07:10 I've set this up, in the context of our sex-charged 07:13 culture, the scripture comes directly across the grain of our 07:18 culture. Our culture says if it feels good, do it, if she looks 07:21 good, look at her etc. And scripture comes and 07:26 it says for God's holy people, there shouldn't even be a hint, 07:33 not even a hint of sexual immorality, not even a hint of 07:39 impurity, this stuff is not proper for God's holy people. 07:45 So, our question this afternoon is: "Ok, here's the reality 07:50 that 53% of Christian men that attended promise keepers have 07:54 used pornography in the last week. Here's the reality that 07:57 20% of men in America use pornography at work. 08:00 Here's the reality that they're selling 700 new porno movies 08:04 every single month. Here's the reality that even the 08:08 magazine covers of the so-called "good magazines" are essentially 08:13 pornographic. How can we, in our sex-charged 08:17 culture live that amazing ideal of God, of purity, without even 08:25 a hint of sexual immorality? How can we do that?" 08:31 We're gonna look at three steps in the process. 08:34 All right. Step number one, we're gonna 08:36 begin with what we believe about God and salvation. 08:40 We're going to begin there because chances are there's 08:43 somebody in this group, or there's somebody watching on 08:45 television who has not been living God's ideal. 08:53 So we wanna explore what the Bible says about the good news 08:56 of the cross of Jesus Christ and it's forgiveness 08:59 for even you, for even me, for people like you and me, who are 09:03 weak and frail and simple. What does the good news of the 09:07 gospel say to sinners? That's the first step. 09:10 We have to look at that. That is the bottom line 09:14 foundation of what we're gonna talk about. 09:16 From there, that's step number one. 09:19 From there we're gonna look at, we're gonna deal with the 09:23 process of the renewal of the mind, as outlined in scripture. 09:26 We're gonna talk about how the scripture says our minds 09:28 should be renewed, so that we can develop thinking that is 09:33 consistent to the word of God. 09:36 And then the third step in our process is going to be practical 09:39 tips for gaining the victory. Practical tips. 09:43 You know every man that wants to stop drinking alcohol has to 09:46 learn that probably the bar isn't the place to hang out. 09:49 Amen? 09:50 So, we're gonna look at not only those things that God does 09:53 in forgiving us and then transforming us, but also 09:57 practical tips to help us to live lives of purity. 10:02 So, if you have your Bible, I'd like to invite you to turn to 10:05 collations chapter 3. And in collations chapter 3, 10:09 Paul deals at length with the issues of purity, that is issues 10:14 of sexual purity. But before he gets to the issues 10:18 of sexual purity, in collations chapter 3 he deals with 10:23 important issues of conversion, of life transformation and 10:31 of forgiveness. So if you have your Bible, we'll 10:34 go to collations chapter 3. We're going to begin in verse 1. 10:38 Collations chapter 3, beginning in verse 1. 10:42 Now, as I have said, I just wanna set this picture up. 10:45 Paul gets in verse, I believe it's verse 5, Paul begins to 10:48 deal with issues of purity and sexual immorality. 10:52 But before Paul gets to verse 5, he has to go through 1, 2, 3, 10:56 and 4. You follow that, yes or no? 10:59 In other words verse 5, where he's talking about issues of 11:02 purity is, it is preceded by other issues, things that lay 11:08 the groundwork for a discussion about purity. 11:11 And that's really what I want you to understand gentlemen, 11:13 is that a discussion about purity is actually not the first 11:19 step in this issue. How many of us want purity? 11:22 I think all of us would raise our hands and say: Yes, we want 11:24 purity". But if we want purity, that's 11:27 not step number 1 in Paul's thinking. 11:31 So we're gonna begin at step 1, we're gonna go through what Paul 11:34 says, to get to where he deals with the issue of purity. 11:38 So, collations chapter3, verse 1: "If then you have been 11:43 raised with Christ, seek those things that are above, where 11:47 Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 11:50 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the 11:54 things that are of the earth". Now, Paul says in verse 2, "set 11:58 your minds on the things that are above, not on the things 12:00 that are of the earth". Now my question to Paul would 12:02 be: "Paul, why would I do this?" And he gives an answer in the 12:08 next verse, verse 3. Paul, why would I set my mind 12:12 on the things that are above, not on the things of the earth? 12:15 Why would I do that, Paul? Verse 3: "For you have died". 12:30 Now it's important to know Paul doesn't say you wish you were 12:33 dead, you want to be dead, you hope you're dead, right? 