This is a production of World Video Bible School.
To God be the glory!
Would you believe that the majority of all internet pornography use occurs
right here in the workplace?
Statistics say that 70% of all internet porn traffic occurs during
the 9-to-5 workday.
According to IDC, a source of global market intelligence,
30-40% of internet use in the workplace is unrelated to
business.
The Nelson net-rating system has determined that
21% of all adult sites are accessed
from work.
Meanwhile, 70% of employees surveyed by the NFO Worldwide,
admit to viewing or sending
adult oriented email
at work.
For the next several minutes, I want to talk to you about the subject of
internet pornography.
You know, this is one of those uncomfortable subjects that we don't
like to talk about, we don't like to preach about.
But, it's a very real issue
and it's doing tremendous destruction both to people's lives
and to their marriages.
You know, the Lord addressed this subject in the Bible in Matthew 5:28,
when he said:
"But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already
committed adultery with her
in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it
is more profitable for you that one of your members perish,
than for your whole body to be cast into hell."
The Lord warned us, but even still
it's an issue in the world
and it's even an issue in the church. I don't have statistics for the Lord's
church specifically,
but I want you to listen to these statistics involving religious people.
In December of 2000, the National Coalition to Protect Children and Families
surveyed five "Christian" campuses to
see how the next generation of believers was doing
with regard to sexual purity.
48% of males admitted to current porn use
and 68% of males said that they intentionally viewed a
sexually explicit site
at the school.
A 1996 Promise Keeper survey at one of their stadium
events,
revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved
with pornography
within one week
of attending the event.
A CNN article dated April 6, 2007, states that
"70% of Christians
admitted to struggling with porn
in their daily lives."
Now, what am I saying?
I'm simply saying that this is a real problem
for religious people.
Now, someone might say, "Well, it's different in the Lord's church."
And I wish I could say that that's true.
I could, but I never would do this because I would not want to betray people's
confidence, but
I could give you a list of Christians that I've known who've struggled with
this issue.
I've had Christian men come to me over the years and say,
"I'm really struggling with this. Will you help me?"
You see, this is a problem
even in the Lord's church.
And so, sometimes, there are Christians who will attend worship on Sunday morning,
and then they go home to their computers and
they engage in this secret sin.
You know, I guess pornography has always been around in some form, but
in recent years it's become a greater problem because of the internet.
You see, there used to be this sort of built-in deterrent,
because you had to go somewhere to get it. You had to go to a store to buy a
magazine or
to rent a video. And,
there was a possibility that someone might see you.
But now with the internet, people can view pornography in the privacy of their
home
totally anonymously.
In fact, someone has said that the three "A's" of the internet have caused the
porn industry to explode with growth.
Those three "A's" are: accessibility,
affordability,
and anonymity.
And, we might add the word "addiction" and make it four "A's". Those four things have
made the pornography industry reach record numbers in our country and in the
world.
I read that every second $3,075.64
is being spent on pornography.
Every second,
28,258 internet users are viewing
pornography.
Every second,
372 internet users are typing adult search terms
into search engines.
Every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is created in the
United States.
In fact, the revenue for the pornography industry is larger than the revenues of the top
technology companies combined: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, ebay,
Yahoo, Apple, Netflix, and EarthLink.
According to InternetFilterReview.com, their 2003
statistics state that
the sex industry brings in $57 billion in revenue per year
worldwide.
12 billion of that is in the United States. Now, that is more than the
combined revenues
of all of the professional football,
baseball, and basketball franchises,
or the combined revenues of ABC, CBS,
and NBC.
2.5 of the 12 billion is related to the internet porn industry.
Where are we
as a country?
Varner Research Group did a survey in 2003, that revealed that:
"38% of adults believed that it is 'morally acceptable'
to look at pictures of nudity
or explicit sexual behavior."
"59% of adults believe that it is 'morally acceptable' to have
sexual thoughts or fantasies. 38% of adults believe there is
nothing wrong
with pornography use."
Now, how does it happen? How do people get into the use of pornography?
How do people first get exposed to it, and hooked on pornography?
Well, we might say that the first part of this is natural.
Males are naturally stimulated by sight.
You know, this is just the way God made us. But of course, that doesn't make
pornography right. It doesn't make lusting right. There's a proper outlet
for this and it's the marriage relationship.
But it's a fact that men are naturally stimulated by sight.
And many times, women don't really get this.
In the book,
"Every Young Man's Battle," the authors write:
"Women seldom understand this because they aren't sexually stimulated
in the same way.
