Sunday Service

Good morning, everyone. Welcome. So happy to have you all with us this morning. For those of you don't know, my name is Carson Robinson, and I'm the worship Ministry can't Redeemer if you would let stain and worship together.

This Is My Father's World

Where is my father?

Sky Zone

This Is My Father's World

Yes.

everywhere

my father.

Good morning, everyone.

Sorry, I'm fine. I promise I think you appreciate it on 34, bless the Lord all ye Saints of the Lord who Stand By Night in the house of the Lord lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord. May the Lord bless you from his eye on who he made Heaven and Earth.

how do

We will.

when we

When you said ok, Google.

and where

Zoe

Lego

You are you are you are?

There's a wreck when we get.

download

Christina

what a wonderful name it is.

wonderful

Nothing Compares What a wonderful name it is.

What a wonderful name it is.

You have no right? You have no kids.

What a powerful name it is.

What a powerful name it is. Nothing can stand against. What a powerful name it is you have no right? You have no equal now and yours is all. What a powerful day. What a powerful.

Nothing can stand against Pizza Hut

water park

fire at the Lord's Prayer together. Do you have my father God? I thank you so much for the blessing of being in this place God getting too, for you and worship and praise your name. Got to just come and sing of your goodness. And your love God. Thank you for the incredible privilege that that is I think we forget sometimes God that it is a privilege that we could to come and do this safely and the safe environment God. I just pray that we please never take that for granted that would come today and everyday looking to do your will and praise your name and you led by your spirit and in Jesus name. Amen. Amen, you can be seated for just a minute. We got a few quick announcement and then we will get to our scripture reading here in just a second. Good morning guys. It's good to see you. I'm glad that everyone is here at these guys come down and wanted to tell you about a few transitions in our church. These are all wonderful things that are going on in that are happening in the life of our church. As you guys know over the last couple of months we've been talking to you about how we are going to be making a transition in warship because Carson is going to be stepping away to do a residency for a year and we are so excited about her doing that. It's a great opportunity. And yeah, it's going to be great and so next week is actually going to be her last Sunday with us for a little while. But yes, we are absolutely going to miss her wherever she is and she's over there. I couldn't see her I couldn't see her behind Adam. We are actually going to be praying her. Out next week and we are really looking forward to that and we're just so blessed by you and everything you've done for us. You've been incredible.

You'll be able to clap for her a little more and pray pray for her next week. But the other two things I want to let you know about as well as we've been praying and asking Lord. What are these? What is this transition was worshipped look like and and different things like that Adam and I've been praying and the elders and just thinking about what God has for us next. And so I wanted to let you know that the first thing you need to see if Adam is going to be transitioning out of his role as rrcc kids and families Minister and he is going to be helping us in worship His new role is actually going to be our worship and Associate Minister and he's also going to be helping us with some other things around the church as well. And so we are really looking forward to that. I think Adam is going to do a great job. He has already served this church. So well over the last I think even a little over two years now right almost three. Yes. And so he's not going anywhere. In fact, you're going to see his face a lot more now on Sundays and he's going to be helping to grow our team and worship and he is going to do a great job with that him and Jenna's well as she leaves so many weeks throughout the months too. And so we are so excited about that with that happening. We also said, okay, we need someone to kind of overseeing and run and manage and facilitate and care for our children so well and as we started praying about it, and I'm getting the word out to some different people the Lord highlighted for us here as you can see and Lauren is going to be stepping in as rrcc kids director and we are so excited for her as well. She has a she has a background in education and in nonprofit work and her family has just been so wonderful and they've been here for a little while now and we are so excited to have her in this role. And so we just wanted to let you know about all these different changes and transition. It is an exciting time for us. We are very grateful as Lord continues to grow our team. And so we just wanted to take a minute and pray over Lauren and she steps into this position. She's got a fairly quick onboarding process that she's been shadowing Adam and learning the ropes and he's going to continue to help her over the preceding months. And Adam himself is also going to help to oversee kids and still going to have his hand in some things there as well. And so it's an exciting time in and we're really looking forward to it. And so would you now just take a minute and pray for Lauren as she steps into the Position to lead our kids to help our children take their next steps towards Christ that is a valuable and vital Ministry that we have here at the church. Not just a Ministry. It's part of our people and our they're taking their next steps just like we are in so we're so grateful for you. And so excited for this next chapter Adam. Love to you I look at it is with such joy and a huge honor that we get to bring the Renta in to add this ministry family here Redeemer God. I am I'm just blown away by the ways that you have open doors to bring her here. I had to bring her to our congregation in the first place and then throughout this process of of realizing what an incredible fit she is for this new oversight of our kids Cod. This ministry is so so near and dear to me and it is something that I I'm so excited and And handing off without fear to her how Lord I pray your blessing over Loretta over her family over her boys God. Will you just give her an over an abundant amount of joy of passion of excitement for our children here at Redeemer? And will you give her just as the assurance that she is in the right place that she is following you and in your steps as she walks Faithfully right behind you and God what an honor and privilege it is to see your family grow and to see your ministry continue and God we just asked with with great assurance that you will come through God. Will you just back her up lead her guide her and help her to continue and the amazing things that she's already starting. We love you Lord. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

Thank you guys so much. You can go ahead and stand and we'll have our scripture reading now and then get into the sermon.

