1 00:00:09,501 --> 00:00:12,146 Last week I wanted to lay down 2 00:00:12,146 --> 00:00:15,926 some foundations for sexual sin 3 00:00:15,926 --> 00:00:20,672 from the standpoint that, 4 00:00:20,672 --> 00:00:23,672 basically, if you're justified, 5 00:00:23,672 --> 00:00:28,694 the faith that justifies, 6 00:00:28,694 --> 00:00:32,804 the faith that saves from the wrath of God, 7 00:00:32,804 --> 00:00:38,365 must be a faith 8 00:00:38,365 --> 00:00:41,985 that breaks the dominion of sin in your life. 9 00:00:41,985 --> 00:00:49,417 The faith that saves us from the wrath of God 10 00:00:49,418 --> 00:00:52,326 must be a faith that saves us 11 00:00:52,326 --> 00:00:54,656 from sexual immorality. 12 00:00:54,656 --> 00:00:58,882 And if that faith doesn't save 13 00:00:58,882 --> 00:01:03,752 from the power of sexual temptation and lust, 14 00:01:03,752 --> 00:01:06,825 then it will not save you from the wrath of God. 15 00:01:06,826 --> 00:01:10,729 Now as I said, obviously we're 16 00:01:10,729 --> 00:01:13,089 never talking perfection; 17 00:01:13,089 --> 00:01:18,604 but we are talking about a faith that puts you 18 00:01:18,604 --> 00:01:26,254 into all out battle against sexual temptation. 19 00:01:26,254 --> 00:01:28,682 You know, we had a big group with us last week; 20 00:01:28,683 --> 00:01:31,762 a bunch of visitors from Alabama and Georgia. 21 00:01:31,762 --> 00:01:34,216 And I didn't know where they were coming from, 22 00:01:34,216 --> 00:01:36,633 I didn't know what kind of churches they had, 23 00:01:36,633 --> 00:01:41,913 so I wanted to hit this thing from that standpoint. 24 00:01:41,913 --> 00:01:44,912 But the purpose of this series all along 25 00:01:44,912 --> 00:01:47,912 has been to equip the believer. 26 00:01:47,912 --> 00:01:50,391 It isn't so much that I want to come along 27 00:01:50,392 --> 00:01:56,719 and try to convince people in this series that they're lost. 28 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:02,254 I want to give the Christian tools to fight the battle. 29 00:02:02,255 --> 00:02:06,212 Peter says in 1 Peter 2:11, 30 00:02:06,212 --> 00:02:11,142 "To abstain from these passions 31 00:02:11,142 --> 00:02:15,662 that wage war against the soul." 32 00:02:15,662 --> 00:02:20,733 And I'll tell you, one of the passions that wages war, 33 00:02:20,733 --> 00:02:25,643 especially with men, is sexual lust. 34 00:02:25,643 --> 00:02:28,284 It's sexual temptation. 35 00:02:28,285 --> 00:02:33,732 I mean, it is a sin that takes out 36 00:02:33,732 --> 00:02:41,582 its thousands and its tens of thousands. 37 00:02:41,582 --> 00:02:45,127 So how do we abstain? Here's the commandment; 38 00:02:45,127 --> 00:02:46,957 here's the imperative we are given 39 00:02:46,957 --> 00:02:49,957 by the Lord through the apostle: 40 00:02:49,957 --> 00:02:52,895 "Abstain from these passions." 41 00:02:52,896 --> 00:02:55,173 How do I do it? 42 00:02:55,174 --> 00:02:57,618 Okay, we know they're there. 43 00:02:57,619 --> 00:03:02,773 Look, men, by and large, it may be 44 00:03:02,773 --> 00:03:06,603 sexual desire may be stronger. 45 00:03:06,603 --> 00:03:09,257 I mean it is, typically. 46 00:03:09,258 --> 00:03:11,936 Not in every case, but typically. 47 00:03:11,937 --> 00:03:13,537 That's just the reality. 48 00:03:13,538 --> 00:03:16,818 But it's not only a problem in men, 49 00:03:16,818 --> 00:03:19,818 obviously it's a problem in women as well. 50 00:03:19,818 --> 00:03:23,814 And as my wife fills me in, 51 00:03:23,814 --> 00:03:28,634 that you know, men are visually driven, 52 00:03:28,634 --> 00:03:32,523 their desires are visually stirred. 53 00:03:32,524 --> 00:03:34,808 My wife tells me with ladies 54 00:03:34,808 --> 00:03:44,698 there's emotional satisfactions in wanting to have a man, 55 00:03:44,698 --> 00:03:46,097 wanting to be loved; 56 00:03:46,098 --> 00:03:50,105 and a willingness to put that body out there 57 00:03:50,105 --> 00:03:52,425 in an attempt to get the love, 58 00:03:52,425 --> 00:03:58,390 to get that kind of attention. 59 00:03:58,390 --> 00:04:00,999 Look, the passion that drives a man 60 00:04:00,999 --> 00:04:02,449 may be a little bit different 61 00:04:02,449 --> 00:04:04,436 than the passion that drives a woman. 62 00:04:04,436 --> 00:04:06,869 In other words, a man may be seeking 63 00:04:06,869 --> 00:04:09,109 purely sexual gratification, 64 00:04:09,109 --> 00:04:11,826 while a woman may not be seeking that 65 00:04:11,826 --> 00:04:14,026 so much as emotional gratification. 66 00:04:14,026 --> 00:04:18,306 And yet, she's willing to take the same course 67 00:04:18,306 --> 00:04:20,016 to try to come to that end. 68 00:04:20,016 --> 00:04:23,465 You have two people that maybe their ends are different, 69 00:04:23,466 --> 00:04:26,177 but they're willing to go about it the same way. 70 00:04:26,178 --> 00:04:29,837 And so, basically, what we have are 71 00:04:29,837 --> 00:04:32,837 these things are fighting against the soul. 72 00:04:32,837 --> 00:04:34,807 How do we abstain? 73 00:04:34,808 --> 00:04:37,570 Where does the battle rage? 74 00:04:37,571 --> 00:04:40,213 How do we fight it? 75 00:04:40,214 --> 00:04:48,031 Now look, I know, increasingly, 76 00:04:48,032 --> 00:04:53,020 it's so obvious to me, and I hope it is to you. 77 00:04:53,021 --> 00:04:56,491 I want it to be to you. 78 00:04:56,492 --> 00:04:59,575 Somebody read Romans 12:2. 79 00:04:59,576 --> 00:05:03,189 "I urge you therefore, brethren, based upon the mercies of God, 80 00:05:03,190 --> 00:05:06,310 to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, 81 00:05:06,311 --> 00:05:09,409 holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 82 00:05:09,410 --> 00:05:12,063 And do not be conformed to this world, 83 00:05:12,063 --> 00:05:15,063 but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, 84 00:05:15,063 --> 00:05:17,809 that you may know what the good, 85 00:05:17,809 --> 00:05:21,269 perfect and pleasing will of God is." 86 00:05:21,269 --> 00:05:24,743 Look, you've got your body. 87 00:05:24,744 --> 00:05:28,761 You know what's amazing to me, especially after I studied? 88 00:05:28,762 --> 00:05:30,408 Here you have Peter, 89 00:05:30,408 --> 00:05:32,198 saying that these passions wage war 90 00:05:32,198 --> 00:05:33,408 against the soul. 91 00:05:33,408 --> 00:05:36,174 And I think so often we think that way: 92 00:05:36,174 --> 00:05:39,174 Spirit, soul, that's where the battle is. 93 00:05:39,174 --> 00:05:43,740 Sometimes we kind of relegate the body. 94 00:05:43,741 --> 00:05:46,466 We don't see it to be near as important 95 00:05:46,466 --> 00:05:48,616 as what it seems like in the Scripture. 96 00:05:48,616 --> 00:05:50,758 Especially in Romans, as I studied it, 97 00:05:50,759 --> 00:05:58,249 it was interesting that if you're living in the flesh, 98 00:05:58,249 --> 00:05:59,989 you're going to die. 99 00:05:59,989 --> 00:06:03,450 But if, by the Spirit, you put to death - not just sin, 100 00:06:03,451 --> 00:06:05,526 but it's interesting - deeds of the body. 101 00:06:05,527 --> 00:06:07,650 It's saying, "Offer your body." 102 00:06:07,650 --> 00:06:10,240 We're to be these living sacrifices. 103 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,032 And here's the way, 104 00:06:13,032 --> 00:06:16,482 we need to be geared towards the will of God. 105 00:06:16,482 --> 00:06:20,818 And that comes about through a renewing of the mind; 106 00:06:20,819 --> 00:06:23,427 which he also says in Ephesians, 107 00:06:23,427 --> 00:06:28,957 "We need to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, 108 00:06:28,957 --> 00:06:34,353 putting on the new man that's created 109 00:06:34,353 --> 00:06:36,963 after the likeness of God." 110 00:06:36,963 --> 00:06:39,743 It's really the mind. 111 00:06:39,744 --> 00:06:45,523 Mindsets are where this battle is fought. 112 00:06:45,524 --> 00:06:48,263 Now you just tell me this. 113 00:06:48,264 --> 00:06:57,514 Look, I'm not talking right now about the lost. 114 00:06:57,515 --> 00:07:00,912 You were lost. Everybody in this room was lost. 115 00:07:00,913 --> 00:07:04,307 You know how you dealt with sexual temptation. 116 00:07:04,308 --> 00:07:12,449 You know why you gave place to it. 117 00:07:12,452 --> 00:07:15,498 And I suppose that the reasons 118 00:07:15,498 --> 00:07:18,498 that a lost person would give place to it, 119 00:07:18,498 --> 00:07:21,384 we can probably drag that over into the Christian realm. 120 00:07:21,385 --> 00:07:26,267 But I want you to tell me this: 121 00:07:26,267 --> 00:07:29,267 Christians fall into sexual sin. 122 00:07:29,267 --> 00:07:31,214 Why? 123 00:07:31,215 --> 00:07:34,441 In other words, what's going on in the mind? 124 00:07:34,442 --> 00:07:39,247 Look, there's never a vacuum up here when people fall into sin. 125 00:07:39,248 --> 00:07:42,070 Certain thoughts, certain reasonings, 126 00:07:42,070 --> 00:07:44,410 certain deductions, certain logic. 127 00:07:44,410 --> 00:07:48,008 There's thoughts that fill the mind. 128 00:07:48,009 --> 00:07:52,221 Now a person may try not to think about certain things, 129 00:07:52,222 --> 00:07:54,627 but he's definitely thinking about something, 130 00:07:54,627 --> 00:07:56,497 or she is thinking about something. 131 00:07:56,497 --> 00:08:00,464 I want to ask you this: 132 00:08:00,464 --> 00:08:03,464 What mindset controls a man or a woman, 133 00:08:03,464 --> 00:08:05,766 a Christian man or a woman, 134 00:08:05,767 --> 00:08:10,458 who gives place with the eyeball and looks with lust; 135 00:08:10,459 --> 00:08:15,801 gives place to something like Internet pornography or masturbation; 136 00:08:15,802 --> 00:08:19,521 or actually falls into the actual sin 137 00:08:19,521 --> 00:08:23,041 with the person of the opposite sex? 138 00:08:23,041 --> 00:08:27,409 And far be it from me to say that it's not possible for a Christian 139 00:08:27,410 --> 00:08:31,895 to fall into sex with somebody of the same sex. 140 00:08:31,896 --> 00:08:34,759 I mean, we obviously have examples in the Scripture. 141 00:08:34,759 --> 00:08:36,419 We know that it can happen. 142 00:08:36,419 --> 00:08:39,461 We see Christians that were involved in it 143 00:08:39,461 --> 00:08:42,121 being strongly rebuked. 144 00:08:42,121 --> 00:08:45,001 We see Paul, the way he spoke to the Corinthians. 145 00:08:45,001 --> 00:08:48,161 Obviously some things were going on in that church 146 00:08:48,161 --> 00:08:50,421 that he was dealing very hard with. 147 00:08:50,421 --> 00:08:54,699 We have some examples of sexual sin 148 00:08:54,699 --> 00:08:56,529 being a problem in the New Testament. 