5 Reasons Why God's Chosen Secretly Struggle with Lust

5 reasons why God's chosen secretly struggle with lust. Let's take a look at the root of the problem so that you can experience permanent freedom. The first reason, shame. There are a few reasons why shame will keep you bound in lust, especially battling in secrecy. And that is number one, shame keeps you from being accountable. When you're filled with shame over the wrongdoing, when you're filled with shame over your mistakes, It keeps you from approaching other people and being vulnerable and asking for help and reaching out. So what this does is it forces you into darkness and silence, to be tormented by the sin, to be tormented by the shame, afraid to open up to anybody for fear of being rejected. So shame ultimately keeps you from finding healing, and it also keeps you from finding accountability. Now, accountability isn't punishment. Accountability is support rooted in loving acceptance. Often we talk about accountability as if it's bringing down the hammer on someone and shaming them and making sure that they feel bad for what they're doing. And though you should feel grieved over your sin, accountability really is a support system. People that you can go to and talk to who won't cast you aside simply because you're struggling, but who will lovingly embrace you, walk along with you and say, we're gonna help you. To get this right. In James 5:16, the scripture declares, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Notice here that we confess to one another to be healed. So you confess to God to be forgiven. We don't need a middleman. We have Christ as our high priest. You can confess your sins to God. and experience forgiveness, but it's when you go to one another that you can experience healing. In Proverbs 28:13, we read, people who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. Confession involves admitting it to God, to turn from that sin, not just to admit that you're doing it, but to also agree with God that what you're doing is wrong and that it has to go and that it has to go immediately. And then again, there's that other aspect of confession where we go to one another to be healed. Shame also keeps you from approaching God. Think about it. When you make a sinful mistake, the last thing that you want to do is go to church. The last thing that you want to do is go and pray. And it's not that that's something that's not available to you, but the enemy will use your sin to lie to you. The enemy will use your shame to keep you from approaching God. Look what happened in Genesis chapter 3, beginning at verse number 8. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. So in shame, Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of God. Look at the response that we're supposed to have found in Hebrews 4:16. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. So it's in fact, when you need it most that you can approach God. Now you can approach God anytime that you'd like, but when you sin, when you're filled with shame, you lose your confidence in your ability to approach God. So shame will ultimately keep you in a cycle of sin. Think about the despair of the soul. You give up on trying, you mess up again and again and again, and you're so filled with shame that you say to yourself, you know what? Since I'm just gonna mess up time and time again, I might as well just give up trying. And so this is what creates hopelessness. This is what makes you stuck because you're never really getting to the root of the issue because you're too ashamed to approach God and you're too ashamed to approach others for help. You begin to believe the lies of the enemy about yourself, about your future. The enemy tells you things like, you're never gonna be free from this. This is something you're gonna struggle with. for the rest of your life. The enemy says things like, well, God's rejected you because you can't overcome this sin. Or the enemy will say, others are going to reject you. Others are going to cast you aside if they truly knew what you were struggling with. Now it's true, some people would reject you. Some people will not understand what you're going through, but God is going to bring you people. In fact, I believe God has brought you people that are around you, people that you can trust, people that you can go to who love you, who accept you, who aren't gonna go blasting your mistakes all over social media. They're not gonna go gossiping behind your back. But they're gonna help you to get it right. And I wanna challenge you to go to those people today. And I mean, within the next 24 hours of hearing this message, to go to them. I know it's scary. I know you might be even nervous just thinking about it, but it's time to be vulnerable. And if you want to overcome this, if you wanna stop secretly struggling with lust, even as God's chosen people, think about that. Even as children of God, you can struggle. But if you're tired of struggling, If you're tired of the secrecy, if you're tired of the torment of the mind, then I challenge you within the next 24 hours, go to a trusted friend, go to someone who knows the Lord, who loves the Lord, who