Their ignitions are tied to touch and relationship.
They view this aspect of our sexuality as shallow..."
One of the authors' wives even said, she said, "When I first heard how men are,
it seemed so wild and unlike anything I could imagine...
I had a hard time believing it
and occasionally even wondered if they were making it up."
They continue in in the book:
"Because women can't relate,
they have little mercy on us and rarely choose to dress
modestly."
Hopefully, that's not the case with Christian women.
Now, what does all of this have to do with pornography?
Well, some people have taken this built-in desire that God gave us
and they have perverted it.
They have twisted it into something that God never intended.
And it's what we call
pornography.
The word "pornography" comes from two Greek words.
One is the word for "prostitute"
and the other is the word for "I write" or "I record."
And so, it refers to a written or illustrated depiction
of prostitution.
Now, when are people first exposed to pornography?
Now some people have said that they were first exposed to pornography
in the form of magazines that they found under their dad's bed.
In the book that I mentioned "Every Young Man's Battle,"
one of the authors states that
he first saw pornography in the form of posters of nude women
in his grandfather's shop.
Now these days, many are first exposed to it on the internet.
In 2003, the average age at which children were first exposed to porn,
via the internet,
was 11 years old. I suspect it might be younger than that now.
Also, the largest consumer of internet pornography
is the 12- to 17-year age group.
Now, at first when a person
first sees pornography,
it's very shocking to them.
They're surprised, but over time
that dwindles.
On the show "Good Morning America," recently there was a segment about
babies that are still in the mother's womb.
And they exposed these babies to a loud noise. And they said that at first the
babies would jump because they were startled.
But, as they continued to expose the child to the noise,
the child became used to it and and the shock faded.
And a similar thing happens to us with regard to the issue that we're discussing.
At first there's shock,
but then it diminishes.
One porn user stated,
he said, "Once you become addicted to it...
you look for more potent,
more explicit, more graphic kinds of material..."
He said like an addiction, "... you keep craving something which is harder
and gives you a greater sense of excitement
until you reach the point where the pornography only goes so far--
that jumping off point
where you begin to think
maybe actually doing it
will give you that which is just beyond reading about it and looking at it."
You know, when you think about the sin involved in pornography
and it's addictive nature
and the fact that it's so easily accessible,
you realize that we really need to take precautions with regard to our children.
What about at your house?
What about the internet in your home?
At my house, we use a program called "Safe Eyes" that filters internet pornography.
It blocks inappropriate sites and
it will also email me if someone tries to access an inappropriate site. And
sometimes the
kids complain about the program because it can be inconvenient in
certain ways.
But it's worth it!
And of course, we also have to be careful about the television.
The average teenager spends three to four hours per day watching television. And
statistics say that 83% of the programming most frequently
watched by adolescents
contains at least some sexual content.
39 million homes receive the adult channels in scrambled form,
while the number of children with potential exposure to such images
is about 29 million.
Christian men,
don't let it ever be said that your son was exposed to pornography
because of you.
You know, it's a sin to have those adult channels, to purchase those things.
It's a sin, too,
to buy those dirty magazines. It's a sin to go to those websites. You
can't go to heaven like that.
And certainly,
you don't want to risk the souls of your children.
And if you have the the movie channels such as HBO or Showtime
beware. In fact, I say get rid of them. Don't put that temptation
in front of your kids.
Now, I want to talk for just a few minutes about the effects of internet
pornography.
Now in this discussion, we're going to examine four different categories of effects.
We're going to talk about physical effects,
marital effects,
financial effects,
and, most importantly,
the spiritual effects. Now first,
the physical.
You know, there are a number of different physical effects of pornography.
But one of them is that
it makes you want more. You see, people aren't satisfied with just one image
they want two. And the need is to see more and it grows more risque and more
daring and it takes more to satisfy you.
A second physical effect
is that it makes you want an outlet.
At some point, the viewer desires more than to just view pornography.
Which oftentimes leads him to other sins.
And it brings about a a secret life. You have the life that everyone sees, but
then you have a a secret, hidden life, that
you don't want anyone to know about.
And oftentimes, that secret life leads to lies and
cover-ups.
And it leads to the feelings of guilt and shame.
You know, many respected scientists and psychiatrists have concluded that
pornography is an addiction
just like alcohol or drug abuse.
Now an addiction is caused by a chemical dependency within the the body and the
neural pathways to the brain.
Now somebody might say,
"How can you say that about pornography?"
Let me describe for you the chemistry involved in this.
