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Joined: 2002/12/11
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 Re:

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As for me, my PC is in the apartment living room visable to everyone, my laptop has been at my parent's house since november. I run X3watch, my leaders know about my problem, and God knows i anguish over it.

I'm also taking a missionary training class right now... am I disqaulified?


De-install X3watch and buy and download http://www.safeeyes.com/ it will actually block content I believe not just log your defeats. You can have victory over this brother. God can do a work in you so that you are being filled with the Spirit and that Spirit can keep you. Only God can tell you if you are "disqualified" and if He is truly calling you to the mission field.


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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon

 2007/4/5 12:44Profile
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Joined: 2002/12/11
Posts: 39795
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We ought to support the native missionaries with www.heartcrymissionary.com and gfa.com


Amen. SermonIndex is fully behind these 2 missionary organisations and I do pray that saints from sermonindex will support these organisations that are comprimised of mostly native missionaries.

[b]MISSIONS: Support a Native missionary, Invest in Eternity Today![/b]
https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=16047&forum=35


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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon

 2007/4/5 12:47Profile









 Re:

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I'm also taking a missionary training class right now... am I disqualified?

A resounding NO!!

However, you may have to end up dropping this whole ministry in Gods lap and for Him to open the doors instead of going thru your organization, which will require dedicated times of prayer and supplication before the LORD.

God Bless you.

 2007/4/5 12:49









 Re:

If anyone is struggling with this PM me. I say this not to condemn anyone, but not only should those caught up in this sin not be missionaries, the scriptures warn they will not inherit the kingdom of God.


1 Corinithians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.


It is by the fear of the Lord that men depart from their iniquity (Proverbs 16:6)....
Flee from your sin, cry out until you have victory, that is if you truly want it. When I was in bondage to sin I used to "repent" all of the time only to committ the same sins over and over... I was playing games. I was half hearted and double minded. There is absolute victory over this avaialable in the blood of Christ.

I am glad the southern baptists are keeping those who are still bound in sin from being missionaries. Again, I dont say this to condemn anyone but that the fear of God may lead you out of this sin and to testify that God delivered me from it 100%.

Deepest love in Christ to all - Jim

PS - Incredible word by David Wilkerson on the subject of lust, sexual sin and believers going to hell for it. One of his best sermons ever.

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?lid=12]Wild Donkeys[/url]

 2007/4/5 13:02
PaulWest
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Joined: 2006/6/28
Posts: 3405
Dallas, Texas

 Re:

This topic concerns, what I believe to be one the strongest - if not [i]the[/i] strongest - battle a Christian man will ever face. The sense of guilt from giving in can be absolutely devastating on the moral conscience...even long after God has forgiven the sin and washed it once again in the Blood.

As far as it being a disqualification for ministry, one brother here has wisely said that only [i]God[/i] can disqualify a man on these grounds. Men can and will dismiss your credentials for this type of moral failure, but this doesn't mean God dismisses you. God chastens you, but there is always blessed restoration and healing in His wings for the genuinely repentant, sin-sick heart. We should never tread lightly on this terribly destructive sin, but we should also not go off the deep end and conclude a person's ministry is irrevocably terminated as a result of giving in. Lust wars in our members, and if we are not vigilant, it can gain the upper hand and easily break forth into open flame. Many who have not openly manifested this sin on a computer screen, have it [i]hiddenly[/i] manifested on their "heart screen" with daily, unmitigated indulgence. Either way, such factors cause the heart to condemn the believer, which, in turn, makes prayer and Bible meditation impossible.

Brethren, we must always remember that God is not a man, and He knows of man's desperate plight against this insidious temptation that endeavors to master us daily. Where much grace is needed, much is given.

Brother Paul


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Paul Frederick West

 2007/4/5 14:21Profile









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As far as it being a disqualification for ministry, one brother here has wisely said that only God can disqualify a man on these grounds



Please read first Corinthians 5 & 6... God has spoken and he has not bowed to our lukewarm and compromised american "christianity".