loves you, who's gracious and merciful, and who's gonna help you and walk alongside you. If you try to battle this alone without the help of God and without the help of others, how are you ever going to win? Now, I know it's scary. I know it's challenging to be vulnerable, but it's time to reach up to God. And reach out for help from the church. We're gonna take a look at the next reason as to why God's chosen secretly struggle with lust. But first, if this message is challenging you, leave a like on the video right now to help spread this content to more people. Also, make sure that you're subscribed to my channel and click the notification bell when you subscribe right now so that you don't miss any of the content coming your way from this ministry. Number 2, this is the second reason why God's chosen secretly struggle with lust. They lack the word and prayer. In Matthew 26:40-41, we read, Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, couldn't you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray so that you will not give into temptation, for the spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Prayer is reliance upon the Lord. Now, when I talk about prayer, I'm not just talking about waking up in the morning, thanking God for the day, and then moving on With the task that you have to fulfill that day. When I talk about prayer, I'm talking about carving out sections of the day to spend with the Lord. I'm talking about being aware of his presence as you move throughout your day. Many times Christians push prayer to just 5, 10, 15 minutes to maybe the morning or the evening. And while there's nothing wrong with that, especially if you're just starting to develop a prayer life, you have to move beyond that if you want to overcome temptation. Prayer invites the strength of God. Prayer invites the grace of God. Prayer involves God in the situation. And every day you go without prayer, you're saying, God, I don't need your help today. Every hour you go without prayer, you're saying, God, I don't need you in this hour. In fact, you can even reach out to God in prayer the very moment you're being tempted. I know, again, it feels difficult to approach God, especially because of the shame. But when that temptation presents itself, You can, in that moment, cry out for help. You can say, help me, Holy Spirit. Help me, Holy Spirit, to overcome what's right in front of me. In Psalm 119:11, we read, thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee. So the word also helps to shore you up against temptation. The word gives you the knowledge to obey God. In other words, you know his likes and dislikes. You know what's holy and unholy. You know what's according to his nature. You know what's against his nature. So the Word gives you the knowledge to obey God. The Word gives you the mindset to obey God in that as you begin to read the Word, it renews your mind. And that renewed mind ultimately helps to produce obedience, discipline, and self-control. The Word gives you the strength to obey God. What bread is to the body, the Word of God is to your soul and spirit. As you intake the Word, your spirit gains strength and influence. The problem is many Christians aren't doing these basic things. We wanna say maybe it's some demon. We wanna blame it on some curse. We wanna pretend as if the problem is more complicated than it actually is. No, it's not that complicated. And I know many of you are not gonna like this, but I have to tell you the truth because I care about you. It's not as complicated as you're pretending it is. It's not because you've collected all these things from your past. It's not because generations ago somebody committed some sin. It's not because there's some secret demonic influence that you haven't quite yet uncovered. Very plain and simple, the Bible tells us that we give into sin We don't sin because we're carried away by our own lusts. And we keep those lusts in check by being people of prayer and the Word. If I go right now to the doctor and I tell them that I'm not feeling well, the first thing they're going to do is check the basics. They're gonna ask about my sleep patterns. They're gonna ask about my water intake. They're gonna ask about my diet. They're gonna ask about my exercise routine. They're not going to immediately jump to some of the more serious diagnosis. Because they know that the basics have to be covered first. And so in our spiritual lives, you must first be a person of prayer and the Word. I'll tell you this, if you become consistent, and I don't mean just try it for a day or two and then quit, I'm talking about making it a lifestyle. I'm talking about being consistent over a long period of time. I've never met a Christian who was in prayer, in the Word, consistently and over a long period of time who was bound by some secret sin or who was bound by some bondage or who was bound by some demonic oppression. No, you become a person of prayer and the Word, and you become a person who walks in freedom. Now we can lie to ourselves and say, but I tried that already, or it just doesn't work for me, as if somehow we're special and our struggle is so much different than