How does pornography affect the brain?
I want to tell you about three neurochemicals that are released during the
process of you and pornography.
There are more but I'm going to mention three. Number one is dopamine.
This particular chemical affects the brain so that it
very acutely focuses attention and energy.
It causes us to ignore negatives.
It triggers feelings of ecstasy and it creates a powerful dependency.
Now in a healthy relationship, this is great because it causes the couple to
focus completely on each other
and to ignore the negatives.
But you see, in the pornography process it's different. The person's attention is
focused on the images, on the pictures.
He's not thinking about
his spouse. He's not thinking about his family or his beliefs or even the
consequences. All of that gets blocked out.
And when this chemical is released,
it creates a chemical dependency
that is linked to these images. And it's so powerful
that it has been directly compared to cocaine addiction.
Now the images that produce these feelings
are so strong the person desires these. The brain desires to see these images
again
and again.
A second chemical that I want to tell you about
is norepinephrine.
With this particular chemical whatever is being experienced when the chemical
is released,
the smallest details of that experience, are seared in the brain as with
a branding iron.
Now, in a healthy relationship
that means that the wonderful details of the intimate experience are remembered
and they're recalled with fondness bringing the couple closer together.
In the pornography funnel, the release of norepinephrine causes the brain to
remember the smallest details of every pornographic image.
Many men can recall in great detail pictures that they saw many years ago
and it's as a result of this chemical.
You see, it is seared into his memory.
As one man said, he said "I am still plagued with what I saw in high school."
He remembers these images.
Now, the third chemical I want to tell you about is
oxytocin.
Now this is known as the "cuddle chemical."
It was first discovered in the brains of mothers while holding their newborn
child for the first time.
And it's a chemical that creates a powerful bond between the mother and the
child and causes the release of milk for nursing.
Now, oxytocin is a
bonding chemical. It's released when people hold hands, when they embrace,
when they kiss.
And during sexual intimacy, oxytocin is released in high quantities and
forges a powerful bond.
But what happens when oxytocin is released in the brain while viewing
pornography?
Imagine being bonded to those fantasy images
with the same kind of power that a newborn child is bonded to its mother.
You know, this chemical causes the husband, for example, to be
powerfully attracted to his wife and to certain features of his wife.
And, through
normal day-to-day living as he sees her, he's
reminded of his attraction to her and
his feelings of love and commitment grow.
He is bonded more and more and the relationship becomes stronger.
But what happens with pornography addiction?
The viewer is bonded to a certain body type and the features of of this
image
that he is viewing.
Now, let's talk for just a minute about the marital effects of pornography.
You know, sometimes people will try to justify pornography in their marriage
and even try to get their spouse to view pornography with them.
I want to tell you that the idea that pornography is good for a marriage
is a lie.
The marital consequences of pornography are severe. Don't ever believe that
pornography is good for your marriage. The effects of pornography
can have
a devastating effect on a marriage.
For one,
it desensitizes the viewer
to his or her own spouse.
Porn stars typically are young and slim and beautiful and have no wrinkles.
Very few spouses can compete with such a fantasy.
And viewing this
makes a person dissatisfied
with his spouse by comparison. And all of a sudden, they seem imperfect.
And the ultimate conclusion to this type of logic is to look
for someone else.
Secondly,
pornography hurts the self-esteem of the spouse.
In a marriage relationship
it's crushing to the wife
that she doesn't satisfy her husband.
And she wonders what's wrong with her
And it puts a wall in the marriage relationship
that should never be there.
It creates a dissatisfaction on the part of the husband
and a deep hurt and betrayal
on the part of the wife.
When somebody tries to tell you that pornography is good for a marriage,
you know that's the devil talking.
Now thirdly,
let's talk about the financial effects of pornography.
I think this is a good point for us to consider because
it speaks to the overall effect pornography has on society.
I mentioned earlier that
$12 billion are spent each year in the U.S. alone
on the sex industry.
Now where's that money coming from?
You know, all too often
it is coming from daddies
who are taking money that ought to be used to support their families and
they're spending it on the filth of pornography.
I want you to consider also the cost to businesses:
"It's estimated that
5 billion work-hours are lost to cyberporn in the United States
each year."
"70% of all internet porn traffic occurs during
the 9-to-5 workday."
"Nearly 1 out of 3 companies
has terminated an employee for inappropriate web use."
Now, not all of that has necessarily been porn,
but a part of it has.
"Business Week" printed the results of a survey stating that:
"44% of U.S. workers with an internet connection admitted to
accessing an X-rated website at work
in the month of March 2004."
