“Ten Steps to Conquer Impure Thoughts” Part 6

IX.       10th Step: “Use Sensual Thoughts as a Springboard to Spiritual

Insight:”

A.   Remember Satan tried to tempt Jesus right after He was baptized. Jesus defeated  Satan by quoting the Word.

 Matthew 4:1- 11 “THEN was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

B.   Every temptation is based on a legitimate need to be filled in our lives.

C.   Satan will do anything to fulfill this need, such as TV commercial like beer ads. They suggest if one drinks a certain beer that person would a cool dude and would be women magnetic. He would also become the status quo. These ads have one purpose and that is to seduce our minds so that we can succumb to our carnal desires.

D.   Temptation is not a sin, it only becomes a sin, when we allow ourselves to dwell on it. It is the second, third and the fourth thought gets us in trouble.

E.   We can be deliver by these temptations by following some easy steps, such as the following:

1.     Submit all thoughts to God. Read 2 Corinthians 10:5  “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

2.     When tempted quote the Word of God to the devil. The Word is our sword.

             Ephesians 6:17 “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit

             which is the word of God:”

3.     Ask the Holy Spirit for a scripture or the wisdom in how to respond to this temptation. It is like old adage says, “In with good and out with the bad.”

4..    Replace the temptation with an image of Christ suffering for our sins.

F.    The results will be for us to transform our sensual desires into spiritual power.

1.    We will gain wisdom and insight why we struggle with this problem.

2.    This way in the future, we can avoid any pitfalls.

X.        The Conclusion:

            Remember we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. I would like to

           encourage you that we can become victorious in these thoughts and

           desires. It says in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which

             strengtheneth me.”

A.   In God’s Word that He will meet all our needs in these trouble times.

B.   Go forth in the Lord and be free as you walk in the spirit

C.   For He will give us the victory.

 Alma 26:12 “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.”

If you would like to know more about Jesus and your purpose in life, please contact the Mormon Missionaries:

In the Buffalo, NY area:

940-7143

997-4490

1-585- 403 – 0556

Rochester, NY area: Spanish & English

1-585-905-4620

In the Cattaraugus area:

716-740-0631

In the Wyoming County area in the state of Pennsyjvania:

570-240-2354

Elder Zayne Callahan

Elder Callahan's Mission is the whole wide world of the Internet. If you want to contact him and talk with him; you can reach him on Facebook and he also has a blog. Here are the web connections:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hp#!/elder.zayne.callahan

http://elderzaynecallahan.blogspot.com/2011/09/rachels-testimony-expected-logic.html

For a free DVD “Finding Faith in Christ” call 1-800-443-9911

“Ten Steps to Conquer Impure Thoughts” Part 5

VII.     8th Step: “Learn To Live In Fear Of God:”

A.   It is vital and important to remember God’s Word. Proverbs 16:6  “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.”

D&C 136:21  ‘Keep yourselves from evil to take the name of the Lord in vain, for I am the Lord your God, even the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.”

B.    The only way a truly, sincere and committed Christian can enjoy any kind of sensual thoughts is temporarily blotting God out of one’s conscious. One should call to mind that God is evaluating every one of our thoughts. One needs to reject those thoughts that are not wholesome very quickly.

1.    This is precisely what the fear of the Lord is; a moment by moment awareness that God is always present.

2.    He is weighing every one of our words, thoughts, actions and attitudes.

3.    Here are some scriptures that can encourage you:

Proverbs 19:21  “There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless

 the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.”

                        Psalm 139:2  “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou

                        understandest my thought afar off.

Corinthians 5:10  “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Psalm 139:4  “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.”

2 Nephi 9:20  “O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it”.

D&C 38:2 “The same which knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes”;

D&C 6:16  “Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.

D&C 88:41 “He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even.”

C.   A good important outward defense to our thought life is by projecting to others the awareness of Christ’s presence in our lives. When a person has a pure heart and a godly appearance, it will be manifested and projected in their daily walk. As we walk in the spirit, it will result in a hedge of protection and as a restraint.

A.    The Body is a Temple of God: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20  “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

1.    The Temple: You are the Temple of living God. We are His children and we must not alter the dimensions of our mind, our emotions and our body from the idea of the blueprint that Our Heavenly Father has ordain us.

a.    He knew us before foundation of the earth.

b.    He formed us in our mother’s womb. Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee,”

2.    The Glory: You have and possess a greater glory than Solomon’s Temple and Herod’s Temple.

a.    When Solomon’s Temple was dedicated the Holy Ghost entered the Temple.

b.    Incarnated Christ entered Herod’s Temple.

c.    You are His Temple. The day you were confirmed, the Holy Ghost entered your heart and your body and you became His living Temple.

