[Music]
well winning the war against lost is by
far the most common theme of all the
emails we get in our inbox and today's
question comes from an anonymous
listener hello pastor John thank you for
taking my question I am a female college
student in Maryland and I love listening
to your podcast thank you for the
encouragement and the truth that you put
out each week my question is this how
exactly does one transform the way they
think the Bible talks about letting your
mind be transformed but I feel like it's
not so cut and dry as it is laid out in
Scripture
lately I've been struggling with lustful
thoughts that make me feel very insecure
and guilty so how do I deal with this
especially in a sex-crazed culture I
want to fight the temptations and every
time a lustful thought occurs I feel
like I've let God down how do I let my
mind get transformed as the Bible says
so that I can win this overwhelming and
exhausting battle how exactly does one
transform the way they think that's
where she starts so let me pick up there
there's so many pieces to her words that
I I'm probably not gonna touch on every
one of them but let me give our college
student friend in Maryland a simple two
part paradigm for transforming the way
she we think and then try to fill it out
with a few details let me use the
analogy of becoming physically fit are
physically transformed into fitness to
illustrate how we may become spiritually
or mentally transformed in Fitness
almost everybody would see the common
sense in saying that if you want to be
physically fit
there would be two aspects to the
process of transformation let's call
them resistance and reception by
resistance I mean the kinds of exercises
that put your muscle under great deal of
unnatural strain right for example you
you want your biceps to be stronger so
you can lift heavier packages or lift
light ones more easily
you you curl a weight up and down it's a
10 15 20 pounds and you do it enough
times that the last one you can't barely
do it the resistance is so strong
against your your bicep in in that
process of resistance the bicep
ironically becomes stronger it's strange
that you make yourself look like an
idiot trembling and pulling and unable
to pull it up for the 10th or 20th time
and out of that weakness a few weeks
later lo and behold it your bicep is
stronger and what I mean by reception so
that was resistance that what I mean by
reception is that you you take into your
body you receive healthy foods and
sufficient sleep the kind of activity
that is not so much pushing against
something but rather welcoming right and
good things into your body so there's
the analogy and you can work with it and
see if I've got it right physically cuz
I'm don't know much about that but it
seems to work for me and now let's apply
it to the spiritual mental fitness of
the way the Bible says it happens and of
course these resistance and reception
are not sequential they're not
sequential like some days you do
resistance and some days you eat no it's
it's simultaneous at the same time in
the same days
first there's the biblical principle of
resistance so James says in James 4:7
resist the devil and he will flee from
you and Paul says in Romans 8:13 put to
death kill the deeds of the body by the
spirit so we we kill specific sins by
targeting them with lethal resistance
James chapter 1 verse 3 the testing of
your faith produces steadfastness so the
testing of faith corresponds to the
lifting of the barbell by your bicep
some temptation or some suffering comes
into your life and threatens to conquer
you and ruin your faith and your
holiness
and you have to lay hold on a promise of
God and push hard against the rising
doubt and unbelief with all your might
as you rely upon the promise of God and
so push back the encroaching darkness
just like you you push on the floor when
you do push-ups why because this
produces steadfastness or endurance this
means that those tests those those
pressures of unbelief and and temptation
those tests that have to be resisted by
faith result in two things they enable
us to resist greater tests greater
temptations greater suffering in the
future and they enable us to meet the
the old test that used to make a stumble
with relative ease so that we're not
thrown into crisis every time we meet
some sexual temptation say now all of
this applies to lust and and sexual
temptation because those are thoughts
and tests that we have to resist we have
to take hold of a promise of Christ
believe it and then use it to push
actively push the thought out of our
minds we said no no no I mean I do this
I'm not kidding here I mean I thought
some lustful thought or some image comes
into your mind and you've got about five
seconds to decide whether you're gonna
let it take over or whether you're gonna
push on it with no you're out of here in
Jesus name you're out of here directing
your attention to some superior promise
Jesus is better Jesus is enough he said
this you're out of here and you keep
pushing till it's gone so that's what I
mean by resistance the resistance half
