Every Man's War

INTRO

Can you imagine our community being under attack and nobody talking about it?

Yet the church is under seige today by fleshly lusts (1 Pet 2:11 “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”

and we hardly mention it

Only 7% of preachers (of any religious group) report their church has a program for those struggling with pornography

But Jesus addressed it in the Greatest Sermon ever preached Mt 5:28

We want to preach on “Every Man’s War” today

Discussion

Lust is at war with us (1 Pet 2:11)

lust: desire

Can be a desire for some thing good (Phil 1:23)

Can be a neutral desire (Mk 4:19—lusts of other things)

Can be a forbidden or inordinate desire or craving (Jam 1:14; 2 Pet 1:4)

Another word: Covetousness (Ex 20:17)

Often connected to illicit sexual desire

Pro 6:25 “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; Neither let her take thee with her eyelids.”

God created us with sexual desire, but like every other desire He gave us—hunger, thirst, companionship—it is to be channeled in the right direction—marriage (Heb 13:4 “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” )

George Bush?: They were at war with us, but we were not at war with them

Do we consider ourselves at war with the Enemy and his fiery darts?

Many battle fields in this war: going to the grocery store, driving down the road, watching a ball game, video games, smart phones, anything with a connection to the internet—my Bible software program even got hacked this week. The battle fields evolve and we have to be on guard!

Every Man’s War

1 Cor 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

NET: “No trial has come upon you that is not faced by others”

Temptation to lust is common to man—Every Man’s War

Prevalence:

Great men have struggled: “If you think you can’t fall into sexual sin, then you’re godlier than David, stronger than Samson, and wiser than Solomon.” – Bill Perkins

Every man’s battle: Men 50-68 years old: 49% view pornography at least once month; 25% several times a week

Every young man’s battle: 18-30 year old: 79% view illicit material once a month; 63% several times a week

Every man’s battle but also woman’s battle: 76% of women 18-30 view monthly

Every child’s battle

IN 1996, the Justice Department said, “Never before in the history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent (and obscene) material been so easily accessible by so many minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions.” (CE Eyes Porn Stats)—context: Yahoo Mail was not started until 1997

43% regulars users started between 11 or 13

Depending on what survey you look at, average age of first exposure is 9 or 11. Average, so some are younger than 9.

Many a preacher’s battle

1 in 5 youth ministers and 1 in 7 senior ministers currently struggle with lust—50,000 church leaders

43% of ministers admit it has been a past struggle

I know several ministers myself who struggle with it.

It’s been my battle

I was in the 3rd grade. It was at the baby sitter’s house. My friend and I went to go play basketball with some 4th graders across the way. We played for a while (and really they didn’t let me play very much because they were better than me), but then we stopped and the older boys started whispering with Ryan. Before I knew it, we were headed back to my friend Ryan’s house. We went to the top of the stairs. Ryan turned and told me that they were going to look at something in his parents room that I didn’t want to see since I went to church. So he told me to go to his room while the others snuck into his parents’ room. Well I didn’t stay in the room, and as I peered into the doorway, there those boys were huddled around a magazine that had been hiding next to his parents’ bed.

It is something that I have to manage and guard against on a daily basis.

Defenses for this War (Pro 4:23, 25-27)

Give yourself wholly to prayer and to the Word—exercise yourself to godliness (1 Tim 4:7; Ps 119:11)

Utilize filters and monitoring software

Be accountable to godly men.

Examine your spirit regularly (2 Cor 13:5)

But don’t be deceived. you can put up all the defenses and still fail—the French built the Maginot Line after WWI to prevent the Germans from invading again. How’d that work out for them?

Victory in this war

The only path to victory is faith in his blood (Rom 3:25)

The victory is won but we have to do our part: walking in the light (1 Jn 1:7-9)

This sin and all sin thrives in darkness, but sunlight is the best disinfectant.

When we confess and tell the truth about ourselves, the blood of Jesus cleanses all the shame and guilt away.

Exhortation

Men, give your families the gift of integrity! Walk in the light!

We can win this war, but only with our Savior Jesus

Is He your Savior?