Saturday, August 10, 2024
The Peril Of Pornography
Matthew 5:27-32 Psalm 119:9-15, Proverbs 5:9-23
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
What Is Wrong with Pornography?
It Is Psychological Poison
Just like a drug, he has to go deeper and deeper, and move into more hard drugs, as he moves into more hard-core pornography: first, addiction;; then, escalation;; and then, thirdly, the person is desensitized. Dr. Klein said, "What was originally shocking;; what was seen originally as anti-social;; what was seen originally as depressing, becomes now acceptable, and the person is no longer shocked, no longer offended, by this material."
That is the third step. And then, he says, the fourth step is this: Almost invariably, the individual is tempted, and many times does act out what he sees. Now he may try to act that out with his partner, his wife; sometimes, other members of his family; sometimes, his children; to engage in sexual activities, many of which are deviant. It goes: addiction; then, escalation; and then, desensitization; and then, finally, dear friend, the acting out of this thing.
It Brings Domestic Damage
Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house." (Proverbs 5:7–8)
"Flee also youthful lusts." (2 Timothy 2:22) "Flee," the Bible says.
"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." (1 Corinthians 6:18) "Flee fornication." "Flee youthful lusts." Don't even come near her house.
Consider the Deadly Consequences (Proverbs 5:9–10)
Dissipation Don't come near the door of her house,"—"lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger." (Proverbs 5:9–10)
Disease "And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed." (Proverbs 5:11) You're saying, "Is AIDS the judgment of God?" My dear friend, it is the consequence of sin. It's the consequence of sin.
Disappointment "And [you'll] say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!" (Proverbs 5:12–13) The Living Bible translates this verse this way: "Oh, if only I had listened! … Why wouldn't I take advice?" People say this is what liberates. It doesn't liberate.
Disgrace "I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly." (Proverbs 5:14) What does that mean in plain English? The Living Bible says, "For now I must face public disgrace." You can only hide it so long. One of these days, sir, God is going to expose you. One of these days, young lady, your sin is going to be made known. If not here, at the Final Judgment, for Luke chapter 12 and verse 2 says, "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known." (Luke 12:2) What a disgrace that's going to be! Your wife, your children, your parents, your pastor, your friends, will know. You will not be able to hide this sin. You may be hiding it now, but sooner or later it will be made known. That's what verse 14 is talking about. I remember reading about a newspaper that had this motto: "If you don't want it printed, don't let it happen."
Dominion His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins." (Proverbs 5:22) I don't know of any other sin that enslaves like the sin of immorality. There is a dominion; there is a person who is held, is entrapped, by this sin. "Every other sin that a man commits is without the body. He that commits adultery and fornication sins against his own body." (1 Corinthians 6:18) And there is a bondage there.
Death "He shall die without instruction." (Proverbs 5:23) There is moral death. There is spiritual death. There is eternal death. And the warm flames of lust will turn to the fiery flames of hell. Do you think that you can live this way and strut into heaven? I am telling you, my dear friend, you are going to go straight to hell. Listen to 1 Corinthians 6:9 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,"—that means "homosexuals"—"nor abusers of themselves with mankind…shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9–10)
God intends better for you!
"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth." (Proverbs 5:18) What is God's best? God's best is one man for one woman till death do them part. I love my wife. I thank God for my darling wife. I would not trade our Christian home for anything on earth. Sometimes I teasingly say to Joyce, "If you ever leave me, I'm going with you." My dear friend, listen. She's mine. She's mine to keep, and I'm hers to keep. What a lasting marriage, the Bible says here, "Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth"—the same wife that you had as a young man.
A Loving Marriage
Not only is it a lasting marriage; God's best intention is a loving marriage. Look in verse 19: "Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love." (Proverbs 5:19) Oh, my dear friend, listen—listen. Don't get the idea that, if you live according to God's law, you are going to miss out. The problem is if you don't live according to God's law; you are going to miss out. These kids are talking about going all the way. That's the one thing they don't do; they don't go all the way. They don't know the fulfillment, the joy, of a monogamous marriage—the ravishing love that comes by one man committed to one woman until death do them part.
Don't you know that God's laws are for your welfare? God is not some tyrant sitting up there in heaven making a bunch of laws to make you squirm, like a worm in hot ashes, trying to keep those laws. God loves you! God's laws are for your welfare. And every time God says, "Thou shalt not, " God just simply says, "Don't hurt yourself. " And every time God says, "Thou shalt, " God is saying, "Help yourself to happiness. " And God is not trying to keep sex from you; He is trying to keep sex for you! Here is God's wonderful gift! And that's the reason God says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14) That's the reason God says, "Flee fornication," (1 Corinthians 6:18) because God has something so wonderful for you. And God wants you, my dear friend, to have a lasting marriage, and God wants you to have a loving marriage.
How Can You Keep Your Mind Pure?
Admit Your Problem and Get Clean 1John 1:9
Affirm Your Purpose to Stay Clean
"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?" Now when he says his way has to be cleansed, that means that he knows that the way is dirty. He must cleanse his way. Now, look at the word way. Do you see it? "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?" Do you see the word way there? The Hebrew word here has the idea of a rut—like a rut in a dirty road. It's a groove. It is something that is a groove in one's mind. A person with a filthy mind has a groove in his mind;; he has a one-track mind. He has a muddy rut in his mind. And his thoughts always run in that way, just like the wagon wheels get down in the rut in a road. That's what he's talking about. He has a way.
"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to [the Word of God]." The instrument of cleansing is the Word of God. Now, my dear friend, if you don't first of all get clean, you are never going to win the war. First of all, you must admit your problem and get clean. Jesus Christ said in John chapter 15 and verse 3, "You are clean. You are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." (John 15:3) And the word clean there is the word katharos. It is the word that we get catharsis from. Do you know what a catharsis is? A catharsis is a cleansing on the inside. Now Jesus will make you clean on the inside through His Word. "You are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."
