Oh Be Careful Little Eyes, pt.1 - Selected Scriptures

You've heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust in 10 has already committed adultery with her in his heart to. Here's the shocking news to his culture and hours fantasy immorality is as sinful as physical immorality, the consequences might be different but sins of the heart and sins of the hand are both soon. The Bible teaching ministry pastor and author Stephen Stephen is the senior pastor of colonial Baptist Church in Cary, North Carolina. You know the battle for holiness is a difficult one, and the sin of lust is one of those particularly troublesome areas.

There seems to be temptation everywhere but even if there wasn't external temptation. We'd still face the battle in our heart today. Stephen has a lesson for you that he's calling OB careful little eyes were continuing through a series looking at different sins that can grip our hearts stay with us for what's going to be a very biblical and practical look at last in a chapter entitled the discipline of the mind, author Kent Hughes, ruminates on the amazing complexity of the human brain. He writes the complex capacity of the human brain is the subject of ever widening scientific wonder. It's 12 to 14 billion cells are only a shadow of its complexity. For each cell sends out thousands of connecting fibers so that one single cell may be connected with 10,000 neighboring cells, each of which is constantly exchanging data impulses. Put another way, there is more electronic equivalent in one human brain.

Then, in all of the radio and television stations of the entire world put together. The potential then for communion with God. Okay, let's think about that way growth in his word. The development of pure and holy living. The ability to have our minds transformed by the renewing of those brain cells are thinking.

According to godly wisdom is going to be the greatest challenge in your life and mine. The fact that these billions of cells can actually be trained to fire off godly impulses which lead to godly actions is one of the greatest miracles in the work of any believer's life and heart is God is allowed to rain refers to it as the laying aside of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with its lusts. Peter puts it this way that we escape then proper thinking which leads to proper action. We we escape the corruption that is in the world by loss, the computer 145 reference John Bunyan a couple of times. One of his lesser known works is called the holy war. In the book, he personifies the soul of a Christian is a city and the city has five dates. The ear date. The I gate the nose gate.

The field gate and the mouth gate of the enemy of man's soul is sin, and in this allegory.

Sin comes on a daily basis to attack man's soul at one of those five days. Some days, Bunyan writes sin will whisper through the ear gate some alluring message. Hoping to open that gate and gain entrance. Sometime someday soon would paint some alluring portrait to the I gate and it never ever. Let's and Bunyan's allegory. It's interesting to discover that man's soul can never be toppled by an outside attack. The only way sin can win is a big gains entrance through one of the senses where from the inside. It is opened up in the enemy is allowed in. This is the idea about the apostle Paul and the apostle Peter affected around believers.

Paul get in their face frankly and he says stop presenting your members to sin, but that your body parts that he actually uses a military term there which is used in in the transferring of our stop handing over your weapons to the enemy stop opening the gates and letting the enemy simply paraded in and set up shop.

Any man who wants to battle impurity watches the average movie or television show, which unapologetically depicts sexual content as effectively handed over the members of his body, that is, his eyes to the enemy is it to say here, I'm swinging wide. The I gate come on through a woman who wants to be a holy woman for God listens all day the music at her desk, Your Honor. I've taught her or or whatever with lyrics that depict the sensuality in the selfish pervasiveness of our culture. She's actually saying that the enemy here.

Let me give you my ears today.

Come on in and set up shop. One author I was researching recorded in one of his writings that sociologists have estimated the average person in America. By the age of 21 has been exposed to nearly 500,000 commercial messages, predominantly promoting the assumption that personal gratification is the dominant goal in life. Can you summarize by the way, this chapter on the Christian mind by warning as he said this, Christians cannot leave their 12 billion cells unguarded and unthinking and disciplined. Frankly, there's never been a time where the believers lived such a daylight like these where our mind is literally lowered and and pulled and invited by so many sources say time, implying that the Christian doesn't really battle sin until the 21st century about saying that the battle is as old as the devil, and that mankind fact that the objective hasn't changed weapons have I can find very interesting to the very first temptation was one where Satan use the IJ and eves solve that and it looked good. It looked like it would gratify the need that she felt was legitimate that particular gates of man's soul. The I gate is being assaulted like never before. In a word, we can call this assault, pornography, the word pornography comes from the Greek word we've referred to our last session coordinator which refers to any kind of sexual activity outside the bond of marriage. The English word pornography I think is is really the perfect transliteration of porn area and in all of its understanding, because pornography is basically the industry that effectively publishes and promotes sexual activity, sexual immorality, sexual images like nothing else in and of course thanks to the Internet with all its wonderful resources and benefits so grateful for it. Pornography, however, has been able to go stratospheric. It is every person battle. Just this week, the Christian Post reviewed a recent conference on apologetics were one of the speakers whose ministry is to combat Internet pornography in the lives of children reported this.