of transformation and I want to
encourage you that even though it may
feel or sound exhausting at Fir
it really does yield a peaceful fruit of
righteousness read read Hebrews 12 and
and you'll see what I mean now here's
the second half that's only the first
half and if and so many Christians try
to solve the problems of their
temptations and their defeats only by
the resistance half of of sanctification
it won't work you just won't work in the
long run so let me give what I mean by
the the reception part second
Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18 we all
with unveiled face beholding the glory
of the Lord are being transformed into
the same image from one degree of glory
to another this comes from the Lord who
is the spirit notice this comes from the
Lord the spirit we are receivers we are
receivers this is the reception side we
are fixing our gaze on the glory of the
Lord and we do that mainly in the word
we linger over the sweet and beautiful
descriptions of the person and the work
of Jesus Christ we marinate our minds
receptively by faith in the crockpot
of God's Word and we fix our eyes the
eyes of our hearts on Jesus and the more
we receive and receive into our hearts
the beauty of Christ through the eyes of
the heart as we read and meditate the
more we will have his desires his
preferences his convictions
we will be receptively transformed oh
how sweet
to have that receptive transformation so
that the the hooks of the devil don't
even lodge themselves anymore here's
another here's another passage to stir
in Colossians 3:10
reminds us that in Jesus we are new
creatures we have new selves but we must
put on the new self that is receive the
new self put it on like a coat
consciously receive it but there's a
phrase in Colossians 3:10 that tips us
off how it happens it says put on the
new self and here comes which is being
renewed in knowledge after the image of
its creator so the transformation of the
mind and the desires and the thoughts of
the new self happens in knowledge this
is just like saying look to Jesus more
and more and your thoughts and your
feelings will be changed you will
experience your newness here's the last
passage I'll mention that relates to to
newness through beholding Christ newness
through knowledge and it relates
specifically to sexual temptation 1st
Thessalonians 4 verses 3 through 5
here's what Paul says this is the will
of God your sanctification that you
abstain from sexual immorality that each
one of you know how to control his own
body in holiness and honor and here
comes the key not in the passion of lust
like the Gentiles who do not know God so
notice where Paul lays the fault of
sexual passion taking control and
ruining our lives he says that passion
that sinful passion rules in people who
do not know just like Colossians 3:10
don't know just like second Corinthians
3:18 don't see don't meditate on don't
know don't absorb don't receive the
knowledge of God in other words they
they haven't been renewed in knowledge
they haven't set their mind
- behold the glory of Jesus day and
night so that they become like what they
admire and so they are at the mercy of
their sinful passions because they
haven't been transformed by putting on
the new self renewed in knowledge so
that's the biblical pattern of
transforming our minds and our hearts so
that we are less vulnerable to sexual
temptation it's both resistance against
unbelief in temptation and doubt and
Satan and it is the sweet and Joya
beliefs epson through god's word of the
preciousness and the beauty and the
greatness of jesus both resistance and
reception over time transforms our
hearts and our minds it's so critical
thank you Pastor John for joining in the
fight against lust over the years and
for taking so many questions and the
podcasts about this ongoing struggle and
I think for the question many questions
are anonymous we always respect your
privacy when you send those in to us and
and just say in the email I would prefer
not to have my name mentioned we'll
always will always respect that and many
of our questions come from college
students who are seeking to honor Christ
on campus and it's not easy in fact it's
a huge challenge for students who are in
state colleges and that private colleges
Christian colleges all of them come with
real-life temptations that resonate with
many other listeners and we would love
to hear the questions that you face
because every time we get a question is
articulating questions and challenges
that many other listeners face that's
really what this podcast is about but
hearing from you to address a group of
people who are facing the same thing
because we are really in this together
helping one another and you can send us
your questions through our online home
at desiring God org forward slash ask
pastor and John I am not sure what's
next on the docket but Lord willing we
will return on Friday with another one
of your excellent and thoughtful and
specific questions I'm here of Stoney
Reiki thanks for listening to the
podcast and we will see you next time
you