Practical ways to overcome Sexual Temptations

You have to value Jesus Christ more than you value anything on this earth. How can a wife become a prostitute when she gives her body, her body not her money? If you look at pornography on your phone or on the internet, you're violating this verse if you're married. You're unmarried, you're still violating that verse of lusting after something God has not given you. It's a pathetic thing that Christians, men, watch pornography with those same eyes that are now going to read the Bible. With which eyes are you reading the Bible? The same eyes with which you look at some filthy pornographic picture. Would you be happy if your wife gave her body just once a year to some other man? Not every day. No, no, no, no, no, no. Only once a year she gave her body to another man. Oh, you say that's okay. Once a year, what is there? It's not such a big thing. I have her body 364 days of the year. Would you accept it? Or would it make you angry? How do you think Jesus should treat you if you give your body once a year to someone other than him? You have to value Jesus Christ more than you value anything on this earth. More than you value your honor, your position, your wealth. You remember that rich young ruler who came to Jesus and Jesus said you're a wonderful young man but you love your money too much. Get rid of that and come. He says he went away sad because he had so much wealth and he loved it more than he loved Jesus Christ. There was no place in God's kingdom for him then. And I want to say to all of you, especially those of you who have a lot of wealth, if you love it more than Jesus Christ, you are in the same category as that rich young ruler. You have missed the kingdom. You may not believe me today. You will believe me at the judgment seat of Christ. But Peter and James and John were different. They loved Jesus more than their jobs and their nets and their money. They said Lord you're first. They didn't starve. God didn't make them like beggars on the street. No child of God will ever be a beggar. Impossible because the father will never forsake his children. Impossible. So it's a question of my attitude. Babylon is called the harlot. See in Revelation 17 verse 5, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots. Harlot means prostitute. How can a wife, why do I say wife? Because we are supposed to be the wife of Jesus Christ. So I'm thinking of all of us as the wife of Jesus Christ. How can a wife become a prostitute when she gives her body, her body, not her money. If a woman gives her money to somebody else, she's not a prostitute. If she cooks for food for somebody else, she's not a prostitute. When does a wife become a prostitute? When she gives her body to someone other than her husband. That's when she becomes a prostitute. So when it says Babylon the great prostitute and the mother of all prostitutes, it's because they give their body, not their money, not their time, their body to somebody else. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians in chapter 7 where it talks about the relationship of a husband and a wife and we can apply it to Christ and the church because the relationship with Christ and us is to be exactly like a husband to his wife where we are the wife and Christ is the husband. You know we read that in Ephesians 5, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and wives submit to your husbands as the church submits to Christ. So in 1 Corinthians 7, have you read this verse, verse 4? It's talking about normal marriage. The wife does not have authority over her own body. How many wives know that? She has no authority over her own body. If she wanted to keep authority over her own body, she should not have got married. If she's unmarried and she's single, she's got full authority over her own body but the moment she gets married, she does not have authority over her body. Her husband has authority over her body. So the Bible says in the same way, the husband also does not have authority over his body. You men, do you know that the moment you got married, you lost the authority over your body? The wife has authority over your body. So it's the same subject, the body, not offerings, not how well you cook for your husband, that's not the issue, not how clean you keep the house, not how well you look after the children. No, your body, you recognize that belongs 100% to your husband, the husband likewise to his wife. What does it mean when it says the wife has no authority over her body? It means she cannot give her body to any other man. What does it mean when it says a husband doesn't have authority over his body? It means he cannot use a member of his body called his eyes to look at another woman and lust after her because his body belongs to his wife, his eyes belong to his wife. How many men realize that? The husband does not have authority over his body. We say we are Christians but have you read this verse? That's what it means in the physical realm and you don't want your wife ever to give her body to another man? Dear brothers, you must, you have no authority to use your eyes to look at another woman and lust after her, it must be for your wife, that's all. If you look at pornography on your phone or on the internet, you're violating this verse. If you're married, you're unmarried, you're still violating that verse of lusting after something God has not given you. It's a pathetic thing that Christians, men, watch pornography, even married men, they don't realize. They say oh nobody's watching me, it's only me and my phone or it's only me and my computer. There are people watching, there are angels looking over your shoulder, there are demons laughing. This guy not only says he's a Christian, he goes to CFC but look how he's enjoying pornography right now. You think the demons are not laughing at that? You think nobody's watching? There are hundreds of eyes watching while you are looking at pornography, while you are lusting after the body of a woman who's not your wife. Have you ever thought, those of you who look at pornography, have you ever thought that girl who's taking off her clothes, if that was your sister, your own sister, who to earn money went to some pornographic movie and said give me some money, I'll take off my clothes, I'll have sex with somebody, just film it and I'll give you some money. So if that was your own sister, would you watch it? Or if that was your wife who went and did all that with some other man, would you watch it? No. But you say who cares, that's somebody else's sister, that's somebody else's wife, I don't care. I care for my sister, I don't care for somebody else's sister. Are you a Christian or are you a heathen? Ask yourself the next time you ever attempted to see that, ask yourself am I a Christian or am I a heathen? This is serious. I believe many