149 00:08:56,529 --> 00:08:59,568 Obviously we have, at least, 150 00:08:59,568 --> 00:09:03,148 one or two notable cases in the Old Testament. 151 00:09:03,148 --> 00:09:05,588 What goes on in the mind? 152 00:09:05,589 --> 00:09:07,292 What's happening? 153 00:09:07,293 --> 00:09:11,092 [Audience] They're not viewing the glory of Christ at that moment. 154 00:09:11,093 --> 00:09:19,569 [Tim] They're not viewing the glory of Christ at that moment. 155 00:09:19,570 --> 00:09:27,681 Let's think about that. 156 00:09:27,681 --> 00:09:40,209 When Peter saw Jesus manipulate the fish 157 00:09:40,209 --> 00:09:45,129 and fill the net, what did he do? 158 00:09:45,129 --> 00:09:47,002 He worshiped. 159 00:09:47,002 --> 00:09:51,222 In fact, he told Him, "Lord, depart from me." 160 00:09:51,224 --> 00:09:53,728 What did Isaiah do when he saw the Lord 161 00:09:53,728 --> 00:09:58,208 high and lifted up in the Temple? 162 00:09:58,208 --> 00:10:04,400 He fell down on his face, "Woe is me!" 163 00:10:04,401 --> 00:10:09,712 You know, when God has been seen, 164 00:10:09,712 --> 00:10:15,382 when the glories of Christ came through; 165 00:10:15,382 --> 00:10:18,241 what did Peter do when that voice 166 00:10:18,241 --> 00:10:24,671 spoke out on the mount of transfiguration? 167 00:10:24,671 --> 00:10:29,644 I'll tell you, he was utterly terrified. 168 00:10:29,645 --> 00:10:32,447 Can I tell you this, 169 00:10:32,448 --> 00:10:37,774 I mean, this is a thought that hits 170 00:10:37,774 --> 00:10:40,774 right on what Jonathan just said. 171 00:10:40,774 --> 00:10:44,189 Highly unlikely. 172 00:10:44,190 --> 00:10:47,997 Now I'm not saying this in jest. 173 00:10:47,997 --> 00:10:50,037 I'm saying this in dead seriousness. 174 00:10:50,037 --> 00:10:55,784 Isaiah is not going to watch Internet pornography and masturbate, 175 00:10:55,785 --> 00:10:59,606 when he's on his face in the presence of Christ; 176 00:10:59,607 --> 00:11:04,234 when he has an awareness of Christ 177 00:11:04,234 --> 00:11:08,274 high, lifted up, full of glory. 178 00:11:08,274 --> 00:11:10,270 He's already struck. 179 00:11:10,271 --> 00:11:12,238 "I'm a man of unclean lips; 180 00:11:12,238 --> 00:11:18,118 I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips." 181 00:11:18,118 --> 00:11:22,390 I'll tell you this, you watch your step. 182 00:11:22,390 --> 00:11:30,200 Do you remember when Nadab and Abihu were consumed? 183 00:11:30,201 --> 00:11:33,203 Aaron did not find fault with God. 184 00:11:33,204 --> 00:11:36,161 The Scripture says he held his peace. 185 00:11:36,161 --> 00:11:42,371 You can bet he did. 186 00:11:42,371 --> 00:11:48,598 Remember, a certain man puts his hand out, 187 00:11:48,598 --> 00:11:55,748 touches the ark, he's dead. 188 00:11:55,748 --> 00:12:01,126 David did not go home that day, 189 00:12:01,127 --> 00:12:07,503 and have Bathsheba come to his house, and sleep with her. 190 00:12:07,504 --> 00:12:08,781 That's huge. 191 00:12:08,782 --> 00:12:12,584 He did it another day, but he didn't do it that day. 192 00:12:12,585 --> 00:12:17,402 Why not? He was terrified. 193 00:12:17,403 --> 00:12:23,492 The presence and reality of God and God's glory. 194 00:12:23,492 --> 00:12:25,642 God was fearful to him. 195 00:12:25,642 --> 00:12:28,507 He didn't run off and do that that day. 196 00:12:28,508 --> 00:12:30,114 Brethren, I'll tell you what, 197 00:12:30,114 --> 00:12:33,984 when you have a sense of Christ and His glory, 198 00:12:33,984 --> 00:12:38,477 it's very difficult to run off into sin. 199 00:12:38,478 --> 00:12:43,574 One of the reasons that we so cheaply do things like this 200 00:12:43,575 --> 00:12:52,860 is because we lose a sense of the glory of God. 201 00:12:52,861 --> 00:12:57,101 And that takes place in the mind. 202 00:12:57,102 --> 00:12:59,499 In the mind is where we fear. 203 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:01,633 In the mind is where we believe. 204 00:13:01,634 --> 00:13:10,650 In the mind is where we contemplate what God is like. 205 00:13:10,650 --> 00:13:14,324 I mean, Job already told us 206 00:13:14,324 --> 00:13:18,134 that he had made a covenant with his eyes. 207 00:13:18,134 --> 00:13:24,110 Do you think when the Lord appeared to him 208 00:13:24,110 --> 00:13:28,700 out of the storm, out of the tornado there, 209 00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:30,480 that all of a sudden he was going to 210 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:32,293 break the covenant right on that day? 211 00:13:32,293 --> 00:13:38,620 He says, "I repent in dust and ashes." 212 00:13:38,620 --> 00:13:42,174 I guarantee you, Moses, that day up there on the mount, 213 00:13:42,175 --> 00:13:46,542 when the Lord revealed His hind quarters to him, 214 00:13:46,543 --> 00:13:48,133 He could not see His face. 215 00:13:48,133 --> 00:13:50,458 He couldn't see the whole deal. 216 00:13:50,458 --> 00:13:53,854 His face shone. 217 00:13:53,854 --> 00:13:56,362 Can you imagine the glory that he saw, 218 00:13:56,363 --> 00:13:58,957 so much so that the people were terrified 219 00:13:58,957 --> 00:14:02,837 by the glow that came off of his face? 220 00:14:02,837 --> 00:14:08,068 Moses could come down off the mountain, 221 00:14:08,069 --> 00:14:12,668 and find the people engaged in sexual immorality. 222 00:14:12,669 --> 00:14:16,264 But I guarantee you, after having experiences like that 223 00:14:16,264 --> 00:14:18,214 up on the mountain with the Lord, 224 00:14:18,214 --> 00:14:22,969 he didn't walk down and go dive into it. 225 00:14:22,970 --> 00:14:27,388 Why? He had just seen the Lord. 226 00:14:27,389 --> 00:14:31,179 You know what? When your devotional time, 227 00:14:31,179 --> 00:14:33,099 just like I was talking about Sunday, 228 00:14:33,099 --> 00:14:35,331 when you guys go to the Scriptures, 229 00:14:35,331 --> 00:14:38,331 you need to behold glory. 230 00:14:38,331 --> 00:14:43,262 You need to gaze upon glory. 231 00:14:43,263 --> 00:14:45,870 This comes right out of 2 Corinth. 3:18. 232 00:14:45,871 --> 00:14:50,294 Look, if you're not finding glory - 233 00:14:50,295 --> 00:14:51,775 the glory of Christ, 234 00:14:51,775 --> 00:14:53,045 the glory of the Father, 235 00:14:53,045 --> 00:14:54,455 the glory of the Spirit, 236 00:14:54,455 --> 00:14:57,115 in the Scriptures when you go to read, 237 00:14:57,115 --> 00:14:59,215 that's a bad place to be. 238 00:14:59,215 --> 00:15:01,075 Because you're not being sanctified, 239 00:15:01,075 --> 00:15:02,826 you're not being transformed, 240 00:15:02,826 --> 00:15:05,595 unless you're seeing the glory. 241 00:15:05,596 --> 00:15:09,387 Very difficult. Very difficult. 242 00:15:09,387 --> 00:15:12,399 When you come up off your knees, 243 00:15:12,399 --> 00:15:13,990 or come out of your closet 244 00:15:13,990 --> 00:15:16,725 after you've been looking at the Word of God, 245 00:15:16,726 --> 00:15:20,138 and you've been staggered 246 00:15:20,138 --> 00:15:22,588 by the holiness, by the awesomeness, 247 00:15:22,588 --> 00:15:26,293 by the bigness, by the mighty hand of God; 248 00:15:26,294 --> 00:15:29,158 when you begin to see God, 249 00:15:29,158 --> 00:15:31,168 when you tremble at who He is, 250 00:15:31,168 --> 00:15:33,214 when you fear Him - 251 00:15:33,214 --> 00:15:36,214 He talks about the man who trembles at His Word - 252 00:15:36,214 --> 00:15:37,754 when you come away 253 00:15:37,754 --> 00:15:39,483 and you feel that kind of trembling, 254 00:15:39,483 --> 00:15:42,068 have you ever read Habakkuk? 255 00:15:42,068 --> 00:15:44,068 Full of trembling. 256 00:15:44,068 --> 00:15:47,358 Brethren I'll tell you, you don't find a person in the Scriptures, 257 00:15:47,359 --> 00:15:51,853 I mean, can you imagine the Apostle John? 258 00:15:51,854 --> 00:15:56,412 He fell down on his face just looking at angels twice. 259 00:15:56,413 --> 00:16:01,027 He fell down as dead when it was Christ. 260 00:16:01,028 --> 00:16:03,643 When you begin to get a view of Christ, 261 00:16:03,643 --> 00:16:06,053 when you begin to see His glory; 262 00:16:06,053 --> 00:16:11,250 very hard, very hard. 263 00:16:11,251 --> 00:16:17,721 So what mindset leads to sexual sin? 264 00:16:17,722 --> 00:16:21,081 The mindset that Christ isn't glorious; 265 00:16:21,081 --> 00:16:22,701 that Christ isn't big; 266 00:16:22,701 --> 00:16:26,060 that God the Father is Santa Claus, 267 00:16:26,060 --> 00:16:27,780 the big man upstairs. 268 00:16:27,780 --> 00:16:30,075 Diminished views. 269 00:16:30,075 --> 00:16:33,135 Just small views of God. 270 00:16:33,135 --> 00:16:35,135 Little God. 271 00:16:35,135 --> 00:16:37,155 Not very terrifying. 272 00:16:37,155 --> 00:16:40,155 Just far off. Not very near. 273 00:16:40,155 --> 00:16:42,806 I'll tell you another one. 274 00:16:42,806 --> 00:16:45,806 And it's very closely attached to this. 275 00:16:45,806 --> 00:16:51,038 Do you know why, when you're like Job, 276 00:16:51,039 --> 00:16:54,714 and you just beheld God 277 00:16:54,714 --> 00:16:57,714 appearing to you in the whirlwind, 278 00:16:57,714 --> 00:17:00,934 why you don't break the covenant 279 00:17:00,934 --> 00:17:05,194 with your eyeballs and go look upon a maid? 280 00:17:05,194 --> 00:17:09,614 Because there is a terrifying fear of offending the Lord. 281 00:17:09,615 --> 00:17:12,826 You've seen who He is. 282 00:17:12,827 --> 00:17:16,648 Brethren, what mindsets lead to sexual sin? 283 00:17:16,650 --> 00:17:21,173 When offending God no longer terrifies us. 284 00:17:21,174 --> 00:17:24,770 Now listen to me. 285 00:17:24,771 --> 00:17:28,903 2 Samuel 12. 286 00:17:28,904 --> 00:17:35,631 You guys can turn there if you have your Bible. 2 Samuel 12:1. 287 00:17:35,632 --> 00:17:38,551 You know this, but I want you to see it. 288 00:17:38,551 --> 00:17:42,621 I want you to feel this. 289 00:17:42,621 --> 00:17:45,403 You see, this is where the battle is fought. 290 00:17:45,404 --> 00:17:47,580 Renewed in the spirit of your mind. 291 00:17:47,581 --> 00:17:49,843 When the temptation comes, 292 00:17:49,843 --> 00:17:51,623 you've got to think the right way. 293 00:17:51,623 --> 00:17:53,536 You've got to have high thoughts of God; 294 00:17:53,536 --> 00:17:56,536 high thoughts of Christ; high thoughts of the Spirit. 295 00:17:56,536 --> 00:17:58,655 You need to see Him for what He is. 296 00:17:58,656 --> 00:18:01,437 The reason that Isaiah wouldn't have gone out 297 00:18:01,437 --> 00:18:03,237 into that sin right at that moment 298 00:18:03,237 --> 00:18:05,682 is because he saw the Lord. 299 00:18:05,683 --> 00:18:07,896 He saw Him for what He was. 300 00:18:07,897 --> 00:18:10,564 Even there, he didn't see the full deal. Moses didn't. 301 00:18:10,565 --> 00:18:14,053 We can't see the full deal because God is infinite. 