Mentoring Men for the Master

WONDERFUL GOOD NEWS TO EVERY REAL MAN:

WONDERFUL GOOD NEWS TO EVERY REAL MAN:

“Every Man’s Battle for Sexual Purity is Winnable”

Every “Real, Real” man faces the battle to keep sexually pure, but Praise the Lord, “Every Man’s Battle is WINNABLE.”  Read on, please.

There is no greater enemy to true manhood than that of the perversion of the male’s sexual capacities.  This has been true always, but more than ever before because sexual sins of various expression threaten men and are destroying marriages -from movies and television, printed media, advertisements and the internet men are constantly faced with the assault of sensual images and temptations.  Prior to the advent of television (1950), sexual sins were primarily physical and you had to go beyond your home to engage in it, but porn is now a giant issue.  Now it’s on every computer, and you get to it whether you want to or not.[1]

“Consider these shocking statistics about internet pornography:

  • 12 % of the websites on the Internet are pornographic.
  • 42.7% of Internet users view porn.
  • 70% of men aged 18-24 visit porn sites in a typical month.
  • 25% of all search engines requests are pornography related (that’s 68 million a day).
  • 34% of Internet users have experienced unwanted exposure to porn either through pop-up ads misdirected links or emails.
  • 53% of Promise Keeper men viewed porn in the last week.
  • 47% of Christians say porn is major problem in the home.

If you think you or your husband can’t fall prey to porn, think again.  It really could happen to anyone.”[2]

The devil would have you believe that looking and lusting mentally is no great sin.  But what did Jesus say?  According to Jesus, lusting for sex is the same as doing it physically.  Matthew 5:27-28, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Sexual immorality is not the unpardonable sin, but the Apostle Paul denounces it as the most destructive sin to our bodies.

“…Run from sexual sin.  No other sin affects the body as this one does.  When you sin this sin, it is against your own body.  Haven’t you yet learned that your body is the home of the Holy Spirit God gave you, and that He lives within you?  For God has bough you with a great price, so use every part of your body to give glory to God, because He owns you.” (1 Cor. 6:18-20).

Certainly if any man on this earth would “conform to the image of Christ” and be faithfully devoted to his wife, children and grandchildren, as set forth in the 8th “I”, he must take every precaution to be sexually pure, even to run from it, and insulate himself from every form of sexual immorality, physically and pornographically.

22 Ways to Stay Sexually Pure:

 

  1. Be sure you are born again, possess a new nature, and have the power of the Holy Spirit on the inside of you, enabling you to overcome sexual lust (Gal. 5:16)
  2. Be convinced that all sex outside of marriage is exceedingly sinful in the sight of God and should not be tolerated at all. (Heb. 13:4)
  3. Take radical action to prevent mental adultery, which is plain adultery according to Jesus (Matthew 5:28; 2 Cor. 10:5-6).
  4. Renew your mind by continually internalizing the Word of God (Romans 12:1-2; Psalm 119:11).
  5. Be absolutely committed to one woman or one man for life.  (Gen. 2:24-25)
  6. Make #5 a rule and never break it under any circumstances (Job 31:1)   
  7. Be careful to guard your eyes and mind.   (Matthew 5:27-28).
  8. Love your wife for who she is today – not when you married her or which you  have wanted her to become.  (1 Peter 3:7)
  9. Do not believe the devil’s lie –(Ephesians 4:27)
  10. Do not make plans to sneak around to enjoy evil.  “(Ephesians 5:3-5).
  11. Be cleansed from past sexual sins and then do not replay the tapes of past sexual sins   (Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 1:18; Phil. 3:13).
  12. Don’t Let the Devil Deceive You by The Deception of Gradualism. (James 4:7-8)
  13. Be Certain That You Can’t Get Away With Sexual Sin.    Read Hebrews 13:4; Prov. 6:32-33.
  14. Do not rationalize any sexual but know that all sexual sin is ultimately against a holy God.  (Gen. 39:9).
  15. Remember and never forget this fact.  Read Daniel 4:37.
  16. Know without a doubt, based upon the experience of millions, that sex cannot meet the deepest longings of your heart and soul.   (Ephesians 5:25; Psalm 118:18).
  17. Make yourself accountable to somebody, especially in the area of internet pornography. (1 Peter 4:10; 1 Thess. 2:8)
  18. Make friends and associate often with a couple with a strong marriage.  (1 Cor. 15:3)
  19. Be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to enjoy intimacy with your wife on all levels –  (1 Cor. 7:15)
  20. Please, please, please don’t kid yourself or be a fool and go to hell.  (Rev. 21:8). Galatians 5:21; 1 Cor. 6:9; Rev. 1:8.
  21. Be assured that because of God’s grace, and through your sacrificial obedience, your marriage can be a “little piece of heaven on earth,”  (Prov. 18:22)
  22. Finally, be encouraged by the example of your mentor.  Few people were more unprepared for marriage than myself.  My home did prepare me.  My church did not prepare me.  My pre-marriage counselors did not prepare me.  My church did not prepare me.  Duke University and Wake Forest University did not prepare me, even though I took  “Marriage and the Family” courses.  So to be brutally frank: The first two years of our marriage were rocky.  When asked if Doris and I had ever fussed, I replied, “I would not say we ever fussed, but we have had some intense moments of fellowship.”  But one day I saw that  BB was the chief problem in our marriage.  I repented and began to live to satisfy Doris not myself.  Now – 56 years later – we find ourselves still married and increasingly more happy as our anniversaries roll by.  If not  already, this can be your experience, too, provided you will die to self, live for Jesus, and the welfare of your spouse.  Will you?

Humor:

  1. On our 50th anniversary, I asked Doris if she would love me when I’m old and ugly and she replied, “Yes, I do, Bill.”
  2. On our 56th anniversary, I said to Doris, “Honey, I love you so much that I would like you to remarry me,” she replied, “ I’ll have to pray and think this first.”
  3. The Difference in love and marriage:  Love intoxicates you, marriage sobers you up.

My Present Status:

  1. I am Sexually Pure-  Yes _______No_______
  2. I am “off and on”- Yes______No_____
  3. I am struggling with _________in staying sexually pure.
  4. I will share with my table group my specific violation.  Yes_______No_______
  5. I am willing reveal to Thad and BB confidentially my problem so they can pray and help me win the battle.  Yes_______No________
  6. I admit that I am religious but have no relationship with Jesus by the new birth of the Holy Spirit.  Yes______No________
  7. I know that I am born again and have the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling me.  Yes______No_______

 

[1] Arlene Pellican, 31 Days to a Happy Husband, Harvest House Publishers: Eugene, Oregon, 2012,  p. 89.

[2] Ibid, Pellican, pp. 89-90.