I Shouldn't have been Alive

INTRODUCTION

We live in the last of the last days and it becomes more than ever crucial to walk vigilantly, in purity and close to Jesus Christ.  For decades sexual sin was promoted openly in the media and today at an alarming increasing rate.  Why all this fuss!?  Over time the average Christian’s standard of purity has lowered, but not the Lord’s standard!  Let us look into our own hearts and be honest with ourselves where we are at.  Is there less objection to ungodly standards?  We must watch out that we do not fall away!  Dear friend, let us neither become a defiled bride or a foolish virgin who doesn’t have enough oil to enter heaven.  Why is she called foolish?  She did not buy out the precious time in prayer and reading the Word but rather spent time in front of the television or with other vanities. The prophet Daniel wrote:  “And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.”  Daniel 12:9,10 | NKJV  

It is evident to all that darkness / sin is flooding the earth especially with ever increasing intensity with the help of the internet and cell phones.  All over the world the masses were subconsciously “programmed” over a long period by the media to accept this sudden tempo of decadence.  Satan knows his time is short that is why he openly intensifies his attacks on the true Christians.

ARE YOU SET APART FOR HIM?

From the beginning the Lord set apart His people and did not want to share them with the world.  The Lord hates sin but loves all sinners and wants them all to come to repentance and walk close, having a personal love (not terror/slave) relationship with Him (through His Son Jesus Christ).  How does the Lord feel when we live a double life?  “ You are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband’s enemies. Don’t you realize that making friends with God’s enemies—the evil pleasures of this world—makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of the unsaved world, you cannot also be a friend of God. 5 Or what do you think the Scripture means when it says that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, watches over us with tender jealousy? 6 But he gives us more and more strength to stand against all such evil longings. As the Scripture says, God gives strength to the humble but sets himself against the proud and haughty.” James 4:4-6 | Living Bible

Sadly, many of us have a negative picture of God as an angry deity who is ready to devour you.  You must keep him happy by obeying a set of rules to keep Him off your back.  No, He is a passionate, caring Father, who gave His only Son to “bail you out from hell” with His own blood.  The point is that God is jealous for the full and undivided devotion of your heart. Yahweh (God’s name in Hebrew) will tolerate no rivals in his love relationship with you.  What a beautiful invitation:  “That is why the Lord has said, “Leave them; separate yourselves from them; don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you 18 and be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters.”  2 Corinthians 6:17-18 | Living Bible

From a relationship perspective my friend, we can relate to the following verse in the Bible where the Apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

2 Corinthians 7:1 | NIV

Our enemy, Satan, knows the Bible very well.  He also knows especially if you do not live a pure, (set apart) life, pure in your inner thought life (by the power of the Holy Spirit), you will never see God or heaven.  “Little sins” are powerful enough to keep you and me out of heaven (if left unconfessed or not turned away from.) There are sins that are rarely mentioned or discussed.  They are left in a gray area, which brings many people all over the world in confusion.  The devil takes advantage of this and keeps people in bondage or guilt.  The number one sin which is advertised and focussed on a global scale in the media like never before is sexual sin.  I want to put the light on this topic so that we can get out of the enemy’s trap, stop fooling ourselves and re-align our lives to the Word of God. 

What does the Word of God say regarding sexual self gratification / masturbation?

Sometimes there is not a specific scripture that addresses an issue, you must look at what the scripture says holistically.

3” For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;” 1 Thessalonian 4:3-5  | Living Bible

Furthermore:

“1 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.’ Romans 12:1-2  | Living Bible

Is masturbation a sin?

Usually sexual fantasies go along masturbation. Unfortunately, imaginations and thought life will be judged as if you have done the deed in the flesh. “But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28 | Living Bible

“Treat the older women as mothers, and the girls as your sisters, thinking only pure thoughts about them.” 1 Timothy 5:2 | Living Bible

Masturbation is loving of self, self gratification like gluttony, which is sin.  Practicing masturbation deliberately is sin.  God gives grace to those who struggle and want to stop this sin.  I have heard testimonies of people where God showed them parts of hell.  There are different sections of torments.  Those who sinned sexually, their genitals were tortured by demons with knives and fire.  Masturbation is also the platform to build a secret fantasy world, which will make you an enemy of God and rob you of your eternal life.

 

Satan needs your permission to rob you.  How does he do it?  Let’s read Job 31:  “Or if I have longed for another man’s wife, 10 then may I die, and may my wife be in another man’s home and someone else become her husband. 11 For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished. 12 It is a devastating fire that destroys to hell and would root out all I have planted.”  

Job 31:9-12

Ask yourself what are you going to lose when you practice masturbation and sexual fantasies?

You put yourself up as a target for Satan to rob you legally of your hard work, valuable assets.  Are you willing to let the enemy steal from you and take your soul in bondage in return for minutes of vain pleasure?  

“I CAN’T WALK IN VICTORY”

You may be one of the many people out there that truly loves the Lord and desire to please Him in your walk with Him, but can’t break free from this “bad habit.” “ So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.”   Romans 8:6-8 | Living Bible

 There is no way that you will be able to overcome it with your own strength!  When you do try this “religious route” and you do struggle, then Satan is ready to condemn and haunt you!  This vicious cycle of failure causes two things:  the feeling of shame, unworthiness and failure discourages you to keep on fighting.  “That is my weakness and I need to accept and live with it.”  Secondly, it makes you shrink back from God and separation occurs that makes you feel more miserable and distant from God.  At this point your old nature comes in with justification; “everybody battles with the same problem.  Are there really men who do walk in victory?”  “I can’t help that God made us with sexual hormones.”

