 There isn't a person on the planet including Christians who doesn't have something that they struggle with. That even includes thoughts that they struggle with, urges, temptations. One of the biggest things that people struggle with, even if they are Christian, are these sexual thoughts. Sexual addiction to porn or to actually being engaged in some sort of sexual immorality. It's a big issue even with Christians. How big is it? Well, the Bible tells us to resist the devil, but the one thing that we're told not to try to resist is from any sort of sexual morality. God says we're told by Paul to flee from sexual morality. How do we do so? And then why am I even having these thoughts in the first place? There's a couple of passages that will help us out. One of the first ones is when Jesus is speaking. He's speaking about money or the treasure that doesn't necessarily have to be money. He says something that is very helpful for us here. He says in Matthew 621, he says, for where your treasure is, the things that you treasure and value, where they are, there your heart will be. And I want to make a point about where your treasure is, the things that you value even monetarily. It tells us where your heart is. I want to go there in just a second, but look what he says also. He says the eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? Meaning you sit and watch things all the time. Matter of fact, you hear things all the time. How many of you have a cell phone out and as you have your cell phone out, you're scrolling through things. You've got these different texts that may come through your own Facebook and these little Facebook reels might pop up. Your own YouTube and the YouTube shorts may pop up or somebody's advertising something that might not necessarily be appropriate. When you go to a person's home page or when you look at what's being brought to them on Facebook or YouTube or Instagram or one of the other places, any social media platforms, TikTok, while you're on TikTok, you might not want to be on TikTok or any other place. Or even when you go to Google and you see what Google sends your way, it's because you have frequented places that will cause the computer the algorithm to think this is what you're interested in. And oftentimes it's exactly what you're interested in or express some sort of interest in. You might want to change your scrolling habits. What that simply means is you might need to go ahead and get rid of some of the apps that you have. Go ahead and get rid of those apps that are bringing these things into you. Maybe even some of the subscriptions that you have to Netflix, to Hulu, to HBO Max, whatever it is. Make sure that you are not being inundated by things that you simply don't want to have. It's easier said than done, which means you might want to have someone to hold you accountable. If you're married, your spouse, if you're younger and you've got parents around you, let your parents have a look-see at your account. Let them hold your account or friend or someone in church that can hold you accountable to what you see. Not someone who's going to condemn you, but someone that you don't want to see struggling, but they're going to see it anyway. But you want to be open and honest. You want to get past this thing and there is a way to get past this thing. Now the thoughts that you have in your head, you weren't born with these thoughts. They didn't just show up. They got there for a particular reason, a particular way, a particular manner. Let's go to James and see what James says and then see if we can find some clarity. He says, but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. That is from your heart. So when you are carried away, it's not necessarily the outside force that's doing it. It is because of the lusts that you have. Think about Eve in the garden. The Bible says Satan made some statements to her, but it said that she saw that the fruit was pleasing to her eyes and made her and was desirous to her. And so what did she do? She listened to what he was saying, but only because in her heart, she had this desire to look at it and to eat it anyway. Continue what James says. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Listen guys, when you sit and think about something, the more you think about something, the more you entertain something. It's as though you hear it, you see it, you contemplate it and it stays there. And when it stays there, what happens? It gets bigger and it gets bigger. And the more you think about it, even if at your first thought you didn't think too much about it, you didn't think too much about even doing it. But then what ends up happening is, huh, I wonder what would happen if I did this? How would that work? Why do people do this? What's the lure? Because you're thinking about it. The next thing you know, not only thinking about how they did it, but how could I do it? And then what happens? The Bible says that it gives birth to sin. And then you decide to do it yourself. And then once you do it once, it's easy to do it a second time, even if they're ashamed. I know that every time that you might commit a sexually immoral act, that there might be some shame and guilt that should be there if you're believers. Matter of fact, even non-believers have shame and guilt. They may not admit it, but they do. But even though you have that shame and guilt, the more you do it, it still becomes easier and easier to do it, to succumb each time. And the more you do it, it brings about death. For the unbeliever, spiritual death, for the believer, it brings about a fallen and a bad life, a life that is not abundant. It brings about reproach upon you and even the body. And it does bring about discipline and consequences. Now none of this should come as a surprise because we're told that the devil wants to do these things to us. Peter says that he seeks us. He's like a lion going around, seeking whom he may develop. But what are we told? We're told in verse 9 of 1 Peter 5. But resist him. Firm in your faith knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. Other people are going through things too and they are overcoming you can too. The question though is Corey, how do I overcome? Well James has stated two things. He says one, draw close to him that is draw close to God and resist the devil and he will flee. So the issue is draw closer to him. The closer you get to God, the harder it is to succumb to these things because the further you get away from that sin, that thought, the computer, going and visiting sites that you should not, making phone calls to people that you should not. Viewing things that you should not. Instead draw closer to him. Well Corey, I hear what you're saying, but how do I draw closer to him? Well Paul tells us in Philippians 4 he says this. He says, finally brethren whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is a good repute. If there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell, dwell guys on these things. So rather than thinking about and giving time and contemplating simple things, lustful things, sexually immoral things, give time, give heat to those thoughts that are wholesome, that are godly. Think on those things, think about your salvation, how he loved you in spite of your addiction. In spite of the things that are sexually pleasing to you. Think about those things, think about how he has accomplished salvation for you. Read his word, listen to his word, listen to singing, listen to gospel music, praise and worship music, Christian music. Listen to someone glorifying God. Be around people that are glorifying God. Watch people that are glorifying God. Watch things, listen to things, listen to sermons. You have to fight this in a godly fashion by counteracting what you've been taking in. You've been taking in filth and sexually immoral pictures and images and so forth. Well, you need to replace those things with godly images, with godly thoughts. How do you do so? The same way I said that those thoughts initially didn't start in you. You weren't born to think sexually immoral thoughts. You weren't born that way, some sort of way they got in there because you heard something, you read something, you thought about something, you saw something. The same way the evil thoughts come in are the same way the good thoughts come in. You hear something, you see something. You get around people who also, maybe they're not something the same thing, but they also want to praise God. They think about God and so you are now your disposition is working right along with the Holy Spirit working in you so that you can be thoroughly complete. Yes, there's always going to be some sort of residue of sin and there's going to be a desire of the flesh, but you can subdue the flesh simply by drawing closer to him and how do you draw closer to him? By reading his work, by being around his people. And then more importantly, just as importantly I should say, is by praying, spending time with him. The more you spend time with him, the more you're going to think like him and act like him and want what he wants. But the further or the less amount of time that you spend with him, the less you're one of him and the more you want of the world. So guys, I hope this has been helpful. You're not the only one. If you have fallen, listen, the fact of the matter is there is redemption, there is salvation, there is forgiveness, and there is a way to get away from those particular things. There's a way to defeat sin even not just the penalty of sin, but the implication and the practice of sin in your life. God is a God who wants to see you have victory. There's no condemnation. Simply go and send no more. And how do you do so by simply drawing closer to him? Amen.