Now fourth,
and most importantly,
I want us to consider the spiritual effects of internet pornography.
I want to go through a list here because there are actually a number of things that
we could put into this category.
Number one,
I want you to consider with me that using internet pornography
puts a wall between you and God.
You know, as with any sin that you allow to linger in your life,
it puts a wall between you and God. It hinders your prayers.
It blocks your worship.
You know, 1 Peter, chapter 3, verse 12 says:
"For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to
their prayers;
But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil."
It's like the psalmist wrote
in Psalm 66, in verse 18: "If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear."
You see, when a person allows himself to indulge in the use of pornography,
he's actively building a wall
between himself
and the God of heaven.
Now secondly,
as we think about the implications of the use of pornography,
I want you to appreciate with me that there are some people who will not obey
the gospel, or if they're already Christians they are not faithful to the church,
because they think that they cannot quit pornography.
Some people have fallen for the lie that they just can't quit.
And they understand that there's no point in being a Christian if you're
going to live in sin,
and so they don't.
And as a result,
they actively risk their souls.
Thirdly, I want you to consider Proverbs 23, and verse 7.
It says: "For as a man thinketh in his heart,
so is he..."
Now consider that for a minute.
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
If I think corruptly,
then I am corrupt.
And if I'm constantly filling my mind with filth and smut,
so am I.
You see, the spiritual implications of this are not good.
A fourth spiritual effect or spiritual danger
is that, over time,
you may become numb to it.
You know, 1 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 2 speaks
about those who had their consciences seared.
That is, they have become numb to sin.
Ladies and gentlemen, there is an ever-present danger
that a person can engage in the use of pornography for so long that it no
longer bothers him anymore.
And when that happens,
he's entering into very dangerous territory. He may be going down a a road
of no return
spiritually speaking.
You know, Hebrews 6, and verse 4, discusses some who have reached
a point the Bible says that "...it is impossible...
... to renew them again
to repentance..."
You don't want to be one of those people.
Now let's talk about why it's wrong.
But first, there's the obvious. Number one,
it's a direct violation of scripture.
You know, Ephesians 5, and verse 3 says:
"But fornication
and all uncleanness or covetousness,
let it not even be named among you,
as is fitting for saints." Now another version says it this way:
"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality,
or of any kind of impurity,
or of greed..." Now listen to this:
"... because these are improper for God's holy people."
You know, in Matthew 5:28, Jesus very plainly said, "But I say unto
you
that whosoever looks at a woman to lust for her
has already committed adultery with her
in his heart."
Pornography is a direct violation
of the scriptures.
Now, I do want to make a point of clarification about
Matthew 5:28.
Because sometimes when people hear this particular verse,
they begin to wonder if pornography is a valid reason for divorce. In other words,
a woman might reason this way. She might say, "Well, I caught my husband viewing
pornography and
in Matthew 5:28, Jesus equated this to adultery.
And since adultery is a scriptural reason for divorce,
then can I
divorce my husband for viewing pornography?"
You know, I understand the reasoning involved here.
But the conclusion is not a correct one. It's not correct that you can divorce your
spouse for viewing pornography.
You know, in Matthew 19:9,
the Bible gives only one scriptural reason for divorce
and that is fornication.
Now, that word "fornication" means: "unlawful sexual intercourse."
You see viewing pornography
doesn't fit that definition.
When a person views pornography,
Jesus said that he commits adultery in his heart, in his mind.
Now the spiritual consequences may be the same,
but the physical consequences are not. Now, let me illustrate this another way.
In 1 John 3:15, the Bible says, "Whoever hates his brother
is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him/"
And so, if you hate your brother in your heart,
you are a murderer. But, they're not going to take you to jail.
They're not going to give you the death penalty.
Now the spiritual consequences will be the same because the text says, "... no murderer
has eternal life
in him."
In a similar sense,
looking at pornography is adultery of the heart
but it's not the actual physical act
of adultery. And so, viewing pornography is not grounds
for divorce. Now, it might lead to it.
It might cause a person to get his desires up to the point that he goes out
and has relations with someone else
and then he has committed adultery. But we need to understand the distinction.
Secondly,
why is pornography wrong? Number two, because
it's a form of stealing. Now, somebody might say,
"Well that's a stretch."
But, I want you to consider this.
The definition of the word "steal" is: "To take (the property of another) without
right or permission."
You know, when a man and woman get married,
the right to each other's bodies become that of the spouse. The wife's body
belongs to her husband. And any pleasure or
enjoyment of a sexual nature that might come from her body
belongs only to him.
