Proverbs 23:26-28 ESV
My son, give me your heart,
and let your
eyes observe my ways.
For a prostitute is a deep pit;
an
adulteress is a narrow well.
She lies in wait like a robber
and
increases the traitors among mankind.
Sexual sin is at its peak in
our day and time with the ease of access to pornography, sexually explicit or
suggestive movies or TV shows, sex-texting, and extramarital affairs (both
sexual and romantic) via social media sites, private chats, and men and women
working so closely together.
What gives people the ease of
access is smart phones, tablets (like I Pads), personal (laptop) computers, the
internet, cable TV, Netflix, Satellite TV, video gaming, and the like. Anyone,
including children, can access pornographic material with a touch of a finger
from a device in their pockets in the privacy of their bedrooms, or even in a
corner in a crowded room, or at their desks, with no one knowing and no one
seeing but God.
And God does see, and he
knows, even if no one else does. And, he is grieved when his children turn to
these idols and to these prostitutes to meet what they feel are their needs,
instead of them turning to the Lord to meet all their needs. And, he is grieved
when his children are recipients of unfaithfulness and abuse at the hands of
their spouses, too. He sees their tears and he hears their heart cries, and he
wants them to know that he cares, and that he is with them, and that he will
see them through it all.
Give Me Your Heart
The remedy for sexual sin is
the same as it is for all sin. We need to give our hearts completely to Jesus
Christ, and we must yield to his Lordship over our lives. As long as we try to
run our lives our way, and as long as we maintain control, we are setting
ourselves up for failure. Faith in Jesus Christ means surrender to Jesus
Christ, doing things His way, not our way. Thus, we must follow the teachings
of scripture which teach us how to overcome sin.
First of all, we have to be
in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and that comes from putting our faith and
trust in Him. When this happens, by the Spirit, we are crucified with Christ in
death to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life in Christ,
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph.
4:17-24).
Jesus Christ, through his
death and resurrection, conquered sin by putting it to death and by rising
victorious over it. Thus, he made the way for us to be free from our sinful
addictions, and free to walk in his righteousness – all in his power, wisdom
and strength. We just have to take the way out he provided for us. We have to
yield to him, do what he says, cut out of our lives what is leading us into
sin, stop doing what we know is wrong, and start doing what we know is right,
as He enables us to do so.
A Deep Pit
Sexual sin is a deep pit
which will be very difficult for you to pull yourself out of if you fall into
it. Sexual sin, just like alcohol and drugs, is highly addictive. It is
extremely captivating. It surpasses all logic and reason or rationale. It takes
over our minds and our emotions to where we don’t think straight, and we will
do what we know is wrong regardless of the cost to our own lives or to the
lives of others, in particular to those closest to us.
Many people have this idea
that they need to be “in love,” in the sense of having butterflies in their
stomachs, and romance, and some kind of emotional high that makes them tingle
all over. But, that is just infatuation or it is lust, but it is not love. And,
it is fleeting, too. Yet, many people feel they need that emotional high, like
a drug, and so they go looking for it in the wrong places, and thus they end up
on porn sites or having extramarital affairs or the like. But, they are
drinking from broken cisterns (Jer. 2:13).
Because so many people have
fallen into this pit, and I was there at one time, too, so I speak from
experience, families are being destroyed, marriages are broken, and children
and spouses are being abused, betrayed, taken advantage of and abandoned left
and right.
So, hearts need to be healed,
and the addict needs to be delivered, and marriages and families restored. And,
all this is possible. But, we must be willing to allow the Lord Jesus Christ to
have full reign in our lives. The sex addict must be willing to make the
necessary cuts in order to be free from his or her chains. And, the betrayed
spouse must be willing to forgive and to restore his or her unfaithful spouse.
But, restoration can only take place where the adulterers repent of their sin
and choose their spouses and their Lord over their addictions. Otherwise,
restoration is not possible.
Lust or Love?
Sensual lust is based in the
flesh. It is selfish. It seeks after self-pleasure. It wants what it wants,
oftentimes no matter who gets hurt in the process. It is ruled by the flesh,
not by the Spirit.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I
know God created us to have sexual desire toward the opposite sex in the
context of a marital relationship. And, that is a good thing if it is kept within
the marriage, between husband and wife, and if it is ruled by love, and not by
lust.
The sexual relationship
between a husband and wife is not just for the purpose to procreate or to
satisfy the hunger for sexual intercourse. It is for the purpose of intimacy
(physical, emotional and spiritual), as well. It should be a time when the
couple shows genuine love and care for one another. And, it should be a safe
place, too, and undefiled.
But, when one or the other is
unfaithful in the marital relationship, and especially if this is ongoing, and
one or the other continues in sexual sin and adultery and is unwilling to
repent, i.e. to leave the sin behind, and to be faithful from this moment forward,
then it breaks that bond of intimacy, and for the betrayed spouse, the marriage
bed is no longer a safe place.
Love, on the other hand, does
no harm to another, nor does it take advantage of others, nor is it selfish and
thinking only about satisfying its own flesh. Godlike love also prefers what
God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, pure, honest, upright, and moral,
etc.
So, if you are cheating on
your spouse via porn, private chats, masturbation, lusting after others, and/or
extramarital affairs, etc., then don’t tell your spouse that you love him or
her, because that is a lie. And, if you are cheating on your spouse, don’t lie
about it or make excuses for it or blame your spouse. You only have yourself to
blame. And, tell the truth.
So, if you are the adulterer,
then you need to repent of your sin, be honest with God and your spouse, and
choose today to be faithful and to love your spouse as God loves you. But, don’t
just say it, do it! God will give you all you need to change, but you have to
cooperate with God, and yield to the Lordship of Christ over your life. You
must be willing to do whatever it takes to rid your life of your sexual
addiction and to be faithful to your spouse and to treat him or her with honor,
value, respect and Godlike love.
And, if you are the one who
has been adulterated against, betrayed, abused, taken advantage of, hurt, and
abandoned, then know that your Lord is there to comfort, heal, encourage,
strengthen and guide you in the way he would have you go. He will give you the
courage to keep pressing on, and to keep loving and forgiving. So, don’t be
afraid. Put your trust fully in the Lord, and believe that he is completely
sovereign over your life, and that he will see you through this, and he will
show you what to do each step of the way.
Wherever you are in this,
give Jesus Christ your life and live in His love!
Your Lord is with You
An Original Work / August 14, 2016
Based off Various Scriptures
Fear not for your Lord is with you.
He will not leave you, nor will He
abandon you.
When you walk through valleys of life’s
rough ways,
You must fear no evil, for God is near.
Be of courage, then, and be not dismayed,
For your Lord is with you throughout
your days.
Fear not for your Lord is with you.
He will not leave you, nor will He
abandon you.
Trust Him with your life and witness.
He’ll go before you, and He will
prepare the way.
The Lord is our helper, so we’ll not
fear.
He will strengthen us. He sees all our
tears.
Do not be afraid, but to God do pray,
And the peace of God will be yours
today.
Trust Him with your life and witness.
He’ll go before you, and He will
prepare the way.
My God, He is my Rock and my Shield
And the Horn of my salvation, whom I
praise.
He reached down from heaven and rescued
me;
Drew me out of waters so deep I’d sink.
My God turned my darkness into His
light;
Opened up my blinded eyes, gave me
sight.
My God, He is my Rock and my Shield
And the Horn of my salvation, whom I
praise.
Friday, June 15, 2018 – Thank
You, Lord, for this teaching from Your Word. May we all surrender our all to You
today, and live in Your love. Amen!
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