Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4 v 1 - 8: " 1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit."
Let's be honest! Every sin from a lie to murder begins in the mind. There starts a thought that becomes an intention and ends in an evil action that our God rightly condemns.
Sexual Sin could be right at the top of the list as any limitation on its widespread destruction of human lives has long since disappeared. The carnal heart of men is desperately wicked and they see no wrong in abusing their sexuality.
When you commit fornication, which covers a large area because it refers to every sexual sin outside of marriage, you open yourself up to serious bondage called soul ties. Marriage is the only safe zone for sexual activity which is ordained by God for procreation of children. Everything else is sinful.
The enemy controls your mind until you stand up to his onslaught and refuse to comply. If you indulge in that which God forbids your soul becomes linked to every other soul with whom you have committed fornication. Even in your fantasies. It puts a huge strain on your marriage to bring the soul ties of every other partner into your marriage bed. Millions of divorces occur because of these soul ties.
And you don't even know you have them! I have ministered to many couples and individuals who confessed their sexual sins, adulteries, pornography, fantasies and had all these soul ties broken and it has healed and restored their marriages. Marriage is a precious gift from God for the love and nurture of your family so don't spoil it with sexual liberty and betrayal of your marriage vows like forsaking all others.
Jesus added depth to the commandment of thou shalt not commit adultery. He said that if you even look upon another woman with lust in your heart you have already committed adultery with her. Every time someone sends porn to you on your smart phone and you feel stimulated you have chalked up a sin against your own soul.
Rather delete that person off your phone than allow him to cause you to offend Jesus Christ who removed those sins when you were born again. Habitual sins of this sort make you easy prey for Satan to invade your life through this wide open door where he can bring you into demonic bondage.
The worst case scenario is when you cease to feel any guilt about sexual sin. When you have justified your sin your conscience becomes seared as with a hot iron and you no longer feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit...when He departs from you, you are in serious spiritual trouble.
Acts 15 v 19 - 20: "Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood." Apostle Paul when asked if the Jewish law applied to Gentiles believers.
We must keep our vessel - our body - in sanctification and honour and live lives that are clean and pure in God's eyes. That is a very high standard to achieve but achieve it we must. It is a process unique to each person how God deals with us because we are all different.
Put your sexual life in His hands and ask Him to cleanse you of every unclean thing from blue movies to strip clubs, from prostitutes to involvement in sexual slavery, from porn to whips and manacles, from lust to adultery. All these constitute fornication. All of these are unclean. Ephesians 5 v 11 - 12: " And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret."
Today these things are boasted about as great conquests and there is no shame visible. The devil has convinced you all that if it feels good then it's just fine. Jesus says do not be deceived by the devil and his tricks and lies. Satan will do anything to entrap your soul for eternity as misery loves company.
God loves you and has done more than you know to save and protect you. He gave you a free will to choose whom you will follow. He gave you a written copy of His last will and testament. He gave Jesus to die for us to make His will true and valid that we may live.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You made it easy for us to be saved. It's only hard when the enemy has a tight leash on our souls with our cooperation. Thank You for undoing that leash and setting us free. Let each person make his or her own clear decision on who to follow and know the final destination of both options. In Jesus' name. Amen.
