How to Avoid Fornication

Below are notes taken from Dr. Creflo Dollar's sermon on "How to Avoid Fornication". In this day and age, sexual lust and perversion are everywhere. It is vital to guard our hearts with the Word of God and meditate on His Word to overcome sin. In Philippians 4:8 it states "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." We must renew our minds daily in order to meditate on good things.

Stay blessed and encourage... We can do ALL thing through Christ who strengthens you, including abstaining from fornication.

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1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 - It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God

• It is God’s Will for us to flee fornication

Colossians 3:5 - Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

• Fornication is idolatry

1 Corinthians 6:13-20 - "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh. “But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

2 Timothy 2:19 - Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his,"and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."

• Depart from iniquity so you can be blessed & victorious in the world.

• Sin departs us from God; you don’t want to block your blessing

*The obvious way to avoid fornication: To be married

• 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 - Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.

*Fornication is based in selfishness, NOT IN LOVE!

*Lust is also a selfish act.

Lust: intense appetite to fulfill selfish gratification

Fornication is a lustful act based on selfishness!!!

James 1:13-15 (AMP) - Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one. But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.

*Temptations: Pressure applied to your flesh through one’s own thoughts.

• Evil temptation NEVER comes from God.

Proverbs 4:20 – 27 - My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

*God wants us to give our attention to His word.

• STAY AWAY FROM ANYTHING THAT FEEDS UNGODLY DESIRES.

10-step freedom plan from fornication:

1. Desire to be free; have a greater purpose for your freedom (Your purpose should be that want to be obedient to God and His Word.)

2. Eliminate all excuses.

3. Be willing to take immediate action towards your goal.

4. Expose yourself to wholesome words and images.

5. Take charge of your thought life.

a. 1 Corinthians 10:13 - No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it.

b. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 - For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

6. Do not allow your emotions to rule your life.

7. Make decisions that line up with your desire to be free.

8. Watch your actions; beware of wrong things you do.

9. Eliminate sexually perverted habits

a. Ephesians 4:17 – 19 - So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

10. Create a character of purity

a. Psalm 119:9, 11, and 15 - How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.

Praying Over the Men in Your Life

HAPPY NEW YEAR, LOVES!

I am so blessed that God has allowed me to see another year and to be used for His glory. I'm not one for resolutions because I know that they are usually broken in February or March so I decided to set a movement for 2011. My 2011 movement is called:

"Positive Prayers for our Men (Lifting up our men through prayer) ".

I think it is so important for women to pray over the men in their lives for many reasons. One reason why I think it is important is because God has called us to be helpmates to men. One of the ways we are helpmates is encouraging them to do the Will of God for their lives. One way we can encourage them is by praying for them. Another reason why I think it is important to pray over the men in our lives is due to the fact that we have power to speak blessing and cursing into our lives and the lives of others. In Proverbs 18:21, we see that death and life are in the power of the tongue. So it is important for us to speak life-filled words over the men in our lives to produce a blessing into their lives.

So I know the first thing that may pop up in your head, "What if a particular man in my life said something hurtful to me or did something hurtful to me?" This was the first thing I thought when the Holy Spirit impressed upon me to start this movement. But he opened my Spiritual eyes to His Word and showed me that it wasn't about how I felt but it was about the edification of His Kingdom. God wants more men in the body of Christ to be obedient to His Word so they may prosper (1 Kings 2:2-3). According to Titus 2:2, men of valor should be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith , in love and in endurance. Therefore, first we must forgive any man in our lives that has hurt us just as Christ has forgiven us of our sins. (Colossians 3:13). After that, we must pray that God opens our spiritual eyes so that we may see the men in our lives as God see them. Once we do that, praying for positivity over the men in our lives will be easy.

If you don't know what to pray, here is a sample prayer that can help you speak blessing into the men in your life:

Lord, I come to you today by faith in the Blood of Jesus as I intercede on the behalf of the men in my life. I declare, decree, and agree that they are saved and that they continuously renew their minds towards you. I pray that they follow the example of Jesus Christ and continuously remain obedient to Your Word and do Your perfect Will for their lives. According to Psalms 37:23, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in his way" therefore I declare that their steps are ordered by you, Lord. In the name of Jesus, I bind every satanic and demonic force that tries to attack their mind, their soul, their body, their spirit, their job, their finances, their relationships, their marriage, their children, and every area of their lives. I bind deception, fear, unrepentance, unforgiveness, perversion, sexual immorality out of them in the name of Jesus. Lord, I loose Your Holy hands over their hearts and I loose love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, humility, faithfulness, and self-control into their lives. I plead the Precious Blood of Jesus over their mind, their soul, their body, their spirit, their job, their finances, their relationships, their marriage, their children, and every area of their lives. By faith in the Blood of Jesus, they are not slaves to sin but they are slaves to your righteousness. I decree that they will no longer have a taste for sin but they will only have a desire for Your living Word. By faith in the Blood, I declare that they are temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith , in love and in endurance. I declare that they are men after Your own heart who fear You and find great delight in Your commands. I declare that hey are gracious, compassionate, and righteous. They are generous and lend freely to those in need. They conduct their affairs with justice. They are anointed, prosperous, and the works of their hands are blessed. Lord I receive that they edify, magnify, and soul win for Your Holy Kingdom. I thank You that the finished works in their lives is manifesting in the natural, in Jesus' Name... AMEN!

The men in your life doesn't have to be limited to your father, your brother, and boyfriend/husband. You can pray over you co-workers, family members, friends, boss, pastors, etc. By saying this pray everyday, we are not only blessing the men in our lives but we are blessing ourselves and blessing the Kingdom of God. And it sure feels good to know that we are edifying God's Kingdom. GLORY BE TO GOD!!!

*PS* I recently order a book called "Praying for the Men in Your Life" by Suzan D. Johnson-Cook. I am reading it now and it is truly blessing me. I will write another blog specifically about the book ... So until then ladies, stay encouraged and continue to put God first!