302 00:18:14,054 --> 00:18:17,446 But it's when you have views of at least part of Him. 303 00:18:17,447 --> 00:18:19,252 You have revelations of Him. 304 00:18:19,253 --> 00:18:22,693 Isn't that what Paul was praying for for the Ephesians? 305 00:18:22,694 --> 00:18:24,826 Isn't that what he prayed for? 306 00:18:24,827 --> 00:18:30,830 that they might have wisdom, 307 00:18:30,830 --> 00:18:32,710 revelation of the knowledge of Him. 308 00:18:32,710 --> 00:18:37,005 I'll tell you this, why? Why pray that for people? 309 00:18:37,005 --> 00:18:39,805 Because when people have a revelation of God, 310 00:18:39,805 --> 00:18:41,130 it drives sin away. 311 00:18:41,130 --> 00:18:43,179 When people have a revelation of God, 312 00:18:43,179 --> 00:18:46,849 and of His glory, sin isn't easy. 313 00:18:46,849 --> 00:18:52,681 When they see God in His awesome glory, His splendor; 314 00:18:52,682 --> 00:18:58,778 when that's revealed, it is a sin-killer. 315 00:18:58,779 --> 00:19:04,336 Now listen to this, 2 Samuel 12:1, you know the account. 316 00:19:04,337 --> 00:19:06,810 David has been with Bathsheba. 317 00:19:06,811 --> 00:19:09,488 "And the LORD sent Nathan to David. 318 00:19:09,489 --> 00:19:11,631 He came to him and said to him, 319 00:19:11,631 --> 00:19:13,611 'There were two men in a certain city, 320 00:19:13,611 --> 00:19:15,744 the one rich and the other poor. 321 00:19:15,745 --> 00:19:18,771 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 322 00:19:18,772 --> 00:19:21,181 but the poor man had nothing 323 00:19:21,181 --> 00:19:23,871 but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. 324 00:19:23,871 --> 00:19:25,376 And he brought it up, 325 00:19:25,376 --> 00:19:28,266 and it grew up with him and with his children. 326 00:19:28,266 --> 00:19:30,277 It used to eat of his morsel 327 00:19:30,277 --> 00:19:32,927 and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, 328 00:19:32,927 --> 00:19:35,138 and it was like a daughter to him. 329 00:19:35,139 --> 00:19:37,690 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, 330 00:19:37,690 --> 00:19:40,585 and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd 331 00:19:40,585 --> 00:19:43,585 to prepare for the guest who had come to him, 332 00:19:43,585 --> 00:19:46,231 but he took the poor man's lamb 333 00:19:46,232 --> 00:19:50,247 and prepared it for the man who had come to him.' 334 00:19:50,248 --> 00:19:53,148 Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, 335 00:19:53,148 --> 00:19:55,897 and he said to Nathan, 'As the LORD lives, 336 00:19:55,897 --> 00:19:58,667 the man who has done this deserves to die, 337 00:19:58,667 --> 00:20:01,470 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, 338 00:20:01,470 --> 00:20:03,160 because he did this thing, 339 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,057 and because he had no pity.'" 340 00:20:06,058 --> 00:20:10,039 Now watch this. 341 00:20:10,039 --> 00:20:14,959 "Nathan said to David, 'You are the man!' 342 00:20:14,959 --> 00:20:18,260 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 343 00:20:18,260 --> 00:20:20,480 'I anointed you king over Israel, 344 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:22,772 and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 345 00:20:22,773 --> 00:20:25,473 And I gave you your master's house 346 00:20:25,473 --> 00:20:28,473 and your master's wives into your arms 347 00:20:28,473 --> 00:20:32,236 and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. 348 00:20:32,237 --> 00:20:38,349 And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 349 00:20:38,350 --> 00:20:42,933 Why - listen to this. Here's what I want you to see - 350 00:20:42,934 --> 00:20:48,398 Why have you despised the word of the LORD, 351 00:20:48,398 --> 00:20:52,238 to do what is evil in His sight? 352 00:20:52,238 --> 00:20:56,234 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, 353 00:20:56,235 --> 00:21:01,743 because you have despised Me 354 00:21:01,744 --> 00:21:05,378 and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'" 355 00:21:05,379 --> 00:21:08,567 And then in verse 13, "David said to Nathan, 356 00:21:08,567 --> 00:21:10,827 'I have sinned against the LORD.' 357 00:21:10,827 --> 00:21:12,561 And Nathan said to David, 358 00:21:12,561 --> 00:21:16,011 'The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 359 00:21:16,011 --> 00:21:22,023 Nevertheless, - look at this - because by this deed 360 00:21:22,023 --> 00:21:25,653 you have utterly scorned the LORD, 361 00:21:25,653 --> 00:21:28,335 the child who is born to you shall die.'" 362 00:21:28,336 --> 00:21:31,980 In verse 9, he says, "You despised the word of the LORD." 363 00:21:31,981 --> 00:21:36,184 In verse 10, he says, "You've despised Me." 364 00:21:36,185 --> 00:21:40,532 And in verse 14, he says, "You have utterly scorned the LORD." 365 00:21:40,533 --> 00:21:43,052 Let me tell you something. 366 00:21:43,052 --> 00:21:46,052 You let this fill your mindset. 367 00:21:46,052 --> 00:21:49,667 When you look at a woman to lust after her; 368 00:21:49,667 --> 00:21:54,537 ladies, you lust after a man; 369 00:21:54,537 --> 00:21:57,470 you view pornography; 370 00:21:57,470 --> 00:22:01,010 you give place to sexual immorality; 371 00:22:01,010 --> 00:22:05,376 you notice, God doesn't come right to David, and say, 372 00:22:05,377 --> 00:22:07,736 "David, I can't believe it. You blew it. 373 00:22:07,737 --> 00:22:11,814 You dishonored the marriage covenant, 374 00:22:11,814 --> 00:22:16,564 and you had such little honor for marriage." 375 00:22:16,564 --> 00:22:19,785 Or, "You had such little honor for human life. 376 00:22:19,786 --> 00:22:23,736 I can't believe it, David, how could you kill somebody?" 377 00:22:23,737 --> 00:22:28,563 He said, "David, your sin is against Me." 378 00:22:28,564 --> 00:22:32,343 Remember how David said it when he confessed that sin? 379 00:22:32,344 --> 00:22:34,036 What did he say? 380 00:22:34,036 --> 00:22:39,956 "Against You, and You only, have I sinned." 381 00:22:39,956 --> 00:22:41,812 Let me tell you this. 382 00:22:41,813 --> 00:22:43,783 Sometimes we can think, 383 00:22:43,783 --> 00:22:46,363 "Well, God is not really affected by this." 384 00:22:46,363 --> 00:22:48,993 Oh, you don't believe that. 385 00:22:48,994 --> 00:22:50,870 You view pornography on the Internet, 386 00:22:50,870 --> 00:22:52,550 you know what He is saying to you 387 00:22:52,550 --> 00:22:53,900 right through these words? 388 00:22:53,900 --> 00:22:55,132 "You are scorning Me." 389 00:22:55,133 --> 00:22:57,266 Remember what we read last week? 390 00:22:57,266 --> 00:22:59,586 It comes right out of 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8, 391 00:22:59,586 --> 00:23:03,005 "For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness." 392 00:23:03,006 --> 00:23:05,532 This is where he's dealing with sexual immorality. 393 00:23:05,533 --> 00:23:08,324 "Therefore whoever disregards this, 394 00:23:08,324 --> 00:23:11,324 disregards not man but God." 395 00:23:11,324 --> 00:23:14,956 You scorn God. You disregard God. 396 00:23:14,956 --> 00:23:19,296 You dishonor, you despise Him. 397 00:23:19,296 --> 00:23:20,786 Don't ever forget that. 398 00:23:20,787 --> 00:23:25,943 When you give place to sexual immorality, you despise Him. 399 00:23:25,944 --> 00:23:33,395 He takes it as a personal affront against His Person. 400 00:23:33,396 --> 00:23:35,594 You remember that. 401 00:23:35,594 --> 00:23:39,154 Let that ring in your ears, especially you young guys. 402 00:23:39,154 --> 00:23:41,741 Let that ring in your ears. 403 00:23:41,742 --> 00:23:46,875 You're walking before the Lord, you scorn Him. 404 00:23:46,875 --> 00:23:49,875 You disregard Him. You dishonor Him. 405 00:23:49,875 --> 00:23:52,549 How was it that Joseph said, 406 00:23:52,549 --> 00:23:55,549 remember when Potiphar's wife wanted him? 407 00:23:55,549 --> 00:24:00,250 He doesn't say, "How can I do this and sin against Potiphar?" 408 00:24:00,251 --> 00:24:04,325 He says, "How can I do this and sin against the LORD?" 409 00:24:04,326 --> 00:24:06,204 You see, that's the issue. 410 00:24:06,205 --> 00:24:09,175 Here's two mindsets. 411 00:24:09,175 --> 00:24:14,715 One mindset: God is small. That'll lead you into it. 412 00:24:14,715 --> 00:24:23,291 One mindset is, when offending God no longer terrifies you. 413 00:24:23,292 --> 00:24:31,797 Another mindset, think with me here: 414 00:24:31,797 --> 00:24:38,467 When you think God is against you. 415 00:24:38,467 --> 00:24:43,949 You say, "What do you mean?" 416 00:24:43,953 --> 00:24:47,455 What I mean is this: 417 00:24:47,455 --> 00:24:52,185 As a Christian, especially single, 418 00:24:52,185 --> 00:24:56,147 you can come to points in your life 419 00:24:56,147 --> 00:24:59,147 where you feel God has forgotten you. 420 00:24:59,147 --> 00:25:01,842 You want to be married. 421 00:25:01,842 --> 00:25:04,122 You don't like being single. 422 00:25:04,122 --> 00:25:08,702 You've asked the Lord for a spouse. 423 00:25:08,703 --> 00:25:13,655 And you feel like, you see other people around you getting married, 424 00:25:13,656 --> 00:25:15,820 "Lord, what's happened? 425 00:25:15,820 --> 00:25:18,820 I want a spouse just as much as they do. 426 00:25:18,820 --> 00:25:21,122 You didn't give me the gift of singleness 427 00:25:21,122 --> 00:25:23,822 any more than You gave it to them." 428 00:25:23,822 --> 00:25:29,456 And you can get to feeling sorry for yourself, and self-pity. 429 00:25:29,457 --> 00:25:33,682 And remember, the devil is a slanderer. 430 00:25:33,683 --> 00:25:38,294 And will he not come in right there and say, "Look at you. 431 00:25:38,295 --> 00:25:40,643 Look at these folks over here. 432 00:25:40,644 --> 00:25:44,578 God's given them girlfriend, boyfriend. 433 00:25:44,579 --> 00:25:48,518 They're courting. They're doing this. 434 00:25:48,519 --> 00:25:50,379 God's got it out for you. 435 00:25:50,379 --> 00:25:52,236 You're probably not even one of His. 436 00:25:52,236 --> 00:25:54,834 He probably doesn't want anything to look at you. 437 00:25:54,834 --> 00:25:56,794 He just mocks you. 438 00:25:56,794 --> 00:26:00,603 He's forgotten you. 439 00:26:00,603 --> 00:26:03,603 What are you serving Him for? 440 00:26:03,603 --> 00:26:07,354 Look at how much everybody else has. 441 00:26:07,354 --> 00:26:10,354 And you don't have anything." 442 00:26:10,354 --> 00:26:11,441 And you know what you can do 443 00:26:11,441 --> 00:26:14,441 right at that point with that mindset? 