There are many challenges in life that we go through to inherit the kingdom of God.
One challenge is most on the minds and is a struggle in day to day life.
I have personally dealt with this challenge and for many years it has defeated me.
It is pornography.
Pornography can come in many forms.
It is also possible for it to be defeated.
When you are facing this challenge, you should never have to face it alone.
This goes along with any major challenge in life; this cannot be beat on your own.
In this sermon, I will show you how pornography is defined and how to defeat it from a
Biblical standpoint.
The Bible clearly states that it is against pornography.
Another word for pornography is Adultery.
It is in one of the 10 Commandments.
It says in Exodus chapter 20:14 "Do not commit adultery".
This is very bold and to the point.
In Proverbs 6:32 it says "A man who commits adultery has no sense;" and, "whoever
that is destroys himself".
This commandment applies to women too.
In Ezekiel 16:38 it says "I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit
adultery and who shed blood; I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and
jealous anger".
In Mathew the Bible repeats itself again.
Usually if the Bible constantly repeats itself over and over again with the same thing, it
is quite important.
Adultery is mentioned several times in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
There are examples in the Bible where there have been people who have given into
the temptation of pornography.
David is the most popular story in the Bible.
He gave into pornography when he saw and later met Bathsheba in 2 Samuel, 11.
This is a story that he should have been in the front lines and off to war.
Sometimes when we give into sin we are doing something that we should not be doing.
I am sure for some of you this is where pornography started; when you are bored and you are looking
for something to pass the time.
Pornography can have many sources.
Boredom was the source for King David.
Eventually he overcame this problem but it did of course have its consequences.
He overcame his trouble when he accepted help from the prophet Nathan.
Samson was another person that gave into pornography.
He did this in Judges Chapter 14 and again in Chapter 16.
He gave into it by stimulation and constantly wanting to try things that are not from God.
Samson often enjoyed it when he gave into the temptation at first.
Samson was supposed to keep a strict discipline and diet to be blessed with his great strength
to defeat the Philistines.
They were people that were against Israel and what it stood for.
Pornography entered Samson because he wanted to try to things that he was not allowed to.
There are many people that have tried things they know is not right.
There are other examples in Judges 14 but I am focusing on pornography.
Eventually, the pornography cost Samson his life because he never submitted that he had
a problem until it was too late to.
He wound up isolating himself and trying to hide his problem instead of
seeking help to overcome it.
There were many instances where Samson could have gone to seek help.
He would have received the help he needed but did not.
Pornography can be a powerful addiction that can consume many people.
It has the power to destroy marriages and many other relationships in that matter.
There is also a multi-billion dollar industry built on this very concept.
In order to have the tools to combat this area of life, first you need to be able to
detect what pornography is.
Most people have a line of what pornography is and what it is not.
I would be included in these people.
The Bible does define it quite well in Mathew 5:28 by when it says "But I tell you that
anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery
with her in his heart."
When you are going through a struggle like this; it is important when a thought of looking
at a woman lustfully enters your mind, bring it to God.
God has given you the power to take that thought captive so it does not go any further.
An example can come if you are watching television.
A thought can enter a mind that I would love to kiss that person.
It could also mean that you want to do sexual stuff to her.
People that are in this mindset
have their own thoughts
of what they might do to that person.
It is simple to see where pornography gets its roots from.
There are many people thinking it is no big deal nothing bad can happen out of this.
I am not hurting anyone by committing this act and I get to see a little bit of pleasure
from the stimulation.
That is what this industry is based upon.
It says in the Bible where people went that far.
In 2 Peter 2:14 it says "With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they
seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!"
It says here that people whom you truly cared about you will no longer do so.
Greed will take over you and you will be looking for the next time until you can do it again.
In Revelation 2:22 it says "So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make
those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways."
This Bible verse shows that
not only you are suffering
but the other people are suffering as well.
As you can see it is not just you suffering.