You know, 1 Corinthians 7, verse 2 says:
"... let each man have his own wife,
and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the
affection due her and likewise also the wife to her husband."
You see, the wife
doesn't have authority over her body but the husband does. It belongs to him.
And likewise, the husband doesn't have authority over his own body, but the
wife does. It belongs to her.
And so when a man views pornography,
he is using or taking something that is not his to take.
He, in essence, is taking without right or permission.
That's the definition of stealing. He is taking that which belongs only to
her husband.
Hebrews 13, verse 4 says:
"Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled;
but forfornicators and adulterers
God will judge."
You see, outside of the marriage relationship,
a man is not permitted to view or to touch a woman in this way. The Bible
calls that sin.
It's taking that which is not mine to take.
Now, within the bonds of marriage,
all the pleasures of the sexual relationship
are mine to enjoy.
Proverbs 5:18 and 19 says
that a man is to be satisfied with his own wife,
and that her breasts should satisfy him at all times.
Now, the Bible only uses this type of language
with regard to the marriage relationship.
I would also like to suggest this.
Using pornography
steals time that ought to be used
for other things. You know, oftentimes, a man who uses pornography
will neglect doing good things. He will neglect things such as spending time
with his family.
Because instead of being with his family and building relationships,
instead he's withdrawing himself from people. And he's hiding in his basement
perusing porn sites.
And many porn addicts spend countless hours involved in this sin.
Now, thirdly.
Pornography is wrong because it is a corrupting of the heart.
Matthew 12:35 says:
"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things,
and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth
evil things."
Now, what if I'm filling my heart with filth?
Then according to the Bible, then that's what's going to come out in my life.
Fourthly,
pornography is wrong because it contributes to
many other sins.
The viewing of pornography will inevitably lead to other sins.
Some of them may be physical in nature.
It may lead to adultery.
It will most certainly lead to lying and
cover-ups, and and a long list of things that will follow.
Now you might ask yourself,
"How do I overcome it?" Maybe youv'e listened to these things and you say, "I do have a
problem with pornography. How do I overcome it?"
First,
you have to have a strong desire.
Now, why do I say that?
Because this is not easy to overcome.
You know, this particular sin has a power over,
especially men, that's very strong.
And when you add the addiction factor and the brain chemistry, you're talking about
something that you will not be able to overcome unless you have a strong desire
to do so.
And I might add, that
the desire ought to be there
because you can't go to heaven while you continue indulging in pornography.
Secondly,
in addition to a strong desire, you have to have a strong determination.
You can't start this fight in a wishy-washy way.
This is not one of those things that you
wean yourself off of. You simply have to stop. You have to make a covenant with
yourself like Job did in Job 31 and verse 1
where he said, "I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I look upon a young woman?"
Job made an agreement with his eyes not to look on a woman lustfully.
Now, somebody says,
"How can I do that? You know immodesty is everywhere."
In the book I've referenced, "Every Young Man's Battle,"
they suggest the practice of "bouncing your eyes." And what they mean by that is
as soon as you see something that you shouldn't be seeing
you train your eyes to look the other way. Bounce them to something else.
Now the point that they're making is
avoid those things that stimulate these desires in you.
Now, one of the authors of the book,
he referred to the problem that he has when he's driving down the road and he
sees a woman jogging,
that it would start his mind in the wrong direction.
Now for someone else that might be something totally different, a different
scenario.
But whatever it is that's provocative for you, which is different for different
people,
you need to deal with that.
And though the this specific issue might be different, the remedy is the
same
for everyone.
It starts with controlling your heart.
Know what it is that's a stumbling block for you
and don't let your mind linger on it.
Now with regard to the internet. It may be something popping up on the screen
that may entice you.
But you see, you got to have that determination. You've made a covenant
with yourself:
"I'm not going to visit these sites.
I'm going to exit out. I'm going to close it."
That strong determination is absolutely necessary.
Now, thirdly I want to suggest
prayer
and Bible study.
You know, Philippians 4:13 says: "I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me."
You see, there's power in the Lord
and we need to ask for it. Specifically when you face the temptation.
stop and pray about it.
Also, there's power in the Word. Psalm 119 and verse 11 says:
"Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee."
Studying the Bible and hiding it deep within your heart
will help you to resist this temptation.
Now, fourthly
may I suggest that you get an "accountability partner."
Now why do I say that?
Because this is a very hard thing to do by yourself.