“HOW TO WALK IN VICTORY”

Jesus knew that we all will fail the test, that is why He came to write and pass it for us all.

When Jesus Christ walked on earth, He had the same human body as we had with it’s limitations.  He also had the Holy Spirit that carried his body in weakness and gave Him victory over the flesh and sin.  So Jesus is the perfect High Priest who has a great compassion and intercedes for us in heaven at the Father.

When you begin to meditate that your body does not belong to yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to grow that conviction, you will give Him access to help you fight that sexual temptation.

The good news is that Jesus made a way to overcome it.  He does not condemn you, only sin.  As you open your heart, repent and invite Him, His Holy Spirit will come and set you free.  

”There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”  Romans 8:1,2  NKJV

“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day,[c] says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”[d]17 Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”[e]18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.” Hebrews 10: 16-18 | Living Bible

A Call to Persevere  

19 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[f] we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death,[g] Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Hebrews 10: 19-22 | Living Bible

PRACTICAL STEPS TO OVERCOME TEMPTATION

God gives grace to those who struggle and keep repenting and keep standing up, no matter how many times you fall.  “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”  Proverbs 24:16 | NIV.  Now let us see how you can prepare yourself for the next temptation.

• Protect your eyes

Guard your eyes, the gateway to your heart and where sin breeds.  The more you watch sensual media material the more you are feeding your soul / lower nature with “wrong food” that will overpower your innerman  with wrong temptations.  ”Above all else, guard your affections. For they influence everything else in your life. 24 Spurn the careless kiss of a prostitute.[b] Stay far from her.

This is what you literally must apply when you are surfing on the internet! 

 25 Look straight ahead; don’t even turn your head to look. 26 Watch your step. Stick to the path and be safe. 27 Don’t sidetrack; pull back your foot from danger.”  Proverbs 4:23-27 | Living Bible

• Run from evil

Stay away from wrong places, books and sites on the internet.  Some websites have strong satanic powers that enter your soul when you gaze at wrong pictures.  “Run from anything that gives you the evil thoughts that young men often have, but stay close to anything that makes you want to do right. Have faith and love, and enjoy the companionship of those who love the Lord and have pure hearts.”  

2 Timothy 2:6  | Living Bible

Strongholds are formed in your inner man without realizing it at first. You walk away from your computer not seeing the “demonic thin steel line” that is hooked into your heart and mind.  On your forehead is a “lust” sticker for the spiritual world to see and react.  Now all lust demons in other people / animals will be drawn to you, when they  see your “new logo.” 

•  Spend time with the Word of God

 A living Spirit filled relationship with Jesus Christ is the real answer to freedom.  You must learn the scriptures by heart. Write them down, memorize them.  This Seed will grow and rise up in your heart with strong conviction when the enemy comes against you.  Today the majority of church members are too lazy to spend decent time with the Word!  Internet, TV and living are the first priority.  They have a form of godliness but no power to resist sin.  You must decide where you want to spend eternity. Do yourself a favor and read all the scriptures regarding hell and let it form a vivid picture in your spirit. Listen to testimonies of people who saw hell (Youtube, let the Holy Spirit confirm which are authentic). Now when the spirit of lust wants to lure you away to sin, see how you burn eternity in hell’s fire!!  Ask yourself, “is it worth it?”  Because the majority do not want to talk about this topic, does not justify that this sin is acceptable!  

• Captive every thought

Scan every thought that enters your mind  like an antivirus program.

 “For the weapons of our warfare are not [a]carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”  2 Corinthians 10: 4-6 | NKJV

When you identify malicious thoughts, take it captive verbally so that your own mind can hear it.  Say: “In the name of Jesus, I bind the spirit of lust and throw out this filthy image that came into my mind.” Now quote / read and pray Bible scriptures audibly like: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8 | Living Bible

“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 

• Follow Jesus’ advice

You may think I am over sensitive or amplifying the seriousness of this topic.  Well, I think Jesus was serious when he said the following:  “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.” Luke 13:24  | Living Bible

It is crucial to avoid anything that can give you lustful thoughts.  It is good to have a trusted friend with whom you can repent.

• Make a willful decision

Now keep what you have just read in your heart, ponder about it.  Before temptation comes knocking at your door, make a willful decision how you want and are going to react.  Say it out loud as a confession.  Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you when the next test comes.  The outcome of  temptation is usually what preparation was done beforehand.  As mentioned, watching seductive movies all day will give you eventually zero resistance against sexual sin. Your subconscious is polluted, these images do not vanish until it is repented and washed by the Blood of Jesus Christ.   

 

A disciplined lifestyle, wholesome fear and a loving personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit will keep you from deliberate sin. The Gracious Loving Heavenly Father is inviting you today to let go of your slave mentality and accept His true love for you. Do yourself a favor and see yourself pure because you want to be clean and ready on the day of His visitation to collect His bride.  “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord”. 

I want to encourage you dear friend, to stay strong, stay pure because you love Jesus Christ.  Encourage your friends to do likewise. If  you die from yourself to this world,  will gain eternal life!  It will be worth every effort! 

 

Written by 

Barend Liebenberg

bjlieben@gmail.com  |  July 2022

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