For the Love of the Family Ministries
Pastor Terry L. Coomer, General Director
Missionaries to America's Forgotten Field, The Family
Ministry of Hope Baptist Church
P.O. Box 94985
North Little Rock, Arkansas 72190
(501) 515-3296
TLCOOMER@juno.com
For the Love of the Family Ministries
These articles may be copied in their entirety to help families to live for the Savior. They are not to be changed in any manner or sold. This header must be on all copies. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the author.
"The Designer Lust Church"
One of the great enemies of the Christian family today is the "Designer Lust Church." It is a by-product of this apostate hour in which we live. Have you ever wondered why that most children, who come from Christian homes, leave the home and do not serve the Savior? Over and over again, the New Testament speaks to the Christian about not living for their lusts. James 1:13-14, "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. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his OWN LUST, and enticed." That is a very important spiritual point for our lives.
Children are born with certain natural desires, food, drink etc. They are not born with a desire for certain music, designer clothes, etc. Those things come along with the environment in which they are raised. However, our children are born with a sin nature and a desire "to go their own way," Proverbs 14:12, 14; 16:25. One of the great failures of the modern Christian home is the training of our children spiritually to live for and serve the Savior and not to go "their own way." We do not train our children because we have failed to see the point of James 1:13-14. Obviously, we cannot train our children if we do not understand that we cannot live for our own lusts, "go our own way." Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the LUST of the flesh." Unfortunately, this is where the problem lies for the contemporary Christian. We desire to live for the lusts of the flesh. Therefore, our children do as well. It is interesting to me that the Bible tells us that each of us has our own special lusts, actually designer lusts. In essence, these are things that I like and want. Mine may be different from yours. Ephesians 2:3 calls these "the desires of the mind." Ephesians 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." You see we all have our own "desires of the flesh and of the mind." In essence, designer lusts. We design our own lusts.
How shallow spiritually is the contemporary church and Christian in this apostate age? We now have people desiring to find out what people want in a church and that is what we give them. Why? So they can do exactly the opposite of what the scripture tells us and they can have the desires of their mind (lusts) right from their church, "The Designer Lust Church." We will design the music, the activities, and the church service to appeal to the flesh rather than teaching and instructing what the Bible teaches on this subject. The fear today is if we do not do these things (what people like), then the people won't come to the church. The sad answer is that is probably true in some instances. You see it takes work to instruct and teach true spirituality and encourage people to live a life honoring and pleasing to God. It is a lot easier to entertain people and make them feel good than to teach them the truth. "The Designer Lust Church" will let you hear what you want to hear and how you want to hear it. It is the mark of an apostate age that is destroying our families, lives, churches, and homes. It has taken the country by storm. The "Designer Lust Church" has shallow preaching (if any), is extremely activity oriented, and gives people want they want. The problem with "The Designer Lust Church" is it does not give people what they need! "The Designer Lust Church" leads you and your family down the wrong path. It leads you down a path of compromise, rebellion, worldliness, immorality, divorce, and lustful sin. II Timothy 3:5 tells us to turn away from it. The "Designer Lust Church" has no power except fleshly power. It may have a big crowd because it feels good to people and they like it. They like their flesh to be entertained, emotional, thrilled, exalted, and excited. However, II Timothy 3 describes this church. II Timothy 3:2-6, "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, incontinent, fierce, despisers, of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." Where does this "Designer Lust Church" path lead? II Timothy 3:5-6, It has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof. You see the "Designer Lust Church" only produces more of the same, people living for the lusts of the flesh. What are we to do? II Timothy 3:5, "from such turn away." Why? Because there is no real spiritual power there. The sadness of this dark hour is many professing believers are being deceived into believing they really have a relationship with God, but in reality they have no spiritual power in their life and are only living for their own lusts, Galatians 6:7-8. Thus, we have the train wreck disasters in the church, lives, and home today. II Timothy 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."
The answer is not to continue to go down a path that has no power and leads to destruction, thinking we really have a relationship with God. This "Designer Lust Church" will ultimately culminate in the one world apostate church. What we see now is the forerunner of the one world apostate church. We must understand the only way to deal with the designer lusts is to really have an intimate, personal, passionate, relationship with the Savior. We need to understand that a real relationship with God comes from the heart, a right heart. We have to guard our heart, because out of it proceeds the issues of life, Proverbs 4:23.
How do I not go the direction of the "Designer Lust Christian?"
1. I need to sit down and write on a piece of paper any lusts that I know I am engaging in now and ask God to search my heart and make it plain to me what lusts I may be allowing to rule in my life.
2. I need to confess these as sin. I need to look at what the Bible has to say about that lust (sin), and then I need to turn from this lust (sin) and ask God to control me by the Holy Spirit in my life concerning this lust. I John 1:9; Galatians 5:16-17; Ephesians 5:18.
3. I need to understand that my old nature, the clone of Satan that lives within me, violently opposes God and Godliness. It is very important for me not to be led by my emotions, because my emotions will lead me into sin every time.