born-again Christians in these past years have finally gone to hell because they watch pornography. No other reason. Now that's not the best reason to avoid pornography, the fear of hell. The best reason to avoid it is I love Jesus and I don't want to offer to God a body that's eyes are polluted. With those same eyes I'm now going to read the bible. With which eyes are you reading the bible? The same eyes with which you look at some filthy pornographic picture or some filthy Malayalam serial with all those filthy stories and then you come to read the bible. No wonder you don't get anything from it. No, I really believe there are many born-again Christians who have lost their salvation and gone to hell because they watch pornography. You have no authority over your body, your wife has. You have no authority over your body, your husband has. Now apply that to Jesus Christ and me. I'm the bride of Jesus Christ and I have no authority over my body. It belongs to my husband, to Jesus Christ. I can't use it for something else. Let me ask you. You say well it's only once in a while brother. Once in a while. Would you be happy if your wife gave her body just once a year to some other man? Not every day. No, no, no, no, no, no. Only once a year she gave her body to another man. Oh you say that's okay. Once a year what is there? It's not such a big thing. I have her body 364 days of the year. One said wow. Would you accept it? How would it make you angry? How do you think Jesus should treat you if you give your body once a year to someone other than him? Your eyes, your tongue, brothers and sisters. A body meant for Jesus Christ. Eyes that are meant for Jesus Christ. Tongue that is meant for Jesus Christ. You give it to the devil. You give it for sin. It's exactly like your wife giving her body to somebody else once a year. Why are you so strict with your wife that every day her body must be yours? So strict. Well is anything wrong in Jesus being strict and saying I want your body? Every day. My brothers and sisters these are very serious things. And if you take seriously what I told you today. I was praying saying Lord what shall I share with this church today? They always do that. I say Lord I don't want to just get up and preach any message. I want to preach what you want this church to hear. That's what I do every place I go. And this is what the Lord laid on my heart. I didn't sit at home and plan it and prepare a written message. No I said Lord give me the burden of your heart and I'll share it. So I believe my dear brothers and sisters I love you very much and that's why I tell you the truth. That's why I tell you exactly like it is. So that you won't get any surprise in the day of judgment. You know I've heard of children who go for their examinations. I've actually heard they come home and say mommy I never knew this portion was going to come in the exam. I studied all these other things but this portion I didn't study and it came in the exam. And I couldn't answer that question. He says son look up what the teacher said is the portions that are coming to the exam and you look up and you say yeah that was written there. This portion that you didn't study was written in that when the teacher gave the subjects that are going to come in the final exam. Why didn't you take that seriously? That's why you failed. What is going to come in the final exam when we stand before the Lord? It's not how much money you made or what a no. What did you do with your body? Did you worship God with your body or did you use your body for yourself? I sincerely hope that something will radically change. I hope in everyone's lives but I know from past experience that everyone will not accept it. I know unfortunately everyone will not accept what I say because always there are people who say yeah that's brother Zach is very strict. I'll tell you something Jesus is 10 times stricter than me or a thousand times stricter than me. I remember telling someone who said brother Zach speaks so hard. I know what he said about a man who stole money from the offering bag and who betrayed him. It is better that he was not even born. What a terrible thing. Imagine to tell about someone. It's better you were not even born. You know who said that? Jesus and he said if you offend a little child go and get a heavy millstone tight around your neck. So tight so that it doesn't fall off and jump in the sea. You know who said that? Not Zach Coonan. Jesus Christ. I've never said such things and you know when one of his followers Peter said Lord don't go to the cross. The way of the cross is not for us. Jesus said get behind me satan. You know who said that? I have never called anybody satan. We haven't understood the strictness of Jesus Christ. He said it's better for you to lose one eye and go into God's kingdom than to have both eyes and go to hell. Matthew chapter 5. It's better for you to lose one hand go into God's kingdom than to have both hands and go to hell. So I want to say to you please take seriously. I don't get any great delight in preaching these things. Once when I was in America preaching in another church. I was only a visiting speaker. Somebody came to me and said brother Zach we watch you on YouTube regularly and we notice one thing. When you preach in a CFC church you preach so hard and here you come to America and you preach so softly. Why is that? I said those are my children. These people are not my children in this church. I never punish people who are not my children. I have four children. I spank them really hard. But other people's children I tell you I've never hurt one of them in my whole life. I say son don't do that. My dear girl don't do that. That's not good. They're not my children. If it is my child I say you come home and I'll teach you never to do that again. That's why they turn out right. So you know what they said to me? They said we want to hear those hard messages. But when we look at this one hour YouTube message how to find out whether you're preaching that in CFC or in some other church. So please tell us the color of the curtain in CFC so that as soon as the message starts we can find out if this is a CFC message or not. I was so thrilled that somebody would want it to know that because right from the beginning they want to hear a hard message. Those are the serious Christians who want God's best in their life. I hope you will be like that. Let's pray. Heavenly Father help us to take seriously. Remind us tonight when we are in bed the things we heard today. We believe you love every one of us here. Help us to respond not with empty words but seriously. Help us to set right matters which we have to set right with others, with the husband, wife, brother, sister, somebody. Help us to set everything right before we go to bed tonight. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.