Every man born of a woman, has in his mortal body, the foremost enemy of God, the nature of the Flesh.

Lust dwells in every man, both Christian and Unbelievers. It is called the fleshly nature. Being Born Again does not automatically remove the flesh from you.

However, regeneration, subdues the power of the flesh in you. It subdues it and renders it powerless, such that it is unable to take control of you without your permission.

Romans 6:14: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (KJV)

You can only willfully yield to it, but it can no longer exert control over you.

If this is true, then why are several believers still enslaved to lustful desires?

Colossians 3:5: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry”(KJV)

Colossians 3:5: “So kill (deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members [those animal impulses and all that is earthly in you that is employed in sin]: sexual vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and covetousness, for that is idolatry (the deifying of self and other created things instead of God).” (AMP)

Apostle Paul first tells us in Romans 6, that our flesh was crucified with Christ. But now, in Colossians 3, we discover that he is admonishing the Church to mortify and put to death, the flesh and its desires in us. This is to tell us that mortification is a continuous and repeated process.

The flesh is not supposed to be subdued and left unattended to. The carnal desires are not supposed to be defeated initially, and then left unattended to. These desires are like weeds that sprout up whenever they want, in the most unwanted areas. A lot of believers are still enslaved to lust and its desires because they failed to understand how to mortify such desires whenever they sprang up.

James 1:15 ‘Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is full-grown’, bringeth forth death.’

The word ‘conceived’ in James 1:15 also means for something to be tolerated or allowed to expand and grow.

I have had quite a lot of experience dealing with teenagers and youths struggling with problems related to lust; and from my experience with them, I have observed that their enslavement to sin, began with their tolerance of the inner fleshly desire.

A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION OF THIS FACT

Let’s assume you discover that you’re beginning to have ‘funny’ dreams, and that whenever you see beautiful girls presently, all you think of is handling the sensitive parts of their body.

At first, you shake it off. But the thoughts and imaginations keep coming. After a while, you begin to tolerate it, you call it a ‘weakness’, and you say it’s just a mere thought.

What you just permitted is the first stage to Enslavement. It’s called Conception.
Now that you’ve allowed the fleshly nature within you to inspire carnal thoughts into your mind, you will find those thoughts increasing.

That single tolerance you gave to the flesh was like an open door, that allowed the torrents of carnality, flow unhinged, into your mind.

They grow from strength to strength and even begin to choke up the word of God within you.

One day, you had a flood of carnal thoughts rushing into you. Your body was on fire with lust, you felt like an animal on heat. This is the Birthing stage. Lust has been conceived and it’s about to birth sin.

Satan comes and whispers to your ears that once you watch porn once, the desires will calm down and won’t torment you again.

‘Just meet its demands so that it’ll let you rest’, he says to you.
But you’ll never discern that it’s his voice because his voice is aligned with what you’re experiencing.

You open your phone and begin to open the porn website. As you’re opening it, you ask God to speak to you if what you’re doing is wrong.

Lol.

You won’t hear any voice because the thorns of the flesh have choked up your pure conscience which was supposed to be the Voice of truth within you.

The website opens and once you watch pornography, boom… Lust has given birth to sin.

You love what you see, you even masturbate while watching. But afterwards, you feel downcast and guilty, this is because the fleshly desires have been temporarily satisfied, so they’ve become calm again.

Despite your feeling of guilt, that little sin will cost you severely. Sin from the outside looks as tiny and fragile as a little spider’s web, but when you fall into it, its cords are as thick as a cart rope.

It holds you tightly and influences your mind to believe that a spirit of lust has possessed you and that you are in need of deliverance from it.

That single act you called a little sin, will lead to several recurrences. This is what it means to allow sin to grow into its fullness. It is the GROWTH stage.

From watching porn weekly, it becomes a daily thing, it becomes an hourly thing.

By satisfying your fleshly desires, you are feeding the power of sin and you’re strengthening its grips over you.

If you don’t find solution fast, it can lead to the last destination, spiritual DEATH!

But God never left us hopeless and helpless. No matter how deep you’ve fallen into this kind of enslavement, there is always a way out.

OBTAINING FREEDOM FROM LUST AND ITS DESIRES

• Genuinely Repent: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

If you want to be truly free from enslavement to lustful desire, then you must open up to God. Do not try to hide from God; do not try to conceal your sin, neither should you excuse it. When you open up to God, He will purge you and cleanse you totally. Repentance is the first key to freedom.

• Get in touch with a Mentor: Proverbs 15:22: “Without counsel plans fail…”

In every stage and sphere of our lives, we need mentors. We need people who we can be accountable to. Mentors are symbols of authority, discipline and instruction in our lives. Don’t be so proud that you feel you can break out on your own, without anybody’s help. You need the prayer of a higher spiritual figure; you need the experience of an elder to learn from. Get in touch with your pastor, or Christian leader who you can relate with in person. Narrate your ordeal, and submit to their instruction.

• Get rid of the Flesh-feed:

Stay clear of the company of friends whose conversation only incite your flesh. Get rid of those videos, pictures and literature that feed your flesh and make it gain influence over your mind. The more you starve your flesh of these things, the more it dies.

• Create an Atmosphere of Spirituality:

2 Cor. 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Create an atmosphere around you filled with God’s presence. Pray in tongues, in your spirit, and out loud as much as you can. Declare God’s word daily. Let your heart be full of singing to God daily. Get in fellowship with believers around you. Love God, and watch how your life will transform for the better.