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A question for the older men here
Rob M:
So God gave men raging hormones, but if someone beautiful goes walking by us we are only to admire what's she wearing?? It's almost impossible to differentiate between physical attraction and lust.
dave:
Friend. If in your heart, as you walk, with Christ in you the hope of glory, and you do not find in your walk that you are offending yourself or Him, then you don't have a problem.
But should the Spirit, that guided Him, sound a voice, a noise, in you that it is a weakness, then call on Him, JESUS... and the Devil will quit each and every time. The Devil must cease, there is no choice, there is no other option.
Whatever offence that the Devil should spring on you that detours your walk, the same healing, curing, mending will take place. When a believer yields and calls on HIM, the Lord WILL remove whatever stumbling block the Adversary sets before you. I'm 67 and His words to me when I bring any of my failings to Him in prayer, are two simple words, "I KNOW." And I cry and feel re-assured, refreshed, and if you will, re-charged!
HE is so GOOD!
G. Driggs:
--- Quote from: Arion on September 24, 2012, 07:46:47 AM ---Paul may indeed be the worst sinner from God's perspective...that I do not know. However, I believe that each and every one of us need to see ourselves as the 'worst sinner' who has ever walked the earth. It is part of the process of our house of sand falling. When I consider the goodness of God towards me, all the opportunities he has given me and how often I have failed him it's hard for me not to see myself as the worst sinner who has ever drawn breath.
I have not physically murdered people like Saul did before his conversion but yet I have murdered them in my heart. I have never committed the sin of physical rape but I have done so in my heart. The new testament requirements so far exceed the old as the heavens are above the earth. Under the law one could get away with all the private sins of the heart as only outward obedience was required. Under the new testament if we even look at a woman to lust after her we've already committed adultery against her in our hearts. So we've participated in our hearts with some of the most foul sins imaginable.
I can't help but to keep thinking about the audio that Ray did in Nashville 2005 called 'guilty of all'. If anyone hasn't listened to it recently or has never listened to it I highly suggest it. It helps us to see ourselves as we really are.
http://bible-truths.com/audio/N05%20Guilty_of_ALL.mp3
--- End quote ---
You may be right about that. I've often thought of myself as the worst sinner ever, but I dont think that is the point. For sure Im no better than whoever the worst sinner in the world may be, cause I would do the same things if in their shoes. My main point was God's patients toward us and that no one is too sinful that He cannot save. No one is so sinful that He would get tired of them and give up.
Personally Im trying to think positive. I've beaten myself up too much and too long. Time to quit dwelling in the past and look ahead. There will prolly always be sin in my life but God willing it will get less and less till it no longer has dominion over me. I think one way to do that is to think positive, think of good things. Only because God caused me to.
Here a couple places Ray talked about Paul being the worst sinner ever and why.
http://www.bible-truths.com/lake3.html
Most people believe that when Paul said he was the "chief of sinners" he was just blowing hot air--trying to play super humble or something. That he was so spiritual that he equated persecution of the church with being the grossest sin of all time. Not so. God’s Holy Spirit did not inspire Paul to "blow hot air" to make himself look artificially humble! Paul (Saul before his conversion) really was THE WORST SINNER THAT HAS EVER LIVED IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD! (Including Hitler!)
There is a very important reason for understanding how gross a sinner Paul really was. There is a paramount reason why you will NEVER be able to out-sin Paul. NO ONE has ever been able to out-sin Paul. Men like Hitler and Hussein may even come close, but no one will ever hold that infamous distinction of being the "chief, preeminent, foremost sinner of all time" but the apostle Paul. Jesus Christ had to fill that position two thousand years ago for our understanding of upon whom the ends of the ages are come! Here’s the proof:
The phrase "beyond measure" in the KJV (Gal. 1:13) is translated from the Greek word hyperbole and has two primary usages:
"TRANSCENDENT" as found in Scriptures such as II Cor. 4:17
"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more EXCEEDING AND ETERNAL [eonian] WEIGHT of glory."
The Greek translated "exceeding" is huperbole, and means TRANSCENDENT. Transcendent describes something that is highest, incomparable, consummate, matchless, preeminent, sublime, perfect, unequaled, unparalleled, and unrivaled! In other words the highest possible degree. Nothing is higher than that which is huperbole -- TRANSCENDENT!
"INORDINATE" as we read in Gal. 1:13,
"For you hear of my behavior once, in Judaism, that I INORDINATELY persecuted the ecclesia [church] of God and ravaged it." (Concordant Literal New Testament).
Inordinate describes something that is excessive, exorbitant, extravagant, unreasonable, and too much. Now here’s the kicker: "Inordinately" is translated from the SAME GREEK WORD huperbole which is also translated "transcendently"! (For more details on this see my paper entitled Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh Identified).