 

  

1.    The Cleansing of the Temple:  As Christ cleanse out Herod’s Temple; He is cleanses our Temple of all sin and unpleasing behavior. He deals with our personality, our intellect, and our social behavior.

2.    Faith: Christ is total faith as well as total love, wisdom, strength and etc. Christ is in you and you already poses  that total faith. You don’t need to wait for more faith, because you already posses it.

Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith”.

A.    Food for Thought:    Written by me(Charles Stephen Rogers)

on May 7, 1989

 As the world has seasons, so does our faith. In the spring we plant the seed of faith, we give it much prayer and hope to see it burst forth into life. As we see the seed take root in the solid ground and take hold, so does our faith take hold. We continue to cultivate the ground, giving it the right ingredients and nourishments in order for the seed to spring into life.

With much prayer, the seed of faith grows from a small seedling into a stem that grows into a larger more stronger plant. As we see the plant grow, so does our faith grow also. It grows to a point that our faith and belief become larger than anything we face. Then we can say to that mountain, “Be gone” and it is gone, for our faith was greater and larger than the mountain. As the mountain is moved so is our faith moved into a stronger, deeper relationship with our Father in Heaven.

VII.     9th Step: “Learn God’s Limitation to Curiosity”

A.   Having an undisciplined curiosity is one of Satan’s most powerful tool that he can use to defeat us in our thought life. In  Romans 16:19  “For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.”

A.   Satan used the same tool of curiosity in the Garden of Eden, when he spoke to Eve. He defeated them through curiosity by saying to her, “Did God really say?” Then he compounded the situation by also saying, “You will surely not die, for God knows that when you eat of the fruit, your eyes will open and you be like God good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5

Nephi 2:18  “And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind. Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.”

B.   Today we live in a society of pseudo-intellectual, which includes Christians too. They vigorously defend their rights to use their intellect to study all matters of evil and perversion.

C.   The day we accepted the Lord into our lives, we have no rights, because Jesus purchased us by His precious blood. He gave us the victory.

Romans 16:20  “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”

D.   God never wanted us to learn evil with our minds or by experience. The Lord wants us to test the spirits.

 1 John 4:1  “BELOVED, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

E.   The more we walk in the spirit, the more we have ability to discern other spirits. One can have the ability to spot evil miles away, when one is walking in the spirit.

“

Moroni 7:12  “Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.”

D&C 11:12 “And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.”

D&C 50:31 “Wherefore, it shall come to pass, that if you behold a spirit manifested that you cannot understand, and you receive not that spirit, ye shall ask of the Father in the name of Jesus; and if he give not unto you that spirit, then you may know that it is not of God.”

F.    One of the requirement to be mighty in spirit is to be free from the plaque of impure thoughts.

Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

Genesis 4:6 “And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy

 countenance fallen? 7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou

 doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt

 rule over him.”

G.   Sin lies at the door of our lives, but through the spirit we can master it. When one is presented with such things as books, magazines, movies, TV programs; we have the choice to remove our eyes and keep our minds off them. What one needs to do is concentrate on what is wholesome and pure.

Article of Faith 13  “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things”.

A favorite saying often quoted by the late President David O. McKay was: “We sow our thoughts, and we reap our actions

We sow our actions, and we reap our habits

We sow our habits, and we reap our characters;

We sow our characters, and we reap our destiny.”

 (C. A. Hall, The Home Book of Quotations, New York: Dodd, Mead &

  Company, 1935, p. 845.)

I change the previous saying and it goes like this:

Sow a Thought – Reap an Act

Sow an Act – Reap a Habit

Sow a Habit – Reap a Character

Sow a Character – Reap a Christ-like image.

Click on the following web link.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYr0o6pGhZ0&feature=related

 

If you would like to know more about Jesus and your purpose in life, please contact the Mormon Missionaries:

In the Buffalo, NY area:

940-7143

997-4490

1-585- 403 – 0556

Rochester, NY area: Spanish & English

1-585-905-4620

In the Cattaraugus area:

716-740-0631

In the Wyoming County area in the state of Pennsyjvania:

570-240-2354

Elder Zayne Callahan

Elder Callahan's Mission is the whole wide world of the Internet. If you want to contact him and talk with him; you can reach him on Facebook and he also has a blog. Here are the web connections:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hp#!/elder.zayne.callahan

http://elderzaynecallahan.blogspot.com/2011/09/rachels-testimony-expected-logic.html

For a free DVD “Finding Faith in Christ” call 1-800-443-9911