The average age at which children first view pornography is 1193% of boys and 91% of girls have viewed pornography before they turn 18.

Speaker added because of the technological advances of smart phones and devices. The average teenager now carries the equivalent of X-rated theaters in their pockets. Now that is optically alarming and I spent a lot of time statistics we we have another out their most alarming news to me that came out of this research shared at this particular symposium was the polling research found that 68% of males of all ages who consider themselves Christians. By the way, watch pornographic material regularly 68% 36% of 18 to 30-year-old man admitted to viewing it daily. The demographics by the way, are changing change quite dramatically. Just in the last for five years. The vice president of the international Institute for trauma and addiction professionals wrote as I researched I found this particular quote and I quote where it used to be 40 to 50-year-old men seeking counseling. Now there are more females adolescence and senior citizens. I continue to quote grandfathers or getting caught with pornography on their computers by their grandkids and grandkids are sex thing at the age of 12.

In other words, this is reaching all ages and is readily available, it is it is promoting itself as is private, it is anonymous. Even when you're not looking for it.

It shows up you have to constantly be on guard.

I remember one Saturday afternoon a few years ago I was sitting at my computer in my office at home, which is where I spend the latter half of my week. I have a large flatscreen computer screen for a monitor. If you saw it you just envied me.

So I will describe too much more than at any rate, when I when I write or type.

I actually in in the large font, 150% which means I hardly need to use my glasses but it really helps the eyes, and I spend about 30 hours a week writing or reading, typically writing every week, and it's a blessing. At any rate, one particular Saturday after researching which I do a lot of online just type in a way you know on my my sermon notes and all of a sudden picture came up on that screen and I mean it mean it it it went from margin to margin. I will so leave you with the details.

I'll suffice it to say that they were obviously on their honeymoon they just been married where I can figure it, there was and I couldn't believe it. Move my mouse up to the X box and I clicked and disappeared. I'm working on a sermon and now sitting there with this image, full-color, in my mind I waged war and asked the Lord. I don't know how but please wipe that image off my mind so I can get back to my sermon agreed in the book of Titus. After a few moments are reengaged and begin typing on my sermon again. Suddenly another picture, another recently married couple flashes up on my screen margin.

The margin I haven't clicked anything I haven't done anything. There is I reached up, move my mouse up and clicked disappeared. I did that at least four times that afternoon.

In fact, I had to leave my office at one point, so I called Marsha and I said honey I have no idea what's going on here, but while I'm away.

If you happen to walk by the screen and and you see a newly married couple.

They didn't send that to me. I don't want that. I just want you to be aware of what's going on so you click it all while I was away it happened and she click the X box. Eventually, our IT director or colonial who can get on my computer remotely actually came over and put on some stronger filters and that took care of it.

I can tell you though that was the worst afternoon of sermon preparation in my life pictures that sent 12 billion brain cells to join in the attack at the I gate of my soul. Clicking those X boxes became my battle. It was worth battling before we go much further. Let me deal quickly with one particular misconception some data that I have come across have heard about this and and as I researched and found to be true.

It deals with the rise and sale of pornographic material, including novels and books with erotic subjects, the author of one particular book addressing this issue for believers name is Helen Thornton.

She's written a book called purity as possible. How to live free of the fantasy trap and she she deals with the material that is now being consumed by women. That percentage is growing.

She recorded in her book the fantasy erotica and pornography are becoming more and more part of the battle for Christian women. She writes and I quote there is a rumor going around that women don't watch pornography online. There's a school of thought that says that women's fantasies are romantic rather than explicit. Some argue that we don't think as visually as men. So pornography is rarely appealing to us. If you believe that we are by nature more pure and innocent.

I wish these rumors were right there not she does not add findings from her research on personal counseling ministry. And then she adds these words there's another rumor going around that there is a way out that in Jesus Christ. God offers forgiveness.

I'm glad that rumor is true purity is possible.

Beloved pornography is one of the most dangerous creators of stony ground, which has been our theme, a heart that becomes callused and resistant to the seed of the word and in the spirit of God is little wonder to me that pornography has become the epidemic it it has it's gotta be.

In fact, one of Satan's favorite tools in attacking man's soul. The heart of the Christian who wants to walk in purity and holiness before the Lord. It isn't a new battle by the way the technology changes the temptation doesn't want you to take your New Testament and turn the Matthews gospel and chapter 5.

Let's look at what Jesus Christ has to say about lost, which is at the core of pornography. Matthews gospel chapter 5 Jesus is preaching his classic sermon on the hillside and I want to actually back up to verse 21 Matthew 521 you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment as Jesus is is gonna ratchet up the bar of holy living by defining it as a matter of the heart where we would really like to view it is simply a matter of the hand is going to climb inside our soul and defined purely by what we think were were all alone. The Pharisee would say look my hands are clean. My resume is spotless.