Here then is the Biblical truth of this matter. To the degree that "transcendently" describes the HEIGHT of God’s goodness and glory, so likewise does the word "inordinately" describe the HEIGHT of evil that Paul perpetrated on the Church of God. God’s transcendent (huperbole) goodness and glory are UNPARALLELED! Likewise, Paul’s inordinate (huperbole) slaughter (murders) and threatenings are also, UNPARALLELED! God’s Word does not say in vain that Paul was the CHIEF, FOREMOST, PREEMINENT (very, very WORST) of ALL SINNERS WHO HAVE EVER LIVED! He really WAS.
Jesus Christ chose Paul, the WORST, CHIEF, FOREMOST, PREEMINENT SINNER THAT EVER LIVED (huperbole), to be put on PUBLIC DISPLAY for the whole world to see Jesus Christ demonstrating ALL HIS PATIENCE, for a "PATTERN" that will be repeated over, and over, and over again billions and billions of times for all those that Christ will likewise bring to repentance at any second He so desires!!!
-------
Once again I encourage you Alex not to give up hope. These things take time and I doubt He is finished with you yet. Think of all the other ways He may have changed your life, and keep hoping and praying He will continue to do so.
cjwood:
it came down to a matter of the heart for me. the Spirit of God resides in the heart of the believer. not the physical heart. the mind of the heart. and my heart's mind felt darkness. for me, it was sin. i know because my heart began to convict me. alot. put on the mind of Christ...the mind of His heart.
but, it's all done in layers alex. peeling away in increments.
claudia
DougE6:
A lot of thoughtful and deeply personal revealings and advice. I found much of it inspiring.
So I will give a little two cents, just to add to the mix. I have told God many times(in a desperate sort of way, not like I told Him, that if the next life judgments had a video recording of my sins in this area I would be too ashamed of myself to stand it. I was one that had a high sexual appetite and I why did I waste so much time and energy in masturbation and porn and such.
I told God with all contriteness and sincerity and pleading I did not want to stand before Him without victory over this, and my flesh. I am/was/will be hopefully to the end;...desperately hungry for ever increasing righteousness. Powerless I was and am to the flesh. No one needs to convince me of the power of the flesh.
No one needs to convince me that God wanted me to deeply learn of my human weakness and also to learn to hate hate! the sin, the weakness, the flesh in me. Ray has spoken of this in those emails published and quoted upstream. I felt his words were altogether true and captures what or part or some of the things that God wants us to learn in our struggles.
I thought, please God; I want victory over this before I am old. Now this thirst for victory in this area did not take place in my 20s or 30s(and I married in the 30s which helped) just to put this in context, with the OP. I did not think much of it when young. But later, I did. And I thought, how much does it count if I am victorious just because I no longer have testosterone coursing through my veins? This was my thought, as this continued, as I began to understand God's call for righteousness on me. I wanted something to show/prove for my faith, in all areas. These are the highly personal thoughts and prayers in my soul over a course of years.
i have no idea how valid that thought actually is; it's just that I wanted victory in the midst of the battle, not when the fight is no longer.
And even if he did not give me victory I understood much about the flesh and carnal appetite and myself; and it became at least one of the reasons I wanted and coveted a spiritual body free of the passions of the flesh which loves seeking gratification and selfish desires. It increased my desire to be DONE with the physical and hope and embrace the spiritual body which is given to those who love Him.
I can say that one day I noticed I did not have that lust. And then a week, and then a month. then it would return, but only briefly. Then it would be gone, almost like I was dead to it. And I did not miss it or want it back. There was a time that if this would of been gone I would of secretly wanted it back, I am sure, but now I do not.
Yet I do not consider myself victorious because I realize from past history that I am weak. But; but, I can say there is a night and day difference. And I walk in this. And I do not want to ever go back, I want to have freedom, this freedom God has decided that I should be given.
I do not have personal experience to share with a person who is a young man in their 20s, or even 30s, because I did not wrestle or trouble me that much then. It just seemed natural to me. Even as I was a seeker of the things of God then, but God was not showing me how deeply I was enslaved then. He was teaching me to love Him and to learn of the scriptures and of the deeper truths, and then I married and had kids and learned many other lessons of the world.
I still believe that Paul's advice to marry helps. But it doesn't address the root, just takes the edge off. But marry someone you love, and find interesting, that helps too :-).
If God is impressing on you to gain victory in this area, don't quench that. Also do not lose heart when you fail many times. I can tell you that there will come a time if you thirst after righteousness that you will be filled. And this filling may take many forms in other areas before God gives you victory in this area. So keep heart and do not let this one area become to much of a barometer of your spiritual growth. Just keep growing in Him and for sure keep yourself clean from illicit sexual relations with real persons, because I think this area WILL be more damaging to you because it involves other people besides yourself.
may God give you His righteous heart. Blessed are those who seek after righteousness....
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