LUST

LUST

 

Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.

Proverbs 12:20 (KJV), emphasis added

 

And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. Numbers 11:34 (KJV)

 

God has helped me to place my faith in the future that HE will give me. The Bible says that if you delight yourself in the Law of the Lord that He will give desires of your heart, yet the same Bible tells us not to follow the desires of our heart. I believe that my desires of a lovely wife, a family, a ministry, etc... will be given because those desires have been placed their by God, the thing is that I am not supposed to go looking for them, but instead to follow the Lord’s direction. A lovely wife will come if she is the Lord’s will, but if I go around searching for her I will have problems. Just look at   1 Corinthians 7:27 which says if you are unmarried do not look, or some translations say seek, a wife. God will provide all good things in His timing not mine. As James said,

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath  James 1:13-19 (KJV), emphasis added

 

        David’s son Solomon shared his fathers’ lust for women, and the Scriptures declare that Solomon’s wives led him astray in time. Solomon, the wisest man in the Bible, confesses to experimenting with wisdom and folly in his book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon didn’t seem too bright because of all the self-inflicted problems he had later in life, yet God used him to write the Proverbs, which would have saved poor Solomon from a lot of trouble if he had stayed focused on the Lord and taken his own advice….but the eyes!! the hair!!! the “beauty”!!!!…the lust—those thoughts took hold of him destroyed everything in his life. Be careful not to fall for the same thing. The place to start is to cry out to the Lord to remove your lustful heart which is linked to your lustful eye.

 

The Bible says these things about the heart:

·         But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies Matthew 15:18-19 (KJV)

 

·          And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5 (KJV)

 

·         Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. 25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. Proverbs 4:23-27 (KJV)

 

     The list of verses goes on. The heart is mentioned 1330 times in the Bible (based on the results from www.biblos.com). Why do so many people “follow their heart,” the answer is simple: they do not have Christ as the Lord of their life, and without the Holy Spirit’s direction and discernment they are bound to wind up in a mess.

 

     Be careful Christians, the false perspective on dating  and relationships that is fueled by a lustful heart can literally destroy your life, just like it nearly did Kind David’s, and for quite a while did lead Wise King Solomon astray. If only Solomon would have headed this Scripture which he himself wrote: “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment” (Ecclesiastes 11:9, KJV).

 

The Wink (The Eyes)

    The eyes play a tremendous role in lust. Following are some of the Scriptures illustrations of the lust of the eyes:

Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. Psalms 35:19 (KJV)

 

Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, 13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? Job 15:12-13 (KJV)

 

I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? Job 31:1 (KJV)

 

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known. 10 He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall. Proverbs 10:9-10 (KJV)

 

He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. 15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. 16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Proverbs 6:13-19 (KJV)

 

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John 2:15-16 (KJV)

 

Do not Lust after her Beauty

Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. 26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Proverbs 6:25-26 (KJV)

   In context, this passage (Proverbs 6) has a lot to say about the prostitute. Even though this is wisdom when you’re around a sexually appealing prostitute, I believe that we can apply this in a much greater sense. I think that men of Christ should refuse to even think about the figure of a woman that he is not married to. Why? Because if we set up a wall to protect us, then we will be more likely to train ourselves to look away when the “real thing” comes around. Do not lust in your heart because of her eyes or form.

  Here’s another point: if you think about what you are going to say for somebody for hours upon hours, your thoughts often get mixed up, right? If you fantasize someone in your heart, you view them a different way when you’re around them—as if the things that you thought of have actually happened.

 Remember the Spirit of the Law

     In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus raised the letter of the Law of God to the Spirit of the Law of God. What this means is that Jesus did not just say that a particular action such as adultery or murder was sin, but that the motive of one’s heart determines whether one has sinned. For example, hate is the same as murder and lust is the same as adultery. When I first saw this, I mean really saw this, it was like a smack in the face. How often I have heard (and even asked myself at times) how far can I go with so and so in a romantic relationship before I cross God’s line and sin? The answer: it really is not a matter of when you commit a physical act that begins a spiral of sin, but when your heart first begins to have the wrong motive.

 

Forgive and Forget, but HOW?

    Do you truly live by forgiving and forgetting? God does. If you ask for forgiveness, He forgives; however, you don’t always forget.  For example, David was forgiven by God for adultery and murder, but do you think he ever forgot his sin? I know that God has forgiven me of my past lustful pursuits of young women, yet, I still know what I have done. I do not live in regret any more day to day, though, praise be to God’s grace! But, there are still times when friends or family will bring up my past and it pricks my heart with a renewed mixture of guilt for my error and determination not to ever go back to my old life.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (KJV)

 

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7 (KJV)

 

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalms 51:17 (KJV)

 

But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. 27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. 28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

1 Kings 21:25-29 (KJV)

 

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1-2 (KJV)

 

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.  2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (KJV)