Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these:  Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.   

Last Saturday we discussed adultery (porneia).  Today, we are going to talk about uncleanness and next Saturday, conclude this three part series on Galatians 5:19 with a look at lasciviousness.

The word uncleanness is the Greek word akatharsia, which is the word kathairo with prefix a added.  The word kathairo means cleansed or pure but when you add the prefix a, the condition is reversed, making the object dirty or unclean.  In the New Testatment, akatharsia refers to lewd or unclean thoughts that eventually produce lewd or unclean actions.  So, there is a strong suggestion that actions begin in the mind as unclean thoughts before they manifest as unclean deeds.

"And there was in the synagogue a man with an unclean spirit..."  The Greek actually says that this man was "gripped by the control of an unclean spirit."  It seems that this man had pondered on lewd thoughts for so long that he had thrown open the door for these to seize and control him.  In this verse the word akatharsia is used.  It implies that a demon found entrance into this man's life because he had committed mental prostitution.  He allowed his mind to dwell on things that were forbidden.

"A man with an unclean spirit met him..."   Here akatharsia is used in describing the man possessed by a legion of demons.  In Mark chapter one and now in chapter five, we have two men who are in the grip of an unclean spirit.  It appears that their demon-possessed condition started with impure, lewd, dirty thoughts, since the Greek word akatharsia is used in both verses.  Did Satan lure them into the pornography of unclean ideas or into adultery, and then build a stronghold of uncleanness so robust in their minds that he was able to eventually cause unclean actions to be manifested in their lives and thus completely control them?

Whatever you give your mind to will eventually be your master.   

Next Saturday we will discuss the word lasciviousness.

This study is taken from Sparkling Gems from the Greek

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

"On several occasions, I spent more than 4 hours at work surfing for porn sites.  The images were sexy and discovering new sites were exciting, but I was looking for the perfect pornographic experience.  

I kept trying to create that perfect porn binge, drinking in the most erotic images.  It was the quest for the perfect masturbation experience, with the largest, longest climax.  After hours of looking I would decide to finish. 

Sure it was great, but after 30 minutes I was surfing for porn again looking for my next great experience.  Why is that?

My quest for the “perfect” can affect my dating relationships or my marital relationships.  I get the “hot”girlfriend I hoped for, then move on to someone else who seems hotter.  I marry the “perfect” woman, then a year later I’m crossing boundaries with the secretary at work. 

I have a deep need in me for the ultimate fulfillment.  The ultimate satisfaction.  But I never seem to find it in porn."

A new book by Michael John Cusick called Surfing For God: Discovering Divine Desire Beneath Your Sexual Struggle just came out.  The author’s premise is:  our desire to pursue porn, sexual content and sexual relationships is not about sex.  Deep in our hearts we desire God. 

"I can never be satisfied in porn.  I can never have enough.  The uncle who has ever Playboy since the 60s in his garage will never be satisfied.  The Dallas athlete I read about who has 55,000 videos in his porn collection will never be satisfied. 

My soul longs for something greater... for something perfect… for God."

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart

"I can be simplistic and say, “Turn to God instead of porn.”  It’s true, but I don’t think that will help us much.  Many of us have tried turning to God and feel defeated.  Let me give some advanced tips on connecting with God I think will help."    

HOW DO I CONNECT WITH GOD? 

1.  I have to get around spiritual people – A spiritual friend, Christian counselor or minister will know how to connect with God.  They also have experience helping others. 

2.  I have to want to be well – When I’m sick of myself, broken and hurting I start looking for rescue.  But the real test is when a person throws out the life preserver.  If I don’t grab it, I must not want salvation and deliverance bad enough.

** Note From Jeff:  Some of us come to xxxchurch.com feeling bad, but don’t really want to take the steps to be rescued. We want to keep our sexual sin, but we don’t want to feel bad or have any consequences

3.  I have to clear obstacles out of my way – If my #1 goal is to connect with God and get help, I have to remove anything in my schedule and priorities that opposes it.  I may have to drop relationships that are trying to keep me from connecting with God.

4.  I have to tune into my soul – We don’t like to get quiet.  We don’t have much practice at exploring the deeper matters of our hearts.  For God to speak and heal we will need to get quiet and listen.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you

 This post is written by Jeff Fisher of www.porntopurity.com.  For the original post complete with comments, click here.

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

Research shows that there are five predictable steps a man goes thru as he becomes addicted to pornography.  I'm not saying that everybody who looks at pornography becomes addicted to it.  However, porn has a powerful effect on men, their relationships and how they view women.  There is some research to indicate that pornography has a higher addiction potential than cocaine and harder to quit than cocaine.  It is believed that's how Ted Bundy got started. When the porn he was addicted to wasn't enough anymore, he tried the real thing — rape, and then murder. When he succeeded, he did it again. And again. Pornography addiction is very serious.

Five stages of addiction

1. Early exposure. Most guys who get addicted to porn start early. They see the stuff when they are very young, and it gets its foot in the door.  The earlier a guy is exposed, the higher the chance for addiction.
2. Addiction. Later comes addiction. You keep coming back to porn. It becomes a regular part of your life. You're hooked. You can't quit.  You convince yourself that porn is normal and that everyone does it.  
3. Escalation. After a while, escalation begins. You start to look for more and more graphic porn. You start using porn that would have disgusted you when you started. Now it excites you.  You start getting into sadism, bondage, bestiality, etc.  You may even start mixing drugs with your porn experiences.  There is a very LARGE connection between cocaine use and sexual addictions.
4. Desensitization. Eventually, you start to become numb. Even the most graphic, degrading porn doesn't excite you anymore. You become desperate to feel the same thrill again but can't find it.   The "highs" that you used to get last such a short time, that they feel almost nonexistent.  
5. Acting out sexually. At this point, many men make a dangerous jump and start acting out sexually. They move from the paper and plastic images of porn to the real world.  They have affairs, one-night stands, multiple sexual encounters, etc.  They may even start to stalk women, unable to differentiate their sexual fantasies from reality.  Finally, they move to committing unwanted sexual activity and are arrested for their behavior.  

Some of you reading this may have already developed an addiction to porn. If you see any of the patterns I've described above in your life, you need to put the brakes on right now. Is porn beginning to control your life? You can't put it down — you keep going back for more? Perhaps you find yourself needing to see increasingly graphic pornography. You're masturbating more and more often. You're starting to take risks or act out physically for sexual thrills. If you see yourself at any point on this progression, you are in serious trouble, and you need to realize it — and get help.

This information is taken from the TROUBLED WITH site of Focus on the Family.  You can find this entry by clicking here.

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.