Lust, Desires And Imagination

Big Idea of the Message: Taking what God has called good and beautiful and feeling the need to claim it as personal property is lusting. While we ought not be fearful of the good and beautiful, we must learn to see people and things as God sees them.

Application Point: Flirting with lust always plants the seed of sin, and sin always brings forth death.

Sermon:

Intro:

You’ve heard the saying “Oh, he fell hook, line, and sinker for that one.”

It means that the person not only fell for a joke, or whatever it may be, but they fell embarrassingly hard for it.

This is Satans plan for each of us

When we come out of the womb, we come out heading for our own destruction. Our nature in the flesh is sinful

(NLT): 2:1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.

You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.

He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.

All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

Have you heard, “Boys will be boys” or “That’s just the way he is”?

The world and the flesh make excuses for a certain kind of behavior.

But the reality is that the behavior is merely a display of a rotten heart.

However, as children of God,

we have been made alive ()

and have been made into a new creation (),

no longer a slave to our sin ()—

no longer having to fall hook, line, and sinker for every sin that arises.

1. Lust.

Another place we may flirt with disaster is in the area of lust.

Lust is defined as “a strong sexual desire, a passionate desire for something, a sensuous appetite regarded as sinful”

Let me clarify...

Having desires is not bad.

That’s a natural part of being human. As a matter of fact, without sexual desire, procreation would come to a standstill.

Sexual desires, like all desires, must be filtered with the truth of God’s Word.

For example, sex is good, but it’s bad outside of boundaries of marriage ().

It is when people claim their autonomy and attempt to define truth for themselves that they create a mess and flirt with disaster.

Because lust is

A. Deceitful,

B. Foolish and Harmful, 1 Tim 6:8-9

C. Corrupt 2 Peter 2:10

D. Controlling Rom 6:11-12

A. Deceitful

(NLT): 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception

B. Foolish and harmful

(NLT): 9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction

C. Corrupt

(NLT): 10 He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority.

D. Controlling

(NLT): 12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires

Application Point: Flirting with lust always plants the seed of sin, and sin always brings forth death.

One of the gateways and trap doors to this is our next point..

2. Imagination.

I traced 29 Biblical references to “imagination” in the Word of God.

Only 1 of the 29 was POSITIVE....What does that tell you?

Imagination:

Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually ()

...the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth ()...I walk in the imagination of my heart ()

Your most powerful sex organ will always be your MIND.

There is no more powerful ADDICTION than that of the mind.

This is the real battle of any victim of lust.

The person’s body is always secondary.

The monkey of the mind is far worse than the monkey on the back.

Fantasy is dangerous because it can be so very simple.

It demands no partners, nosocial skills, nor any friends.

You need no connection point, but only some secret form of media.

The fantasy of the mind finds its fixes on the internet, in a magazine, a book, a movie, a song...but mostly,the raging images of the secret mind

Thats why The Bible tells us,

, “Casting down imaginations...and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

, “Set your minds on the things above rather than earthly things.”

, “Love what is pure; hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

IMAGINATION can be one of God’s greatest tools in your life.

That’s why the Enemy comes after it so hard in our daily lives.

How long has it been since you have said, “Lord, I want to DREAM Your kind of dreams for my life!”

we need to be proactive in setting up boundaries that protect our purity.

Which brings us to point 3

3. Accountability

Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes4:9–12 that accountability is a great safeguard.

In what ways can you be accountable, in order to ensure you don’t set yourself up for failure?

For one, it’s probably good that you have filters on your internet.

Because Like it or not, you are quite possibly getting a “BRAIN MAKEOVER.”

Dr. Judith Reisman: “Thanks to the latest advances in neuroscience, we now know that pornographic visual images IMPRINT and ALTER THE BRAIN, triggering an instant, involuntary, but lasting biochemical memory trail. This is true of “soft-core” as well as “hard-core” pornography. And once new neuro-chemical pathways are established, they are difficult if not impossible to delete.”

How does this “brain sabotage” occur?

Scientists tell us that in 3/10 of a second a visual image passes from the eye through the brain.

The brain then is STRUCTURALLY CHANGED and memories are created.

We literally “re-grow a new brain” with each visual experience we involve ourselves in.

BLUNT REALITIES:

21% of all total web sites are pornographic.

25% of all search engine requests are for pornographic materials.

$57 billion per year is now spent in America on pornography.

That’s billion with a B

That’s 1000, millions

A millions seconds ago was 11d, 13hr, 48min and 40sec X57 =1.8years ago

A Billion sec ago was 31.5yrs ago X57=the gospels were only 100years old

57billion !!!!!

That is MORE than the combined revenue of ABC, CBS, and NBC. It’s more than all professional sports teams earn COMBINEDin a total year.

8% of all total emails that go out every day are pornographic.

47% of Christians say that pornography is a MAJOR PROBLEM in their home.

The largest consumers of internet pornography are teenagers between the ages of 12 –17.

Visitors to pornography sites are 72% male and 28% female..

Be accountable with your internet usage.

There are Christian protective sites that are dedicated to this very thing.

