What is magnet fishing? – Part 3

In Parts 1 & 2, we looked at Magnet fishing (also called Magnetic Fishing), and how it uses a strong neodymium magnet to try and grab ferrous metal objects that are hidden or lost underwater….so you can try to grab something lost on the bottom of a lake, pond, or river. Pictured above is a magnet on a rope that might be used for this. (https://www.kjmagnetics.com/blog.asp?p=magnet-fishing)

We have been studying the analogy of how the Devil (the tempter) and his demons use what we are calling spiritual magnet fishing. They love to bring before us anything that might attract (bring up from our inner souls…our minds, our wills, or our emotions) any secret lusts, impure and wrong desires, or insincere motives that we have allowed to enter and linger there and have not acknowledged, confessed, or forsaken. We saw how James 1:13-15 explains this concept in vivid detail.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
We looked at how James explained the consequences of a sin being conceived or when demonic spiritual magnet fishing has been successful….when after conception, the sin grows like an embryo in the mother’s womb until it is born and grows up to produce some kind of death in our lives.

The death can be the death of our testimony and credibility as a sincere Christian or it can be a financial death of some form or it can be emotional problems and mental health problems or it can be legal problems. There are many kinds of death Satan can strive for in our lives. He knows we cannot lose our salvation (as truly born again Christians) and knowing he cannot get to our salvation, he would love to ruin our lives and families and health and finances and on and on. He would also love to cause us to bring reproach upon the holy name of Christ. He hates us and comes to kill, steal, and destroy what God has given us in this life (John 10:10).

Are we just helpless victims who have to stand there and watch him work on us or can we do something about it? Can we stop the process of being dragged away and enticed by a secret evil desire or lust before it conceives and gives birth to a sin, which then grows towards some kind of death?

Remember - that before we can be tempted by a wrong thought, idea, or concept – we had to allow that thought to gain entrance into our minds. If it cannot get a foothold in minds, then it cannot grow into a wrong desire, which can entice us and look for an opportunity to fulfill itself. Demonic forces can fish all they want, but they won’t get any bites when there are no secret and wrong desires (a lust) there.

What could have King David done in 2 Samuel 11 to have blocked the opportunity of seeing a “naked Bathsheba” in the first place? Some theologians have proposed that David should have been at war with his troops, since he was their military leader and champion. If he had been with them, he would have certainly avoided this entire tragedy. Maybe one insight is to never neglect responsibilities or duties. Maybe being where we should be, doing what we should be doing can protect us.

What if David had not allowed a secret desire (for more sex with someone new outside of his current wives) to sit quietly in the background of his mind (his wanderlust or strong longing for or impulse toward wandering)? He may have still gone up on that roof that night, to pray, meditate, or worship….as he admired how many incredible stars there were in the universe…as he reflected in Psalm 8. In this case, he would have been looking up at the stellar heavens and not around at his immediate surroundings and could have missed seeing Bathsheba all together.

Psalm 8:3-4: When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

But even if he had seen a “naked Bathsheba”, would his spirit of worship immediately caused him to look away and not think about sex at all? Or could his spirit of worship reminded him of how great God was to give him the 7 wives he already had? Could he then have turned around immediately and sought out the companionship of one of these wives? There are three similar stories that reveal the same three stages of temptation.

In Genesis 3:6, we have Eve’s experience in the Garden of Eden.

1: She looked at the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
2: She saw that it seemed to be good for food, good to look at, and good for getting some kind of wisdom (she did not have a clue what that might be).
3: She took some and ate it.
4: She gave some to Adam and he ate it too and then they tried to cover it up.

In Joshua 7:1-26, an Israelite man named Achan took some of the spoils of war that God said could not be taken for one’s personal use. When God revealed to Joshua that Achan was the violator, Joshua commanded Achan to explain what he did and Achan explained.

1: I looked at the beautiful cloak, the silver, and the gold.
2: I coveted them for myself.
3: I took them.
4: I hid them in my tent (tried to cover it up).

In 2 Samuel 11, we have King David’s experience with Bathsheba.

1: He looked at Bathsheba.
2: He coveted her for himself.
3: He took her.
4: He tried to cover it up.

In all three cases, it started with a look. The look led to the coveting. The coveting led to the taking. And the taking led to the attempted cover up. The same process can happen with hearing something or touching something. John identifies these three possibilities as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (I John 2:16).

So it seems, the victory has to begin with the discipline to turn away, as soon as something comes into sight, audio range, or touching distance. If we turn away immediately, the possibilities cannot get into our mind. If they cannot get into our minds, then they won’t be stored there. If they are not stored there, then we will not be tempted then or in the future by demonic fishing expeditions and we won’t be dragged away and enticed. If we are not enticed, then wrong desires won’t be conceived and give birth to sin and sin cannot grow up to result in some kind of death in our lives (The process from James 1:13-15).

What did Joseph do when Potiphar’s wife tried to grab Joseph (the touching) and seduce him in Genesis 39? He ran for his life. He did not stand there and let her keep touching him, while he tried to rationalize with her.

What did Job say was his key to avoiding ever giving into lust? He said, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman (Job 31:1). In other words, if I avoid the look, I avoid the temptation.

Note: Job’s covenant was an agreement between his eyes and his will (volition) to never look or gaze at anything impure or that which his spirit knew would be displeasing to God. God Himself testified that one of Job’s greatest virtues was his fear of God. At the heart of fearing God is the desire to please God in everything we think, say, or do.

Solomon echoed this in Proverbs 4:25-27, where he said, “Let your eyes look straight ahead and fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left. Keep your foot from evil. Note: If you keep your eyes from evil, it will be much easier to keep your foot from evil.

When the Devil came to Christ to tempt Him in Matthew 4:1-3, the first way he tried to tempt Him was audibly. Satan said to Christ, “If you are the Son of God, then you can tell these stones to become bread and you can satisfy all that hunger you have right now?” In 2 Kings 5, Elisha’s servant Gehazi was tempted by the conversation he heard between Elisha and Naaman, when Naaman tried to give Elisha money for the healing of leprosy he had just experienced. Maybe Gehazi should not have been listening. If he would have been out doing something useful, as Elisha’s servant, he might have avoided that entire tragedy in his life….where he ended up with Naaman’s leprosy.

Paul warned us in 1 Timothy 5:13, to never sit there and listen to gossips and busybodies, say what they should not be saying. Solomon warned us in Proverbs 18:8 that the words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels (they taste good) and they will go down into the inner parts of the body (where they will become the source of future temptation). If we refuse to listen to things we don’t need to hear, we can protect ourselves in the same way not looking at something we don’t need to see or touching something we don’t need to touch will save us from possible tragedies.

So, it all boils down to the “will”. The “will” is a part of our souls. Inside our conscious
souls, we have our minds, our emotions, and our wills. Our wills are the governing
power of the soul. Willpower could be defined as a strong determination to do something or not to do something, but for successful willpower, we need grace power. That means grace empowering the will, as Paul said in Philippians 4:13….”I can do all things, through Christ who empowers me”.

Paul was explaining how the grace of Christ empowered his will to govern his mind and
emotions. So, to be successful like Job and Joseph and Paul, the bottom line secret is to surrender your will to Jesus Christ every single morning when you get up or better yet, when you are going to sleep each night (one or the other or both).

….Give Him your will as your daily sacrifice or offering!
….Lord Jesus–I acknowledge that you bought me and paid for me with
your own precious blood. You own me!
….Lord Jesus–here is my will for this entire day!
….Lord Jesus–I beg you to take my will and be the Lord of my will
today!

Thank you for your precious time!
Yours in Christ,
Gene