444 00:26:14,441 --> 00:26:17,738 Justify sin. 445 00:26:17,739 --> 00:26:20,612 You can justify it. 446 00:26:20,613 --> 00:26:25,985 Listen. Does God say He's against you? 447 00:26:25,985 --> 00:26:27,665 Listen to what He says. 448 00:26:27,665 --> 00:26:29,277 I'll just fly through these. 449 00:26:29,277 --> 00:26:33,317 Romans 8:31, "What shall we say to these things? 450 00:26:33,317 --> 00:26:37,397 If God is for us, who can be against us?" 451 00:26:37,397 --> 00:26:41,222 Look, just because God hasn't given you a spouse yet, 452 00:26:41,222 --> 00:26:43,682 does not mean that He's against you. 453 00:26:43,682 --> 00:26:45,846 Look, all of us have trials to bear. 454 00:26:45,846 --> 00:26:48,146 That may be yours today. 455 00:26:48,146 --> 00:26:50,203 You can look over at the married guy 456 00:26:50,203 --> 00:26:54,233 and you can think, "Look at him. I don't have what he has." 457 00:26:54,233 --> 00:26:58,641 No, but he doesn't also have what you have. 458 00:26:58,642 --> 00:27:02,212 Until you've walked in somebody else's shoes, 459 00:27:02,212 --> 00:27:05,212 don't always think that God is showing favorites. 460 00:27:05,212 --> 00:27:10,112 God does show favorites, but to all of His children. 461 00:27:10,112 --> 00:27:12,062 They're His favorites. 462 00:27:12,062 --> 00:27:14,336 And He's guaranteed us all 463 00:27:14,336 --> 00:27:17,596 that we have to go through affliction to get to the end. 464 00:27:17,596 --> 00:27:20,267 And just because your affliction isn't like that guy, 465 00:27:20,268 --> 00:27:22,478 as in one of the afflictions you have to bear 466 00:27:22,478 --> 00:27:24,456 happens to be in the realm of singleness, 467 00:27:24,456 --> 00:27:26,185 I guarantee he's bearing them, too. 468 00:27:26,185 --> 00:27:29,031 So before you think that you're getting 469 00:27:29,031 --> 00:27:32,031 the major raw end of the deal, stand in his shoes first. 470 00:27:32,031 --> 00:27:34,881 Because, I guarantee you, there's a whole lot of people 471 00:27:34,881 --> 00:27:41,181 that are married that wish they weren't. 472 00:27:41,181 --> 00:27:45,990 Romans 8:32. Now think with me here. 473 00:27:45,991 --> 00:27:49,479 "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, 474 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,207 how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" 475 00:27:53,208 --> 00:27:56,917 Look, if He has given you His Son, 476 00:27:56,918 --> 00:27:59,038 then He is going to give you everything 477 00:27:59,038 --> 00:28:00,775 that's for your good, for your best. 478 00:28:00,775 --> 00:28:03,190 And He knows what's for your best. 479 00:28:03,190 --> 00:28:04,920 He really does. 480 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:06,330 How about this: Romans 8:35, 481 00:28:06,330 --> 00:28:09,060 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" 482 00:28:09,060 --> 00:28:14,119 Listen, singleness doesn't separate you from the love of Christ. 483 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:15,865 Jesus was single. 484 00:28:15,865 --> 00:28:18,435 God is just keeping you just like Him for a season. 485 00:28:18,435 --> 00:28:22,213 Paul was single. He is keeping you like that for a season. 486 00:28:22,214 --> 00:28:26,066 Come on, you're no more cursed than they were. 487 00:28:26,067 --> 00:28:32,409 Psalm 118:6, "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear." 488 00:28:32,409 --> 00:28:34,798 I'll tell you, when your mindset is: 489 00:28:34,798 --> 00:28:39,088 "I know the Lord knows all about my situation. 490 00:28:39,088 --> 00:28:41,153 And I know He's on my side. 491 00:28:41,154 --> 00:28:43,960 And I know He is for me, He's not against me. 492 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:45,708 And I know He gave His Son for me. 493 00:28:45,709 --> 00:28:48,533 And if He has, He's going to graciously give me 494 00:28:48,533 --> 00:28:51,533 everything that's good and profitable for my life, 495 00:28:51,533 --> 00:28:55,242 and it's all going to work out for my good. 496 00:28:55,243 --> 00:28:58,337 I love God. I know He hasn't forgotten me. 497 00:28:58,338 --> 00:29:01,777 There is a promise there that He will never leave me nor forsake me. 498 00:29:01,777 --> 00:29:03,087 I know that." 499 00:29:03,087 --> 00:29:08,034 Psalm 56:9, "This I know, that God is for me." 500 00:29:08,035 --> 00:29:11,497 When you have that mindset, brethren, 501 00:29:11,497 --> 00:29:13,937 it goes a long ways to help deliver you. 502 00:29:13,937 --> 00:29:16,720 Matthew 7:11, " If you then, who are evil, 503 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:18,960 know how to give good gifts to your children, 504 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:21,320 how much more will your Father who is in Heaven 505 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,295 give good things to those who ask Him!" 506 00:29:23,295 --> 00:29:26,560 And I'll guarantee you this, He gives good things to His children. 507 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:28,350 And if He looks at you, and He says, 508 00:29:28,350 --> 00:29:30,212 "I know, in My infinite wisdom, 509 00:29:30,212 --> 00:29:34,054 that the best thing for that person right now is singleness." 510 00:29:34,055 --> 00:29:38,332 Listen, I never wanted to get married in my life, 511 00:29:38,332 --> 00:29:40,252 until God saved me. 512 00:29:40,252 --> 00:29:43,127 And then I wanted to get married, I wanted to have a family. 513 00:29:43,128 --> 00:29:45,176 He left me single for three years. 514 00:29:45,177 --> 00:29:49,162 That was not an enjoyable three years for me. 515 00:29:49,162 --> 00:29:51,472 That was tough. 516 00:29:51,472 --> 00:29:54,680 But I know full well this: During those three years, 517 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:59,134 He knew it was best for me to be in that place. 518 00:29:59,135 --> 00:30:00,548 And I was able to take that time, 519 00:30:00,548 --> 00:30:03,208 and invest it in studying the Word of God 520 00:30:03,208 --> 00:30:05,693 in a way that I would have never been able to 521 00:30:05,693 --> 00:30:07,563 had He given me a wife immediately. 522 00:30:07,563 --> 00:30:09,708 I was able for the better part of three years 523 00:30:09,709 --> 00:30:13,640 to saturate myself with the Word of God and with prayer. 524 00:30:13,641 --> 00:30:16,826 Come home from work everyday and just listen to sermons, 525 00:30:16,827 --> 00:30:19,388 and get in the Word, and go out and pray. 526 00:30:19,389 --> 00:30:21,213 Day after day after day. 527 00:30:21,214 --> 00:30:25,227 And get involved in various ministries, and just absorb my life in that, 528 00:30:25,228 --> 00:30:27,807 which I would have never been able to do. 529 00:30:27,808 --> 00:30:31,820 Craig and Rod, the two that I was hanging with tightly at that time, 530 00:30:31,820 --> 00:30:32,990 they were married. 531 00:30:32,990 --> 00:30:35,753 They had kids. They couldn't do the things that I did. 532 00:30:35,753 --> 00:30:39,961 They couldn't study the Scriptures like I could. 533 00:30:39,962 --> 00:30:43,985 So the thing is: Remember, when you're in a place of singleness, 534 00:30:43,986 --> 00:30:46,642 God is actually giving you opportunity to do things 535 00:30:46,642 --> 00:30:49,642 that that married guy over there can't do. 536 00:30:49,642 --> 00:30:53,678 He's giving you opportunity, very possibly, to be more fruitful 537 00:30:53,679 --> 00:30:56,774 than that other person may be able to be. 538 00:30:56,775 --> 00:31:03,697 Don't despise that. Don't let self-pity ruin it. 539 00:31:03,698 --> 00:31:08,463 Give yourself to striving to excel at that point. 540 00:31:08,464 --> 00:31:09,994 How about this, Psalm 84:11, 541 00:31:09,994 --> 00:31:12,163 "For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; 542 00:31:12,163 --> 00:31:14,135 the LORD bestows favor and honor. 543 00:31:14,136 --> 00:31:17,838 No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." 544 00:31:17,839 --> 00:31:18,906 No good thing. 545 00:31:18,907 --> 00:31:21,202 You walk uprightly, He doesn't withhold it. 546 00:31:21,202 --> 00:31:23,082 And if He looks at you and He says, 547 00:31:23,082 --> 00:31:25,269 "A good thing is a wife," you're getting it. 548 00:31:25,269 --> 00:31:28,340 If He says, "A good thing is singleness," you're getting it. 549 00:31:28,341 --> 00:31:30,307 And He is wise. 550 00:31:30,308 --> 00:31:33,667 Or this, Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the LORD, 551 00:31:33,668 --> 00:31:36,934 and He will give you the desires of your heart." 552 00:31:36,935 --> 00:31:39,149 Listen, there's a place to take that, 553 00:31:39,150 --> 00:31:41,494 if you know, "I do delight in the Lord. 554 00:31:41,494 --> 00:31:44,494 I love the Lord. I'm striving to serve the Lord," 555 00:31:44,494 --> 00:31:47,714 go to Him and ask Him. 556 00:31:47,714 --> 00:31:50,274 "Lord, would you give me the desire of my heart? 557 00:31:50,274 --> 00:31:53,904 I really would like to be married." 558 00:31:53,905 --> 00:31:57,187 How about Matthew 6:17-18? It talks there about fasting: 559 00:31:57,187 --> 00:31:59,790 "When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 560 00:31:59,791 --> 00:32:03,536 that your fasting may not be seen by others 561 00:32:03,537 --> 00:32:05,977 but by your Father who is in secret. 562 00:32:05,978 --> 00:32:08,939 And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." 563 00:32:08,940 --> 00:32:11,977 Fast. Seek the Lord diligently. 564 00:32:11,977 --> 00:32:13,727 Don't just ask Him flippantly. 565 00:32:13,727 --> 00:32:16,884 You want something from Him, show Him you mean it. Fast for it. 566 00:32:16,885 --> 00:32:20,971 He says that He gives openly those things 567 00:32:20,971 --> 00:32:23,461 that you seek Him for in secret. 568 00:32:23,461 --> 00:32:26,611 Or remember this, Genesis 2:18, "The LORD God said, 569 00:32:26,611 --> 00:32:28,831 'It is not good that the man should be alone. 570 00:32:28,831 --> 00:32:30,764 I will make him a helper fit for him.'" 571 00:32:30,764 --> 00:32:32,254 Listen, take that text to Him. 572 00:32:32,254 --> 00:32:37,007 "Lord, you say it's not good for a man to be alone, and I'm alone." 573 00:32:37,008 --> 00:32:40,196 I mean, plead with Him. Pray to Him. 574 00:32:40,197 --> 00:32:43,098 Proverbs 19:14 says, "A prudent wife is from the LORD." 575 00:32:43,099 --> 00:32:45,345 I'll guarantee you this, you get a wife, 576 00:32:45,345 --> 00:32:47,815 you get a husband, it's from God. 577 00:32:47,815 --> 00:32:50,989 Like He's got everything to do with it. 578 00:32:50,990 --> 00:32:55,307 Look, is that important? That's hugely important. 