12:38 He says what? "You have died!" 12:43 Now I wanna make an especially important point: 12:47 Paul is not trying to tell you to try to die, he's not trying 12:53 to tell you to hope to die, he's not trying to tell you to 12:58 will to die, he says not any of those things, he says you have 13:04 died. 13:08 Now, frequently we hear the 13:11 illustration you know and you've probably heard it before. 13:16 You have a man who's an alcoholic, he dies as a result 13:18 of his alcoholism, he's laying in 13:20 his coffin and you go to his coffin and you open a can of 13:23 Schlitz beer and you ask the man in the coffin if he wants 13:26 to take one for the road, what's his response? 13:31 Of course it's nothing, right? 13:34 And so we give that illustration and I've given that illustration 13:38 and we tell people then, that the way to have victory is to 13:42 be dead, to try to be dead. How many of you have tried that 13:46 method of victory? 13:48 Ever tried that method of victory? 13:50 You ever find yourself to be more and more alive the more 13:53 you try to be dead? 13:56 Now Paul here is not talking about that. 13:59 Paul says not try to be dead, hope to be dead, will to 14:03 be dead. Paul says you are dead. 14:06 End of story, you're dead. 14:08 What in the world does that mean? 14:14 If you have a Bible, I want you to turn to Romans chapter 6. 14:22 Roman 6, verse 23, famous Bible text. Roman 6, verse 23, very 14:29 famous Bible text. It says for the wages of sin 14:34 is what? Death. 14:40 By your sin, you've earned death, by my sin I've earned 14:43 death, by our sin corporately all of humanity, we have earned 14:47 death. By my lust, by my sin, we have 14:51 all, every one of us, we have earned for ourselves death. 14:58 We deserve to die. Not one of us is deserving of 15:03 life, we all deserve to die. The wages of sin is death. 15:08 We have earned death for ourselves. That's what the 15:12 scripture teaches. That's the bad news of the Bible, we have 15:17 earned death. Now, here's the good news. 15:22 When Paul says in collations chapter 3 that you have died, 15:27 he is simply saying that that death, that you deserve to die 15:32 because of your sin? If you're a believer that death 15:36 has already taken place. Can somebody say Amen to that? 15:42 You're dead! In fact, go back to collations 2 15:46 and we'll look in verse 12 when Paul unpacks this even more. 15:49 Collations 2, verse 12: 15:58 "Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you are also 16:05 raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God 16:08 who raised Jesus from the dead. Now notice, baptism is our what? 16:14 It's our death and burial, right? 16:17 So now here's the point. When the Bible says you are dead 16:19 it is simply saying that that trip to hell that you deserve to 16:23 make at the end of the millennium that destruction that 16:27 you deserve to have, happened to you in the lake of fire. 16:31 That reward that you deserve for all of your sin has already 16:34 taken place in the death, burial and resurrection of 16:37 Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ wan on the 16:40 cross, he was going to hell for you. 16:43 That's what the Bible is teaching. 16:45 And when the scripture says you have died, it's simply saying 16:49 that that person that you are, and I'm speaking specifically 16:55 on the topic of lust today, that man who has a serious problem 17:00 with lust, a problem that he has vowed to stop, he said to 17:04 himself a thousand times "I'm going to stop, I'm going to 17:08 stop" and you only pick it up again. 17:16 You feel like you're at a place in your life where you hate 17:18 yourself, that there is absolutely no hope for you, the 17:23 Bible says that person is "dead" he has already been killed on 17:27 the cross with Jesus Christ. That's some good news, amen? 17:34 'Cause that person that you are, that you hate. 17:37 That person that you are, that is full of lust and full of 17:40 guilt and full of condemnation, that person has already gone to 17:44 hell in the person of Jesus Christ and my friends, I have 17:47 some good news for you today, this is the foundation, this is 17:52 the bottom line, this is bedrock, this is where we're 17:55 gonna build from. The bottom line is this my friend: if 17:58 you've been struggling with sin and you are frustrated with 18:02 yourself and you look at yourself in the mirror and you 18:05 see nothing but a lost man, I have some good news for you 18:08 today. Jesus has already sent that man to hell when He went to 18:11 the cross. 18:15 That is good news! 18:18 That burden of guilt and sin and shame that you carry, Jesus 18:22 has already born. That man that you are is dead if you trust 18:27 Jesus Christ and give your life to Him in baptism and a life of 18:31 service to Him. That man is dead. 18:35 In fact look what the text goes on to say, collations 3-3: 18:39 "For you have died". You're done, that sinner, he is killed. 18:44 He has been annihilated on the cross. 