"With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments." (Psalm 119:10)
Half-hearted Christians. My dear friend, if you don't get clean, then you're not going to stay clean. But you can get clean and not stay clean unless not only do you admit your problem, but you affirm your purpose. You say with all there is of you and in you; every inch, every ounce, every nerve, every fiber, every corpuscle;; with your whole heart, you seek God. Look in verse 10: "With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments." Being halfhearted is an insult to God, and it does no good. There is a battle for your mind; and if you're halfhearted, you're going to lose it.
Listen to these verses. James chapter 1 and verse 8: "A double minded man is unstable in all of his ways." (James 1:8) James 4, verse 8: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (James 4:8) Listen to this. I am talking about a whole heart now. Deuteronomy 4:29: "But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29)
"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself." (Daniel 1:8) Have you ever purposed in your heart? Have you ever said, "With my whole heart I am determined; by the grace of God I am determined I will not behave this way"? The Bible says in Job chapter 31 and verse 1—Job speaking, and he said— "I have made a covenant with my eyes. Why then should I look upon a maid?" (Job 31:1) What Job did was this. He said, "I have determined;; I made a covenant with my eyes, I'm not going to do it."
Apply Your Protection to Keep Clean "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." (Psalm 119:9) Now, let me tell you how to use the Bible as an antidote against pornography. Let me tell you how to use the Bible as an antidote against lust. Let me tell you how to use the Word of God to purify your heart and to keep your heart clean and pure. Jesus said, Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17) Now, how? All right, here are the steps.
1.Memorize the Word of God "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." (Psalm 119:11) Do you see it? That is black print on white paper, my dear friend. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." The Bible is your one true protection. If you do not load up on the Word of God, even though you may purpose to stay clean, you will not stay clean. These hath God married, and no man shall part: Dust on the Bible, and sin in the heart.
My dear friend, you need to get into the Word of God. Do you have a daily quiet time with God? Do you have a time when you get alone with God? Do you have a time when you're taking mega-doses of the Word of God? If not, no wonder that you are failing. No wonder that you are going down.
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." And all of those things are found in the Word of God. That's a description of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then Paul said, "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." (Philippians 4:8–9) God says, "Listen. Fill your mind with that which is right."
2. Personalize the Word of God "Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes." (Psalm 119:12) What good is it to memorize it, if you don't understand it? My dear friend, not only must you memorize it;; you must personalize it. Facts from the Bible are not enough—even wonderful facts. You cannot separate the Word of God from the God of that Word. And God must take that Word and teach it to you. And He will teach it to you.
"O God, teach my thy Word;; Lord, I want to know your Word"—it's not enough to memorize it;; my dear friend, personalize it. Let me give you five little steps as you read any passage. Just ask yourself: Is there a lesson to learn? Is there a sin to avoid? Is there a blessing to enjoy? Is there a promise to claim? Is there a new thought to carry with me? If you'll just use those five questions, almost any passage of Scripture will just burst aflame. "Teach me, O God, thy Word."
3. Verbalize the Word of God "With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth." (Psalm 119:13) Now, my dear friend, when you memorize it, and when you personalize it, then begin to share it. Begin to verbalize it. Begin to speak it.
4. Vitalize the Word of God 14 "I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches." Is that true to you? Do you really rejoice in God's Word? Does God's Word mean more to you than any other possession that you could posses? David said so: "I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways." Do you stand in awe of the Word of God? Do you have respect unto God's ways? Look in verse 16: "I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word." (Psalm 119:14–16) Now, look at these words. Verse 14: rejoice. Look in verse 15: respect. Look in verse 16: delight. What I'm trying to say is just vitalize the Word of God. Just understand how wonderful it is.
5. Internalize the Word the God 15 "I will meditate in thy precepts." (Psalm 119:15)
Do you see that? Do you know what meditation is? It has two ideas. One is the idea of rumination, or chewing the cud. They say a cow has four stomachs, and it will go out there in the field and load up on alfalfa and hay and clover and Bahia and whatever, and put these things in various stomachs. And then the cow goes out and will lie down under a tree and get to thinking about that clover, and say, "Clover, please," and some clover comes up, and he chews that clover. And then he says, "Alfalfa, please," and that comes up, and he chews that. You've seen the cow just ruminating and chewing the cud, because the cow, she has assimilated that: it is down there to be drawn upon.
Or again, the word meditate has the idea of humming. Have you ever had a tune get into your head and you just couldn't get it out, and you go around all day long just humming a tune? The Word of God is to be that way. How important is meditation?
"Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes." (Psalm 119:23) Look, if you will, in verse 48: "My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved;; and I will meditate in thy statutes." (Psalm 119:48) Look, if you will, in verse 97: "O how I love they law! it is my meditation all the day." (Psalm 119:97) Look in verse 148: "Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word." (Psalm 119:148)
All this junk about "safe sex" is a crock. Listen to me, my dear friend. That's like talking about safe sin. There is no such thing. It is sacred sex—which is the best sex. And God says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14) He's not trying to keep sex from you;; He's trying to keep sex for you. God loves you. It is one of His greatest gifts. And don't mess it up. And don't you blow it. And if you have, my dear friend, admit your problem and get clean. And then, dear friend, affirm your purpose to stay clean. And then, apply your power to keep clean, which is the Word of God. Get that Word of God in your heart. Let it flow through you. And don't tell me it won't work if you haven't tried it. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." (Psalm 119:9)
# posted by Groseys messages @ 10:13 PM 