4. I need to understand that by confessing my sin to God and turning from it only gives me fellowship, I John 1:7. Fellowship means I can now talk to God.
5. I need to understand that just having fellowship with God is not enough, I now need to seek and build an intimate, personal, passionate relationship with Him. My life needs to have a real spiritual relationship, not a fleshly, lust relationship that has no power.
6. I need to spend time with God alone in His Word, and seek His face. I need to tell Him all that is on my heart. I must desire a holy life and ask God to make my life holy, I Peter 1:15-16; I Corinthians 10:31; I Corinthians 6:19-20.
7. Finally, I need to be in a church that truly desires to help me build the intimate, personal, passionate relationship I need with the Savior to have real spiritual power in my life. That is the power that will really effect my wife and my children for Christ. If I have a real relationship with the Savior I will then desire to convey that relationship to my children. I will then be in the spiritual position to get "their heart," Proverbs 23:26. Getting the child's heart is the most important aspect in rearing him or her to live for and serve the Savior. We need to pray that God will give us our children's heart daily. We also need to pray for their heart daily. However, God will not give you their heart if you are living the life of "The Designer Lust Christian."
The second most important aspect of rearing spiritual children to serve the Savior, (Mark 10:45; Proverbs 22:6), is to convey to my children how they too may have a real, intimate, personal passionate relationship with the Lord. We have to teach them how to deal with their lusts, so their designer lusts will not control their life, and so they will not grow up and be a Designer Lust Christian and produce more of the same people in the "Designer Lust Church."
Remember, "Designer Lust Christians" make up the "Designer Lust Church" which is a miserable spiritual failure. This leads down a path of no spiritual power and the ultimate end is destruction of the spiritual life, home, family, etc., but it feels pretty good going there. Many professing Christians and Pastors have been deceived by the apostate hour in which we live. The "Designer Lust Church" is a church of destruction not of real spiritual life. The "Designer Lust Church" is a church where sound doctrine does not mean anything. It is a church that appeals to the desires of the flesh, where the worship of God has been thrown out for the worship of the flesh. It is a church that worships music, activities, and externals rather than God. Let me ask you a very serious question to ponder. Are you a "Designer Lust Christian?" Are you in a "Designer Lust Church?"
Finally, the sadness is many churches, homes, and lives are so far down this path that they will not return. They are caught in the web of the "Designer Lust Church." Do not be deceived, Galatians 6:7-8, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
Pastor Terry L. Coomer, General Director
Missionaries to America's Forgotten Field, The Family
Ministry of Hope Baptist Church
P.O. Box 94985
North Little Rock, Arkansas 72190
(501) 515-3296
TLCOOMER@juno.com
For the Love of the Family Ministries
These articles may be copied in their entirety to help families to live for the Savior. They are not to be changed in any manner or sold. This header must be on all copies. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the author.
"The Designer Lust Church"
One of the great enemies of the Christian family today is the "Designer Lust Church." It is a by-product of this apostate hour in which we live. Have you ever wondered why that most children, who come from Christian homes, leave the home and do not serve the Savior? Over and over again, the New Testament speaks to the Christian about not living for their lusts. James 1:13-14, "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. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his OWN LUST, and enticed." That is a very important spiritual point for our lives.
Children are born with certain natural desires, food, drink etc. They are not born with a desire for certain music, designer clothes, etc. Those things come along with the environment in which they are raised. However, our children are born with a sin nature and a desire "to go their own way," Proverbs 14:12, 14; 16:25. One of the great failures of the modern Christian home is the training of our children spiritually to live for and serve the Savior and not to go "their own way." We do not train our children because we have failed to see the point of James 1:13-14. Obviously, we cannot train our children if we do not understand that we cannot live for our own lusts, "go our own way." Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the LUST of the flesh." Unfortunately, this is where the problem lies for the contemporary Christian. We desire to live for the lusts of the flesh. Therefore, our children do as well. It is interesting to me that the Bible tells us that each of us has our own special lusts, actually designer lusts. In essence, these are things that I like and want. Mine may be different from yours. Ephesians 2:3 calls these "the desires of the mind." Ephesians 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." You see we all have our own "desires of the flesh and of the mind." In essence, designer lusts. We design our own lusts.
