The Problem is BIG
1 Peter 5:8 tells us to “be alert” because the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. There are many things that Satan uses to cause us to stumble and fall, but what I am seeing in our modern times is truly frightening.
We have all heard the story of the frog that gets put into a room-temperature pot of water and is allowed to hang out for a while, but then the burner on the stove is turned on and the water slowly starts getting warmer and warmer until it is hot and boiling. The frog never realized that the water was becoming dangerous because the temperature was rising very slowly and the frog was getting used to it until it was too late and he was boiled to death. Much like the frog in the pot our culture is getting more and more acclimated to sexual immorality and is headed for disaster without even realizing it. We are bombarded daily with “non-pornographic” pictures and scenes from TV shows, movies, the internet, magazines, billboards and even on the back of buses that we happen to be driving behind, that drag our minds into the gutters of immorality and it slowly desensitizes us to the death trap we are caught in. The more we see those erotic pictures and scenes, even though the people are not fully disrobed, it slowly erodes our conscience to the point that it’s acceptable when we do start to see some uncovered body parts, which leads us down the road toward being accepting of pornography and from there we fall into its trap. It’s clear to see how Satan is using sexual immorality to erode our culture because it is almost everywhere that we look. But the truly frightening part I mentioned in the first paragraph is the area where it is harder to see; it’s a place where it is easy to hide the ugliness of that particular sin because it’s just not spoken of there, and that place is the Church. I am witnessing first-hand the destruction of Pastors and ministry leaders because of things like pornography, affairs and other forms of sexual immorality and it’s truly heartbreaking because it is avoidable.
It hits home for me because I was on the worship team at my church for years and every Sunday I would get up in front of the congregation and lead people in worship while unbeknownst to them, I had just spent the week captivated by an addiction to pornography. I knew it was wrong but I was so scared and ashamed to say anything about it because I didn’t want people knowing I struggled with thatsin, but I also knew that I would lose my position as a worship leader and quite possibly, my wife and kids, friends and membership in my church. Satan is using the secrecy of sexual sin to destroy the Church from the inside out starting with the leaders. They continue on in silence while Satan uses their sin to erode the ministry and eventually destroy it through one of the leaders getting publicly busted, which gives unbelievers another excuse to talk about the hypocrisy of Christians. But what I did not know was that there were plenty of men in my church that were struggling with that same sin and if I would have just reached out to my friends and confessed my own struggle, it could have started a revival in that church where men would come forward and find freedom and healing from sexual sin and become the men, husbands and dads that God truly wanted them to be! About 3 years after I left that church, the Senior Pastor was caught in an adulterous relationship with one of the women in the congregation. To this day it weighs heavy on my heart that I did not confess my own sin before I was busted, and started a purity ministry for other men who were struggling in that church. But as I have been working with other churches over the last few years and have seen the statistics of men who struggle with pornography in the church (68% of men in Evangelical churches have looked at porn over the last 30 days) I can clearly see that I was not alone when I thought I was and that this is truly en epidemic right under our own noses in the Church, let alone out in the secular world.
If you are a leader in a Church or other ministry and are reading this, chances are very high that you are struggling or have struggled with some form of sexual immorality, in particular pornography. If that is the case, there is absolutely help for you and you need to take it- now! In my posts I hope to deliver resources that are applicable to everyone struggling with some form of sexual temptation or addiction but I want to especially provide resources and encouragement for ministry leaders. I’ve been there. I have gone through the long process of recovery from my sexual addiction and it’s a constant battle to stay pure and continue keeping my eyes where they should be, but it can be done! God’s word is full of truths that can help you in this battle. Please reach out if you are needing help. You can find your freedom in Christ and it can start today. Stand FIRM and let NOTHING move you. 1 Corinthians 15:58.