18:50 When a person believes and is baptized, that person who is 18:52 under the condemnation of God, no longer exists, amen? 18:56 That's what the Bible teaches. When you die, what happens? 18:59 When a person goes to hell and suffers in the lake of fire, 19:01 what happens? That person is annihilated. 19:04 They cease to exist. When you trust Jesus Christ for 19:08 the forgiveness of your sins that says essentially that the 19:12 death Jesus died is the death you deserve to die. 19:15 That annihilation that you deserve to take place in the 19:18 lake of fire, that annihilation has already taken place, that 19:21 sinner, that guilty person has been evaporated with the cross 19:26 of Jesus Christ. 19:28 There is now therefore no condemnation for those that are 19:31 in Christ, 'cause their condemnation has already taken 19:34 place in Jesus Christ. 19:37 Notice what Colossians 3:3 then goes on to say: 19:42 "For you have died and your present life, your life is 19:47 hidden with Christ in God". 19:51 Now my friend you might be a saint, 19:55 you might be a great man, but I can guarantee you no matter how 20:01 good you are, no matter how saintly you are, I bet that you 20:07 have some things that you wanna be hidden in Christ with God, 20:10 amen? 20:12 And that's what the text says: alright, that sinner, he has 20:15 been annihilated, he has died with Christ on the cross and 20:18 that person that you are right now, that person is hidden, with 20:23 Christ in God. 20:27 You know what that means? 20:29 That means when the Father looks at you, 20:33 when the Father looks at you, you are hidden and He sees 20:39 Christ. 20:45 Awesome! 20:47 And they say: "What in the world does this have to...? 20:49 I thought I was coming to a seminar on lust and pornography 20:53 and all of the assorted things that go along with it". 20:55 My friends this is the first step. If you are struggling with 21:00 any of those things, I have some good news for you my friend. 21:03 That you do no have to feel like God will reject you 21:08 forever. 21:11 There is a God who is passionate about saving you. 21:14 A God who is willing to be annihilated on the cross so that 21:19 you don't have to be there, in the fires of hell. 21:25 On the cross Jesus Christ said: "My God, my God why have you 21:31 rejected me, or forsaken me?" 21:35 My friends sinners, people like you, people like me, we can look 21:40 at that cross and we can look at Jesus Christ and we can cry 21:44 out to God: "My God, my God, why have you accepted me?" 21:53 Jesus can look at you and can say: "Because the Father 21:56 rejected me on the cross". 22:02 He did that so that I could accept you, every one of you 22:08 whether you have problems with lust or not, God sent His son 22:12 to be rejected on the cross, so that you could be accepted 22:16 at the same cross. 22:19 My friend, if you're having struggles, struggles with this 22:23 issue we're talking about today, if you're struggling with lust 22:25 and any of its' fruit, I want you to know there is a God who 22:29 has sent His son to die for your sins, to die the death that 22:33 you deserve, to take all of that shame, all of the guilt, to 22:37 pour on you unlimited grace. And that is the square one. 22:43 That is square one. That is the foundation that we 22:46 must build on and my friends let's move then to look at the 22:50 next verse, verse 4. I'll read verse 3, so we can 22:55 follow the thought: "For you have died and your life 22:58 is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ to ease your life 23:03 appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory". 23:11 What does it mean when it says: "When Christ to ease your life 23:13 appears"? What's that a reference to? 23:17 That's a reference to the second coming, isn't it? 23:20 Now what does it mean when it says: "Then you will appear 23:25 with Him in glory"? What does that mean? 23:28 That means that when Jesus Christ comes again, you don't 23:31 have to worried that you're gonna be lost. 23:34 That you will appear with Him in glory. 23:36 Can somebody say amen to that? 23:38 That is good news, amen? That is awesome news. 23:42 That is news for sinners. That is good news for sinners. 23:46 That person that you are that deserves to die, he has 23:49 already died. Now that person that you are 23:52 right now, he is hidden. God sees Christ not you. 23:58 And when Jesus comes again, you can have absolute confidence 24:03 that you will appear with Jesus in glory. 24:07 That's the bottom line foundation, upon which we build. 24:13 In the context of that incredible hope, in the context 24:17 of that incredible acceptance, Paul then moves in verse 5: 24:26 "Put to death", I love this translation, "put to death 24:30 therefore what is earthly in you. " I love that! 24:36 Why would I put to death what's earthly in me? 24:38 Because He has just given me the assurance that this place 24:42 is not my home. Somebody say amen to that! 24:46 Paul is saying, the motivation to put this stuff to death is 24:51 the fact that Heaven is now you home, amen? 24:55 Now listen. Guys, as long as you are struggling with whether or 24:58 not Heaven is you home, you're not gonna have enough motivation 25:01 to put the earthly stuff to death. 