October 14
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put devious lips far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead, and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil.” (Proverbs 4:23)
Let’s review what we have covered under this section of overcoming immorality, pornography, and lust. We have been spending a lot of time on this because for many Christians and non-Christians alike this area is a major stumbling block, and it has very, very serious consequences for individuals, families, and the Body of Christ if we are not able to master these sins and overcome these temptations. Furthermore, these habits and addictions can seem almost impossible to overcome at times, especially given the widespread availability of pornography and the highly immoral behaviors of so many around us in the hookup culture in which we find ourselves immersed.
Recap
- We started this track on sins of immorality back on August 9th, and we talked about sins of the heart, body, and mind. We discussed upward and downward spirals that reinforce good or bad habits.
- We brought up the questions of “Why” and asked you to think about “Why am doing this thing?” and “Why should I not be doing this thing?” Specifically, why are you attracted to sins of immorality, and why should you be trying to overcome these sins? We recommended that you give careful thought to these questions of why, because knowing the answers to these questions can be very helpful in formulating an effective action plan for overcoming these temptations.
- We discussed twelve Critical Transformations that we must make if we are to once and for all overcome these insidious sins.
- We briefly discussed Dick Woodward’s “I cannot but He can” message. We briefly touched on emotional prison and how that can tempt us in immorality, and we touched on how similar immorality is to drunkenness and idolatry.
- We spent a fair amount of time in September looking at the potential consequences of immorality, seventeen general categories were identified, lest we become arrogant and think we are immune to severe consequences for our lusts.
- We ended September with a reminder that Jesus is a gentle master with an exciting life in store for those who walk in obedience and the flesh is a harsh task master that makes us miserable, just the opposite view that most of us have.
- We then began to list reasons for overcoming temptation in a format that would be helpful for us to refer to (I recommended a table format). The point is to print this table out and laminate it so that we can have a durable reference for days to come.
- We listed Helpful Verses to keep in mind, and we also put these in table format and highlighted certain words to make it easier to refer to and remember them.
- We listed Helpful Things to keep in mind, thoughts, reminders, and exhortations that we will also put in table format and laminate for easy reference.
- We examined Character Qualities that we want to become true of us.
- We wrote down disciplines that we want to develop and goals that we want to achieve.
- Finally, we looked at rewards in this life and the life to come that will motivate us and get us excited about continuing the effort to overcome immoral temptations.
This is where we have been, and tomorrow we will discuss what we intend to do with all of this and begin to formulate a clear action plan for helping us move forward.