Leonard's Enroute

Let's face it. Its tough.

We live in a sex-crazed world, where thousands of sexually charged images invade our minds from billboards, to busAds, TV mobiles, to websites, to magazines and movies. To be honest, its difficult to watch TV, flip through Eight Days, surf the internet or walk down Orchard Road and not have one sexual thought cross my mind.

Admittedly, one of my most difficult struggles of my christian walk is fighting lust. I know, I know, I'm a youth leader in church blah blah blah and I should be better than that but the truth of the matter is...its a struggle. There are days where going out onto the safe streets of Singapore is like entering a battlezone, with visual bullets whizzing all around me, wrestling for victory over my mind.

I don't think one can fully and utterly defeat sexual sin, even if you do capture the objective (our minds and bodies) it still takes heavy defenses to keep it captured for Christ.

Over the next few entries, I want to suggest a couple of Strategies and Weaponary for our War against sexual sins. A Battle is never won on the use of one single weapon or tactic. Which is why we have so many different facets in the SAF - Armour, Guards, Navy, Arti, Commandos etc.

My hope is that by having these arsenals in our spiritual SBOs and a bit more transparency with each other regarding this very struggle (especially as guys), we can better resist the devil and live the kind of Life God has destined for us to live.


THE ARSENAL


WEAPON 1.
Recognize that sexuality is a good gift from God.

Genesis 2:24-25
For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.




WEAPON 2.
Recognize that Biblical prohibitions are intended to protect something precious not deny something pleasant.

1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.




WEAPON 3.
Believe God is for you.

Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?




WEAPON 4.
Ponder the eternal danger of lust.

Matthew 5:27-29
I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.




WEAPON 5.
Think often that God has given you even now many good things.

Genesis 39:7-9
And it came about after these events that his master's wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?"




WEAPON 6.
Preach to yourself that there is more joy in God's presence than in sin. Transpose desire.

Say you are feeling the temptation coming on. You feel the strong urge. Instead of trying to deny it, acknowledge it. Say to God, "God, I'm feeling a very strong urge and sexual desire right now. I pray that you will help me have a desire for You that is as strong or stronger than what I am feeling now.

Thats tranposing. Acknowledging the desire and turning in upwards towards God.

Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fulness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:11



WEAPON 7.
Realize that lust disables and weakens our capacity for higher spiritual joys with God.

The desire for other things enters in and chokes the word and it becomes unfruitful. Mark 4:19

WEAPON 8.
Don't ask, What's wrong with it? Ask: Does it maximize my experience of the power of Christ, my enjoyment of his fellowship, my perception of his beauty, my reflection of his glory?

Philippians 3:12
Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.



Next Update -
we uncover more Weapons of Mass Destruction to fight the War against sexual sins.


With you in the Fight,
Leonard