FREEDOM FROM THE SLAVERY OF SEXUAL SIN
WHO IS A REAL WOMAN?
October 17, 2013HEALING EMOTIONAL WOUNDS
October 24, 2013GCC Message 6TH Oct, 2013
Following up from last week. We all realized that our nation and the church in Uganda is under attack. We realized that although God made sex to be a gift to his people under the protection of the marriage union, many of us have misused this gift and very many people are entangled and are unable to help themselves. But we also have many people who have been victims of those who have failed to control their sexual passions.
Today we are therefore dealing with how to overcome in this war and especially those who find themselves having failed and ended in sin.
We have 4 kinds of people in this war.
1. Those who have never accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.( they are encircled but they may not know and they cannot help themselves)
2. Those that know the Lord but are in constant battle with the enemy. ( this is where most of us are)
3. Those that have given in and are either in habitual sin or in bondage to sin.
4. And those that are victims of those in bondage. ( people that have been abused sexually)
I. WHY DO PEOPLE GET SO DEEPLY ENSLAVED?
James 1:
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
1. EXPOSING OURSELVES & OUR MINDS GET CAPTIVATED
“14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”
— Wrong company
— The internet and pornography
— Blue movies
— Sensational music
— Witchcraft ( most witchcraft has got sexual issues)
— Cultural/tribal rituals.
Prov 23:7
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
2. TEMPTATION COMES
“he is dragged away and enticed.”
Temptation comes to every man and temptation is not sin.
Yielding to temptation is sin. You may not stop a fly from landing on your head but you can stop it from laying eggs in your hair.
3. IT LEADS TO SIN
“15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;”
4. CONTINUAL SIN LEADS TO HABITUAL SIN
“when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. ”
Understanding Habit Formation
Habit formation is the process by which new behaviors become automatic. If you instinctively reach for a cigarette the moment you wake up in the morning, you have a habit…..Old habits are hard to break and new habits are hard to form. That’s because the behavioral patterns we repeat most often are literally etched in our neural pathways. The good news is that through repetition, it’s possible to form new habits.
Romans 6: 19
Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
5. HABITUAL SIN LEADS TO BONDAGE/ addictions
“when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. ”
Definition of ADDICT
· To cause (a person) to become physiologically dependent upon a substance
· A person with a strong and habitual liking for something
· A person who regularly uses drugs especially illegally
Addictions and bondages come with demonic connections. Last week we talked about becoming one with another person, if this person is a non-believer, your bond with him/her becomes a bridge. If he is involved in witchcraft, the demonic influence on him crosses over to you.
Addicted people are slaves. Slaves have surrendered their will to the enemy. They may want to stop but cannot
II. HOW DO WE GET OUT ENSLAVEMENT?
What does God say?
ROMANS 8: 15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.* Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”*
1. CLOSE THE DOORWAYS.
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Break relationships that lead you to sin.
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Avoid places/things that take you to the places of sin.
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Jesus said if your hand leads to sin cut it off.
WHAT IS THAT THING YOU NEED TO BREAK FROM?
2. REPENTANCE/ forgiveness
1 John 1:
8 If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. NLT
v Acknowledge your weakness.
(Do not live in denial. Fear for what will others say leads to denial. This is your life, face it.)
v Confess your sin/ some of the sexual sins require getting a trusted person to confess it has power to break it.
James 5:
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results NLT
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results NLT
Confessing to a trusted friend brings accountability into this situation.
v GIVE AND RECEIVE FORGIVENESS
Forgiveness has two parts to it.
1. Those whose current situation was caused by an abusive relationship (rape, sexual abuse, molested by a person you trusted). Open to someone about it. Forgive the person and let go!
2. The second part to this is when you have repented but feel that you sinned so much that God cannot forgive you. Learn to forgive yourself.
v Repent your sin:
What is repentance?
§ Repentance is the act of changing one’s mind. Webster defines the word as “to feel sorry for or reproachful for what one has done or has not done”. Webster also gives the definition as to feel such regret and dissatisfaction over some past action or intention as to change one’s mind about it or to change one’s way.
§ Repentance requires the right attitude towards sin.
§ This is Godly sorrow.
§ Repentance is the right attitude toward God, it is a return to God. ( GRACE)
§ Repentance is not gloomy despair. (Judas)
§ Repentance must be followed by works proving that change.
§ Repentance is not quitting a sin for a season, it is totally turning from that act of sin.
§ It is a complete one hundred-eighty degree turn.
§ Repentance is not concealing sin. David tried to conceal his sin, but God exposed it.
3. BREAK ALL ATTACHMENTS
Photos, rings, gifts, disconnect yourself from that person that has led you into sin. Stop meeting him/her, remove his/her telephone number from your phone. Do not to go their house, do not receive gifts from them. CUT YOURSELF OFF.
If it is pornography, get software that protects you.
4. RENEWING YOUR MIND.
The mind works like a cassette tape, like the hard drive of a computer or like the flash drive we use to store data.
Data comes to us through the 5 senses and what we receive usually affects how we behave, it affects our feelings, our beliefs and affects our attitudes.
Before we accepted Jesus we stored lots of things in our minds. The films we saw , the cultural behaviors we got, the superstition we got. But also if we have been involved in some sinful sexual behaviors the things we exposed our selves to caused us to sin against our God. When we repent God forgives us but our memory has in storage some of the things that led to such behaviors.
In order to break the habits we then need to clean our minds.
The WORD of God is the best solution to this.
Matt 12:
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
Romans 12:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The WORD has got the power to bring cleansing to our dirty souls. But it cleans us, it replaces our inner souls with God’s words.
PHIL 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.
5. Prayer and fasting.
In prayer we access God’s power that helps us to brake these bad habits.
Mark 9:
28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
6. SEEK HELP FOR COUNSELING/DELIVERANCE