25:05 Did you catch that? You follow Paul's logic, yes or no? 25:09 His logic is clear: Heaven is you home. Because Heaven is your 25:14 home, because when Jesus comes you will go with Him to glory. 25:19 Because that is true, put to death this earthly stuff in you. 25:24 Get rid of it. 25:26 And then he gets specific as to what kinds of things he's 25:29 talking about: "sexual immorality, impurity, passion, 25:37 evil desire and covetousness which is idolatry". 25:41 All of those things in verse 5 centre around our sexuality, 25:46 are misguided, fallen, lust filled sexuality. 25:54 "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual 25:57 immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness 26:01 which is idolatry". 26:06 Verse 9: "Do not lie to one another seeing that you have 26:12 put off the old man with his practices and have put on the 26:16 new man, which is being renewed in... " what: "knowledge". 26:22 This leads us to our second point my friends. 26:24 Paul says very clearly: alright, you've died, you're life is 26:27 hidden with Christ and God, Heaven is your home, now put to 26:30 death this earthy stuff. How do I do that Paul? 26:33 How do I get rid of this passion, this evil desire, 26:36 this covetousness? How do I get rid of this? 26:39 Paul says put off the old man, alright? 26:43 That's when you're converted. You believe in Jesus Christ, the 26:45 old man is crucified. 26:46 You put on the new man. That's when you're resurrected 26:48 by faith, that's when the gift of the Holy Spirit. 26:52 And this new man is going to be renewed in... what does the 26:58 Bible say? He's gonna be renewed in 27:00 knowledge. 27:03 Now if I say this man is being renewed in knowledge, is that 27:06 something that's instantaneous, or is that something that takes 27:10 time? 27:12 That is a process. That is a process. 27:16 How does that take place? We already read it in verse 1. 27:22 "If you've been raised with Christ", that is if you put the 27:24 new man on, "seek the things that are above, where Christ is 27:29 seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things 27:32 that are above, not on the things that are of the earth". 27:35 My friends, if you wanna have a mind that is full of purity, 27:40 set your minds on the things that are above. 27:54 My friends, I believe that one of the leading causes of lack 28:00 of purity in God's church, among God's people is a lack of a 28:05 renewed mind. That renewed mind comes from 28:09 focusing in on the cross of Jesus Christ. 28:12 That renewed mind comes from focusing in as Paul says in 28:16 Colossians 3, verse 1 on the things that are above. 28:19 The Bible says in Romans 8, "then Christ ever liveth, Christ 28:23 is at the right hand of the Father, making intersession for 28:25 us. " We're focusing in on His death 28:29 on the cross, as intersession in the heavenly sanctuary. 28:32 We're focusing in on who Jesus Christ is and what He's doing. 28:37 We're spending time daily, moment by moment dwelling on who 28:42 Jesus Christ is and what He's doing. That my friends is the 28:47 key to a renewed mind. And that is the second brick in 28:51 the wall. 28:53 The foundational brick is an understanding of the acceptance 28:56 of Christ. The acceptance of God, of Christ 29:00 sacrificing on your behalf. From that we move to the simple 29:04 fact that God is not going to leave you where you're at. 29:08 He sends His spirit into your life to renew your mind as you 29:12 focus in on who Jesus Christ is, what He's done for you. 29:17 You know what that means my friends? 29:20 A day without prayer and a day without Bible study is a day 29:25 that is destined for difficulty. 29:36 It's best to just go back to bed and wait till the next morning. 29:43 I say that a little bit tongue- in-cheek, but it's true. 29:50 If you come with me to second Corinthians 3-18: 30:12 Second Corinthians 3-18. Paul here is contrasting the 30:16 old covenant with the new covenant. And Paul discusses the 30:20 glory of the new covenant as the power of the Holy Spirit in the 30:23 person's life. 30:25 The old covenant could not transform the way the new 30:29 covenant can. 30:30 So he says then we all with unveiled face beholding the 30:34 glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same 30:38 image. 30:39 From degree of glory to another for this comes from the Lord who 30:44 is the Spirit. 30:45 If you wanted to cook that verse down, 30:47 if you wanted to make that verse into grape juice plus, 30:51 grape juice concentrate, you wanted to cook that thing down 30:54 to its' core value. It is simple. 30:58 By beholding we are changed, amen? 31:04 By beholding we are changed. 