Now that it is clear what pornography is, we need to learn how to beat the addiction.
It is not easy to beat.
Coming from personal experience it is one of the hardest things spiritually that I had
to overcome.
I have struggled with it for over 15 years in my life.
One of the worst things you can try to do is defeat this epidemic on your own.
There are many people that try and beat this on their own because they are ashamed of the
person they have become because of their pornography addiction.
When you are trying to beat it on your own there will be times that you will be riding
high and times you will be riding low because you have given into the very thing
that you detest.
You do not have to be ashamed when you are addicted to it.
It will be easier for you when you ask for help.
When you are at your low point, God will be at his strong point.
Proof of this can be found in Romans 8:26 where it says "In the same way, the Spirit
helps us in our weakness.
We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through
wordless groans."
This is proof that God is there to help us through it.
The most important thing you can do is ask a friend for help.
This must be a person you trust and will not honor you any less because of it.
Proof of this can be found in Galatians 6:1 where it says "Brothers and sisters if someone
is caught in sin, he who is spiritual must restore him gently.
Be careful though or you might be caught in sin."
It shows that a person can come to a person who is spiritual to help combat the struggle.
In that verse it also gives warning to the person helping to be careful as well.
In life we are not meant to do anything alone.
God knew of this.
In Genesis Chapter 2:18 where it says
"The LORD God said, "It is not good for man to be alone.
I will make a suitable helper for him."
That is when God created Eve.
We are not meant to struggle with life alone.
We can trust God to provide us with a suitable helper to help us out with the pornography
struggles that we face.
When I brought the struggle to a friend, he gave me a concrete way to beat the addiction.
I have always had compassion for other people.
The friend showed me instead of looking at a woman from the outside, look deeper.
Look at them on the inside.
See how much you care for them.
Women, who want you to look at them just from the outside, either have their own issues
or they are not put there by choice.
After seeing this perspective, it was easy to defeat the addiction.
I know there were some struggles but when you are learning something new
there always will be.
Remember when you were learning to walk, there were times where you struggled at first but
it got easier.
In this case pornography got easier as long as I kept people who helped me
informed of everything.
The Bible goes against isolation as well.
In Proverbs 18:1 it says "An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all
sound judgment starts quarrels."
Getting help, I was able to beat the pornography addiction.
There are many people who say I can just beat this on my own working exclusively with God.
With that there is no accountability.
When I have tried to beat this on my own strength I was extremely unsuccessful.
There was some times where I thought I had it beat, but the feeling was only temporary.
I fell back into the trap again.
It was not until I had someone show me how to beat it that I did.
If we look at our case studies from earlier David was not afraid to humble himself
and seek help from God to overcome the addiction he had.
He married the person he was addicted to.
David was able to put God first and realize his mistake.
He worked with the prophet Nathan to help him overcome the addiction that he had.
David was not afraid to hold himself accountable and that is why he was a great King in Israel.
Samson was a person that rejected the help from people who held him accountable.
He had some high points and he had some low points in his addiction.
He was on top of the world when he was defeating many armies.
When he was low the women were able to bind him by his lust.
Eventually the addiction became so much that he was delivered into his enemies.
God was attempting to humble Samson many times before the event.
In Judges 16, he was captured by his enemies.
In your life right now your enemy is Satan.
The enemy is those who stand up against what God has called you to do.
All you really need to do is humble yourself and ask for help.
Finally there is one other thing I have learned since beating the addiction.
God will reward you for overcoming the challenge.
For me God has given a wife.
One that is extremely devoted to me.
The reward God gave King David was a son named Solomon.
This goes with every challenge in life.
God will give you significant gifts, when you overcome challenges.
Pornography is no different.
Now that you have the knowledge I hope that you can beat this addiction.
If you feel for any reason people will scold you, they will not be considered a true friend.
Remember, that you are not alone in this addiction.
There other troubles that can be beat by following this step as well.
This applies to anyone.
And I would like to thank you for viewing my video.