579 00:32:55,308 --> 00:32:58,368 If you're just basically a lost person out in the world, 580 00:32:58,368 --> 00:33:01,697 and you go, and all you do is camp in front of the TV all the time, 581 00:33:01,697 --> 00:33:04,487 you see these movie stars and all these beautiful people, 582 00:33:04,487 --> 00:33:06,217 and you go and look in the mirror, 583 00:33:06,217 --> 00:33:08,788 and you're like, "I'm not as handsome. I'm not as beautiful. 584 00:33:08,788 --> 00:33:10,708 I'm not as this; I'm not as that. 585 00:33:10,708 --> 00:33:13,646 I'm not as suave and debonair as these guys. 586 00:33:13,646 --> 00:33:15,496 I don't have any chance to get this." 587 00:33:15,497 --> 00:33:22,195 Listen, what are you saying? God is sovereign. 588 00:33:22,196 --> 00:33:25,418 I mean, is it like any Christian is in some kind of position 589 00:33:25,419 --> 00:33:29,415 where God isn't quite able to give that person a mate? 590 00:33:29,416 --> 00:33:33,330 I mean, you're basically coming to a conclusion, 591 00:33:33,330 --> 00:33:36,330 "Well, I don't have what other people have." 592 00:33:36,330 --> 00:33:42,618 Listen, my Bible says a prudent wife is from the LORD. 593 00:33:42,619 --> 00:33:47,296 By the way, a prudent husband would be from the same place. 594 00:33:47,297 --> 00:33:52,227 If your desire is to have this, you're delighting in the Lord - 595 00:33:52,228 --> 00:33:54,737 it's not good for a man to be alone, 596 00:33:54,738 --> 00:33:56,741 which must mean that it must not be 597 00:33:56,741 --> 00:33:59,361 very good for women to be alone either. 598 00:33:59,361 --> 00:34:05,787 Ask. Expect. 599 00:34:05,787 --> 00:34:14,127 If you believe God is against you, it can give place. 600 00:34:14,128 --> 00:34:18,878 And I've heard this before. I've heard Christians reason, 601 00:34:18,879 --> 00:34:23,563 "Well, I'm not married. And I have these desires. 602 00:34:23,563 --> 00:34:27,762 And I need to knock the edge off. 603 00:34:27,763 --> 00:34:31,428 I need to do this. God understands." 604 00:34:31,429 --> 00:34:37,165 No. Listen, you fall into sexual sin, 605 00:34:37,165 --> 00:34:38,925 and you reasoning in it 606 00:34:38,925 --> 00:34:41,156 because well, you want to be married, 607 00:34:41,156 --> 00:34:43,616 but God just hasn't brought you a wife. 608 00:34:43,616 --> 00:34:45,389 You see what that's doing? 609 00:34:45,389 --> 00:34:47,639 You're basically blaming God for your sin. 610 00:34:47,639 --> 00:34:49,978 "Well, He's not for me. 611 00:34:49,978 --> 00:34:52,388 He's not there like with other people." 612 00:34:52,388 --> 00:34:55,427 You don't want to get into that mindset. 613 00:34:55,428 --> 00:35:02,044 I'll tell you, another mindset that lead Christians into sin 614 00:35:02,045 --> 00:35:08,006 is the mindset that basically makes 615 00:35:08,006 --> 00:35:13,576 God's threatenings and warnings of no effect. 616 00:35:13,576 --> 00:35:15,837 You know what I mean by that? 617 00:35:15,838 --> 00:35:20,116 Where you just basically say as a Christian, 618 00:35:20,116 --> 00:35:23,116 "Well, I'm a Christian. 619 00:35:23,116 --> 00:35:26,214 I can't lose my salvation. 620 00:35:26,215 --> 00:35:33,445 So warnings about hell to sexually immoral, 621 00:35:33,445 --> 00:35:35,395 there's no condemnation to me. 622 00:35:35,395 --> 00:35:37,507 I'm in Christ." 623 00:35:37,508 --> 00:35:43,328 You see what I'm saying? That mindset is deadly. 624 00:35:43,329 --> 00:35:45,501 That mindset will land people 625 00:35:45,501 --> 00:35:49,301 right in the lap of sexual immorality. 626 00:35:49,301 --> 00:35:56,150 Because what you basically do is you come to this conclusion: 627 00:35:56,150 --> 00:35:58,700 "I'm saved, 628 00:35:58,700 --> 00:36:03,615 and the Bible teaches that saved people can't lose their salvation. 629 00:36:03,616 --> 00:36:06,686 Therefore no amount of sexual immorality 630 00:36:06,686 --> 00:36:08,496 can make me lose my salvation. 631 00:36:08,496 --> 00:36:11,970 Therefore the warnings about sexually immoral people 632 00:36:11,970 --> 00:36:13,690 suffering under the wrath of God, 633 00:36:13,690 --> 00:36:15,711 and not inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven, 634 00:36:15,711 --> 00:36:18,711 can't apply to me." 635 00:36:18,711 --> 00:36:24,589 But what presupposition in all that was dead faulty? 636 00:36:24,590 --> 00:36:29,430 That first assumption that "I'm saved, 637 00:36:29,431 --> 00:36:32,805 and that I can go and jump into all this sexual immorality, 638 00:36:32,805 --> 00:36:34,175 and it'll be okay." 639 00:36:34,175 --> 00:36:38,196 Listen, this is why Paul is saying, he's like shaking people, 640 00:36:38,197 --> 00:36:41,213 "No! No! No! No! Don't think that way. 641 00:36:41,214 --> 00:36:44,565 Because if you get involved in sexual immorality, 642 00:36:44,565 --> 00:36:46,745 let me tell you, do not be deceived. 643 00:36:46,745 --> 00:36:50,146 The sexually immoral do not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven." 644 00:36:50,146 --> 00:36:52,741 In other words, it doesn't matter what you think. 645 00:36:52,741 --> 00:36:55,422 It doesn't matter what you say about your Christianity. 646 00:36:55,422 --> 00:36:57,481 It doesn't matter what assurance you have. 647 00:36:57,481 --> 00:36:59,625 It doesn't matter what experience you have. 648 00:36:59,625 --> 00:37:02,200 It doesn't matter how long you think you were saved. 649 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:04,360 If you can all of a sudden depart from that, 650 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:06,150 and go into that sexual immorality, 651 00:37:06,150 --> 00:37:08,792 and you can just blow off the warnings of Scripture; 652 00:37:08,792 --> 00:37:11,032 people like that, Paul comes along and says, 653 00:37:11,032 --> 00:37:12,763 "Their condemnation is just." 654 00:37:12,763 --> 00:37:17,287 People who give place to licentiousness and sin, 655 00:37:17,288 --> 00:37:22,031 because they basically presume upon God. 656 00:37:22,032 --> 00:37:24,453 Brethren, dangerous, dangerous, dangerous. 657 00:37:24,454 --> 00:37:29,950 Jesus says if you're not amputating these things, 658 00:37:29,951 --> 00:37:33,793 you have an eye that looks at a woman, 659 00:37:33,794 --> 00:37:39,168 He says, "You better pluck that thing out or you're going to hell." 660 00:37:39,169 --> 00:37:43,829 You say, "He says that?" You better believe He says that. 661 00:37:43,830 --> 00:37:49,967 If you have such a theology that you're able to toy with sexual immorality, 662 00:37:49,968 --> 00:37:52,479 and convince yourself that no matter how much 663 00:37:52,479 --> 00:37:54,449 you do that it's going to be okay, 664 00:37:54,449 --> 00:37:57,323 because there's no condemnation, after all you're saved; 665 00:37:57,324 --> 00:38:01,952 you're walking on very scary ground. Very scary. 666 00:38:01,953 --> 00:38:03,601 Be very careful. 667 00:38:03,601 --> 00:38:10,211 That kind of mindset will land people in trouble. 668 00:38:10,211 --> 00:38:16,889 And then, I can tell you this, 669 00:38:16,889 --> 00:38:26,649 especially guys, girls too but especially guys: 670 00:38:26,649 --> 00:38:35,325 A mindset that what I look at doesn't matter. 671 00:38:35,326 --> 00:38:45,863 Listen, the apostle Paul gave a stern warning to the Romans. 672 00:38:45,864 --> 00:38:49,647 He said, "Make no provision for the flesh." 673 00:38:49,648 --> 00:38:57,364 The flesh is that unredeemed part of us. 674 00:38:57,365 --> 00:39:02,290 We're to crucify it. We're to take the life out of it. 675 00:39:02,291 --> 00:39:08,238 We're to buffet it and beat it. We're to starve it. 676 00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:14,638 The flesh is like a living animal. 677 00:39:14,639 --> 00:39:20,250 It's like an animal that has the ability, 678 00:39:20,250 --> 00:39:23,250 if it's fed, to regain strength. 679 00:39:23,250 --> 00:39:29,548 It's almost like a creature that you can crucify life out of it, 680 00:39:29,549 --> 00:39:32,651 so that it becomes weaker and weaker. 681 00:39:32,659 --> 00:39:35,431 But then, you can also feed it 682 00:39:35,432 --> 00:39:38,198 so that, like an animal, it suddenly 683 00:39:38,198 --> 00:39:42,788 becomes incredibly strong and vicious. 684 00:39:42,788 --> 00:39:52,674 Job said, Job 31:1, he made a covenant with his eyes not to look 685 00:39:52,675 --> 00:39:56,829 (or "Why then shall I look"). 686 00:39:56,830 --> 00:40:00,658 He would not look. He made a covenant with his eyes. 687 00:40:00,659 --> 00:40:03,856 Guys, you drive around this city, 688 00:40:03,856 --> 00:40:06,856 you know where the billboards are. 689 00:40:06,856 --> 00:40:09,642 Don't look at them. 690 00:40:09,643 --> 00:40:14,886 You know if you walk into a mall, 691 00:40:14,886 --> 00:40:17,886 and you walk by Victoria's Secret; 692 00:40:17,886 --> 00:40:19,875 for one, don't go there; 693 00:40:19,875 --> 00:40:22,505 two, don't even go to the malls. 694 00:40:22,505 --> 00:40:25,632 What do you need there? 695 00:40:25,632 --> 00:40:30,212 Guys what do you need at a mall? 696 00:40:30,212 --> 00:40:35,238 Buy it online. I'm serious. 697 00:40:35,239 --> 00:40:38,564 There is practically no reason 698 00:40:38,564 --> 00:40:41,564 that any guy needs to go into a mall. 699 00:40:41,564 --> 00:40:43,290 [Audience] Walmart. 700 00:40:43,291 --> 00:40:45,043 [Tim] Right. Walmart. 701 00:40:45,043 --> 00:40:48,043 And even there, watch yourself at the racks. 702 00:40:48,043 --> 00:40:51,472 H-E-B, watch yourself at the racks. 703 00:40:51,473 --> 00:40:54,118 You know it, don't look. 704 00:40:54,118 --> 00:40:57,718 Keep your eyes to the ground. 705 00:40:57,718 --> 00:41:02,786 I mean, I go to the gym. To the Y. 706 00:41:02,786 --> 00:41:04,296 Ruby and I go there. 707 00:41:04,296 --> 00:41:09,392 I mean, there are women working out. 708 00:41:09,393 --> 00:41:13,737 There's obvious places not to look. 709 00:41:13,738 --> 00:41:16,207 Watch your eyes. 710 00:41:16,208 --> 00:41:23,113 Believe me, your eyes are a channel to feed the flesh. 711 00:41:23,114 --> 00:41:28,886 And if you feed that animal, you're going to go down. 712 00:41:28,887 --> 00:41:32,718 You feed it enough, and it's going to take you by the throat, 713 00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:35,472 and you're going to go down. 714 00:41:35,473 --> 00:41:38,297 And I'll tell you, you tempt God, 715 00:41:38,297 --> 00:41:40,207 and He's going to draw His hand back. 716 00:41:40,207 --> 00:41:45,225 And you may fall farther than you ever thought you were going to fall. 717 00:41:45,226 --> 00:41:47,572 And if He takes His hand back; 718 00:41:47,573 --> 00:41:55,035 when a Christian presumes upon God, be very careful. 