31:09 Now, how many of you have ever tried this methodology 31:12 of victory? 31:13 You've tried this one. 31:15 Let me give it to you. 31:18 "Don't think about that! 31:21 Oh, don't think about that! 31:25 Oh, why am I thinking about that?" 31:31 Ok, let me illustrate how come that doesn't work. 31:33 Right now gentlemen, do not think about a clown. 31:40 You know, the clown with the curly red hair and the big nose 31:42 and the painted face? 31:44 You know the clown with the big shoes that does magic tricks? 31:48 You know those clowns that when they squeeze their nose it 31:52 honks? The ones that pile into the cars at the circus? 31:55 Whatever you do, men don't think about those clowns! 32:02 What's in every one of your minds? 32:06 Clown. 32:11 When we approach gaining the victory over anything with that 32:14 sort of mentality, we set ourselves up for failure. 32:20 We must approach gaining a victory the way the scripture 32:24 teaches. The scripture says there is one way to victory, 32:27 that's second Corinthians 3-18, by beholding the glory 32:32 of the Lord. 32:33 My friends I wish, I wish that I could come with an inoculation. 32:38 I wish I could jump off this platform right now and stick 32:40 you all in the arm with a needle that would forever cure you of 32:45 any issues with sinful desire. 32:48 I wish I could do that. Or I wish, as they talk about 32:54 in a movie that I saw long before I was converted, 32:57 called "The clockwork orange", where they pin the guy's eyes 33:00 open and they reprogram his brain. 33:02 I wish I could do all of that for you. 33:04 But I can't. I have no magic bullet. 33:08 This is spiritual work. 33:11 It is spiritual work. 33:12 It begins with an understanding of the awesome forgiveness 33:15 of God then it moves to the simple transformation 33:20 of the mind. 33:21 By beholding Jesus Christ. 33:23 The text says, by beholding we are what? Changed. 33:28 If we behold consistently, "well I shouldn't think about such 33:32 and such", that's what you'll be thinking about. 33:34 But if we behold consistently Jesus Christ, we will be 33:38 thinking about Him. Notice again verse 18: 33:40 "We all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord 33:45 are being transformed into the same image from one degree of 33:50 glory to another" and then the closing line, we love this, 33:54 it is so important, "for this comes from the Lord who is 34:01 the Spirit". 34:06 My friends there is only one solution to this problem, 34:10 it begins with an understanding of the forgiveness of God 34:13 and it moves to an understanding of the transforming power of the 34:17 spirit of God. And that power is only available 34:22 in our lives as we look at Jesus Christ who He is. 34:31 The cure for this problem involves spending time day 34:38 by day, regularly on your knees in His word with Jesus Christ. 34:47 From there I move now to some practical tips. 34:52 And this first practical tip is a nice segway from the previous 34:56 discussion and that practical tip is: don't stay up too late 34:59 or work too much. 35:04 Two reasons: if you stay up late and you work too much you don't 35:09 have sufficient time for thought and reflection on the word 35:12 of God and for prayer. 35:15 In addition to that there's another even more practical 35:18 component and that is simply this: how many of you 35:21 have found that it's easier to get involved in sin when you're 35:24 staying up late? 35:26 Go ahead and raise your hands if you dare. 35:30 We have some brave souls here. It is so true isn't it? 35:35 I can tell there have been so many people that have told me 35:38 that everything was fine until about midnight and then they 35:42 start clicking, clicking, clicking, clicking 35:44 on the computer and all of a sudden they're down a path 35:47 they never wish they would go. 35:51 My friends, does your mind like to look at beautiful women? 35:56 Of course it does. 35:59 Of course it does. 36:01 But you know that God created you only to enjoy that thing 36:05 that He created you to enjoy within a certain context, amen? 36:09 That's a context of marriage. 36:12 So, God's created you, you enjoy something but God created you 36:16 to enjoy that within a certain framework, a certain context, 36:19 the context of marriage, right? 36:23 But then we have fallen and so our carnal mind wants to enjoy 36:28 that in ways God never intended us to enjoy it, right? 36:34 And a lack of sleep lowers down those barriers that the spirit 36:38 of God has created. 36:40 You follow that, yes or no? 36:43 So I urge you, gentlemen you need to study your Bibles, 36:47 you need to spend more time in prayer, that means we all need 36:49 to go to bed earlier and maybe it means we need to work 36:53 a little less, depending on who we are. 36:56 But in addition to that, we also know that when we are tired, 37:00 we've been working too much, our barriers are down and that 37:04 is a special time for Satan's attacks. 