We rejoice with you and give all the glory and thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for the great improvement you have seen, for it is by His grace and power that any victory over sin comes. We have heard your crying and praying and we join with you now to seek lasting and true deliverance for the glory of God, for He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ, Philippians 1:6.
We must speak plainly with you in love, as the Bible does, that pornography, masturbation, flirting with the opposite sex outside of godly courtship toward marriage, and all sexual sin are not small struggles but sin against God and against your own body. Flee sexual immorality, every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body, 1 Corinthians 6:18. Everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart, Matthew 5:28. These things grieve the Holy Spirit and defile the heart, yet we thank God that you are not hiding them but confessing them and seeking to be cleansed. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9.
The flirting and sexual lust you describe must be put far from you, for God calls us not to play with temptation but to flee it. Flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart, 2 Timothy 2:22. God designed sexual intimacy as holy and beautiful only within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, and outside of that marriage any sexual activity, including pornography and masturbation which feed lust, is fornication and must be repented of. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in sanctification and honor, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4.
We encourage you that lasting victory will not come by willpower alone but by the renewing of your mind and walking by the Spirit. Donāt be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, Romans 12:2. We must bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5, and set our minds on whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pure, Philippians 4:8. Walk by the Spirit, and you wonāt fulfill the lust of the flesh, Galatians 5:16. No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it, 1 Corinthians 10:13.
We urge you to do whatever it takes to remove these sins forever, as Jesus taught to cut off what causes stumbling. This means making a covenant with your eyes as Job did, Job 31:1, removing all access to pornography, guarding your phone and computer, avoiding places and conversations that lead to flirting, and bringing your struggle into the light with a mature, godly brother in Christ for accountability. Hide His word in your heart that you might not sin against Him, Psalm 119:11, and keep your way pure by living according to His word, Psalm 119:9.
We now pray together with you in the name of Jesus Christ, for it is only through His name that we have access to the Father and it is in His name there is salvation and deliverance, John 14:6 and Acts 4:12.
Father, we come before You together in the name of Jesus Christ and we thank You for the mercy You have already shown to our dear brother, for the tears he has shed and the prayers You have heard, and for the improvement You have wrought. We ask that You would complete this work and grant lasting and true deliverance. Create in him a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within him, Psalm 51:10. Renew his mind, make him very wise and give him understanding, that he may discern and hate every form of lust and sexual sin and that these sins will forever be far from him. Speak to him, show him mercy, teach him to take every thought captive and to flee temptation, and fill him with Your Holy Spirit so that he walks in purity and self-control for Your glory. Guard his eyes, his heart and his lips, keep him from flirting and from all fornication, and lead him, if it is Your will, toward a godly marriage that honors You, or to serve You in singleness with an undivided heart. Strengthen him when he is weak, lift him when he falls, and let him know that Your grace is sufficient and Your power is made perfect in weakness. We ask all this in the mighty and merciful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our deliverance, amen.
We encourage you to continue to cry out to Him daily, to stay in the Word, to pray without ceasing, and to walk in the light. God hears the cries of the righteous and delivers them, Psalm 34:17. Do not grow weary, for in due season you will reap if you do not faint, Galatians 6:9. We are standing with you for complete freedom and a renewed mind that brings glory to God.
