OVERCOMING THE POWER OF SEX

January 29, 2023 / Nathan Paul

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OVERCOMING THE POWER OF SEX

 

Review from last week…

God CREATED US
God CREATED SEX
Sex is POWERFUL
God sets the GUARDRAILS for how sex should be experienced

 

Debunking The Two Extremes

1. Sex is .

You can get a large audience together for a strip-tease act. Now suppose you came to a country where you could fill a theatre by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let every one see, just before the lights went out, that it contained a mutton chop or a bit of bacon, would you not think that in that country something had gone wrong with the appetite for food? – CS Lewis (Mere Christianity, 1952)

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. – 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 (ESV)

2. Sex is .

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. – Hebrews 13:4 (ESV)

It’s not casual because when you have sex with somebody, and it’s pleasurable, it drives up the dopamine system in the brain. That can push you over the threshold into falling in love.

And when you orgasm, there’s a flood of oxytocin and vasopressin. Those neurochemicals are linked with the attachment system in the brain. – Helen Fisher, PhD

The Problem and Solution

Doing can ruin .

And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day. Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so
that you can endure.
– 1 Corinthians 10:8-13 (NLT)

PRACTICAL TIP #1: Consider the .

PRACTICAL TIP #2: temptation is easier than temptation.

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel… But David remained at Jerusalem. – 2 Samuel 11:1, 2b (ESV)

PRACTICAL TIP #3: Seek .

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!  – Ephesians 4:9-10 (ESV)

PRACTICAL TIP #4: Pray .

PRACTICAL TIP #5: Avoid .

The Bible says: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. – Romans 8:1 (ESV)

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Small Group Discussion Questions

  1. What are some practical steps you can take to avoid sexual temptation in your life?

  2. The speaker talked about accountability. Who could be a safe person for you where accountability can thrive in your life?

  3. How can prayer help in the struggle with temptation?

  4. Do you agree with “sex is nothing” or “sex is everything”? Why or why not?

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