Many times throughout a believer’s WALK with the Lord, our heart prones to wander in all kinds of ways and different directions FROM godliness TO a form of godliness, FROM Christ-likeness TO religious satisfaction & stagnancy.  Some believer’s somehow outright hold on to sin or “the old man” and say, “Jesus loves me anyway I am, just the way I am”.   Prior to salvation, Amen!!!  Jesus loves you and accepts you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way!!!   Some believer’s on the other hand grow cold not from the lack of reading the Bible, going to church or singing the high praises of God; but from the lack of DESIRE TO BE CHANGED into His image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of God…

 

Rom 8:29

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

 

1 Cor 15:49

And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

 

Col 3:1-10

1          If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2          Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3          For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

4          When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

5          Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

6          For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

7          In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

8          But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

9          Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

10        And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

        In either case, Lust is subtle, very deceptive in nature and will eventually work to STEAL, kill, and destroy you. IF he can’t destroy you, he wants to stunt your growth!!!  It will cause you to become barren and unfruitful!  You’ll end up doing his work for him, destroying yourself.

 

I Jn 2:15-17

15        Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16        For all that is in the world, THE LUST OF THE FLESH, and the LUST OF THE EYES, and the PRIDE OF LIFE, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17        And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

 

The devil primarily attacks us through “Lust” as we see clearly in the classic case of Genesis 3:1-14

1939  epithumia; from 1937; a longing (especially for what is forbidden): KJV-- concupiscence, desire, lust (after).

 

1          Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2          And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3          But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4          And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5          For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6          And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (THE LUSTS OF THE FLESH), and that it was pleasant to the eyes(THE LUSTS OF THE EYES), and a tree to be desired to make one wise(THE PRIDE OF LIFE), she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7          And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8          And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

9          And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10        And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11        And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12        And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13        And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14        And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

 

2 Pet 1:1-4

1          Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

2          Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

3          According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4          Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

 

James 1:12-16

12        Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

13        Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

14        But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15        Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

16        Do not err, my beloved brethren.

    

James 4:1-5

1          From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

2          Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

3          Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

4          Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

5          Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

                                                  Gen 6:5; 8:21; Num 11:29; Pr 21:10

 

2 Pet 2:9-10

9          The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

10        But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness…

    

1 Cor 10:6

Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

    

1 Pet 2:11

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

    

Gal 5:16-24

16        This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

17        For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

18        But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

19        Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20        Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21        Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22        But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.                                                                                                                                                              

Mark 4:19

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.       

 

John 8:44

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.       

 

Rom 1:24

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:        

 

Rom 6:12

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.       

 

Rom 13:14

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.       

 

Gal 5:24

And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.       

 

Eph 2:3

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.       

 

Eph 4:22

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;       

 

1 Tim 6:9

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.       

 

2 Tim 2:22

Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.       

 

2 Tim 3:6

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,       

 

2 Tim 4:3

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears

Titus 2:12

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;       

 

Titus 3:3

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.       

 

1 Pet 1:14

As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:       

 

1 Pet 4:2

That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.       

 

1 Pet 4:3

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:       

 

2 Pet 3:3

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,       

 

Jude 1:16

These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.       

 

Jude 1:18

How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.       

 

2 Pet 2:18-22

18        For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

19        While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.                             Moral corruption, decay, depravity, wickedness

20        For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

21        For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

22         But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

 

3          According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4          Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.                                

 

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