37:10 So I urge you, particularly for this issue, make sure not 37:14 to meddle in those dark hours. 37:22 Practical tip number 2: get some accountability software 37:27 for your computer. 37:30 There's software available that you can get that you put onto 37:37 your computer and once a day it sends an e-mail to your 37:42 friend, whoever you chose, that gives a list of every website 37:46 you've been to. 37:50 That's pretty smart, isn't it? 37:52 Now, you think "well alright that sounds good, but then 37:56 I could turn it off". Well, it e- mails your friend that you've 37:59 turned it off. 38:05 That's pretty smart, isn't it? 38:11 Particularly if you're struggling with issues with 38:13 a computer my friend, I urge you to get some of that. 38:15 It's available for free. I know it's available at a 38:19 website for free, it's probably available at lots. 38:21 The best program I've been able to find out there for this 38:24 particular issue is available at a website that is kind of a 38:28 mixed bag, ok? 38:31 So, I even sort of hesitate to recommend going to get the 38:35 free software there, because the whole website is a real 38:37 mixed bag. 38:40 So anyway, if you want some accountability software there's 38:44 plenty of it available and it's important. 38:48 If you have issues with this, particularly with pornography 38:52 you need help. 38:55 You need somebody to hold you accountable, amen? 39:00 You know, you might go to your best friend, you might be 39:01 embarrassed to go to your best friend and say to your best 39:03 friend: "You know I've got this real struggle and I need 39:06 an accountability partner, can you do that for me?" 39:09 You might be embarrassed to do that, but you know what? 39:11 You best friend might say to you "You know what? I've never had 39:13 the guts to tell you that I have the same problem, can you help 39:15 me to?" 39:18 Amen? 39:19 That might just happen. 39:23 It might just happen. 39:26 So I urge you to get some accountability, I urge you 39:30 to stop staying up so late, letting those barriers down. 39:34 That way you can wake up and build barriers up by the power 39:37 of the spirit of God, as you study His word. 39:48 If you have your Bible, I'd like to invite you to Romans 13. 40:03 We'll begin in verse 11. I found it pretty fitting that 40:17 Verse 11: "Besides this you know the time, that the hour had come 40:22 for you to wake from sleep, for salvation is near to us now 40:28 than when we first believed. " 40:31 You know every day you live, you're a day closer to 40:33 the second coming of Jesus, amen? 40:36 That's what he's saying. Verse 12: "The night is far 40:39 gone, the day is at hand, so then let us cast of the works 40:43 of darkness and put on the armor of light, let us walk 40:49 properly as in the daytime, not in orgies, in drunkenness, 40:56 not in sexual immorality or sensuality, not in quarreling 41:01 and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no 41:07 provision for the flesh to gratify its' desires. " 41:13 What does Paul mean "make no provision"? 41:16 What are provisions? 41:18 If you're going on a long trip and there's not going to be any 41:21 Mayer's grocery store, what do you do? 41:25 You pack provisions, right? 41:28 'Cause you know that after a day with no Mayer, you're gonna 41:31 need to eat, so you bring supplies to meet your needs. 41:37 Right? So Paul says make no provisions for your lusts, 41:45 to gratify them. 41:48 How can I say this? I guess there's only one way: 41:56 smash your TV. 42:02 You can't even watch the commercials 9 times out of 10. 42:07 Now I guess if you only have one channel coming in, I'm gonna 42:09 make a plug for 3ABN, right? Since they're recording this. 42:14 If you got 3ABN coming in and you can keep the rest of the 42:16 stuff off, then maybe you keep your TV. 42:21 Now I don't wanna sound like a wild-eyed fanatic here. 42:23 But here's the thing: across those airwaves, every single day 42:31 are images, thoughts and words coming into your mind, 42:38 from people who are not planning to go to Heaven. 42:47 They are not planning to go to Heaven. 43:06 As near as I can remember, and I've not watched a sitcom 43:08 since I was converted, that was in 1996, 43:15 but as near as I can remember, sitcoms are basically one thing: 43:24 they're jokes about sex for half an hour. 43:32 I remember when I was first converted, I was at my best 43:34 friend's house and we had this little thing we would do: every 43:37 week we'd watch Seinfeld together and then I was 43:39 converted, I went over there and they were watching Seinfeld and 43:41 I was sort of standing in the side room and they were just 43:44 laughing and my best friend looked at me, he looked at me 43:48 and he said "What, now that you're a Christian you can't 43:54 laugh?" And I looked my buddy in the eye and I said "No, friend, 43:56 now that I'm a Christian, that's just not funny. " 44:05 The point is this my friends: when Jesus Christ has changed 44:08 your mind, the Devil is looking to change it again. 