I've never killed anybody, and Jesus is.

Let's take a look at the hatred in your heart. Notice verse 27 you have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart, she hears the shocking news to his culture and hours fantasy morality is as sinful as physical immorality, the consequences might be different but they're both sinful. In other words, sins of the heart and sins of the hands are both sin, we will get a free pass because it stated herein never came out here this point. They both spiraled downward. They both enslave. They both deceived. They both destroy they both represent a myth to reach for something with my hand. It's a mirage.

By the way you think about something in my heart. It's it's a myth that real. They both demand repentance person is says look out only to repent of fantasy or mental lost or seething anger that wishes that other person was dead. Nothing wrong with it as long as it stays in my heart is a person who is perhaps deceived enough to be deceived and the relationship with God and not even belong to him because they justify what God calls sinful the truth. By the way is reinforced throughout the New Testament. One of the defining characteristics infected distinguishes a believer from an unbeliever is that unbelievers long sin believers long to be holy. Unbelievers wish they had more time, more money, more opportunity to sin, and notified you over the fact that it's wrong. Believers wish they didn't have the time to sin wish they didn't have the money to invest in's and long not to sin troubled by the corrupt and sinful depravity of their hard back to the main point.

Jesus now moves on to give two ways to think about lost it is those thoughts were nobody sees but God first, we should view lost with uncompromising reality, we should view it with uncompromising reality is just the first phrase in verse 29 just the first phrase if your right eye causes you to sin, stop. In other words, if you're looking at something or someone to lust after that, or that you need to know that your eye is causing you to what sin sin. Verse 30 and if your right hand causes you to.

There is again what sin lost isn't some sinless fantasy, it's wrong isn't just admiring the beauty of the way God created women. I've actually had that told me in my office more than once I've heard individuals say this is what God created. Let's bring it out in the open. Well, God the Creator, Jesus Christ just called it sin isn't a right of passage. It isn't boys will be boys. It isn't anymore now. Good girls will be girls it it it it isn't. I need that must be fulfilled.

It is a sin to avoid.

I can remember being told by man in my office. Not too long ago that I was far too black-and-white in my perspective on pornography that did told me in my office at the reason I had such a narrow view of this was because I spend way too much time in my study and not enough time out there in the real world.

If I get out there in the real world I'd change my perspective, looking even in my study he should've seen the pictures on my computer that in the safe place is that what it is though the real world the real world is coming, the real world is pure, the real world is God's reign in righteousness. Everything else is a passing myth. Jesus is first Street lost with uncompromising reality and it sin.

Secondly, we should treat lost with uncompromising severity. Verse 29. Again, if your right eye causes you to sin terror that out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. Now let me clear up some potential misunderstandings here before anybody reaches for chainsaw so just hang tight for just a moment. First, Jesus is not saying that people have committed lustful or even physically immoral acts are destined for hell. The point isn't that they are doing them and are going to hell. The point is they want to keep doing them and don't think there sinful is is your deceived you want to justify it and defend it and continue it. Your actually headed for hell.

Secondly, Jesus is not suggesting that you get out a literal knife and perform some kind of amputation watches now. If the problem is our hearts.

What good will it do to pluck out and I were cut off the hand, the right to the left, I lost. If you have one left in the left-hand commit sin if that's the one left this in love and you can be blind if mutants paralyzed on a deserted island in the last because we bring our hearts with us. Jesus is speaking figuratively here. In fact, one of the clues that he is is is reference to the right. I in the right hand. Did you notice that when the days of of Christ within the Jewish culture the right hand was considered to represent power or persons authority. Think about the fact were told that Jesus stands at which hand the right hand of God the father.

That doesn't mean there's a little piece of tape on the floor and he stands right there because at that it's right hand know what that means is he is standing in the place of divine power and authority. Becky represents embodiment in himself of all divine power and authority so that's what it means. In fact it's it's wonderful to think of this in terms of what David said in Psalm 139 worry.

He talked about his thrill for the for the way God holds on to Mrs. if I take the wings of the morning. If I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, behold, you are there. Your right hand shall hold me stop because of the length of this lesson we decided to divided into two parts.

When we come back tomorrow will bring you the conclusion to this lesson you're listening to wisdom for the heart with Stephen Devi.

The lesson you heard today is called OB careful little eyes. There are several ways that you can interact with our ministry. Follow us on Twitter or Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel where you can watch a new video of Stephen's preaching each Wednesday morning. We also have an app that you can install to your phone and take this teaching ministry where ever you go.

You'll find the app in the iTunes or the Google play stores. Be sure and join us tomorrow for the conclusion of this lesson right here on wisdom for the hearts