5 steps I find helpful:
1. The first look is free...the second is sin.
Think on things that are pure, as the Scriptures command in Phil. 4:8. You can control where your thoughts go by making a mental choice to focus on something nonsexual.
2. Remove sources of sexual temptation.
Identify the things in your life that are contributing to the problem. You know what they are. Two things to avoid:
• Internet porn: the web gives easy, free access to pornography. If you can’t resist, set your computer up in the common room of your house, with the screen facing so that all who pass by can see. I was not a big fan of the movie "Fireproof", but one scene that greatly affected me was when Kirk Cameron’s character, struggling with internet porn, literally took his computer out into his driveway, smashed it with a baseball bat, and threw it in the garbage.
Radical change requires…radical change. Throwing your computer in the dumpster is probably not a realistic solution in today’s world...but confiding in a trusted friend concerning your porn addiction is…then set strict security settings on your computer…with the friend holding the password. I believe God honors radical decisions for Him.
Matthew 18:8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.
• Alcohol: When people get drunk, they have sex, it’s just what happens. Inhibitions are removed and our sin nature rises up. For some, this means don’t over indulge in alcohol. For others, this means don’t indulge in alcohol at all. You know which one you are.
3. Purpose in your heart to follow God's Word.
For you Left-brainers out there this means, make right decisions. Act with your brain and not your emotions. For you Right-brainers, this means, make HIM your passion, for emotions are your world. Live and breathe Him, so that there is no room in your heart for lustful passions. Make right decisions.
When Satan tempted Eve, she engaged him in conversation, instead of just turning her back on him and walking away. We all know the outcome of her choice!
4. Protect yourself with the Word.
When Satan came to Jesus, His defense was to speak the Word. Satan did not argue with Scripture; he left. Follow Jesus’ example… ”As it is written…” (Suggestion – buy a pack of 3” x 5” note cards. Start writing your favorite scriptures on them, then carry them with you at all times. Read through them throughout the day...memorize them.)
Keep your walk with the Lord strong. Develop an intimate relationship with Him. Difficult times come when we get out of fellowship with God. He doesn't leave us; we just stop relating to Him.
Remember the basics: daily Bible reading, regular prayer (set a time…an appointment with the Father), constant fellowship.
5. If you fall down, get up.
Romans 13:11-14 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
After I preached this once, a woman came up to me with scowl on her face and said, “What an AWKWARD sermon!” I responded, “Awkward is my specialty, lady.” ...She never came back.
She’s probably home looking at porn now.