Sermon Illustrations

ADULTERY and IVAN THE TERRIBLE

We need to look at adultery in the light of the manifestations of Ivan the Terrible in order to see how his rise to power, his government, his exploits and his fall closely compare with occurrences connected with adultery. Ivan the Terrible made an impact on Europe and Asia; he lived in the 16th century from 1530 to 1584.

Ivan the Terrible became a czar of Russia, an Asian country, at a rather young age of seventeen (he spent thirty-seven years in power). People who are trapped in the sin of adultery will likely have had a seed of sexual immorality sown in their early life; for instance, the seed of pornography (indulging in the picture of naked people) is a common but unnoticed example which opens the door for unclean spirits to enter a person through the eyes. You should teach your children to expose such ungodly literature to you, that is the only way you may ever get to know if they had access to pornography right under your nose. You should also buy them religious and godly literature. As a preacher said in a message titled Thunders of Revelation 8, "Lust of the eye brings about the lust of the flesh."

Adultery always tries to lay a strong foundation from the outset: Ivan called a council at the age of nineteen to strengthen the autocracy-- an absolute government by one person. Several witchcraft techniques can be used in an attempt to sustain the adulterous relationship such that you cannot just talk someone out of it in such cases. The cage of adultery will remain except focused fasting and prayer is used against it; this is because spiritual deposits can be placed at the ribs or food can be charmed in order to maintain the caging power.

Ivan won control of the Volga River and its trade links with the east in 1552. The Volga River is often called Mother Volga by the Russians and is thought of as the life blood of Russia. Adultery will not only win control of finances by channeling it to the sin partner, but will also bring his cousins-- wastage and devourer (appears as a bear in the spirit)-- which swallow funds unnecessarily.

Just as Ivan recovered from illness to punish plotters for appointing czar designate in the year 1553, adultery will even go beyond that to destroy any rivals competing for the game (the victim-cum-sin partner) not minding whether the rivals would be of similar spiritual orientation or incline.

Livonia was invaded and Estonia also fell to Ivan’s armies in 1558 as he also turned to terrorism. That is how many lose their homes to strange seducers of their husbands or wives as the adultery becomes firmly rooted. A reign of terror called oprichnina was organized by Ivan in 1564; similarly, after a while, one of the partners committing the sin changes from being soft to become harsh, and will tend towards destruction of the life of the weaker partner who would have less spiritual power or is lukewarm in faith or is just neutral concerning spiritual strength.

Ivan was also notorious for killing his wife. He also killed Adashev and imprisoned priest Sylvester, who were both members of his privy Council. He killed magnates whose land or power he wanted to have; he killed the next Ivan who was to take over from him. "... can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?... so is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no-one who touches her will go unpunished." - Proverbs 6:24. "All at ones he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver." - Ezekiel 16:32. "Do not let such a woman win your heart... if you go to her house, you are on the way to the world of the dead. It is a shortcut to death," - Proverbs 7:25-27. Those who will die in adultery would wonder, in regret and in grieve, how they let this after-all worthless act get them into eternal punishment because they will be unable then to reconcile with God.

Ivan made Moscow a major power in eastern Europe and supervised Russia’s expansion to the east. Today, there has also been a major disintegration in that region. Typical of Ivan’s long reign, adultery could last a very long time if it is not arrested in time.

--From a sermon by Obioha Amanze, Adultery the Terrible, 6/26/2012

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