We rejoice with you and give all the glory and thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for the great improvement He has already worked in your life, for it is God who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure, Philippians 2:13. We have heard your crying and your prayers and we join with you now seeking His will together in Jesus name, thanking Him for His mercy and asking Him for lasting and true deliverance for His glory.
We want to speak plainly and lovingly about these sins because God calls us to holiness. Pornography, masturbation rooted in lust, flirting with the opposite sex outside of godly courtship, and all sexual sin are not small struggles, they are sexual immorality that defiles the heart and the body. Jesus said that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart, Matthew 5:28. We are commanded to flee sexual immorality, 1 Corinthians 6:18, and that every sexual sin that a person does is against his own body, which is a temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:19,20. Flirting that stirs desire without the commitment of marriage does not honor God, for we are called to pursue purity and to treat one another with all purity, 1 Timothy 5:2, and to let marriage be held in honor among all, Hebrews 13:4. God designed sexual intimacy for lifelong marriage between a man and a woman, and any use of it outside that covenant is fornication or adultery that we must turn from. We also affirm that you have come in the right way, through the name of Jesus Christ, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved, Acts 4:12, and it is only through Him we have access to the Father, John 14:6.
We encourage you that lasting freedom does not come by willpower alone but by renewing the mind and walking by the Spirit. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, Romans 12:2. We walk by the Spirit and we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, Galatians 5:16. This means making no provision for the flesh, Romans 13:14, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5. We have found it vital to cut off every source and way of escape for temptation, to make a covenant with our eyes as Job did, Job 31:1, to guard our hearts and to fill our minds with what is true, honorable, just, pure and lovely, Philippians 4:8. We hide His word in our hearts that we might not sin against Him, Psalm 119:11, and we ask how a young man can keep his way pure, by living according to His word, Psalm 119:9. We also encourage you to walk in the light with trusted, mature believers who can keep you accountable, for we confess our sins to one another and pray for one another that we may be healed, James 5:16, and we submit to God and resist the devil and he will flee from us, James 4:7. If you are not pursuing courtship with the goal of marriage to a fellow believer, we encourage you to step back from flirting and to pursue contentment and singleness with purpose until God leads you to a godly spouse in His timing.
We pray together for you now.
Father, we come before Your throne of grace in the name of Jesus Christ and we thank You for the work You have already begun in our brother, for Your mercy that has heard his many prayers and tears. We ask that You complete the good work You began until the day of Jesus Christ, Philippians 1:6. Lord, create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit within him, Psalm 51:10, and transform him by the renewing of his mind so that these sins will be forever far from him. Grant him wisdom from above, make him very wise to discern every trap and to hate what is evil and cling to what is good, Romans 12:9. Show him Your mercy, speak to him, give him understanding and full deliverance, and guide him to do whatever it takes to remove these sins forever from his life and heart, whether it is cutting off access, fasting, praying, memorizing Scripture, or seeking accountability. Help him to flee when temptation comes, for You have promised that no temptation has taken us except what is common to man and You will with the temptation also make the way of escape, 1 Corinthians 10:13. Wash him and keep him in Your forgiveness as he confesses, for You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9. Keep him in Your perfect peace and let him walk in purity, for Your will is our sanctification, that we abstain from sexual immorality and possess our own vessel in sanctification and honor, 1 Thessalonians 4:3,4. We ask all of this for Your glory, in the mighty and holy name of Jesus Christ, amen.