everyone else's. No, When you become a person of prayer and the Word, your spirit is strengthened and you walk in total freedom. The next reason why God's chosen secretly struggle with lust is because they lack wisdom. They're constantly putting themselves in compromising situations. In Romans 13:14, we read, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust. In other words, Don't give the flesh an opportunity to sin. Now, when I talk about the flesh, I'm talking about that part of you that craves sinful things. I'm talking about that part of you that resists what God is telling you to do. You have got to get that man of sin under subjection. You have got to get that woman of sin under subjection. Here's the reality. You cannot cast you out of you. A demon you can cast out, but you can't cast you out of you. When you wake up, you're there. When you go to sleep, you're there. If you go on vacation, you're still there. You have to address you. So when it comes to the flesh, the flesh does not come and go. The flesh doesn't go in and then out. The flesh shrinks and grows depending upon the habits that you allow yourself to act out every single day. The goal is to keep the flesh small. The goal is to keep the flesh weak. Don't give the flesh an opportunity. If you give the flesh a little, it's gonna ask for more. If you give it more, it's going to take everything. You want to keep the flesh small and weak, and you do this through the exercise of wisdom. Yes, prayer and the Word. Yes, getting rid of shame, but the exercise of wisdom. Don't allow the sin nature opportunities. If you deal with alcoholism, don't go to a party where they're drinking alcohol. If you're dealing with lust, don't go to bed with your mobile device. next to you as you fall asleep. Put it in a different room. If you're struggling with laziness, don't put yourself in an environment where there's a bunch of distractions. Make sure that you're removing yourself from tempting situations. James 4:7 says, submit yourselves then to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Well, if you're not living a lifestyle of submission, then you're living a lifestyle of bondage. Either you're gonna submit to God or you're gonna submit to sin, but you can't submit to both. When you submit to God, it's then that there's power in resisting the devil. Many people try to resist the devil, even though they're not submitted to God. What do I mean by that? I mean, they're not in prayer. They're not in the word. They're not listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. They're not doing what they know God has called them to do. They're not avoiding tempting situations. Then when temptation comes, they try to rebuke the devil and they find themselves powerless. Well, it's because they skipped the first part of this. They didn't first submit to God. Then resist the devil, and then the devil will flee. If you're not submitted to God, you can resist the devil all you want, and he's not going anywhere. It's only when you live that lifestyle of wisdom, submitted to God's ways, that now there's power when you resist the devil. If there's no submission, there's no power when you resist the devil. And so you have to live that life where you are living according to the ways of God. Think about the fact that an athlete, doesn't prepare for the big game on the day of the big game. They have many practices that lead up to that. They're conditioning themselves. A soldier does not get his training on the battlefield. In the same way, a Christian should not wait till they're tempted to suddenly start wanting to submit to God, to suddenly start praying, to suddenly start reading the Word. No. You need to live that lifestyle of wisdom leading up to the battle. Preparation takes place Before the battle. Conditioning takes place before the big game. Submission to God takes place before the temptation even arises. In 1 Corinthians 10:12-13, we read, So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure. Notice you're given a way out. This means that you're not gonna stand there in that compromised situation trying to debate the devil. You're not gonna put yourself in a difficult circumstance and then say, okay, God, give me the power to resist this. No, you're provided a way out, away, away from temptation. Number 4, they lack godly wisdom. Influences. Let me put it very plainly to you. People can corrupt your soul. Conversations can corrupt your soul. Mindsets in others can be adopted in you. You have to be very careful about who you allow around you to influence you. Now, I'm not saying that you have to be a hermit and disconnect from every nonbeliever. I'm not saying that you have to reject family members who don't know Jesus. I'm saying you cannot allow ungodly people to have major influence in your life, to have major say in your life. Don't give your boss that power to influence your mindset if they're not a Spirit-filled believer. You can be inspired by them in certain areas, sure. Maybe you can take business advice from them, sure. But don't allow yourself to take on the way they see the world at large. James 4:4 says, you adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Now, this