Lust

My memory is nearly gone;
but I remember two things;
That I am a great sinner, and
that Christ is a great Saviour.
John Newton (1725-1807)
English minister and hymn writer


Christ came to save sinners, of whom I am chief
Saul of Taursus to Timothy

Lust is one of those things that has, it seems, been hit upon and missed in the conversation of the church.  


From my experience of news concerning the church, with the scandals of various ministers such as Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart, Eddie Long, Todd Bentley, this is a subject that takes a scandal in order to talk about at length, and then only pertaining to the minister in question, and frequently, solutions are not part of the discussions, but rather stuff that turns to gossip masquerading ad denouncing the “false prophet in our midst.”


 Many ministers, particularly male ministers, it is said, fight this on a daily basis.  I know I have dealt with it every day for the last 25 years (nearly since becoming a Christian).  I want you to know tonight, that if you fight lust and you feel like you are not going to beat it, and you feel alone in this battle, you are not alone. 


Moreover, there are those of us who are called to classical ministry (ministry that occurs within a church, missionary, bible college, seminary, or church administration context) To those ministers, I have the following to say.


If you are like me, you have felt that the merest mention of your sexual sins (specifically, “looking on a member of the opposite sex to lust after them”) to anyone, even fellow ministers would cause you to lose credibility, standing, credentials with your church. congregations, you are not alone.  If you felt you could never do this because you are a minister, ordained and licensed, you are not alone.  I am there with you. 


I would like to share some thoughts on the subject.


Some time ago, I confessed to my wife that I was fighting lust.  She asked me several questions, and one of those questions she asked me stuck out.  “Do you enjoy it anymore?”  This brought to me a realization.


“No.” I replied. “I do not.”


In the past, I used pornography and stuff as a comfort and unconditional acceptance from the fact that my father abandoned me and my mother did not treat me with a whole lot of grace.  Now that I had been married, and had all sorts of respect, love, acceptance, and solid healthy relationships, I still reacted the same unhealthy way when presented with sexual thoughts, images, etc. (call it a knee-jerk response, or like Pavlov’s dog, ring the bell and start drooling).  


So, my wife responded, “you know, the point is not that I am angry with you, but rather that I pity and feel sad for you.”


The drug or crutch (in this case of lust) looses its effectiveness, so that the high takes more drug to remain at the same levels, and after a while it looses its appeal.


If you are stuck, I have one major response to give to you.  It is simple though difficult, and it requires a major bit of preparation and commitment to Christ to finally succeed.  This is the method of deliverance, barring an immediate healing.


Flee!!!!


You and I put our running shoes on and we must run.  Run to the refuge of the Scripture, the refuge of worship, the refuge of intercession, and get on our face before God and ask Him to retrain our minds.  We have to ask God to teach us to view brothers and sisters with completely pure mindsets.  The will of God, according to 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 is sanctification, that we are set apart from the patterns of this world, that we are not driven and fueled by lust as the First Century Gentiles were, whose understanding and thoughts were darkened by this garbage.  We must be driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness that you and I fast, pray, spend time with God in communion that we overcome this ploy of the enemy to undermine the work of God’s kingdom.


AND THIS IS A PLOY!!!!!


The enemy uses lust to undermine authority in the church, to undermine the work of making disciples of all nations.  If you and I allow the enemy to hook us with lust, to hook us with the programming of this world, then the church will never fulfill her mission to make disciples.  Lust is a major preventer of trust in the church and thus, a major tool the enemy uses to keep us from being wholly discipled in the church.  It’s time to put on our battle gear, leave it on, and keep up the fight


Several Scriptures that cover this are found are listed below.


I would like to say this.  I will soon be licensed, pending any complications, with the Assemblies of God.  If you are in the process of getting licensed or ordained, or even if you are not in that process, but you know God has something special for you, that He has a definite calling for you, and desire to conquer and overcome this problem, as if my desire, then you cannot do it alone. You need someone to pray with you, talk to you, hold you accountable, and do so in a manner that keeps confidence, I would like to suggest a 12-step group called Celebrate Recovery.  It has proven to be one of the most effective helps for me in dealing with this fight, since it provides a group of like-minded men, who are willing to pray for me, listen to me, and gives the the chance for an anonymous, Christ-centered, gossip-free environment.  It teaches us how to biblically recover from not only things like alcohol and drugs, but also sexual sin, as well as any other probelm we may be facing. 


Also, if you need someone to talk with you who will keep you in prayer, seriously, as well as keep you in strict confidence, then you can get in touch with me.  I honestly wish someone had done this for me sooner, but I am so glad to have friends with whom I can talk about these struggles, with not only lust, but also anger.


Again, I will be willing to confidentially and faithfully hold you in prayer, and encourage you in your daily walk as you seek to work out your walk with God in this area.


My cell phone number for both calls and texting is 417-522-3000 and my e-mail is theblacksmithshammer91@gmail.com.  I am willing to take calls any time during the day or night, when I am not at work.  I have a lot of faith and belief for you in this area, and I have a lot of compassion for men who struggle with lust and sexual sin, especially those of you who, like me, are called to full-time ministry and do not feel supported or willing to trust people in their current network with this potentially damaging information.










David