How shallow spiritually is the contemporary church and Christian in this apostate age? We now have people desiring to find out what people want in a church and that is what we give them. Why? So they can do exactly the opposite of what the scripture tells us and they can have the desires of their mind (lusts) right from their church, "The Designer Lust Church." We will design the music, the activities, and the church service to appeal to the flesh rather than teaching and instructing what the Bible teaches on this subject. The fear today is if we do not do these things (what people like), then the people won't come to the church. The sad answer is that is probably true in some instances. You see it takes work to instruct and teach true spirituality and encourage people to live a life honoring and pleasing to God. It is a lot easier to entertain people and make them feel good than to teach them the truth. "The Designer Lust Church" will let you hear what you want to hear and how you want to hear it. It is the mark of an apostate age that is destroying our families, lives, churches, and homes. It has taken the country by storm. The "Designer Lust Church" has shallow preaching (if any), is extremely activity oriented, and gives people want they want. The problem with "The Designer Lust Church" is it does not give people what they need! "The Designer Lust Church" leads you and your family down the wrong path. It leads you down a path of compromise, rebellion, worldliness, immorality, divorce, and lustful sin. II Timothy 3:5 tells us to turn away from it. The "Designer Lust Church" has no power except fleshly power. It may have a big crowd because it feels good to people and they like it. They like their flesh to be entertained, emotional, thrilled, exalted, and excited. However, II Timothy 3 describes this church. II Timothy 3:2-6, "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, incontinent, fierce, despisers, of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." Where does this "Designer Lust Church" path lead? II Timothy 3:5-6, It has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof. You see the "Designer Lust Church" only produces more of the same, people living for the lusts of the flesh. What are we to do? II Timothy 3:5, "from such turn away." Why? Because there is no real spiritual power there. The sadness of this dark hour is many professing believers are being deceived into believing they really have a relationship with God, but in reality they have no spiritual power in their life and are only living for their own lusts, Galatians 6:7-8. Thus, we have the train wreck disasters in the church, lives, and home today. II Timothy 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."
The answer is not to continue to go down a path that has no power and leads to destruction, thinking we really have a relationship with God. This "Designer Lust Church" will ultimately culminate in the one world apostate church. What we see now is the forerunner of the one world apostate church. We must understand the only way to deal with the designer lusts is to really have an intimate, personal, passionate, relationship with the Savior. We need to understand that a real relationship with God comes from the heart, a right heart. We have to guard our heart, because out of it proceeds the issues of life, Proverbs 4:23.
How do I not go the direction of the "Designer Lust Christian?"
1. I need to sit down and write on a piece of paper any lusts that I know I am engaging in now and ask God to search my heart and make it plain to me what lusts I may be allowing to rule in my life.
2. I need to confess these as sin. I need to look at what the Bible has to say about that lust (sin), and then I need to turn from this lust (sin) and ask God to control me by the Holy Spirit in my life concerning this lust. I John 1:9; Galatians 5:16-17; Ephesians 5:18.
3. I need to understand that my old nature, the clone of Satan that lives within me, violently opposes God and Godliness. It is very important for me not to be led by my emotions, because my emotions will lead me into sin every time.
4. I need to understand that by confessing my sin to God and turning from it only gives me fellowship, I John 1:7. Fellowship means I can now talk to God.
5. I need to understand that just having fellowship with God is not enough, I now need to seek and build an intimate, personal, passionate relationship with Him. My life needs to have a real spiritual relationship, not a fleshly, lust relationship that has no power.
6. I need to spend time with God alone in His Word, and seek His face. I need to tell Him all that is on my heart. I must desire a holy life and ask God to make my life holy, I Peter 1:15-16; I Corinthians 10:31; I Corinthians 6:19-20.
7. Finally, I need to be in a church that truly desires to help me build the intimate, personal, passionate relationship I need with the Savior to have real spiritual power in my life. That is the power that will really effect my wife and my children for Christ. If I have a real relationship with the Savior I will then desire to convey that relationship to my children. I will then be in the spiritual position to get "their heart," Proverbs 23:26. Getting the child's heart is the most important aspect in rearing him or her to live for and serve the Savior. We need to pray that God will give us our children's heart daily. We also need to pray for their heart daily. However, God will not give you their heart if you are living the life of "The Designer Lust Christian."
The second most important aspect of rearing spiritual children to serve the Savior, (Mark 10:45; Proverbs 22:6), is to convey to my children how they too may have a real, intimate, personal passionate relationship with the Lord. We have to teach them how to deal with their lusts, so their designer lusts will not control their life, and so they will not grow up and be a Designer Lust Christian and produce more of the same people in the "Designer Lust Church."
Remember, "Designer Lust Christians" make up the "Designer Lust Church" which is a miserable spiritual failure. This leads down a path of no spiritual power and the ultimate end is destruction of the spiritual life, home, family, etc., but it feels pretty good going there. Many professing Christians and Pastors have been deceived by the apostate hour in which we live. The "Designer Lust Church" is a church of destruction not of real spiritual life. The "Designer Lust Church" is a church where sound doctrine does not mean anything. It is a church that appeals to the desires of the flesh, where the worship of God has been thrown out for the worship of the flesh. It is a church that worships music, activities, and externals rather than God. Let me ask you a very serious question to ponder. Are you a "Designer Lust Christian?" Are you in a "Designer Lust Church?"
Finally, the sadness is many churches, homes, and lives are so far down this path that they will not return. They are caught in the web of the "Designer Lust Church." Do not be deceived, Galatians 6:7-8, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
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