doesn't mean that you're friendly or kind to people in the world. This means that you've adopted the world's philosophies, the world's mindsets, the patterns of this world, and taken them on to influence you. In Galatians 5:9, we read, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Just a little bit of compromise can corrupt your very soul. Stop lying to yourself. Stop saying you can handle it. Stop saying that they're not influencing you in a negative way. Stop saying that they're not having any effect on your life. Make sure that you're not allowing ungodly influence in your life. Number 5, lack of care for the Holy Spirit. Many Christians don't realize that the Holy Spirit has feelings. In Ephesians 4:30, we read, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit is grieved by our sinful actions. The Holy Spirit is grieved when God tells us to do something and we don't do it. His heart is broken when God says, don't do that, and we do it anyway. When God says, don't go there, and we go there anyway. The Holy Spirit is patient and kind and loving and merciful and gracious, and he's humble and he helps you and he's friendly and he's there for you. And yet time after time, day after day, we ignore what he's trying to say to us. We ignore when he's giving us those warnings. We ignore when he says, stop doing this, it's corrupting you. And we break his heart in so doing. When you acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life, when you sense the nearness of that power and love, when you sense the weight of his glory on you, Everything in you says, Lord, I don't want to lose this. Now, I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit abandons you. I'm not saying that He leaves you when you make a sinful mistake, because Jesus said that the Holy Spirit, once given to you, will never leave you. So that's not what I'm saying at all. What I am saying is that your sense of His presence can be taken. What I am saying is that your awareness of His presence can be taken. So when you find yourself in sinful compromise, You'll notice that that glorious sense of his presence dissipates. I wanna walk around sensing the weight of his presence, even if not always physically or emotionally, at least just that knowledge that he's with me. At least just that awareness that he abides, that I'm hosting the presence of the precious Holy Spirit on a moment-by-moment basis. The Holy Spirit dwells in you. What are you looking at with the Holy Spirit's eyes? What are you handling with the Holy Spirit's hands? Where are you going with the Holy Spirit's feet? What are you doing with the Holy Spirit's vessel? Do your actions please him, or do your actions grieve him? It's time again to consider the precious Holy Spirit. It's time to repent and say, Holy Spirit, I'm sorry for breaking Your heart. I'm sorry for grieving you. I want to sense your presence. I'm tired of living in shame. I'm tired of living in torment. I'm tired of living feeling like I'm distant from God. I want to approach you now, Lord, humbly and say, "I need your help, Lord. Your hand has weighed heavily upon me. I've sensed your conviction. I've grieved over sin, and now, Lord, I need the sense of your presence. Lord, let me rejoice again. Restore." Unto me the joy of salvation. Lord, I pray now in the name of Jesus that you would give them the sense of your presence. Let them even now sense your glory weighing upon them. Let them even now sense your loving arms wrap around them, just as the father wrapped his arms around the prodigal son. Lord, let them sense you running to them to I rebuke the lies of the enemy that tell them that they'll never be free. I rebuke the lies of the enemy that tell them that God has rejected them. And I pray, Lord, that you would envelop them in your love, envelop them in your peace, give them the grace to live according to your word and your ways. We thank you, Father, that every bondage is broken in the name of Jesus. Agree with me now. Every bondage is broken in the name of Jesus. Amen. Every chain of addiction, we break it now. Every demonic oppression, we break it now. And Lord, give them the grace and the strength to subject the flesh and help them to walk in obedience. Give them willing hearts, bend them to your will. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. I want you to type it in the comment section if you agree. Type a big amen. If you're being blessed by this ministry and you believe in what we're doing, you wanna help us to win souls, disciple believers, continue releasing media, continue doing events around the world, then I'm asking you to do your part. If you've received from this ministry in any way, it's time to pay it forward so that others can be affected. Our ministry is growing rapidly and we need your help. So get involved today by becoming a monthly ministry partner. To do that, you can go to davidhernandezministries.com/partner. To give a single gift, you can go to davidhernandezministries.com/donate. Now, I want you to learn how to pray. I talked about prayer in this message, so check out my message, Jesus Reveals What Most Get Wrong About Talking to God.