Overcoming Lust - Part 2 (Compilation)

Every Christian who watches pornography, who watches filthy scenes in movies, is saying that, I would never let anybody, I would never let my daughter behave like that, or my sister, but that's not my sister, it's not my daughter, I don't care. I don't care if that person goes to hell, living in that sin. You're watching people, going to hell, and it doesn't bother you.

I won't look on a woman, to lust after her. God gives me that ability. Brother, if you think God can't, you haven't read the Bible.

God gives you the ability, when you're pure in heart, when you're absolutely surrendered, when you're filled, controlled by the Spirit, and you stay close to God, abiding in Him, soaking yourself in the Scriptures, and in prayer daily, from the moment you met with Him, in such a manner. He gives you the ability, not to look and commit adultery with her, which will bring judgment, God says, if such a life is continued in your heart, even though no one outside knows, though you're singing hallelujah, while you're looking into the corner of your eye. So, fight lust indirectly, as well as directly.

Give yourself to reading. Give yourself to study. Give yourself to meditating.

Give yourself to memorizing. Give yourself to savoring the beauties of God, and pray like crazy that the Lord would open your heart to see wonderful things that feel more wonderful than the surge of this masturbation. Just looking, or more illicit behavior, fornication, adultery, fooling around.

That second look is impossible to the man that devours the Word of God as his greatest delight in life. Somehow that stopped, or he would not have been capable of looking a second look at what the devil was saying. Look.

You are incapable, sir, of that second look if this book is your greatest delight in life. The devil cannot touch you, young man, if this book is your source of survival. These are the sources of power.

One being filled in our heart and mind with the Word of God. Psalm 119, David says, Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. Be filled with the Holy Spirit.

That's the other source of power. God wants enduring obedience, and that only comes through enduring study and meditation upon God's Word, enduring prayer, and making ourselves accountable to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Some of you, the greatest blessing that you need in your life is to make yourself accountable to another brother or sister.

You've got a besetting sin in your life. You've got a problem in a certain area of your life. One of the greatest things you could do is pray and ask God to show you someone to whom you could make yourself accountable.

You know, some of you struggle with certain sins, and you're sitting there going, I'm just never going to get free. Maybe you just need to pray, and maybe you need to go to somebody, somebody that's trustworthy, someone that can keep their lip closed except to God. Someone who can pray for you.

Go to them and say, Look, I'm caught up in so much of this stuff, and I need help. How many baptismal testimonies have we heard when people said, I lost it all. For what? For a little pleasure? For momentary satisfaction? For fleeting fulfillment? For what? Meditation is not simple, but the second look is, brother.

The second look is, sister. You see, spiritual laziness. Here are some signs of spiritual laziness.

It's when we begin to pray at the end of the day and not at the beginning. He says, you're going to hear my voice in the morning, and it's going to be praying this simple prayer, Oh God, lead me. Guide me.

There are too many enemies around and within me. I need you to lead me. I need your voice behind me.

I need your path before me. God, or I'm going to make a mess of my day. And David says, you'll hear my voice in the morning.

And it was in those times that victory after victory after victory after victory began to come into his life. But there was one thing that didn't lead me. I was bound to pornography.

I was bound to a spirit of lust. He says in verse 10, For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation not to be regretted. But sorrow of the world produces death.

It's not just confessing. It's confessing and repenting. Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to deliverance.

Worldly sorrow focuses on you. You've embarrassed me. What is the consequences of my sin? Will I be judged? Will I go to hell? What's it going to cost me? Godly sorrow on the other hand says, I have sinned against the heart of the one I so love so much.

Godly sorrow focuses on him. David falls on his face and says, Lord, against you and against you only have I sinned. I got delivered.

And the reason I did is because that sin was hurting the heart of the one I love so much. Because in praying for the next seven months like that, my heart grew to love him so much. It was breaking my heart that I was hurting his heart.

Jesus says, you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free. What happens is you get so full of the word of God, you get so full of the truth, it's like shoving your fist down into the water. And you see, the reason I don't want sin in my life is because I don't want that fellowship broken.

What caused you to fall in love with Jesus, that first love, is you spending time with him. Our entire life, every moment of our life should be one of being with the Master. It is very hard to call up pornography sites on the computer when Jesus Christ is there.

It's very hard. Knowing God is a good strategy for overcoming lust. It is.

Knowing God. I mean, really knowing Him. That's what David means when the righteous man falls and gets up.

He does get up. He repents and says, no more. Because I don't want this relationship broken.

And that's the power right there to keep you in obedience is the passion for intimacy with Him. Finally, I've learned that the greatest weapon against temptation and sin is to know and walk in the love of God. The greatest weapon against sin.

Listen to Paul's testimony. We ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice, envying, hateful, then hating one another. Now that's a messed up people, I'll tell you.

That's a mess. Servants to all kinds of evil. But after that, after what? After all of this? The kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared.

In the middle of all this, the revelation came, Paul said, the love of God, His tender mercies, and by His mercy, He then saved us. Be quick to repent. Be quick to respond.

Be quick to get things right. If there's a recurrence of sinful habits, take it seriously. If you need to talk to a leader, if you need to separate yourself to God in prayer and fasting, if you need to just ruthlessly change your schedule and lifestyle, do it, because sin destroys.

Then you'll understand, when you come to God with true repentance, He washes, cleanses, and says, let's get on with it. My seven births, eight and nine, rejoice! Not against me or my enemy. Don't you rejoice? When I fall, I terrorize.

When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be alight unto me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned. I can't hide it.

I have sinned against Him. Until He pleads my cause and executes judgment for me, He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness again. If on your road to the celestial city the devil makes you fall, don't give up.

Get up! You have no right to give up, sir. If you fall, get up now. If you fall, it's not the end.

Get up. Get up now. Never give up.

Never give up. All I want is you to humble yourself and cry out to me for 10 years. And I'll restore you.

I'll restore you. You have no right to give up, sir.