719 00:41:55,036 --> 00:42:03,612 Listen, movies, TV, computer, you need to stay away from places. 720 00:42:03,613 --> 00:42:06,169 There are places you know you should not go. 721 00:42:06,170 --> 00:42:09,332 Don't go there. Don't feed it. 722 00:42:09,333 --> 00:42:14,304 Guys, there is no reason and no legitimate excuse 723 00:42:14,305 --> 00:42:17,060 for you to be in circumstances 724 00:42:17,060 --> 00:42:20,200 that are putting things before your eyes that are inappropriate. 725 00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:23,022 Don't tell me, "Well, I have to. 726 00:42:23,023 --> 00:42:27,030 Well, I need to do this thing over here, 727 00:42:27,030 --> 00:42:29,250 and this just happens." 728 00:42:29,250 --> 00:42:31,887 Or, "This is part and parcel of that." 729 00:42:31,888 --> 00:42:34,114 That's not true. 730 00:42:34,114 --> 00:42:38,844 The Scripture says, "Flee fornication. Run from it." 731 00:42:38,844 --> 00:42:44,207 You need to get away from it. Don't entice it. 732 00:42:44,208 --> 00:42:47,035 What we look at matters. 733 00:42:47,036 --> 00:43:00,139 Another mindset, it's when we forget, (this is huge,) 734 00:43:00,140 --> 00:43:09,381 when we forget that a vacuum never works. 735 00:43:09,382 --> 00:43:19,628 In other words, if I'm struggling with sexual thoughts, illicit ones, 736 00:43:19,629 --> 00:43:23,559 or I had dreams that weren't right, 737 00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:25,682 or something just got stuck in my face. 738 00:43:25,683 --> 00:43:27,853 Brother Andy says over there in China, 739 00:43:27,853 --> 00:43:29,637 you know, he's on his computer, 740 00:43:29,637 --> 00:43:32,479 and all of a sudden, it just appears, 741 00:43:32,479 --> 00:43:34,869 full pornography right in his face. 742 00:43:34,869 --> 00:43:37,117 He didn't look for it, he didn't ask for it, 743 00:43:37,117 --> 00:43:40,117 he didn't entice it, just bang! It's right there. 744 00:43:40,117 --> 00:43:45,046 I mean, once in a while something happens where you have images, 745 00:43:45,047 --> 00:43:49,949 you have images in your mind from when you were lost. 746 00:43:49,950 --> 00:43:56,121 But listen, one of the things that often happens is - 747 00:43:56,122 --> 00:44:01,202 I can remember one time when I was working as an engineer, 748 00:44:01,202 --> 00:44:03,402 my boss was in there, 749 00:44:03,402 --> 00:44:07,857 and there was this guy that worked over in the other cubicle across from me. 750 00:44:07,858 --> 00:44:10,762 And this guy would come late. 751 00:44:10,763 --> 00:44:15,710 He wasn't a really good worker, and he would miss a lot of work 752 00:44:15,710 --> 00:44:18,684 because he was having these cluster headaches and everything. 753 00:44:18,685 --> 00:44:25,031 And the guy drank all sorts of coffee and smoked like crazy. 754 00:44:25,032 --> 00:44:27,514 Every break he was going out to smoke. 755 00:44:27,515 --> 00:44:29,418 And I came in one day, and I said, 756 00:44:29,418 --> 00:44:32,808 "Scott, I saw, down in the lunchroom, 757 00:44:32,808 --> 00:44:37,524 they had a medical fact sheet on cluster headaches." 758 00:44:37,525 --> 00:44:43,279 And I said, "They're caused by excessive caffeine and nicotine." 759 00:44:43,280 --> 00:44:46,445 This guy would have to get this machine on him 760 00:44:46,445 --> 00:44:48,615 that would shock him, while he was at work. 761 00:44:48,615 --> 00:44:51,028 And Scott would be over there looking at my boss, 762 00:44:51,029 --> 00:44:52,029 and all of a sudden he'll just jump, 763 00:44:52,029 --> 00:44:54,037 because he'd get this great big shock. 764 00:44:54,037 --> 00:44:56,591 And I could tell it really made Scott mad. 765 00:44:56,592 --> 00:45:00,174 So I came back from the lunchroom that day, and Scott is in his office. 766 00:45:00,174 --> 00:45:03,739 I said, "Hey Scott, I saw this thing about cluster headaches down there." 767 00:45:03,739 --> 00:45:05,883 And he's just going, "La la la la la la." 768 00:45:05,883 --> 00:45:08,384 Like he didn't want to hear. 769 00:45:08,385 --> 00:45:10,653 Can I tell you something? 770 00:45:10,653 --> 00:45:14,363 That does not work with sexual sin. 771 00:45:14,363 --> 00:45:17,312 You just put your hands over your ears, 772 00:45:17,312 --> 00:45:19,767 that kind of thing where, 773 00:45:19,767 --> 00:45:22,767 "No! I don't want to think about it." 774 00:45:22,767 --> 00:45:34,185 Listen, in 2 Timothy 2:22, "Flee youthful passions." 775 00:45:34,186 --> 00:45:35,961 But that's not all. 776 00:45:35,962 --> 00:45:39,047 You see, that's the negative. 777 00:45:39,048 --> 00:45:42,263 That's what you want to clear out; 778 00:45:42,263 --> 00:45:44,493 you want to get away from. 779 00:45:44,493 --> 00:45:48,093 But if that's all it was, it wouldn't be Christianity. 780 00:45:48,094 --> 00:45:50,428 It would just be some kind of morality. 781 00:45:50,429 --> 00:45:53,852 It would be some kind of stop doing the bad. 782 00:45:53,853 --> 00:45:56,831 But with Christianity, it's always what? 783 00:45:56,832 --> 00:45:59,738 There's always an opposite side to it. 784 00:45:59,739 --> 00:46:01,719 It's always "Christ came, 785 00:46:01,719 --> 00:46:04,719 not only to deliver His people from the evil, 786 00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:06,947 He came to make them zealous of good works. 787 00:46:06,948 --> 00:46:08,960 We replace one thing with another. 788 00:46:08,961 --> 00:46:11,247 We have to replace the bad with the good. 789 00:46:11,248 --> 00:46:14,303 And what does it say there? 2 Timothy 2:22, 790 00:46:14,304 --> 00:46:17,229 "Flee youthful passions, and pursue" - 791 00:46:17,230 --> 00:46:20,803 you run from one thing, and you chase after another. 792 00:46:20,803 --> 00:46:22,941 What is it? What do we pursue? 793 00:46:22,943 --> 00:46:26,540 "Faith, love, peace, along with those 794 00:46:26,540 --> 00:46:28,950 who call on the Lord from a pure heart." 795 00:46:28,950 --> 00:46:32,009 You know what? Start loving people. 796 00:46:32,010 --> 00:46:35,869 Start doing things that are going to increase your faith. 797 00:46:35,869 --> 00:46:38,479 Start thinking about ways you can give more 798 00:46:38,479 --> 00:46:39,986 and see how faithful God is. 799 00:46:39,986 --> 00:46:41,960 Start thinking about missionaries 800 00:46:41,960 --> 00:46:44,800 you can put together care package for, and show love. 801 00:46:44,800 --> 00:46:47,132 Start thinking about people that you can serve. 802 00:46:47,133 --> 00:46:48,579 Get involved in things. 803 00:46:48,580 --> 00:46:51,701 I'll tell you, when you're not sitting alone 804 00:46:51,701 --> 00:46:53,701 in front of your computer, 805 00:46:53,701 --> 00:46:58,392 but you're rather out helping somebody, serving somebody, 806 00:46:58,393 --> 00:47:00,826 it's a whole lot different. 807 00:47:00,827 --> 00:47:04,948 You're not likely going to look at pornography 808 00:47:04,949 --> 00:47:13,893 when you're out mowing the widow's lawn in your church. 809 00:47:13,894 --> 00:47:18,240 It's just the reality. 810 00:47:18,240 --> 00:47:28,778 Brethren, another mindset is when we forget the power of prayer. 811 00:47:28,779 --> 00:47:32,099 And what I mean by that is, look, when you start your day 812 00:47:32,099 --> 00:47:34,677 and you really believe that there is power in prayer, 813 00:47:34,677 --> 00:47:37,542 and that God can deliver from temptation, you pray it. 814 00:47:37,543 --> 00:47:39,632 Just like Jesus taught us - 815 00:47:39,632 --> 00:47:44,702 "Keep us from temptation. Deliver us from evil." 816 00:47:44,702 --> 00:47:46,869 You'll pray that way because you believe, 817 00:47:46,869 --> 00:47:49,869 "I really believe God can keep me from this. 818 00:47:49,869 --> 00:47:52,499 Lord, keep me from it. 819 00:47:52,500 --> 00:47:56,267 I'm going to school, Lord help me, help me. 820 00:47:56,268 --> 00:47:58,926 Give me the ability to keep my eyes focused." 821 00:47:58,927 --> 00:48:03,099 I mean, you're surrounded by 50% of these maidens 822 00:48:03,099 --> 00:48:05,159 that Job wouldn't look at. 823 00:48:05,159 --> 00:48:07,732 And there you are, out in the campus; 824 00:48:07,733 --> 00:48:10,313 and they're walking around, and summer is coming on, 825 00:48:10,313 --> 00:48:13,046 and they're wearing things they should not be wearing. 826 00:48:13,046 --> 00:48:14,949 And sometimes you're in class, 827 00:48:14,949 --> 00:48:17,949 and it's just right there in your face. 828 00:48:17,949 --> 00:48:21,920 "God help us," you can pray brethren. You can pray. 829 00:48:21,921 --> 00:48:25,635 If we're to be salt and light in the midst of this world, 830 00:48:25,636 --> 00:48:29,536 just the reality is we're going to be around things that are improper. 831 00:48:29,537 --> 00:48:32,437 And we need God's help and grace and mercy 832 00:48:32,437 --> 00:48:34,297 to be able to cope with these things. 833 00:48:34,297 --> 00:48:36,081 Remember, there is power in prayer. 834 00:48:36,082 --> 00:48:39,434 He would not have taught us, Luke 22:40, 835 00:48:39,434 --> 00:48:42,271 Jesus says, "When He came to the place, He said to them, 836 00:48:42,272 --> 00:48:45,661 "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." 837 00:48:45,662 --> 00:48:52,533 That's because we can pray and God will keep us from temptation. 838 00:48:52,534 --> 00:49:02,176 How about this: When you believe you are justified 839 00:49:02,176 --> 00:49:07,656 in relieving your affliction through sin. 840 00:49:07,656 --> 00:49:09,937 Now what do I mean by that one? 841 00:49:09,938 --> 00:49:20,808 I mean, your sexual appetite is just screaming. 842 00:49:20,809 --> 00:49:24,543 That's affliction. Let's call it what it is. 843 00:49:24,544 --> 00:49:27,965 When a man or a woman has sexual desires 844 00:49:27,965 --> 00:49:30,275 that are incredibly strong, 845 00:49:30,275 --> 00:49:38,885 and there is no immediate, viable, righteous outlet 846 00:49:38,885 --> 00:49:43,785 for that desire, that's tough. 847 00:49:43,785 --> 00:49:52,563 That's hard. That's a trial. That's affliction. 848 00:49:52,564 --> 00:49:56,876 But brethren, when you have a mindset 849 00:49:56,877 --> 00:50:05,083 that you're justified in avoiding affliction by way of sin, 850 00:50:05,084 --> 00:50:08,360 when you have that mindset, 851 00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:12,460 you've got the groundwork for a fall. 852 00:50:12,460 --> 00:50:16,940 You see, God says, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 853 00:50:16,940 --> 00:50:18,760 "No temptation has overtaken you 854 00:50:18,760 --> 00:50:21,974 that is not common to man. God is faithful." 