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St. James 1:14“But every man is tempted, when he is lured away through his own lust, and seduced. Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it has finished it’s work, it brings forth death.”
I had a dream last night, where the Lord revealed to me the secret that protects the body of Christ from the powers of seduction and enticement, which is a powerful enemy of the cross, and has recently succeeded in drawing away several people within our beloved congregation.
The Lord wants us to know the secret and guard our hearts from this diabolical and dastardly foe. So he placed me within this situation in my dream and put upon me this secret protective agent, and then introduced me to an onslaught of Seduction (The same seduction that is plaguing our congregation). And when the seduction tried to pierce my heart and take me prisoner, I felt no harm!!! It felt like dead flies that hit the windshield of your car when you are moving at a high velocity. I saw the powers of temptation and there was no way for it to enter my heart.
Lust is usually confined in many people’s mind to the topic of sexual desires. The reason for this is because sexual expression is one of the greatest gifts that the Lord has given to mankind for the purpose of reproduction and experiencing intense pleasure. But and if a person doesn’t recognize the fact that lust is much broader than this restricted and limited interpretation, that person is being deceived and will inevitably become a prisoner of seduction. The lust for power, and the lust for money, and the lust for revenge, and the lust for fun are a few very dangerous lusts on a long list of dangerous lusts that people have in their heart.
Lust is a natural part of life. Lust is not evil in and of itself. Lust only means desire. And that desire is for something pleasurable and good. God created us to want good things. The Lord isn’t against pleasure and enjoyment.When the Lord created mankind, He immediately placed them in a garden of pleasure. The deception of the enemy that says, “God is against sex, or pleasure, or prosperity, or success“, is a lie from the pit of Hades.
So some would ask, “If God made us to lust, why is lust such a dangerous thing?” Well, lust was never made to be used outside of God’s divine order. Lust was never designed to be worshipped and exalted above God. When mankind exalted their lusts and used them to rebel against the order of the universe that God created for them as a dwelling place, Lust became radioactive and dangerous! Just like vinegar and baking soda, when seduction pierces your heart and mingles with radioactive lusts, you are in for an explosion and a big spill. Lust is only neutral and safe when you are in proper alignment with God. If you are not in relation with God, if you are not submitted under His divine order, if you are puffed up in pride, Seduction will come and lust will explode and kill you.
Now seduction has been assigned to you! It is a spirit used to trap those that don’t have their lusts in proper alignment. Seduction offers you a way to achieve a good thing in the wrong way. Seduction tells you that God is withholding something good from you. Seduction wants you to believe that it has your best interest at heart and that God’s order for you is not the best way.
Seduction looks like a vampire! And it creeps into your house in the middle of the night and sucks down and thrives on the throat of your discontentment. It thrives on your impatience! It relishes in your unsatisfied and unappreciative attitude. It revels in your boredom. It says, “This way is so boring! The resting place and green pastures that God has placed you in are so boring! We had so much fun and fulfillment before we started down this path! Lets go back! Back to Egypt! Back to bondage! Back, BACK, BACK!!! To death.”
The Seducersneaks, I tell you! In the middle of the night! Whispering in the beloved’s ears!Asking you in your sleep, “Why do it the long way? Why do it the hard way?” It doesn’t tell you that its way is much harder! It doesn’t tell you that the end of its road is death! The way of the transgressor (those that turn from God’s order) is HARD! You forget where He’s brought you from and what He got you out of.
Don’t be a fool! Seduction is there to con you out of your blessing! It wants to lure and entice you off of the straight path the Lord has placed before you. Seduction always makes you want to leave where you are for greener pastures on the other side of the mountain. Seduction wants someone else driving your car. Seduction wants someone else living in your house. Seduction wants someone else eating your sandwiches from your refrigerator while they sit with a beer and watch TV on your couch! Seduction is a thief! Don’t be a fool! Listen to the secret power of God that will expose and make you immune from the tactics of the enemy.
No matter how strong or resolved you think you are, seduction is the name of the game and, if you are not careful, you may find yourself quickly slipping away from the love of God and spiraling headlong down the deep dark caverns of deception. There is a seduction so powerful that it can make you completely insane. It will twist your logic and warp your perceptions. It will change the dimensions of things, making small things large and large things small, and it will make first priorities last and unimportant things will become primary. It will turn friends into enemies and enemiesinto friends as it ravages your psyche and consumes your goods without you even knowing it. It will overpower your emotions and you will lose control of your mind as you are snatched away in a whirlwind of delusion. Your friends will be screaming all around you and reaching out to grab you as you are spat out into never-never land with nothing to show for all your hard work butconfusion and delirium.
