The way to fight lust (impure sexual desires in the heart and mind) is by feeding Faith with the knowledge of an irresistibly glorious God.
Matthew 5:8 NIV: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Hebrews 12:14 NLT: Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
The way to overcome lust and all sin is simple and there is no shortcut to it… I must desire God more than anything else. I must understand that sin separates me from knowing God and experiencing Him.
And so, the question is, do I desire God? Do I want to experience Him and be satisfied by Him and not satisfied by anything else?
Remember, experiencing and enjoying God is continual and it will never end. If I am not enjoying God and experiencing Him right now, then I should not think that it will suddenly start when I die. In fact, if I am not enjoying and experiencing God right now, then it simply means I am alienated from Him or I am far away from Him and therefore I should reconsider my walk with Him and see how I have strayed away.
And that is why I must understand God’s commands and why God gives them.
God’s commands are not given in a forceful manner, they are given in a loving manner. Essentially, if I am to paraphrase, through his commands, God is saying…
“Son/Daughter, I am Holy and Pure (there is no evil in me) and you cannot experience me when you tolerate what I hate. I hate sin and lawlessness and therefore if you want to experience me and be with me, then you must be Holy.“
1 Peter 1:14-16 NIV: As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Therefore:
I should not read the Bible, just because it is a command. I should read the Bible because by reading it, I get to know God. And knowing Him is eternal life.
John 17:3 TPT: Eternal life means to know and experience you as the only true God, and to know and experience Jesus Christ, as the Son whom you have sent.
I should not pray merely because it is a command. I should pray because I get to experience God and have communion with Him.
I should not listen and Sing worship and praise music, just because it is sweet or it’s the “Christian thing” to do. No, I should use the music as a means of Grace given by God to pour my heart to Him. He must be the focus of the listening to the music. I must join (actively) with the person or people singing in worship and praises that the music is ascribing.
I should join in fellowship with other believers because we get to encourage each other, remind ourselves of God’s word and hear from God, and we also correct each other in Godliness.
I should read or listen to Godly books because they encourage me since the writers write from their experiences and knowledge of God.
I should seek the Lord because there is nothing that can satisfy me more than Him. Having God is having everything. And I cannot lose when I am truly in God… In Him only is the fullness of life.
Colossians 2:6-8 GNT: Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with him. Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving.
And so, I go back to the first question. Do I desire God? Do I want Him and Him alone? Do I want to be filled continually by his Holy Spirit? Do I have hunger and thirst for God?
Psalm 63: 1 ESV: O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Matthew 5:6 NIV: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Oh my soul! Where is you thirst and hunger for God? What are you hungry for if it is not the Lord God? Oh my soul! Why is your hunger and thirst for God so easily quenched? Why do you long for entertainment and pleasure more than God? Why do you long for money and riches more than God? Why are you not satisfied by God? Father, I submit. Please help me to desire you more than anything else. Heal my blindness and deafness oh Lord.
STARVE THE FLESH, FEED THE SPIRIT.