44:14 And if we're making provisions for that former way of thinking 44:20 you can be guaranteed that those things are gonna get the 44:23 best of you. 44:26 If you can't control the TV, that means it's controlling you. 44:32 And I wouldn't wanna be in that situation. 44:37 So we have issues with television, movies, internet. 44:44 You know this is kind of a cute one and maybe you guys won't 44:47 think it's so cute, but when you get the Sunday paper and you're 44:50 going through the paper and then there's this year's catalog 44:53 and you think to yourself: You know, I might just need a new 44:58 lawn mower and then you're looking through you know 45:01 and next to the lawn mower happens to be the underwear 45:08 display. And you're thinking to yourself: "Well I'll just get a 45:11 quick glance, not enough for my wife or anybody else to notice, 45:15 just enough to give me a little glance. " 45:25 Am I right, gentlemen? 45:29 Not enough that God would notice. 45:35 Just a little glance. 45:39 And of course we mentioned the internet, magazines and even 45:44 your wife's... I have a good friend, he's a surfer. 45:46 Used to be a professional surfer, was converted now he's 45:48 doing a little cooking for us at a rise. Nicest guy in the 45:52 world, he's a really good surfer. When he gets a surfing 45:55 magazine, it comes to his house in the mail, before he even 45:59 opens it up, he gives it to his wife and her job is to go 46:02 through it with a black marker. 46:05 And all the girls in thongs and all the other things that surfer 46:09 chicks wear, you know I'm putting those words in quotes, 46:12 she just blacks it out for him. 46:15 That way he can enjoy the surfing magazine without having 46:17 to enjoy the sin that sometimes goes along with it. 46:24 Make no provision for the lust of the flesh and a great book 46:26 called every men's battle, he deal with a concept of "bouncing 46:29 the eyes". 46:32 Do you know that the fashion designers, design the womens' 46:34 shirt so that you'll look down their shirt? 46:38 You knew that, right? 46:42 That's the way the shirts are designed gentlemen. 46:46 That's part of the reason it's so hard to not look, right? 46:50 Calvin Kline and the rest of his ilk have figured out that you 46:55 cut things a certain way, your eye goes a certain place. 46:58 So they design it that way. 47:00 So we as Christians, who cannot have even a hint of sexual 47:03 immorality, have to work on bouncing our eyes, right? 47:07 So when our eyes go where the fashions designers tell them 47:10 we have to take them off and put them where God tells us 47:12 to put them. 47:13 You follow? 47:14 Don't make provision for the lust of the flesh. 47:19 Bounce those eyes. 47:23 Direct them where God would have you to direct them. 47:26 By the way, in addition to that, you know something that I found 47:28 living where I live, I live in a nice place, it's a wonderful 47:33 place to live and there's lots of wonderful people there, 47:37 but you know when a thought comes into your mind, something 47:39 that I found particularly helpful is to think to myself 47:44 how can I evangelize this person? 47:51 Did you catch that one, gentlemen? 47:54 Now, you should probably take your wife with you when you go 47:58 to evangelize her. 48:01 But the thought in your mind is not to gratify some sinful 48:05 desire, but it should immediately be turned over to 48:08 how can I make an impact in this person's life with the kingdom 48:11 of God and you'll find that it's very easy to get rid of those 48:13 thoughts that way, amen? 48:23 The foundation of victory is first understanding the God 48:28 of the Bible and His plan of salvation. Can you say amen? 48:32 It's understanding that even though you have failed, even 48:36 though your life has been filled with sin, that even though there 48:39 are vile things, there is a God who loves you, who came to this 48:42 earth and He died your death penalty. That is step number 1. 48:47 You gotta nail that down. >From there you build on top of 48:51 that a foundation, a foundation of life transformation. 48:56 By beholding we are what? Changed. 48:59 By beholding we are what? Changed by the power of the 49:03 spirit of God. 49:04 Practical tip number 1: go to bed at a decent hour, amen? 49:10 That way you're not tired and those barriers aren't being 49:14 broken down. 49:20 That way you can wake up early. 49:23 And study the word of God. 49:31 Get some accountability software if you've got an issue there, 49:33 get an accountability partner or a friend that you can say: I've 49:36 got this struggle", somebody that can say to you "hey brother 49:40 how is this issue in your life going?" 49:45 Practical tip number 3: make absolutely no provision what 49:49 so ever for the lust of the flesh. If you got that problem 49:51 I was talking about with this year's catalog, just don't even 49:54 open it, just... done, gone. 50:02 Finally, Job 31. 