855 00:50:21,975 --> 00:50:24,909 Listen right there, God is faithful. 856 00:50:24,910 --> 00:50:29,033 When you feel like you're at that point where you're ready to break, 857 00:50:29,034 --> 00:50:31,094 the best thing to do is clear out, 858 00:50:31,094 --> 00:50:32,966 hit the closet, and go to your knees: 859 00:50:32,966 --> 00:50:35,924 "Lord, I need help. 860 00:50:35,925 --> 00:50:42,212 Lord, I don't know if I can keep going. I need help." 861 00:50:42,213 --> 00:50:45,662 "He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability." 862 00:50:45,663 --> 00:50:49,151 He promises there will be sufficient grace 863 00:50:49,151 --> 00:50:51,211 for you to get through this thing 864 00:50:51,211 --> 00:50:56,758 without taking the outlet of sin. 865 00:50:56,759 --> 00:51:00,723 "But with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, 866 00:51:00,723 --> 00:51:02,573 that you may be able to endure it." 867 00:51:02,574 --> 00:51:07,126 Or 2 Peter 2:9, "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials." 868 00:51:07,127 --> 00:51:09,664 He knows. He knows how to rescue you. 869 00:51:09,665 --> 00:51:11,127 You need to believe that. 870 00:51:11,127 --> 00:51:13,870 You see, a lot of times when you're in the midst of it, 871 00:51:13,870 --> 00:51:16,290 you think you've got to deal with it. 872 00:51:16,290 --> 00:51:19,010 You think you've got to give yourself a way out. 873 00:51:19,011 --> 00:51:22,734 It says, "God knows how to give you a way out." 874 00:51:22,735 --> 00:51:25,087 Run to Him. Believe that. 875 00:51:25,088 --> 00:51:30,556 When it's fierce, the battle is hot, believe it. 876 00:51:30,557 --> 00:51:32,440 Believe it, brethren, believe it. 877 00:51:32,441 --> 00:51:36,088 He is able to rescue the godly from trials. 878 00:51:36,089 --> 00:51:39,079 He knows how to rescue you. He knows. 879 00:51:39,080 --> 00:51:43,217 Brethren, so often with the Lord, 880 00:51:43,217 --> 00:51:50,547 "You don't have because what? You haven't asked." 881 00:51:50,547 --> 00:51:52,809 Listen, if you've got that mindset, 882 00:51:52,810 --> 00:51:57,114 "The Lord knows how to deliver me from this," you run to Him, 883 00:51:57,115 --> 00:52:02,196 "Lord, deliver me. Show me a way out." 884 00:52:02,197 --> 00:52:08,767 Or how about this: You do fall into sexual sin. 885 00:52:08,768 --> 00:52:13,785 Can I tell you what? Listen, you not only have these passions, 886 00:52:13,785 --> 00:52:14,985 you have the devil. 887 00:52:14,985 --> 00:52:19,017 He comes along, and he's whispering to you, 888 00:52:19,017 --> 00:52:21,807 "Certainly God is going to understand. 889 00:52:21,807 --> 00:52:24,551 Certainly he doesn't expect you to endure this. 890 00:52:24,551 --> 00:52:26,631 Look at the affliction you're in. 891 00:52:26,631 --> 00:52:30,500 He's forgotten you. He doesn't care about you." 892 00:52:30,501 --> 00:52:35,054 He's going to come along and slander God to you. 893 00:52:35,055 --> 00:52:39,410 And then, you fall into the sin. 894 00:52:39,411 --> 00:52:45,555 And then, he suddenly changes his tone. 895 00:52:45,556 --> 00:52:49,400 Now he slanders you to you. 896 00:52:49,401 --> 00:52:51,963 Before he slandered God to you. 897 00:52:51,964 --> 00:52:57,129 Now you fall, "Look at you. Look at how pathetic you are. 898 00:52:57,130 --> 00:53:00,277 Are you going to think, even think, 899 00:53:00,277 --> 00:53:04,247 Christ wants anything to do with you after what you just did? 900 00:53:04,247 --> 00:53:05,647 You might as well just go do it again. 901 00:53:05,647 --> 00:53:08,647 You're so defiled. You're so wretched. 902 00:53:08,647 --> 00:53:10,655 Just go do it again. 903 00:53:10,656 --> 00:53:13,527 I mean, why even fight anymore? 904 00:53:13,528 --> 00:53:17,027 You've already fallen, look how pathetic you are. 905 00:53:17,028 --> 00:53:21,863 You might as well just blow it even worse." 906 00:53:21,864 --> 00:53:27,263 You get that mindset, just the devil trying to convince you, 907 00:53:27,263 --> 00:53:31,165 "It's no use now, you might as well just indulge." 908 00:53:31,166 --> 00:53:35,412 Brethren, this is where Scripture comes along and it says things like this, 909 00:53:35,413 --> 00:53:38,561 think there with Romans 8: 910 00:53:38,561 --> 00:53:42,111 "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?" 911 00:53:42,111 --> 00:53:44,014 You remember who you are. 912 00:53:44,015 --> 00:53:50,803 Listen, even on your worst day, there is no condemnation. 913 00:53:50,804 --> 00:53:54,228 Even on your worst day, who shall bring any charge? 914 00:53:54,229 --> 00:53:58,146 That doesn't mean that nobody brings charges. 915 00:53:58,146 --> 00:54:01,227 When it says, "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?" 916 00:54:01,228 --> 00:54:04,473 it doesn't mean that there aren't those who do bring charges. 917 00:54:04,474 --> 00:54:08,924 It means there's nobody that can bring one that sticks. 918 00:54:08,925 --> 00:54:17,921 I'll tell you this, as a young Christian 919 00:54:17,921 --> 00:54:20,921 I would fall into all sorts of sins. 920 00:54:20,921 --> 00:54:23,103 The battle was on. 921 00:54:23,104 --> 00:54:26,133 I mean, for the first time in my life, I wanted righteousness. 922 00:54:26,134 --> 00:54:32,350 I hungered for it. I mean, it was all out battle. 923 00:54:32,351 --> 00:54:34,636 There was no perfect day. 924 00:54:34,637 --> 00:54:39,090 But I can tell you, even on my worst day, 925 00:54:39,090 --> 00:54:42,090 I was so overwhelmed by the fact that 926 00:54:42,090 --> 00:54:44,900 Jesus Christ came and rescued me 927 00:54:44,900 --> 00:54:47,900 when I was totally dead in my trespasses. 928 00:54:47,900 --> 00:54:52,377 Now that I'm justified, and I happen to have one fall; 929 00:54:52,378 --> 00:54:55,511 I mean, when he came and rescued me when I was like that, 930 00:54:55,512 --> 00:54:58,195 is He going to now abandon me when I'm like this? 931 00:54:58,195 --> 00:55:00,425 I mean, how much more now that I'm His, 932 00:55:00,425 --> 00:55:01,848 and now that I'm justified, 933 00:55:01,848 --> 00:55:05,273 how much more is He going to come and be a help to me? 934 00:55:05,274 --> 00:55:10,064 When the devil would come in at those times and says, 935 00:55:10,064 --> 00:55:12,284 "He doesn't want anything to do with you." 936 00:55:12,284 --> 00:55:14,314 I would say, "Well, that's interesting. 937 00:55:14,315 --> 00:55:17,889 When I was like ten thousand times worse before I was regenerated, 938 00:55:17,890 --> 00:55:20,952 He wanted everything to do with me." 939 00:55:20,953 --> 00:55:23,192 I mean, the basic logic of it was foolish. 940 00:55:23,193 --> 00:55:29,221 I'd say, "Devil, your logic is not working with me." 941 00:55:29,222 --> 00:55:33,607 Who can lay anything to the charge against God's elect? 942 00:55:33,608 --> 00:55:36,665 It's God Who justifies! (Amen). 943 00:55:36,665 --> 00:55:41,570 I mean, look, "Oh, is that right, devil? 944 00:55:41,570 --> 00:55:45,050 I'm pretty bad? Yeah. That's right. 945 00:55:45,050 --> 00:55:48,384 You're right, I did sin, and I am bad. 946 00:55:48,385 --> 00:55:51,164 But I read somewhere in my Bible 947 00:55:51,164 --> 00:56:02,754 that I have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. 948 00:56:02,754 --> 00:56:08,077 I don't think I'm going to buy into that thinking." 949 00:56:08,078 --> 00:56:12,927 Or how about this? 950 00:56:12,927 --> 00:56:21,952 Brethren, you've got the reality of the fear of the Lord, like we talked about. 951 00:56:21,953 --> 00:56:25,028 When offending God no longer terrifies us. 952 00:56:25,029 --> 00:56:26,869 But how about just this: 953 00:56:26,869 --> 00:56:28,857 How about just from love end? 954 00:56:28,857 --> 00:56:31,453 from the closeness end? 955 00:56:31,453 --> 00:56:34,453 from the intimacy end? 956 00:56:34,453 --> 00:56:38,607 When we forget just how much 957 00:56:38,607 --> 00:56:44,237 this kind of thing damages communion with the Lord. 958 00:56:44,237 --> 00:56:58,496 Listen, can I tell you this, David sinned with Bathsheba. 959 00:56:58,496 --> 00:57:03,921 Nine months later, the child was born. 960 00:57:03,922 --> 00:57:07,266 And that child died. 961 00:57:07,267 --> 00:57:12,921 So most people estimate that David 962 00:57:12,921 --> 00:57:17,411 was unrepentant of the sexual immorality 963 00:57:17,411 --> 00:57:19,263 for somewhere in the neighborhood 964 00:57:19,263 --> 00:57:21,883 of nine months approximately. 965 00:57:21,883 --> 00:57:24,616 It's a good guess. 966 00:57:24,617 --> 00:57:28,865 We know it was within the time frame of this child being born. 967 00:57:28,866 --> 00:57:32,114 And so this judgment is basically handed down 968 00:57:32,114 --> 00:57:34,324 that the child is going to die. 969 00:57:34,324 --> 00:57:36,460 She gave birth. 970 00:57:36,461 --> 00:57:40,605 It seems in the flow of 2 Samuel 971 00:57:40,605 --> 00:57:43,605 that it happened fairly immediately. 972 00:57:43,605 --> 00:57:46,032 There's not record of other things happening there. 973 00:57:46,033 --> 00:57:53,067 So it may very well be right that about nine months went by. 974 00:57:53,068 --> 00:57:59,306 Listen, to those of you that have found Christ precious, 975 00:57:59,306 --> 00:58:03,966 and you love intimacy with Him, 976 00:58:03,966 --> 00:58:07,975 David lost those nine months. 977 00:58:07,976 --> 00:58:10,908 What do I mean by that? 978 00:58:10,909 --> 00:58:13,437 I mean nine months that he did not grow 979 00:58:13,437 --> 00:58:15,377 in communion with the Lord. 980 00:58:15,377 --> 00:58:17,137 Nine months where he did not grow 981 00:58:17,137 --> 00:58:18,504 in intimacy with [the Lord]. 982 00:58:18,504 --> 00:58:20,144 They were wasted. 983 00:58:20,145 --> 00:58:21,793 You say, "How do you know?" 984 00:58:21,794 --> 00:58:26,832 Because he tells us. Listen to this. 985 00:58:26,833 --> 00:58:34,825 In Psalm 51, where he's responding after the sin with Bathsheba, 986 00:58:34,826 --> 00:58:37,127 "Let me hear joy and gladness; 987 00:58:37,127 --> 00:58:41,107 let the bones that you have broken rejoice." 988 00:58:41,107 --> 00:58:44,194 He describes that period of unrepentance 989 00:58:44,194 --> 00:58:47,194 as having broken bones. 