Creflo Dollar - The Results of Neglect

Introduction

"Just tell me how to get out of this situation!"

That's a cry I hear from desperate believers from one end of this country to the other. Most Christians today find themselves locked in some sort of dilemma-a circumstance or habit in which they feel trapped.

More often than not, I find the root cause of this trouble is an addiction the Bible calls lasciviousness.

Lasciviousness is an old, King James English word which means "wantonness" or "negligence of restraint." That's precisely the problem for many Christians.

When they try to say "no" to over-eating, they have no restraint. When they try to break the pornography habit-no restraint. When they try to get control of their tongues-no restraint.

Lasciviousness can manifest itself in any area of your life-spending, talking, eating, thinking or working. Any area in which you seem to have little or no self-control is an area in which lasciviousness is creating problems for you. Make no mistake about it, lasciviousness is deadly. It will rob you of power, leave you open to attacks of the devil and make you totally ineffective as a Christian. It will block God's ability to give you His best in your life.

In the next few pages, we'll open the scriptures and discover what God's Word has to say about lasciviousness. You'll learn how to recognize it in your own life. Even better, you'll learn how to overcome it and become the blessed, spiritually powerful person God has destined you to become.

Chapter 1 Lose the Weight

Have you ever felt the pressure to sin or indulge in a habit you knew was ungodly. "Pressure" is the correct word. Temptation is literally a form of "pressure" on your flesh. That's how the Bible describes it.

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1)

Notice that it says, " lay aside every weight and the sin...." Weight always exerts pressure. Here, the Word describes the temptation to sin as a form of pressure on the flesh. You can probably relate to that description. All of us have felt that pressure on our flesh at one time or another.

The reason so many Christians have trouble with sin, is that they never lay aside the weight of temptation. They think they can play with fire and not get burned.

A good example of this is the person who is struggling with the sin of lust, yet still thinks he can dabble in pornography without getting into bondage to it. He keeps the pressure (weight) on his flesh. That pressure always results in slavery to sin.

Often a drug addict will get saved and delivered from the habit, but still continue to associate with drug users. This person invariably ends up back on drugs. Why? They never laid aside the weight.

Child of God, a habit doesn't start off as a habit. It begins with you totally in control. But as you continue in that sin, ultimately it comes to control you.

What is the alternative to buckling under the weight of temptation. We find the answer in the very next verse, Hebrews 12:2:

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

There is the prescription for laying aside the weight of temptation. "Looking unto Jesus... ".

The thing that dominates your attention is going to be the thing that has power in your life. If you spend your day thinking about food, food is going to control you. But if you spend your day focusing on Jesus, His desires are going to dominate the desires of your flesh.

How do you look unto Jesus? One way is to give attention to His Word. Jesus is "the Word made flesh." (John 1:14) When you read and meditate upon God's Word, you are "looking unto Jesus."

Each day, you are involved in a mental war. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you are going to start winning some of the battles you're facing.

Satan and his demons will attack you right between your ears. Their weapons are suggestions, thoughts and ideas. The ultimate goal is to get you into deception.

Why is deception the devil's objective? Because he must deceive you in order to change your destiny.

God's destiny for you is blessing, authority and dominion over the circumstances of life. God has a unique and exciting plan for you. It's a plan in which you fully utilize all the gifts, talents and characteristics which he placed in you.

The only way Satan can prevent you from realizing your full potential in Christ is to get you into deception. He must make you think that you are headed in the right direction when you are not. This battle occurs in the mind.

The mind is part of the soulish realm. Your soul is comprised of your mind, your will and your emotions. Demonic powers are spirit-beings, but you don't fight them in your spirit. They want to influence your flesh, but you don't fight them in your flesh.

No, this battle will be won or lost in your mind-the soulish part of you.

This is why it is so vital that you give your attention to Jesus and His Word. Looking unto Jesus focuses your mind on the light of God's Word and keeps you free from deception. Then and only then will you be able to realize God's destiny for your life.

"Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith ; " is one of the most powerful things you can do in your battle against lasciviousness. Why? Because it feeds and strengthens your spirit.

When your spirit is strong, it is able to guide you and keep you from making tragic mistakes.

It's like a car equipped for driver's training. The student driver has all the controls on the left side of the car. However, the instructor also has a set of controls on the right side that permit him to override a student that is about to get into trouble.

Ordinarily your mind will set your course throughout the day, but your spirit, if it is strong, can step in and override your natural mind if you're about to take a dangerous wrong turn. It is those wrong turns that ultimately lead to the bondage of lasciviousness.

Tragically, few Christians ever strengthen their spirits enough to ever enjoy the benefit of this safety mechanism.

Chapter 2 Plant the Right Seeds

One night as I was studying this subject at my desk, the Lord spoke to my spirit and delivered a startling message. He said, "Son, the key to Satan's operation is also the key to my operation."

"What do you mean Lord?" I said in shock. "Seed planting," was his answer. "Both my kingdom and Satan's kingdom operate on the seed principle. We -simply use different seed."

As I thought about this, I realized the truth of what the Lord had said. In Genesis 1:12 God establishes this principle:

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind: and God saw that it was good.

Like begets like. Kind produces more of its own kind. This is an unchangeable law of the universe. Another such law states that if you plant a seed under the right conditions, it will grow. There's no getting around it. It's based upon a promise from Almighty God Himself.

While the earth remaineth , seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22)

As long as the earth remains, planting seeds will result in a harvest. That not only applies to natural plant seeds, but also to spiritual seed as well.

Actions plant seeds. Those seeds always result in a harvest. No person is ever born a homosexual. Actions plant the seeds. You don't emerge from the womb a glutton, alcoholic or lazy. Those lifestyles represent a harvest of seeds planted in the past. Scripture is very clear on this point.