Sex/Porn freedom in 40 days: Day 14
“A hero is one who knows how to hang on one minute longer.”
Motivational Norwegian proverb
We can learn so much about quitting addiction from Genesis.
Genesis chapter 2 verse 7Then the Lord God formed a man
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[h] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[i] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The Fall
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
In life there are always a couple of things that we can’t do if we want to find real joy. I always think when I read this story – I would never have eaten that apple. But the fact is that we do the exact same stupid thing she did. We get the same destruction she got (we will talk more about that tomorrow).
The first thing we can learn from this chapter is that satan wants us to fall. God told Adam and Eve they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit. Satan said to them “You certainly will not die.
I can tell you 50 times that sex/porn addiction cause you destruction, it has in the past and it will in the future unless you quit. But satan will fight back and tell you that you are going to win this time. Satan will tell you that your favorite thing to do in the world is to fall. Hello, did he forget all the pain and destruction it has caused you? He will tell you that you have to go. He will have your friends call you to do this or that.
Key Point #1 for a sex addiction: When a former partner calls you to do a sexual sin tell them this: “I am making an attempt to quit living this way it is killing me. I don’t know if it will stick this time but I am going to try”.
Continue to read the Purpose Driven Life
Matthew 6:14-16
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (NIV)
We also forgive so that our prayers will not be hindered:
Addiction.com said:” There is power in forgiveness — this is the first thing most addictionologists will tell their patients. According to the definition of the word, forgiveness is the process by which a victim — the person you hurt, or yourself — changes his attitude toward the offense, lets go of negative emotions such as revenge, and creates within himself an increased ability to wish the offender well. It’s important to note that forgiving someone is not condoning, excusing, pardoning, forgetting or reconciling. In fact, you can choose to forgive someone without engaging any further in a relationship.
Health benefits of forgiveness
Harboring negative emotions, especially unexpressed or lingering anger, creates a state of chronic anxiety, which leads to increased production of adrenaline and cortisol; in excess, these chemicals compromise immune system function. Research has shown that “unforgiveness” is linked to increased incidence of cancer and heart disease. Holding a grudge, as they say, hurts you more than it hurts them.
Forgiveness is for you, not them
Fenigstein emphasizes the importance of forgiveness being a process; it’s not going to happen overnight, and addicts need to learn to “trust the process.” While most addicts struggle with forgiveness for a variety of reasons, in early recovery it’s a risk factor. “It’s a lot easier to ask for forgiveness from others,” he says, than it is for addicts to forgive themselves. And it puts them at risk of relapse if they’re not properly counseled through what can often take more than a letter or phone call asking for grace. “If someone is dead-set on not forgiving themselves, they’re highly likely to use.”
“The more forgiveness and lightening of the emotional [or] mental load in our hearts and minds, the less likely we are going to be having things churn in our souls,” Paul says. “It’s that churning and grinding of unresolved resentments and fears that is grist for the alcoholic mind to return. Our emotional sobriety falls apart long before our physical sobriety does.”
If you struggle to forgive others buy a Christian book on learning to forgive. It may save your life. Pray: every time you think negatively about someone you can’t forgive start to pray and ask God for help. If you make this a habit it will improve your life more than you can imagine.
Form a habit to say to yourself 6 times a day that “my lust cause’s me destruction. It has in the past and it will in the future unless I quit.”
Pray “Father keep me from temptation”.
John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Pray this prayer “Jesus what am I doing that keeps you from setting me free from this addiction.”
We were created to have fire in our lives. A fire that drives us. If we choose not to strive for the Holy Spirits fire we will be forced to find fire in Sexual Addiction and Porn Addiction, which will hurt us. If you don’t seek the Holy Spirit then something in your life is going to drive you in a way that you are not sure you want to go. When Sexual Addiction and Porn drive us, we think we want it. Then we crash. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to drive you, you may not be sure you want what He wants, but He knows better than you what you really want. When He drives we find joy, purpose and we flourish.
www.wikihow.com had a Christian expert write the following regarding being fill with the Spirit:
“Desire to be fully controlled by the Holy Spirit, which may also be called being under the full influence of the Spirit or to be constantly led by God. Seek this control in prayer. Do not place any conditions on what God may do in your life. Be ready for him to exhibit his control in any way he pleases. Do not demand anything as a sign of his filling. Expect only that he will make his full dominion evident as He did in the beginning.
Read examples of people being filled with the Holy Spirit. Such as Acts2:4, Acts10:44-46 and Acts19:1-6″
Why is being filled with the Holy Spirit a priority in getting freedom from a porn habit or sex habit? It is because we were created to be filled with something. We all marvel at how hooked people become with booze or sex. They are filled with those spirits. There are lust spirits. Those of you with a light addiction may fight this notion. But anyone who is really hooked knows it is true. This is why being filled with the Holy Spirit is great for users. Once you become really filled, lust starts to fade because it has been replaced by something better.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit, get all sin out of your life. Keep it out. God has a mighty plan for you. He is waiting for you to be ready to fulfill your destiny.
Matthew 5 is about how we can change so that we will start to be blessed by God. www.relijournal.com noted the following
The Seventh Beatitude v9
God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called children of God.
Don’t let an eternal quest for thrills and fun dominate your life. Seek things which satisfy. Peace, purpose, health, helping others. This quest leads to increased joy and stability in your life.
Read Proverbs 4, Mathew 11 and 1st Corinthians 11
What The Bible Says About Addiction is my new 260 page e-book which is filled with new information about quitting addiction. My book is filled with a large number of ideas about quitting addiction and renewing the mind. It is amazing how differently we think when we do things God’s way. It is encouraging how focused we become when we do things God’s way. Writing this book completely changed my mindset – I believe that reading it will do the same for you. Click here to access it. Please leave a good review if you like it.
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Thank you for reading day 14 of this program: freedom from a Porn habit.
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Day 1: Overcoming cravings
Day2 : Is God real?
Day 3: Quitting addiction exercises
Day 4: Getting negative emotions out
Day 5: You can never increase the amount of pleasure that you can have for the month by going back to an addiction
Day 6: Sin leads back to addiction
Day 7: Worshiping God helps us overcome addiction
Day 8: What causes you to stay addicted
Day 9: Develop positive addicitons
Day 10: Overcoming negative emotions
Day 11: You have some self control
Day 12: Always have a list of alternate activities to do when temptation hits
Day 13: Only living water can satisfy you for good