990 00:58:47,194 --> 00:58:58,962 In Psalm 32:3, "When I kept silent - in other words, sinned, 991 00:58:58,963 --> 00:59:04,035 haven't confessed it, haven't come to the Lord - 992 00:59:04,036 --> 00:59:08,100 when I kept silent, my bones wasted away 993 00:59:08,100 --> 00:59:14,840 through my groaning all day long." 994 00:59:14,840 --> 00:59:20,103 Mark 4:19, "The desires of other things enter in and choke the word, 995 00:59:20,104 --> 00:59:22,246 and it proves unfruitful." 996 00:59:22,247 --> 00:59:25,756 You know what happens when you have desires for other things, 997 00:59:25,757 --> 00:59:28,001 like for a woman, or for a man, 998 00:59:28,002 --> 00:59:31,281 and you become consumed with those in an illegitimate way? 999 00:59:31,282 --> 00:59:35,127 They choke. They choke the Word. 1000 00:59:35,128 --> 00:59:37,557 They choke communion with God. 1001 00:59:37,557 --> 00:59:39,787 They cause the bones to break. 1002 00:59:39,787 --> 00:59:45,474 They cause this kind of bones wasting away, groaning. 1003 00:59:45,474 --> 00:59:49,154 Look, if you don't value intimacy with Christ, 1004 00:59:49,155 --> 00:59:51,365 just run out into a bunch of sexual sin; 1005 00:59:51,365 --> 00:59:53,015 just view pornography. 1006 00:59:53,015 --> 00:59:56,164 If you think you're going to have some of the sweetest times 1007 00:59:56,165 --> 01:00:00,649 that you've ever experienced in prayer after you do that, 1008 01:00:00,650 --> 01:00:05,462 you're crazy. It's not going to happen. 1009 01:00:05,463 --> 01:00:14,650 Can I tell you who takes flight up to the mountain of God? 1010 01:00:14,651 --> 01:00:16,537 Anybody know your Bibles? 1011 01:00:16,538 --> 01:00:23,274 Anybody know Psalm 15 or Psalm 24? Who is it? 1012 01:00:23,275 --> 01:00:25,282 He that has clean hands and a pure heart. 1013 01:00:25,283 --> 01:00:27,549 You spend your time defiling yourself, 1014 01:00:27,550 --> 01:00:32,118 you will not walk in those high places with the Lord. 1015 01:00:32,119 --> 01:00:36,922 You will not be given access. 1016 01:00:36,923 --> 01:00:43,254 I'm talking experientially. 1017 01:00:43,255 --> 01:00:48,357 I'm talking manifestly experiencing 1018 01:00:48,357 --> 01:00:52,057 the reality of God's presence; 1019 01:00:52,057 --> 01:00:54,419 knowing what it is to walk with Him 1020 01:00:54,419 --> 01:00:57,419 and talk with Him and delight in Him. 1021 01:00:57,419 --> 01:01:02,045 You will groan, and your bones will break, 1022 01:01:02,046 --> 01:01:06,635 before He'll let you mount that holy mountain. 1023 01:01:06,636 --> 01:01:11,475 You won't go there. You won't walk there. 1024 01:01:11,476 --> 01:01:15,365 And one last one: When you forget, brethren, 1025 01:01:15,366 --> 01:01:23,593 when you forget the agonies of Christ for sexual sin. 1026 01:01:23,593 --> 01:01:28,508 Listen guys, you ever tempted by the computer? 1027 01:01:28,509 --> 01:01:35,433 As you're thinking about it, begin to picture in your mind. 1028 01:01:35,434 --> 01:01:39,751 I read somewhere in my Bible something like this: 1029 01:01:39,751 --> 01:01:42,993 Titus 2:13, "Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 1030 01:01:42,994 --> 01:01:47,872 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness 1031 01:01:47,873 --> 01:01:54,834 and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession." 1032 01:01:54,834 --> 01:01:56,693 To purify. 1033 01:01:56,693 --> 01:02:02,986 To take that smut, and that dirt, out of your life. 1034 01:02:02,986 --> 01:02:07,077 Scripture says, "He gave Himself." 1035 01:02:07,077 --> 01:02:14,074 Listen, can you see Christ hanging there? 1036 01:02:14,074 --> 01:02:19,436 Darkness is upon the land. 1037 01:02:19,436 --> 01:02:25,837 Everyone has forsaken Him. 1038 01:02:25,837 --> 01:02:27,715 God has forsaken Him. 1039 01:02:27,715 --> 01:02:31,015 The sun has forsaken Him. 1040 01:02:31,015 --> 01:02:33,595 It's dark. 1041 01:02:33,595 --> 01:02:39,332 Can you imagine the groans and the sighs of the Man of sorrows 1042 01:02:39,332 --> 01:02:49,970 as He hangs upon that cross, specifically to purify you? 1043 01:02:49,970 --> 01:02:51,500 What are you gonna do? 1044 01:02:51,500 --> 01:02:53,122 You're gonna tread on that blood? 1045 01:02:53,122 --> 01:02:54,916 You're gonna tread on that pain? 1046 01:02:54,916 --> 01:02:57,449 You're gonna tread on that affliction? 1047 01:02:57,450 --> 01:03:02,020 You're gonna say, "Well, it doesn't really matter. It's a small thing. 1048 01:03:02,020 --> 01:03:05,322 It's a light thing I'm about to do. 1049 01:03:05,322 --> 01:03:14,294 I'm gonna just cheaply sin, because Christ has paid for it?" 1050 01:03:14,294 --> 01:03:18,063 You're just gonna trample that blood? 1051 01:03:18,063 --> 01:03:21,521 You can imagine in your mind Christ hanging there 1052 01:03:21,521 --> 01:03:30,781 between Heaven and Earth, groaning? 1053 01:03:30,781 --> 01:03:40,296 You see, when the Christian ventures into the realm of sexual sin, 1054 01:03:40,296 --> 01:03:48,877 his or her thinking has totally gone wrong. Totally gone wrong. 1055 01:03:48,877 --> 01:03:56,880 This is where our minds need to be. 1056 01:03:56,880 --> 01:04:01,398 You know, it's hard when you think, you're walking along, 1057 01:04:01,398 --> 01:04:05,396 It's a disregard. It's a despising. 1058 01:04:05,396 --> 01:04:08,359 Just remember this: "You despised Me." 1059 01:04:08,360 --> 01:04:18,125 Remember God saying that through Nathan to David? "You despised Me. 1060 01:04:18,125 --> 01:04:22,745 You disregarded Me," so says 1 Thessalonians 4. 1061 01:04:22,745 --> 01:04:26,535 "You disregarded Me. You despised Me. 1062 01:04:26,535 --> 01:04:28,995 You despised My Word. 1063 01:04:28,995 --> 01:04:35,564 You have utterly scorned the LORD." 1064 01:04:35,564 --> 01:04:39,319 Is that what you want to do, Christian? 1065 01:04:39,319 --> 01:04:41,309 You that love the Lord, 1066 01:04:41,309 --> 01:04:43,259 do you want to scorn the Lord? 1067 01:04:43,259 --> 01:04:46,057 Do you want to trample the blood of Christ? 1068 01:04:46,057 --> 01:04:49,198 He who hung on the cross to make you pure, 1069 01:04:49,198 --> 01:04:51,028 do you want to do that? 1070 01:04:51,028 --> 01:04:58,334 Do you want to just wreck your communion with the Lord? 1071 01:04:58,334 --> 01:05:04,534 Brethren, these are things we need to think about. 1072 01:05:04,534 --> 01:05:07,447 It's a mind battle. 1073 01:05:07,447 --> 01:05:12,447 It's bringing your thoughts in subjection to the Word. 1074 01:05:12,447 --> 01:05:20,316 Arm yourself. Think on these things. 1075 01:05:20,316 --> 01:05:24,810 Well, there you have it for tonight. 1076 01:05:24,812 --> 01:05:31,156 [Audience] You just made a reference to 1 Peter, 1077 01:05:31,156 --> 01:05:35,232 where you said, "Those of you who count Him as precious." 1078 01:05:35,232 --> 01:05:42,856 Is it possible to be saved and not count Him as precious? 1079 01:05:42,856 --> 01:05:52,194 [Tim] No. Now, obviously, our affection for Him 1080 01:05:52,194 --> 01:05:55,194 can increase and diminish. 1081 01:05:55,194 --> 01:06:00,125 But I would just say this: 1082 01:06:00,125 --> 01:06:10,295 The given New Covenant promise, just huge, 1083 01:06:10,295 --> 01:06:13,726 is that He is going to put His Spirit within us. 1084 01:06:13,726 --> 01:06:21,715 The Spirit comes and works the fruit of the Spirit in His people. 1085 01:06:21,715 --> 01:06:28,414 The first description of that fruit is love. 1086 01:06:28,414 --> 01:06:32,446 The highest love is for God. For Christ. 1087 01:06:32,446 --> 01:06:36,238 The Spirit of God works that in His people. 1088 01:06:36,238 --> 01:06:39,796 I mean, you get the reality of the parable 1089 01:06:39,796 --> 01:06:41,356 that I brought up last week 1090 01:06:41,356 --> 01:06:43,376 of the treasure hidden in the field. 1091 01:06:43,376 --> 01:06:46,450 I mean, basically, the reality of Christianity 1092 01:06:46,450 --> 01:06:49,450 is discovering a treasure that is so precious to us, 1093 01:06:49,450 --> 01:06:51,754 we're willing to go sell everything to have it. 1094 01:06:51,754 --> 01:06:59,400 Now, that doesn't mean that as we progress through our Christian life, 1095 01:06:59,401 --> 01:07:04,842 that from time to time, idols don't encroach and challenge that. 1096 01:07:04,842 --> 01:07:09,812 But Jesus says that He disciplines, 1097 01:07:09,812 --> 01:07:12,812 He chastens those whom He loves. 1098 01:07:12,812 --> 01:07:15,839 The promise in the New Covenant is this: 1099 01:07:15,839 --> 01:07:18,420 That He is going to cleanse us from our idols. 1100 01:07:18,420 --> 01:07:26,043 In other words, He is jealous for our love, for our affection. 1101 01:07:26,043 --> 01:07:29,479 And when anything enters in that challenges it, 1102 01:07:29,479 --> 01:07:32,479 He's knocking it out of there. 1103 01:07:32,479 --> 01:07:36,281 I mean, He is jealous for our love, 1104 01:07:36,281 --> 01:07:39,281 and He's determined to have it. 1105 01:07:39,281 --> 01:07:44,477 And His Spirit is working that within us. 1106 01:07:44,477 --> 01:07:50,559 So, I would say it can ebb and it can flow. 1107 01:07:50,560 --> 01:07:57,512 The very characteristic of a Christian given in Romans 8:28, 1108 01:07:57,512 --> 01:08:01,012 is not only those that are called, but those that love God. 1109 01:08:01,012 --> 01:08:04,713 I mean, that is a description of the Christian. 1110 01:08:04,713 --> 01:08:07,463 So no, that's impossible. 1111 01:08:07,463 --> 01:08:10,618 You come across somebody that doesn't find Christ precious, 1112 01:08:10,618 --> 01:08:13,324 you've just come across an unbeliever. 1113 01:08:13,324 --> 01:08:15,749 Now they may believe a lot of things about Christ, 1114 01:08:15,749 --> 01:08:18,002 but they're not a true believer. 1115 01:08:18,002 --> 01:08:19,590 I mean, that's just the reality. 1116 01:08:19,590 --> 01:08:23,267 That's one thing that, to the saved person, Christ is precious. 1117 01:08:23,267 --> 01:08:26,495 I mean, if anything is true about the Christian, 1118 01:08:26,495 --> 01:08:29,495 Christ is altogether everything; 1119 01:08:29,495 --> 01:08:37,566 altogether lovely, altogether worthy of being followed, 1120 01:08:37,566 --> 01:08:39,956 of our total commitment. 1121 01:08:39,956 --> 01:08:46,608 One of the triggers that really spirals the Christian downward 1122 01:08:46,609 --> 01:08:50,523 is when their prayer life takes a hit. 1123 01:08:50,524 --> 01:08:58,035 And, I've heard other men say this, and I feel it myself, 1124 01:08:58,035 --> 01:09:09,041 that even more so than maybe not reading as much of the Word. 1125 01:09:09,042 --> 01:09:14,740 But when the prayer life slackens, even more so than Bible reading, 1126 01:09:14,740 --> 01:09:17,871 your spiritual life takes a major hit. 1127 01:09:17,872 --> 01:09:19,924 And I have found that to be true.