In Christ - Jim

 2007/4/5 14:30
PaulWest
Member



Joined: 2006/6/28
Posts: 3405
Dallas, Texas

 Re:

Quote:
Please read first Corinthians 5 & 6... God has spoken and he has not bowed to our lukewarm and compromised american "christianity".



Amen! Believe me, I loathe this sin and readily identify it for what it is - an incalcuable detriment to the body of Christ, and one that has incapacitated multitudes of otherwise strong men and potential missionaries and pastors and evengalists and prayer-warriors.

However, if a righteous man falls and then repents, you automatically sweep him under your abovementioned category? Again, I'm not condoning this sin, and I never said that God "bows" to it. I am certainly not talking about those "addicted" to it, either. I totally agree that men should be reprimanded who fall into this sin, but the reprimand should aim toward restoration and not, "That's it. You failed. You sinned. It's all over. Go home."

I will say that only God determines when a man's ministry is truly "shelved". Men look upon the outer, but God sees the inner. Though you may not have indulged in this sin on a computer screen, have you indulged on your "heart screen" at anytime within in the past year? Would you feel comfortable were the Lord to display it all here on SI, in full color and graphic detail? You would be mortified, brother.

More grace is in order, and we should truly hate and kill this sin by the Spirit, but let's have the mind of Christ, knowing that "he shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy." Greg is right: there is victory over this sin, and we should encourage and strengthen our suffering, weaker brothers and sisters and not only spank them for "giving in"; their own hearts and consciences take care of the spanking just fine (even long after God has put His arms around them and welcomed them back into right standing through the blood). I propose that victory was never wrought through this mindset. But unless you've ever suffered a defeat in this battle and been graciously restored (as I have), you won't know the grace needed to restore a hurting believer and to get them back on the old paths of holiness and purity that God so delights in offering the wayward.

Brother Paul


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Paul Frederick West

 2007/4/5 14:38Profile









 Re:

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However, if a righteous man falls and then repents, you automatically sweep him under your abovementioned category?



As long as by repent you mean confesses and forsakes, not just confesses it, I do not mean that.

Quote:
I am certainly not talking about those "addicted" to it, either.



I was reading the thread along those lines, that these were addicted people. Not people that have slipped and then been heart broken and repented and gained victory over it.

Quote:
I totally agree that men should be reprimanded who fall into this sin, but the reprimand should aim toward restoration



Again, i was speaking of those who continue in the sin, knowing that it is wrong and only half heartedly repenting.

Quote:
Have you indulged on your "heart screen" at anytime within in the past year?



Brother I have been tempted, I am a man. The Lord has given me victory over this thing that used to keep me in bondage. If I am tempted with an impure thought I rebuke it and spend extra time in prayer crying out to God for strength and purity.

Quote:
but let's have the mind of Christ, knowing that "he shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy."



Brother you have greatly miscalculated my motives, please read back over my posts.

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I propose that victory was never wrought through this mindset.



I must say that you are wrong. I stand with David Wilkerson in the message I posted earlier in this thread "Wild Donkeys". I will pray with them, hope for them, encourage them, but I will most certainly tell them the whole truth, that they must truly repent and that they should not be deceived...

In Christ - Jim

 2007/4/5 15:43
PaulWest
Member



Joined: 2006/6/28
Posts: 3405
Dallas, Texas

 Re:

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The Lord has given me victory over this thing that used to keep me in bondage.



This very well may be, and, like you said, this freedom from the bondage of lust was not [i]your[/i] doing; it was by the grace of God and I don't think anyone here is contesting to what is being asserted (that this addiction is sinful). I am only saying that the approach to blanket someone who has fallen unto a besetting sin as having their ministry automatically terminated may not be altogether wise. Undoubtedly, there is [i]never, ever[/i] any reasonable excuse for yielding to temptation, and were a Christian worker confess to me that they have been succumbing to this sin, I would counsel them to step back from the ministry (if they did not already volunteer to step back themselves!) I am quick to understand that God graciously restores the repentant sinner, even if men will not. I can tell you that personally, if I fell to this sin, I would be the [i]first[/i] to disclude myself from any ministerial opportunites, until (and if) God opened the door to ministry once again. Though the Lord restores repentant sinners, ministerial restortation isn't always assured.

