The Seed Blog: Knowing Your Enemy, Part 5

We are in week FIVE of an in-depth study about Satan...His origin... And his most successful tactics used against us as disciples of Christ today!He strives to hurt an Unbeatable God... By hurting His Bride!Making her as miserable, ineffective & broken as possible!Thus far... We have looked closely at his attacks by way of...Guilt and worthlessness...Doubt in God's Character or Existence...Anger and unforgiveness...And how most of us have become so busy & distracted...That we have [...]

We are in week FIVE of an in-depth study about Satan...His origin... And his most successful tactics used against us as disciples of Christ today!
He strives to hurt an Unbeatable God... By hurting His Bride!Making her as miserable, ineffective & broken as possible!
Thus far... We have looked closely at his attacks by way of...Guilt and worthlessness...Doubt in God's Character or Existence...Anger and unforgiveness...And how most of us have become so busy & distracted...
That we have left the world to die and burn in war...One of the most powerful...
How an obsession with Acceptance from others... And our perceived Reputation amongst our peers... Dictates many of our lives!
There are many, many strategies of Satan...That could keep this Study going for months...But we will cover just this one last tactic of our enemy...Because... Of all the previous five we have covered thus far...It is one of the most powerful and far-reaching…Of all his deceptions!
 
Causing countless Christians to fall into sin and misery...Destroying homes and relationships by the thousands...And ruining one of the most wonderful gifts with which we have been blessed of God! That strategy... SEXUAL LUST!
 
We won't waste time quoting statistics…On how far reaching and detrimental…This sin has become in our society... It is all-too-apparent to every one of us! I especially don't want to JUST stand on a soapbox and scream...
"Lust is bad!  You'd better stifle your urges!" Actually… Scriptures are “blushingly clear” about sexual intimacy!
 
Instead... We are going to look at the purpose and heart…Of sexual desire...
Why it was Created by God in the first place...What makes it so amazingly special to God and us...And what the REAL CORE ISSUE becomes...When we lust after other people...Delve into pornography...Have sexual relationships outside of the context of marriage...We are living in a culture that is drenched in sexual temptation...And teaching us at every turn... A warped, worldly, selfish view of intimacy!
 
Most every person here is affected by this tactic of Satan...Many have fallen victim…In one way or another to his deceptions...Please remember... Whatever our failures...We are all sinners... Saved by the Most Priceless Gift conceivable...The Very Blood of Our God Himself...So accept that Awesome, Expensive Gift...And start fresh TODAY... In God's Way of Love! He is the God of Second Chances!
 
The World's View Of Sex...
 
Our world sees sex as the ultimate thrill ride...To be taken and given freely for our own pleasure...Or often traded in attempts for acceptance and love...
And to deny that experience in our culture... To withhold something "So Natural"...Is to be stoic, old-fashioned, restrictive and imprisoning...And to miss out on real joy in life!
 
Herein lies Satan's strategy... Because IN TRUTH...The reality played out all around us today...This mindset...Has cheapened the greatest gift God has Given us... Left it's victims… Unfulfilled… And constantly needing more...
Better... Different...Thus in actuality... Leaving it's victims broken… And enslaved in obsession/dissatisfaction...Rather than giving them freedom...
Stealing the intimacy... Worth... And trust of loved ones...Causing society to force itself…Into a certain appearance and attitude...To even seem appealing...Causing people to see the VALUE of another...Based solely upon how physically appealing they seem...And the pleasure and satisfaction…THEY can get out of another!
 
Making the world and everyone in it... Revolve around THEM! Tell me that many in this room...Do not see a difference in worth…Of a young, sexy, appealing person...And an old, or out of shape, or unattractive person... 
 
Covetousness Of Lust...
 
There are A COUPLE OF  THINGS we MUST realize…About Sexual desires and lust...That when understood from the heart...Will change your views completely...And give you a new and strong ability...To appreciate sex for what it was made to be...Rather than just try and resist…The cheap temptations of the world!
 
FIRST... SEXUAL ATTRACTION IS NOT SIN! Sexual attraction IS NATURAL... IS given by God Himself!
 
Listen to what makes sexual attraction into LUST!
 
Romans 7:7 (KJV)
7  ... for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
 
Exodus 20:17 (NKJV)
17  ...you shall not covet your neighbor's wife...
 
Matthew 5:27-28 (NKJV)
27  "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.
 