I’m not glorifying or glamorizing the powers of the enemy. The Lord is greater than anything we will face in this life. But this is war! There are casualties! We aren’t to be fearful, but we are to becautious regarding the enemy. We are not ignorant regarding the powers of darkness. We must be sober and focused on our mission. Our mission is to abide in Christ,to whom we bestow all honor and glory and riches and wisdom and might forever and ever, Amen.
In this dream-situation that the Lord placed me in, my desires didn’t change. They just seemed muffled and not as loud and overpowering so as to drown out the Lord’s voice as before. And, previously, when unruly lusts spoke, they were loud, and demanding, and persistent! Now, the lust that was in my heart was soft spoken and passive. Suggestions were posed in question form. If I said no, they would immediately go away. I knew I had regained control of my mind! I was now the master of my body and soul. Yes! I still had my appetites and sex drive and desires, but for some reason they couldn’t control me! They didn’t have control of my emotions! They had no power to distort my vision and pry into my free will and compel me to do that which is against wisdom.
The preaching of the cross is a message of liberation and freedom! It’s a message of prosperity and promise. It’s a message that breaks the back of guilt and condemnation. It’s a message that sets us free from legalistic bondage and shines the light on God’s unconditional love. Which love is in spite of us, not because of us. It’s a love emanating out of God’s heart. It’s a privilege bestowed upon us based on what Christ did, having nothing to do with what we have done or possibly may do in the future. But sometimes the light of this attribute of the cross becomes so bright in our heart that we fail to see other life-preserving aspects of the cross that should be equally as bright in our understanding.
Sometimes it can be possible, that we are so focused and enamored in what Jesus Christ has done for us through His sacrificial death and what blessings and goodies lie in store for us, that we forget that we are called to follow his example of selfless love and sacrificial service. Jesus was devoted to the ministry that he was called to by the Father. He was in love with his purpose because His Father, God, gave that purpose to him! Everything He did was in accordance with the service he was called to do and the ministry He was called to fulfill. His devotion to that ministry extended to the point of torturous death! And he gladly poured the blood from His ruptured veins because that was His purpose! That was His destiny!
The secret to overcoming the powers of seduction is this: Love the Lord and devote yourself to His ministry! Know that your obligation in Christ is to serve others! This is your job! This is your purpose! This is your destiny! This is your daily bread! A servant’s duty iswhat we are called to devote every waking minute to. We are to be filled with this purpose, devoted to this calling, and in love with this assignment.
Lust is illicit (unlicensed/illegal) when it is not trumped by a greater lust for the Lords ministry! Seduction enters through the door of idleness. When you aren’t serving and giving and pouring out your love on the Lord and His people, you are a candidate for the cancer of seduction. A true believer won’t move off of the path of service, because Service is life! Washing the feet of the saints is indicative of utmost service.It is not just your purpose, but it is your highest pursuit and your greatest reward! This was Jesus’ last lesson to the disciples before His death. Though He was a king, He became a slave in service to attain the highest of honors. Those who resist true service are ignorant regarding the true power of the cross and the nature of God.
Devotion to service makes you valuable to the body and it is a powerful protective agent. So powerful is it that Paul the apostle said, during a time where many women died in childbirth, that if a woman is faithful in serving and washing the disciples’ feet, that she won’t die when giving birth to her child! Whata powerful protection service is! Serving faithfully in their congregations and in their households qualified widows to be supported by the church in their old age!
The focus of pleasing the Lord daily in service out of love and devotion to Him is one of your greatest allies. It keeps you alive in the body of Christ. It gives you credit for increase and spiritual promotion. It qualifies you for greater gifts! It causes the Lord to draw nigh to you. It causes the Lord to honor you publicly because that is the example that He wants His children to see; while busybodies and idle members that are using the gospel to justify their covetousness and lustful behaviors and lack of moderation or self-control find a way to become humiliated publicly.
Those who love the Lord don’t seek their own agenda and selfish, illicit lusts. They seek His will and lust for Him and His will in their lives. Appreciation to the Lord is service for the Lord. If you are consuming your energy on self and withholding more than is meet, you must repent! Give your life to Him because He gave His life for you. Not in word! Give your life in deed. Put your hand to the plow and become addicted to His work.
A wise steward doesn’t despise even the smallest act of service. A wise steward knows that everything they are appointed to do for the Lord will be rewarded if it is out of a sincere heart without murmuring or complaining. Those who complain in their heart over God’s appointment in their life are candidates for seduction. Those who are impatient and won’t wait for increase, whether tangible or intangible, are candidates for seduction. Those who hate moderation and love excess are candidate for seduction. Those who aren’t devoted to “specific” service are candidates for seduction. Those who love God and spend their days in prayer and holy dedicated service of body and mind will never have a problem with seduction and radioactive lusts.
Let this truth enter your heart and NEVER FORGET IT!
Your Servant,
Dr. Nathaniel Duffey III
