HOPE AND HEALING

Pastor Josh Weisbrod – May 3, 2020

KEY IDEA: What are you handing down? How do we lead our lives and families in purity?

KEY PASSAGE: 2 Samuel 11:1-17, 27

SUMMARY: Kids mirror what they see. They use what we have handed down to them—emotions, words, and actions. Whatever is not healed will be handed down. It’s never too late to break the chains and break the cycle of what has been handed to us. Purity is the key to intimacy with God.

Whatever is not healed is handed down

• The Story of King David - 2 Samuel 11:1-17, 27

• David commits adultery. Bathsheba becomes pregnant. King David uses deceit, drunkenness, murder to cover his sins. He takes her as his wife and had a son. What David did displeased the LORD. In direct consequence for his actions, his son dies.

• David doesn’t bring judgment against his son Amnon for rape, because he had done the same. David doesn’t take action against Absalom for killing Amnon because David killed someone as well. Absalom has sex with all of David’s wives on the roof where David lusted after Bathsheba.

• There is a long pattern of destruction in David’s children because of impure hearts and impure actions.

• Epidemic destroying purity: pornography

STATISTICS

• Over 40 million Americans are regular visitors to porn sites. The average visit lasts 6 minutes and 29 seconds

• There are around 42 million porn websites, which totals around 370 million pages of porn.

• 47% of families in the United States reported that pornography is a problem in their home.

• Eleven is the average age that a child is first exposed to porn, and 94% of children will see porn by the age of 14.

• Pornography use increases the marital infidelity rate by more than 300%.

• 56% of American divorces involve one party having an “obsessive interest” in pornographic websites.

• 68% of church-going men and over 50% of pastors view porn on a regular basis.

• 59% of pastors said that married men seek their help for porn use.

• 33% of women aged 25-and-under search for porn at least once per month.

• Only 13% of self-identified Christian women say they never watch porn – 87% of Christian women have watched porn.

• 55% of married men and 25% of married women say they watch porn at least once a month.

• The porn industry’s annual revenue is more than the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined. It is also more than the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC.

• Porn is death disguised as pleasure–the death of intimacy, love, relationships, lives through sex trafficking, and your own life due to sin.

• Pornography has rewired the brains of a generation into thinking that it is ok to cheat on your spouse because it is on a screen.

• Pornography is damaging on so many levels. 2% of men were impotent in 2000 before online streaming. Now 30-35% of men 18-40 are impotent.

• “I’m not hurting anyone” is a bold faced lie. This has consequences for generations. It must be healed, you must fight for purity. Matthew 5:27-30

• Jesus cares about what we do and He cares about what we hand down to the next generation.

• You might say, “Porn isn’t my thing.” Yes, but something is—anger, laziness, sloth, greed, etc. Will you ignore them or let God restore those things?

We need to release the chains

• Jesus calls out: Just let it go! I already defeated it, stop holding on to it!

• It is through Jesus Christ that your sins have been forgiven and the victory has been won. Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:56-57

• This is not about will power this is about supernatural power.

• God has already broken the chains. You must choose to release them.

• Give Jesus the addiction, release them, and get rid of them.

• Once we let them go, we need the right tools so we don’t go back to old ways.

We need the right tools

• You can’t build with an empty tool box. We need to fill up the empty toolbox with the right tools.

• 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:11

• Spiritual disciplines and practices that reflect Jesus Christ and make us more like him, is the key to what we pass down to the next generation. This includes Truth, righteousness, and peace through the gospel, salvation, the Spirit, and the Word of God.

• We need to make time for prayer and for reading the Word of God. It’s time to become people who deeply pursue the presence of God.

• Ruthlessly remove whatever leads to death and passionately pursue true life.

• When we read the Word of God, and we take steps towards drawing nearer to God, it brings about more of the fruit of the Spirit. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit.

We need brotherhood and sisterhood

• You were not meant to walk this journey alone.

• Porn is a specifically unique struggle because it is so isolated – in the dark.

• You were not meant to walk this walk this life alone – Christianity is not a solo journey.

• Ephesians 5:13-21

• If you are serious about freedom you will make the choice for accountability.

• Banner Church has partnered with Covenant Eyes – accountability software that monitors your phone and computer and reports to an accountability partner (Josh and Katie). https://coveyes.com/BannerChurch

• For accountability partner you can enter men@banner.church or women@banner.church

It’s never too late for restoration through Jesus Christ!

REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Use these reflection questions as a way to deepen your relationship with God. Allow the Holy Spirit to shine a light into your heart.

1) “Whatever is not healed is handed down.” What has been handed down to you that was not healed by a previous generation? How has that impacted your life?

2) No matter how long anyone walks with God, He is constantly revealing things in our lives in order to heal them. Where are you at with the “thing” you mentioned that was handed down to you? Has God healed it? Is He in the process of healing it? Or, is it something you are now considering asking God to heal it for you?

3) Pastor Josh gave several statistics about pornography. What did you hear that was new to you, or surprised you, about pornography?

4) Pastor Josh said we need to let go and release the chains of pornography or anything else that has become a chain in our lives—anger, laziness, greed, etc. He said, “This is not about will power this is about supernatural power.” What has been your experience with trying to change things in your life with sheer will power? What has been your experience, if any, with God’s supernatural power changing something in your life?

5) Which tools do you need to add to your toolbox or which tools do you need to sharpen in your toolbox? Examples of spiritual disciplines: Reading/meditating on the Word of God, intentional quiet time with God, fasting, prayer, tithing, serving, confession, worship, fellowship, rest, celebration, generosity, purity, accountability, etc.

6) Guilt tells me I’ve done something wrong. Shame says there is something wrong with me. As Christians, the Holy Spirit brings conviction when we are doing something wrong. There is no shame with God. Conviction is good because it helps us turn back to God. Listen to this description from The Passion Translation:

Do the riches of his extraordinary kindness make you take him for granted and despise him? Haven’t you experienced how kind and understanding he has been to you? Don’t mistake his tolerance for acceptance. Do you realize that all the wealth of his extravagant kindness is meant to melt your heart and lead you into repentance? Romans 2:4

What is it about accountability that is so difficult for people to embrace? Are there certain things that we are more willing and less willing to be accountable about? Why?

Full Podcast Episode: http://banner.church/podcast/2020/5/25/hope-amp-healing-power-of-purity-5320