Joseph and the
Desperate Housewife
Monday, July 18, 2016
Jeff Lampl
Jeff Lampl
“Now Joseph was well built and
handsome.”
Genesis
39:6 (NCV)
“Sleep with me” Genesis
39:7
“She kept putting pressure on Joseph
day in and day out“
Genesis
39:10
This
scene in the life of Joseph is still playing worldwide. It’s playing in every home and church in
America. It plays in the lives of each
of us regardless of age, sex, level of faith, or level of Christian maturity.
None
of us is immune to the persistent, unceasing pressure from sexual temptation. No matter how determined each of us is to
avoid it, it is relentless in seeking us out.
Like Potiphar’s wife, it says come sleep with me. Give yourself to me.
Every
time you turn on the computer or take out your phone, it’s there; ads, images, links. Just one click and you are connected to one
of 27 million websites that fit the description of pornography It’s not just men but, increasingly and at
an increasing rate ,women too. Up to 30
percent of women view pornography
Joseph’s
temptation is our temptation. Potiphar’s
wife’s temptation is our temptation,
America
is facing a pornography epidemic that acts as a cancer, killing a man’s view of what a woman should be
to him, ruining a woman’s view of what she should be, and crippling our
relationship with God.
Researcher,
Author, Scholar and Teacher, Josh McDowell, conducted a study which found that 68% of men
in bible believing churches watch pornography regularly. 9 of 10 boys and 6 of 10 girls are exposed to
it by adolescence. The average age of exposure is 11. 11
years old.
McDowell
states, “There has never been anything in history that is destroying more
churches, more pastors, more marriages, more young people, than pornography.
What
to do?
If
you are “clicker” and succumb to internet temptation, the first thing to do is
to face it, see the reality of yourself, and admit it to yourself. Be able to say ‘that’s me’. ‘I am a consumer of pornography.’ Own it.
Next, admit it to God. Hear his
loving voice tell you, “I did not come to condemn you, I came to rescue you.” Finally,
tell someone. Find a person who will not
condemn you, a person who is willing to help you out of it.
If
you have a spouse who is into internet porn, face the reality and do not accept
the status quo.
If
you are a parent, do use the internet filters, monitor computer and cell phone
use and look under your children’s beds.
Yet realize that will not be enough.
It is impossible to shelter
your children from pornography. It will find them.
And
you must face the chilling fact that
almost nothing Christians and churches have done so far to combat the
problem has worked.
‘Just
say no’ hasn’t worked, will power won’t work, trying harder doesn’t work, Bible
thumping won’t work, guilt won’t work, shame and blame won’t work. In fact all those things enmesh us deeper in
the addiction. Like a man fighting the
quicksand, he just sinks deeper and more quickly.
If
we can’t avoid it and if we can’t defeat it, is there any hope anywhere?
Of
course there is. Some of my biggest heroes
are the men and women right here in CLC who have faced pornography addiction,
submitted themselves to God’s help which came in many forms and are now out of
the abyss. I will connect you with some
of them if you would like to talk with them.
Meanwhile
here are two websites to check out.
They are full of support and solutions.
If you are a parent and have accepted that fact that you have the huge
responsibility of preparing your child before age 8 for what will be coming
their way, but you don’t know how, these websites will provide resources. If you or your spouse or your child or your
friend is into porn you will find help by going to these sites.
I
think it would be a really awesome thing if many of you would connect with each
other, purchase some resources, view them together and get the word out to
others that there is help available.
Maybe some of you would want to host a group in your home tackling the
subject whether parents of young children, or teens who are stuck and want to
get out, or addicted single adults or married couples who are struggling. Here they are:
“Lord, it is no longer
enough to say, ‘O how terrible. I must
pray ask you, Lord, to heal this land from this plague of pornography’. It’s too late for that. This demonic power is sweeping the land,
killing off the relational and spiritual lives of those You love. It seems that you have left us individually
with the challenge to do something. As
I check out these resources, Lord, please open my heart, so that if you speak
to me, I will say, ‘Yes, Lord, I am willing’.
Amen”
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