Nonetheless, I would warn certain stonefaced sin-crusading pontificators on SI most solemnly: Do take heed, brethren. Men who assume graceless, ruthless stances against certain besetting sins and continue to heap fiery condemnation upon the heads of fallen believers and thus discourage them from seeking out God's continued holiness...have a mysterious tendency to fall themselves. And how great is the crash when they do! They are painfully humbled, and this too is by the grace of God lest they continue to puff themselves up and harden their hearts to the plight of broken and besieged believers who have temporarily fallen. Ah, we get our greatest example from Jesus Christ Himself in his dealing with us when we "miss the mark". I shouldn't have to expound on the awesome mercy and grace and patience of God bestowed upon such hurting believers. Many of us here can attest to the unspeakable mercy God has shown us when we should have been deservedly cut off for transgressing against Light even [i]after[/i] coming to the knowledge of the truth.

Brother, I can take the same cut-and-dry warrior stance you are taking now, and use scriptures to show how God hates sin. Everyone here knows this, but there is a better way. I've heard "Wild Donkeys" and "Iron Chariots", but from reading your post I wonder if you subscribe to Dave Wilkerson's newsletter as well? It is full of grace, as much as he preaches against sin he encourages to get up and continue walking with God. He doesn't merely say, "You've failed. You can't be trusted."

I had to learn grace the hard way, brother. I fell miserably after having continuous victory for years and years, and suddenly thought there was no hope. After all, I had preached so ardently against sin, so strongly, so passionately, so conclusively - as though I could never fall or yield to temptation again. I thought all my strongholds were vanguished as long as I continued to _________ (fill in the blank). But whose to say I could continue to ______ as long as my confidence was misplaced? I was a boaster! So, when I did fall, it was wholly my fault, the giving in to flesh, the weakness, the disobedience, the horrible shame. No one needed to tell me "Read 5 & 6 Corinthians!" Most men of God who fall into sin know 1 Cor. 6:9 by heart, and if they don't, the Holy Spirit quickly and lovingly brings it to their recollections. Before I fell, I [i]knew[/i] there was victory, because I was living in it with unbroken success! This only compounded the guilt. I discovered that mere willpower is often enough to keep your flesh in check for a length of time. The greatest hope, however, after I fell, was not wrought through people telling me "God hates sin! You can no longer be trusted!" but, rather, "Brother, there is forgiveness, restoration. Gird up thy loins and get back up upon the paths of holiness, and take heed and look [i]only[/i] to Jesus, lest ye fall again."

Brother Paul


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Paul Frederick West

 2007/4/5 16:02Profile









 Re:

These are just my opinions, so don't anyone get mad.

What teenage boy or young man, Christian or not, that has access to an unsupervised computer (with internet) [i]hasn't[/i] viewed pornography?

Men crave power and the internet [i]virtually[/i] obliges those cravings. "Power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely."

But, "Where sin abounds, grace abounds."

I struggled with pornography, women, and booze for years as a bartender and the [i]only way[/i] I escaped them all, [i]virtually overnight[/i], was the omnipresence of the Holy Ghost in my life.

Try typing www.xxx-^&*%^$^%.com in your address bar when you know He, and tens of thousands of angels are watching... It's terrifying. If you're not terrified to view porn, you may need to go back to Proverbs and read about "The Fear of the LORD".

It's prudent, and Biblical, of Southern Baptists to not promote people who view porn to ministry of any sort... even if they only "slip up" once a month. Lust is lust. And one day they might "slip up" with your daughter... Or "slip up" with a teenager (or younger) at a mission... Way, way too risky.

[i]Now someone who used to commit wilful sins of lust, but doesn't any longer[/i] because of the workings of the Holy Ghost... is made new... and doesn't "willfuly" sin any more and everyone, especially intimates, knows it... [i]is probably ready for promotion into spiritual ministry.[/i]

 2007/4/5 16:06





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