For professional MMA fighters, getting signed to the UFC is a chance to prove once and for all that they are the best in the world. Unfortunately, the UFC is also the stomping grounds of the most dangerous men and women on the planet. These apex predators take pleasure in crushing multi-time national/world champions and Olympic medalists before sending them crying to their mama. As you continue to win battles for sexual purity and start leading people to Christ, God will decide that you are ready for the "UFC-level" competition of Marital MMA and test you against the apex predators of sexual temptation: Satan and his demons.
Long story short, Satan and his demons are fallen angels who were thrown out of heaven after a failed coup de'tat against God. Currently, they are still waging a "proxy war" against God through bringing as many humans to hell with them as they can. One of their key weapons of mass destruction is sexual sin because:
1) Sexual sin, when allowed to run its full course, perverts the body, mind, heart and soul of the unbeliever to the point that they will eventually have no desire to be reconciled with Christ. They will basically drive around the cross as they gleefully take the highway to hell.
This does not mean that Christ can't redeem those who have sinned sexually. Christ's death on the cross paid the penalty for ALL sin, which includes the most unimaginably evil (and criminal) sexual perversions. Many people do become new, holy creations in Jesus through crying out to Him from their prison cell. However, if someone constantly refuses to repent, Christ will let their sin run its course, which means that they will eventually wind up in the Lake of Fire for rejecting Him.
2) Sexual sin castrates and sterilizes Christian men and women so that they can't effectively spread the gospel. Nobody wants to hear about Christ's righteousness from pastors who bend female church members over their desk during "counseling sessions" or Sunday School teachers who give carnal "one-on-one tutoring" to their boyfriends in the church bathroom. Doing that and expecting to lead people to Christ is like expecting people to hire you as a personal trainer when you spend all day on your couch watching Netflix, eating burgers, and drinking milkshakes.
Oh, and while we're at it, "getting to know yourself" while watching porn/reading literotica for hours every night is NOT a healthy outlet for sexual expression! Doing that and trying to lead people to Christ is like trying to lead an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when you are RIP-ROARING DRUNK!
So how do you keep Satan and his demons from swindling you out of your V-card and laying the smackdown on your plan to experience "The Sexual Force Unleashed" and "Romantic World Peace" in a Christ-centered marriage?
1) Commit your entire life and spiritual wars to Christ. At the end of the day, that's the only thing that will allow you to overcome and defeat the demonic kingdom.
2) COMMIT YOUR ENTIRE LIFE AND SPIRITUAL WARS TO CHRIST!!! You are really overmatched here!
2) Stay in fellowship with devout Christian brothers and sisters and pray over each other. And by pray, I mean real prayers, not just "Little Johnny has the flu" kind of requests. If things get really bad, ask for prayer to bind the powers of Satan/cast demonic presences out of your life.
3) Put on the armor of God before you go into battle (see the passage at the end of the post). Remember, these creatures once tried to overthrow God Himself. When you fight them, you better be prepared!
4) Don't swim in the shark tank! Stay away from magic, ouija boards, seances, investigations into "paranormal" activity, fortune tellers, covens, and other activities, people and places which attract demons like blood attracts Great Whites!
5) If God has called you to preach the gospel to people who are enslaved to occult and demonic practices, don't do it alone. Make sure that you witness to them and get to know them with fellow believers in a safe godly environment such as a Christian concert or youth rally. Neutral settings such as a restaurant or bowling alley are also fine.
6) Destroy anything in your life that Satan and his demons can use against you (i.e. twisted and corrupt music, video games, films, e-books, etc). Like professional fighters, these creatures will spend hours or longer "watching tape" on you to figure out your strengths and weaknesses so that they can get you to fall.
For example, if you constantly watch movies in which a guy is seduced by his friend's older sister, one day, demons may arrange it so that you have a bromance with a dude who's mature, sophisticated, and smoking hot older sister wants you for DINNER! If you are a girl who reads e-books about being swept off your feet (and into bed) by a cowboy, don't be surprised if your neighbor's rugged (and totally ripped) cowboy cousin stays with them over the summer and offers you to teach you how to properly "ride a stallion."
In particular, remove any addictive behaviors that you have because they will provide a spiritual highway for the forces of hell to send their troops into your life.
7) Fight with the sword which makes the Jedi lightsaber look like a wet noodle : the Bible! The best part about the Bible is that, WHEN USED PROPERLY, there's nothing that can counter it. In fact, Jesus used the holy scriptures to defeat Satan when he tried to tempt Him in the desert. Likewise, we must use the holy scriptures to crush Satan and his demons and send them crying back to hell.
Ephesians 6: 10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." (NIV)