It is very good if you can have someone that you trust
to be an accountability partner. Someone who checks on you. Someone who asks how
the problem's going.
I've had more than one person over the years to request that I be their
accountability partner.
Now, someone might say,
"Where do you find that idea in the Bible?" Is the idea of an accountability
partner a Biblical suggestion?
Consider this. James 5:16 says: "Confess your trespasses to one another,
and pray for one another that you maybe be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a
righteous man avails much." Galatians 6:2: "Bear one another's burdens and
so fulfill the law of Christ."
You see, the idea is
if I have someone to help me,
it's easier. The burden is much lighter when a Christian brother can
help you through it/
There's even an online accountability program where you can have all of your
internet surfing recorded
and then have the list of sites automatically emailed to a friend of
your choosing.
Now, one such services called "CovenantEyes" and
is located at "covenanteyes.com." And what their software does is it blocks
objectionable sites and it sends reports of your internet surfing to someone that
you select. It's exactly what we're talking about here.
Now, number five.
To overcome internet pornography, I want to suggest that you eliminate the sources.
In 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 18, the Bible says: "Flee sexual immorality."
In other words,
get away from it or get it away from you.
And so, if you've determined that having your computer in the basement is a stumbling
block for you, then move it. Move it to the kitchen where everyone can see what
you're doing.
Eliminate the temptation.
I know one man who's a single man,
and he refuses to get cable tv in his house because he says it's a
temptation for him.
That's exactly the idea we're talking about, eliminate the temptation.
One man said that
he got hooked on pornography through his job.
His job involved the monitoring of internet traffic
and in the process he was seeing what other people were looking at and he
himself got hooked.
What do you do in a situation like that? I would say quit the job.
Quit that job
or ask for a transfer to a different department.
I know that sounds radical.
But isn't that the point of Matthew 5:29? "If your right eye
causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more
profitable for you that one of your members perish, than
for your whole body to be cast into hell."
You know, at your home it may be that you need to buy some software that prevents
you from accessing pornographic sites.
Give the code to your wife, give it to a friend, so that
only that person can make changes.
Finally I want to suggest
that you change your habits.
You know for many people, viewing internet pornography is a habit that
they've gotten into and we're creatures of habit.
So find something else to occupy your time.
Re-arrange your day, rearrange your schedule, rearrange
the people that you're spending time with. Whatever it is that's leading you
down this path
change it.
Now primarily in this discussion, we've been talking about pornography as it
relates to the internet, internet pornography.
But you know, there are other forms of pornography out there.
Things such as
phone sex lines.
Things such as
romance novels and literature.
And as technology develops, there's constantly new emerging forms of
pornography.
One of the latest things is called "sexting."
This word "sexting" comes from two words, the words sex and texting.
And it has created a new word called "sexting." It's kind of the latest craze. And
what it is
is that most cellphones these days have the ability to take pictures and then to
send that picture as a picture or text message to other cell phones. And it's become
very popular for kids to take pictures of themselves, unclothed, and to text it to
other kids, maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend. And it's really a form of
homemade pornography.
A Christian man told me just recently about an incident that took place where
a friend of his was standing near his son's phone
and it received a text message. And his son wasn't there so the dad picked up
the phone and looked at it and he was shocked by the obscene image that the
boy's girlfriend
had sent to him.
You know, parents might be careful to check on internet use and
maybe even put blocks and filters and restrictions on the computer,
but have you thought about some of these other technologies? Have you thought
about the cell phone?
You know, sometimes parents might think, "I can't check on things like that. That
would be an invasion of their privacy. That's her phone or that's
her room or that's
his personal possession."
I want to tell you that that is a mistake to think that way.
God has entrusted the raising of our children into our hands.
And as long as we are raising them, it is our responsibility. Now you might think that
her privacy is important
but surely her soul is far more important than that.
As I was preparing material for this lesson,
I ran across many personal stories of disaster that came to people's lives as
a result of pornography.
One man explained that during one year he had spent over 1,000 hours viewing
internet pornography
and he was asked,
"How did it affect your family?" He said, "I lost my family." He was asked "What about your
job?" He said, "I've lost it, too. I've lost
everything."
Can you imagine losing your wife or your family or your job, or
most importantly,
your eternal soul to a devil's hell
all because of pornography?
You know, it doesn't have to be that way.
As Job said, he "made a covenant with his eyes" and you can do the same thing.
If you have this problem with pornography, you can stop. You can live a holy life.
You can be pleasing to the Lord.
And you can spend eternity heaven.