You are not wrong or sinful to notice someone is physically attractive...The SIN BEGINS when our hearts are selfishly bent...On ONLY what we want... With NO love and consideration of others...Of what THEY DESERVE... Of what they share and enjoy...Of coveting what is NOT mine to have... Because we feel...
  If it's good, I deserve it more than anyone else!
 
It is a complete disregard for the people around us...It is feeling no camaraderie or servitude towards anyone else...  It is no drive or desire to protect and bless the welfare of others...It is having no responsibility or allegiance to society or other people... It is a self-centered, self-pleasing attitude…Of an evil heart!
 
Even if you say it was done out of low self esteem or need for acceptance...
You have still placed your needs above God and care for others!
 
And BTW...There is NOTHING NATURAL about pornography...

ACTIONS: Perfect looks and performances / wrong attitudes / depraved actions / Any and every person-act wanted / No repercussions or commitment!  SETS: Unnatural wants and desires...
- Unreachable looks and performance...
- Focuses on nothing but self-gratification...
- Gives affection to countless others!  RESULT: Totally removes intimate, natural affection...
Focuses on YOU alone...
Sets unattainable goals for appearance and performance!  
Which have shaped our culture…
Ruined affection for one person…(Compare mate, not cherish)
Cultivated selfish sexual motives!
 
When the door of "entitlement"...To selfish, open, free sex is unlocked...
Our hearts are as far from the Heart of God as it can go!
 
Everyone is looked at…With your own interests and desires in mind... NOTHING ELSE! Who they belong to doesn't matter...Who it will destroy doesn't matter...The affections it will steal do not matter...Until we get to such a frenzy of not wanting to be denied anything...That even age and gender are not acceptable prohibitions...To make anything forbidden to me!
 
IT IS NOT A MATTER OF PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL DESIRE...IT IS THE MATTER OF POSSESSING A DARK, SELFISH, ENTITLED HEART!
 
The first step towards removing lust from your heart...Is to simply see other people through the Eyes and Love of the Spirit within you! To want others to experience the joy, trust and excitement of their own sexual intimacy and oneness...To see others as fellow brothers and sisters... Rather than competition... Or less deserving... Or objects of your desire! See them as children of God...Whom you are devoted to…Protecting and encouraging in their own lives!
 
Rather than stealing from, hurting... And deserving more than them!
You simply CANNOT LUST AND COVET after another...If you are walking in the Fruits of the Spirit!
 
Philippians 2:3-5 (NKJV)
3  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
 
1 Corinthians 10:24 (NKJV)
24  Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being.
 
1 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)
5  Love... does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
 
Encourage, pray for, and care about...The intimacy and lives of God's people around you...Sharing in HIS LOVE for them! IT IS A MUCH GREATER FULFILLMENT THAN LUST!
 
Covenant of Marriage!
 
Now... As powerful as this information has been...HERE... IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW ABOUT SEX AND LUST! Sexual intimacy was designed by God Himself...NOT... Just as a way of receiving pleasure selfishly...Although it was purposefully designed to be...One of the most pleasurable, spiritual, amazing experiences of life...BUT... As a way of giving yourself... Sharing yourself...In a complete unity...
 
Mark 10:6-9 (NKJV)
6  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.' 7  'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8  and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
 
With ONE another's soul... In the ultimate intimacy... That no one else can share! The Beauty... The Specialness... Is the exclusivity of giving yourself in total trust to only one person...It ONLY becomes larger than life... Overwhelmingly satisfying...When it is a physical reflection…Of the emotional, mental, spiritual, and relational... Total giving of oneself to another... LISTEN TO IT'S ULTIMATE PURPOSE...It literally is God's Design...For the Sealing of the Covenant of Marriage for two people!! It is a Covenantal Action that goes beyond the physical! It is that sacred and amazing!  God considers two people to become one flesh in His Eyes...
In this Covenant joining!!! From that moment...It is so binding and precious...
That God literally says you do not belong to yourself anymore from that moment...
 
1 Corinthians 7:4 (NLT)
4  The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.
 
You have completely given literal rights to yourself as an individual to another! You now share the most intimate, enjoyable, spiritual giving of yourselves with ONE CHOSEN PERSON for life! THAT... IS WHAT MAKES IT SO PHENOMENAL!
 
A life of sexual intimacy... Focused on ONE object of affection... Physically, mentally and emotionally... Grows the love, excitement, and bond between two people beyond understanding...But when that mental, emotional, physical and spiritual affection is given to another... It steals a part of you with it... Affection is divided... YOU PHYSICALLY... Leave a part of you with that person for years to come!
 