If you have a history of struggle with pornography, it’s probably best that you not leave yourself alone without any internet monitoring controls.

Unfortunately, there are even apps that can be created to store private web searches that are not caught through any web protections, so it’s important to be honest with yourself and your accountability partner (spouse, parent, or friend).

4. Lust leads to objectification

Some great and honest insight into the mind of any person when it comes to lusting after women, but it can be applied in any lustful scenario.

is this

It’s okay to find people attractive, but it’s when we feel like we can’t “live with beauty without owning it” that it becomes distorted and a problem

In other words, we feel like we need to turn attraction into lust. That’s not necessary.

God gives beauty.

It’s good and okay to acknowledge something as beautiful—and then to thank God that which is beauty

5. Lust Personified

James offers a graphic illustration of lust(desires).

He personifies lust and says that it is conceived and brings forth death and destruction when it partners with the allurement of a person

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death

What interesting language. Conception is typically used within the context of sex—when the seed of the man unites with the woman’s egg. The idea is that something is created that wasn’t there before. It can’t happen by itself. It takes two. In this spiritual sense, the allurement of a person (verse 14) plus lust (verse 15) creates or conceives sin. It wasn’t sin until lust met allurement. It’s the second glance. It’s the focusing too much on the beauty. It’s letting the mind wonder, daydream, or fantasize that breeds sin. When sin is conceived, then destruction is certain.

What interesting language.

Conception is typically used within the context of sex—when the seed of the man unites with the woman’s egg.

The idea is that something is created that wasn’t there before. It can’t happen by itself. It takes two.

In this spiritual sense, the allurement of a person (verse 14) plus lust (verse 15) creates or conceives sin.

It wasn’t sin until lust met allurement.

See It’s the second glance. It’s the focusing too much on the beauty. It’s letting the mind wonder, daydream, or fantasize that breeds sin. When sin is conceived, then destruction is certain.

The story has been passed down of Native wolf hunters who would trap and kill the animal by freezing fat or blood onto a blade and leaving it standing straight up in the ice. According to the story, the wolf loved the smell and taste of blood so much that after licking and licking he would eventually get down to the blade where he was drinking his own blood without realizing it. This, the story goes, led to the wolf’s death.

This is a pretty graphic illustration

but it certainly portrays the lust of humanity and its endless hunger.

says that the eyes of human beings are never satisfied.

Flirting with lust will certainly lead to destruction.

6. Realistic vs. Unrealistic Parameters

Some people would suggest setting up parameters that will not allow for a male to ever meet, call, or text with another female.

While this may work for some, it must be remembered that that kind of standard is just a standard, not a gospel truth.

It is meant to be a help, not a burden.

Setting up a rule like this can be helpful, depending on the circumstances of the people involved and their given history, but it’s important to know that it can be impractical many times.

A standard like this can possibly put a woman who has no ill intentions at all in an awkward position because now she can’t communicate or meet with her boss or her subordinates merely because she is a female. A standard like this needs to be carefully thought through, with allowances for some flexibility.

Conclusion

My conclusion after my Biblical study of the word “imagination” is

THE WAR FOR A CHRIST-HONORING IMAGINATION IS A “WINNABLE WAR,” but it’s probably one I will fight for theREST OF MY LIFE

I love what a Godly man way back in 640 AD said about fighting this war:

“Do not imagine that you will overwhelm the demon of sexual sin by entering into an argument with him. Nature is on his side and he will win; so it is that the man who decides to struggle with his own flesh and sinful nature so as to overcome it by his own efforts IS FIGHTING IN VAIN. Instead, offer up to the Lord the fact that you are so very, very WEAK in your own human nature. Admit your inability,

in yourself, to overcome this area in your life, and beautifully within your own humble admission and without knowing it, YOU WILL WIN FOR YOURSELF THE GIFT OF PURITY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD

HOW DO I WIN THE BATTLE FOR MY OWN IMAGINATION?

1) Realize that SMALL compromises lead to BIG trouble.

2) Fearfully realize that there is NO “TOMORROW” in the world of imagination, so make changesTODAY.

3) Stay away from time blocks and locations of secrecy, and guard yourself during especially vulnerable moments or situations.

4) Realize that you are not the only one who goes through these battles, and that Jesus is “on your team” when it comes to pornography

5) Don’t leave your mind EMPTY. Fill it with the WORD and prayer.

6) Guard all forms of media that you let come inside your head (music, movies, internet,magazines, whatever). You will always become the product of what you put inside yourself.

7) Choose an accountability partner of the same sex; and keep YOURSELF accountable to them.(In other words, don’t make them have to “chase you down” to ask how you’re doing.)

8) Visualize the long haul consequences of your sin on your future, on the lives of people you love,and on your relationship with Christ. Is it really worth it?

9) Anyone want a crisp $20-bill tonight?Illustration – “$20 Bill”

, “Oh, Lord, You have tried my heart and found pleasure in uprightness...KEEP THIS FOREVER IN THE IMAGINATION OF THE HEARTS OF YOUR PEOPLE and direct their hearts more and more towards You

Related Media

Related Sermons