The Temptations: Dealing With Lust
(2 of 3)
September 2, 2001 F.B.C. Chester, Illinois Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
1. When we talk about lust were not simply talking about the physical act of adultery/sex.
A. Anything that feeds evil desires fuels the fires of lust.
a. Porn is a $13 billion business,
b. In 1999 revenues from porn web-sites was 1.2 billion dollars, There are 100,000 porn websites and 200 new sites pop up everyday.
*There are more than 10,000 porn movies released every year and over 300 million videos are sold every year. (Only 260 million people in America)
*There are more porn outlets than McDonalds.
*25% of porn sites have brand names (Barbie, Britteny Spears, Nintendo, disney, nba...) to attract hits from search engines.
*Over 75% of all internet users on line after 10 o’clock are viewing pornography. (The largest group viewing are boys between the age of 13 and 18)
B. Lust is destroying marriages and families and churches.
a. ½ of all marries people will commit adultery during their life time. (Men are usually higher, but not much)
b. The Good news: The level of adultery within the church is half what the national average is. The level of adulter among ministers is 1/5 of the national average.
The Bad news: 1 in 4 Christians has committed adultery. 1 in 10 pastors have committed adultery.
2. The Temptations Series brings us to a hot topic today. Dealing With Lust.
A. MT 5:1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, MT 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.’ [28] But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. [29] If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. [30] And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
*The disciples that followed him got this information. Those who climbed with Jesus got the good stuff.
a. Jesus told his fellow mountain climbers how to deal with their lust. (ETS)
b. People who really want to follow Jesus must deal with their lust. (ESS)
B. I want you to have a strategy to deal with lust. (Objective)
a. What are you doing to deal with your lust? (Probing Question)
b. Let’s look at two aspects of lust that can help us deal with it so we can follow Jesus. (Transitional Sentence)
I. The first aspect of lust is its decription.
A Lust is LOOKING. (Nothing else)
a The word Jesus uses for looking is a present participle which means it keeps going, and going and going. (Keep looking, learing....etc.)
*When you undress someone with your eyes (beach, office, store, restaurant, porn..)
b This is more than a simple admiring look. (Good looking guy/gal.....different)
*Lust is when you look in order to fulfill your fantasias.
B Lust is ADULTERY. (Cheating on your spouse)
a Jesus tells us what the law is "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY." Then He tells what grace says "DO NOT EVEN LOOK AT ANOTHER PERSON OTHER THAN YOUR WIFE/HUSBAND." Grace always asks for more than the law.
b Lust is sex. (No way! Yes way!)
*You’re putting another woman/man where your spouse should be.
*Whether you’re replacing them in your bed or in your head...the bible says it’s the same thing.
*An affair happens between the ears before it ever gets between the sheets.
C Lust is a HEART BREAKER.
a *I’ve heard men says "I may be married, but I can still look. Read the menu."
On your wedding day you promised before witnesses and before God to be faithful to your spouse till the day you died. Did you think that meant that you would only be faithful with your body?
*When you lust, you break your spouse’s heart. Why? You have replaced them with somebody else.
b "But pastor, nobody knows what I’m thinking or looking at when I’m alone."
*Wrong! God does and guess what it does to His heart? Breaks it.
*When you please God, it doesn’t matter who you displease. When you displease God, it doesn’t matter who you please.
T.S.: We’ve defined what lust is, now lets look at the next aspect of lust.
II The second aspect of lust is how we defeat it.
A Jesus tells His follow climbers about casting of body parts that cause them to stumble.
a Eyes and hands. (Which one? The right one. Why the right one?)
b In the ancient near east, the right eye/hand was always the most important one.
*Jesus is saying, "It’s better to lose your most important limb than lose your most important relationship." What relationships (Lord and Your Life Mate)
B I think I can make this passage come to life. "Keep your eyes and hands off my wife/husband."
a When we take this approach we leave lust in the dust.
b "Are you saying don’t hug or admire?" No. Don’t touch in a inappropriate way and don’t leer.
C Lust can be good for a marriage.
a John Tesh and Connie Sellieca got married about ten years ago and before they got married they did an interview for People magazine. (Both are Born Again Christians)
*John and Connie refrained from sex until they got married. John said, "Even if Connie and I could not have sex for the rest of our lives, we would not leave this relationship."
b It’s okay for you to long for, leer at, crave the attention of.......your spouse.
(That’s not simply physical, it goes much deeper than that.)
*You want to lust.....lust after your spouse.
Conclusion:
1 We face temptation everyday. People who really want to follow Jesus must deal with the temptation of lust. (ESS)
A We’ve looked at two aspects of lust.
a The definition: Lust is looking. Lust is adultery. Lust is a heart breaker
b The defeat: Keep your eyes/hands off my wife/husband.
B I hope you will have a strategy to deal with lust. (Obj.)
a If you fail to plan you’re planning to fail.
b It’s your choice to have a strategy or not.
2 What are you to deal with lust? (P.Q.)
A God intended you to stay with your marriage partner for life. Zig Ziglar "I’m trying to make one wife last my whole life."
a When we lust and long after other people other than our spouse were going against God’s best for us.
b *Enlist one man and four women for this part of the illustration. (Fill them in on what the illustration is about and like before the illustration.)
*I’ve given Bill a piece of tape and he has placed it on the arm of his wife.
*the tape sticks good. (Bill rips it off and then tries to stick it on the next woman....then the next woman....then the next woman.....then the next woman...)
*The adhesive doesn’t want to stick as well as it did with his wife. Why?
*It’s lost its strength.
B When we lust after other people and their spouses our bond to our mate decreases.
a What are you doing to deal with lust?
b Some of you need to turn off the computer, throw away the video, magazine, stop flirting, and you need to come home! What are you going to do?