Doctor Everett Koop, Former U.S. Surgeon General...Made the following statement about this fact:
 
“When you have sex with someone, you are having sex with everyone they have had sex with for the last ten years, and everyone they and their partners have had sex with for the last ten years.” 
   C. Everett Koop, M.D., Former U.S. Surgeon General, Retrieved on March 31, 2022 from https://www.informedchoicesclinic.com/know-your-sexual-exposure/
 
The Department of Health & Human Resources breaks this eye opening fact down in an informational chart for emphasis: If you have had 7 sex partners... Each same number as you... 127...If you have had 12 sex partners... Each same number as you... 4095...When God says that we are becoming "one flesh" in unity...It is proven in every way... Physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually!

https://www.wvdhhr.org/fp/manual_forms.html
https://www.wvdhhr.org/fp/pressreleases/manual/medicalrecords/sexual_exposure_chart.pdf
 
YOU MENTALLY... Condition your mind to be attached and excited by something other than what is yours... Until your thoughts are programmed...
To want something else for satisfaction! THIS IS WHY many say they just don't get excited by their partner anymore! Because you have programmed yourself to need something else!
 
LASTLY... EMOTIONALLY...Each time you join with another person in such intimacy...Even have romantic or sexual thoughts about them...Your body produces a hormone called oxytocin...Called, "The happy hormone!"
 
This hormone enhances your emotional connection to the object of your focus at release...Producing increased trust, empathy, bonding, desire,
memories...And a connection of belonging...You are literally... Through chemical reactions... Helping to create an emotionally joining of yourself with that person!
 
- https://www.healthline.com/health/love-hormone#TOC_TITLE_HDR_1
 
You have given a part of yourself to them in a very REAL way! That is emotional intimacy which belongs to one person...This emotional intimacy eventually gets so tainted...So cheaply spread thin...That it becomes weak and broken...Until their is nothing left to give...
 
When attention, affection and intimate thoughts that are centered on ONE PARTNER... As God intended...The repeated mental programming of pleasure with ONE person...These repeated surges of emotionally charged oxytocin...The repeated sharing of physical intimacy with one sacred partner...
The repeated proving of your desire, trust and devotion to ONE SOUL!
 
Will exponentially build your desire and excitement…For THAT PERSON ALONE!  BOND YOU PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY...In a very real and awesome way!
 
The secret, exclusive world you build together...Through this relationship as God Designed...Will be the most desired, passionate and untouchable place you can go... That is something a "free-sex", cheap world can never equal!
 
THIS IS ALL TO GIVE US A SNEAK PREVUE...AN ELEMENTARY TASTE...OF THE ULTIMATE RELATIONSHIP...WE WILL HAVE WITH OUR
BRIDEGROOM...WHEN HE COMES TO TAKE US HOME!
 
THIS IS OUR TRAINING...IN PERFECT GIVING OF OURSELVES...IN PERFECT LOVE FOR ANOTHER...AND IN SHOWING THE WORLD... THE LOVE OF GOD!
 
Ephesians 5:31-32 (NKJV)
31  "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32  This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
 
Trust God's Plan to be AMAZING AND UNTOUCHABLE...Rather than old fashioned or restricting! Guard your heart...Find TRUE EXCITEMENT AND ONENESS...As God designed and intended
 
Show God's Real Love and Honor for others...By caring for and protecting THEIR Oneness...Treat your body as though it does belong to another... And not yourself! Guard it for them... In how you dress and act...Protect from becoming part of the hurtful thoughts and improper bonding...  You can cause in others!
 
Not in a fuddy-duddy, legalistic, old fashioned attitude...BUT IN A WORSHIPFUL, EXCITING, HONORING UNDERSTANDING...THAT YOU ARE PRODUCING THE MOST INTIMATELY POWERFUL RELATIONSHIP POSSIBLE!
 
THE PROOF IS ALL AROUND US...WILL YOU TRUST A BROKEN,
MISERABLE, SELF-DESTRUCTING WORLD?...OR THE ONE WHO CREATED YOU?
 
RESIST SATAN'S SCHEMES... TAKE BACK WHAT GOD GAVE TO US...LIVE RADICALLY, UNAPOLOGETICALLY, CONFIDENTLY... GOD'S WAY!
 
Proverbs 5:15-19 (NKJV)
15  Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. 16  Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? 17  Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. 18  Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. 19  As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love.