50:11 Job 31, verse 1. 50:37 "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl" 50:47 Notice Job, by the way isn't nice to know that this is not 50:50 an exclusively modern problem? 50:54 Isn't nice to know that somebody has been there with you, even 50:58 holy Job, even Job who is referred to as perfect, he had 51:02 to come to the place in his life where he said: you know what 51:04 God, I'm making a covenant with my eyes not to look at a woman 51:08 lustfully. 51:10 Amen? 51:14 There is this final element in the practical tips of a matter 51:18 of commitment and this is probably where many people fail. 51:22 They wish to do better, they hope to do better, they want to 51:25 do better, they want to do what they need to do, yet they fail 51:30 to commit. 51:35 They fail to make the commitment, they fail to go home 51:38 and say: "All right, God, I've got the problem, I'm calling my 51:41 best friend and I'm gonna have my... whatever my internet 51:46 activity e-mailed to him on a daily basis. 51:49 They neglect to do that. 51:51 They neglect to go home and say: "You know what I'm gonna save 51:54 myself 50 bucks a month and have my cable canceled because it's 51:57 leading me to sin anyway. 51:59 You see, this is the issue my friends and this is where the 52:02 rubber really meets the road and that is on the issue of 52:06 commitment. We all know, listen we've all had those feelings of 52:09 guilt, we've all had those things, but have we come to the 52:12 place where we're saying: I'm gonna make this commitment, all 52:17 of the provisions that I have stored up, all my hours that 52:21 I've logged in front of the television, all of the hours 52:24 I've spent combing the beach, not looking at God's beautiful 52:27 beach, but looking at whatever. You understand. 52:33 They've failed, many fail on this point, they fail to come 52:37 to the place where they're willing to make the full, 52:40 complete commitment. 52:51 This afternoon, I wanna make an appeal. 53:01 And I'm gonna invite you to bow your heads and close your 53:03 eyes at this time. 53:18 It's easy to feel defeated, frustrated, broken, humbled. 53:38 A thought comes into your mind that it's impossible for the God 53:43 of Heaven to ever have mercy on a person like you. 53:52 Because you just cannot seem to get control of your life 53:55 in this area. 54:03 The Devil is screaming in your head, 54:10 saying that there's essentially no hope for somebody like you. 54:19 My friends I've got some good news for you: 54:24 Jesus Christ became you when He went to the cross. 54:32 The death that you deserve, Jesus Christ took that death 54:36 on the cross. 54:41 The forgiveness that you need, Jesus Christ earned that for you 54:45 on the cross, when Jesus cried: "My God, my God why have you 54:49 forsaken me?". He cried that so that we cry: My God, 54:53 my God why have you accepted me?" 55:02 Today you're frustrated, crushed out an humbled. 55:14 And the words are ringing in your ear: My God, my God why 55:17 have You accepted me?" Me, Father I have committed and 55:21 failed, committed and failed infinitely on this issue. 55:25 My God, why would You accept me? 55:34 Yet He does because of the cross. 55:46 Is there a broken man here today 55:49 that wants to lay a hold on the cross say: Jesus, in spite 55:53 of my failings, I know that you love me and that You will 55:57 receive me, today I'm going to lay hold by faith on Your grace 56:03 and believe that You have received and accepted me, not 56:07 because of who I am, but because of Jesus Christ. " 56:09 Is there somebody that wants to raise their hands and grab 56:11 a hold of Jesus Christ today and say: God, I'm believing 56:15 that You have accepted me in spite of me, not because of me, 56:19 but in spite of me. 56:22 God bless you men, I wanna speak to your hearts, I believe 56:25 with all of my heart as you reach out in faith, that there 56:28 is a God in Heaven who will pour out His grace on your life. 56:38 My friends, but that doesn't end there. 56:41 We must have our minds transformed. 56:44 Today I wonder if there's somebody else that wants 56:46 to say: You know what Lord, I'm gonna do my best to get up 56:48 early, wake up early, study Your word and follow Your 56:52 principles. I'm gonna behold Your character that I might be 56:56 transformed. " Is there somebody else that wants to say: 56:58 "All right Lord, yes I've got that forgiveness thing down, 57:00 but I wanna make the next step." Go ahead and raise those hands 57:02 and say you're gonna commit to putting your time in with 57:05 the Lord, so that you can be changed. 57:08 Put those practical things into work, put those practical things 57:12 into work. 57:13 Let's pray. Father I pray your rich blessing on every one of 57:17 these men. In Jesus' name, Amen. 57:49 Captions and subtitles by Christian Media Services |
Revised 2014-12-17