AR reading for today is from Ephesians 4:17 through 32. Now this I say testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk is the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their Hardness of Heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality greedy to practice every kind of impurity, but that is not the way you learned in Christ assuming that you have heard about him and we're taught in him as the truth is in Jesus to put off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and its corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. They're for having put away falsehood. Let every one of you speak the truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another be angry and do not send do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil. Leopard Steve no longer steal but rather let him labor doing honest work with his own hands so that you may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as good for the building up its fits the occasion that it may give Grace to those who hear and do not grieve the holy spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. This is the word of God for the people who had kids in middle schoolers. You're dismissed.

Mormon church Welcome to Redeemer Community Church. Those of you who do not know me. My name is Eric Van over and I had the privilege of leading us through our Bible study this morning Ephesians, 4:17. 232. Now Tradesmen taking us through the book of Ephesians. And as we study a book of the Bible we deal with whatever is before us, right. And so today before us God's got some truth for us that we're going to go through and sometimes he shares that truth kind of bluntly. So we're going to start with that and then we're going to work our way through but I'm going to focus the majority of the sermon on verse 17 to 25, but that's stuck out to me as his anchor and then you saw at the end he got into some of those other kinds of things that kind of go with this thinking too which we will cover verse 26 the 32 briefly. But even though we just all read it together, I want to read it one more time. Ephesians 4:17 now this I say and testify in the Lord, but you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the future ility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their Hardness of Heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality greedy to practice every kind of impurity. Let me see pause there and go. Wow. Wow. Okay, that's what we're studying the truth bomb on you, right and the truth bomb is that our culture and the world around us the way they're thinking is alienated from the life of God and they're thinking it's futile what they think will leave them somewhere good. It doesn't leave them anywhere good right and their ignorance is on purpose. Right there not just blindly ignorant. It's on purpose ignorant. This goes back to Romans chapter 1 where God talks about how the world around us knows the truth and yet they deliberately suppress the truth. Right and we've all done that ourselves. Right? We we we understand what that's like to suppress the truth and I want what I want right forget what God says is true on this matter. But then we see the word sensuality and we see the word impurity and when you see those two words together, you generally think of sexual immorality and got his separated this part from that whole list of stuff that we went over later. And so I'm going to spend a good chunk of the sermon on sexual immorality. That being said the word sensuality is bigger than just sexual immorality. It's really about I want to do whatever makes me happy and everybody should just do what makes them happy if you heard that before. Just do what makes you happy, right? But here is what God continues to say on this matter if we keep reading but that is not the way you learn Christ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught about him as the truth is in Jesus to put off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt or deceitful desires and to be renewed by the spirit in your minds and to put on the new self read it after the likeness of God in true righteousness and Holiness there for having put away falsehood Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor for we are members of one another You know as a Christian you say you love Jesus the best way Jesus said to demonstrate that you love him is to obey his Commandments. And also as a Christian that means follower of Christ. So the question is are you following Christ? Right? You can be a fan at there's a lot of people that are fan of Jesus and they pick and choose things they like from Jesus and things they don't like yeah, I'd only part of the right but as Christians, we should be submitted to Jesus as our Lord and so the world is calling you to do what makes you happy. But God and his love is calling you to follow him and walk in Holiness and you have a choice to make. So before we have further, I just want to open us up in prayer.

Heavenly Father we are so grateful that you love us enough to tell us the truth. Lord we're going to be real honest and say we don't always want to hear your truth and we don't always want to listen to your truth or truth is always out of love for us. We're so grateful that you love us enough to do that. Holy Spirit. I just pray that you would open our hearts and open our minds to what you would have for us today. I pray that in Jesus name. Amen. okay, so the first spiritual principle

truth without love is meaningless and not worth pursuing. I just want to say that the same God who inspired Paul to write about the world around us in their ignorance. Right and their pursuit of everything in pure is the same guy who wrote who inspired Paul to write this 1st Corinthians 13:1 if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I have not loved I'm a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal and if I have prophetic powers and understand all Mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all Faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love I am nothing. Yes. God called us and the world around us to repentance, but that call is a loving call. It's not if God didn't care about us. He wouldn't care what we did but he does care about us and he does know that our sin in the things that we think will make us happy will actually lead to pain sorrow suffering and death and he wants better for us. He's calling us to life. And as we proceed forward in the rest of the spiritual principles, we need to go forward with love wrapped around them as we talk, right and we also need to go forward in humility. Every single one of us have struggled with some everyone's now you may not have struggled with sexual immorality as much as other people have maybe you haven't as you struggle with something you struggle with forgiveness or you started with gossip or Pride or whatever. It is. Everybody has some major struggles with son. And therefore we should be compassionate when we see other people who are going through stress, right and we should approach it in love. Now. That being said the next spiritual principle. Is that true love and compassion must include truth? Now you see this picture. Hopefully it's big enough that you can see it. But there's a toddler. He's licking his lips. He's reaching up above him trying to get candy. If on the Shelf. He's probably not supposed to be doing this but he is right. So if you currently have a toddler as a child, or if you can remember back to when your kids were toddlers or if you don't have kids but you've watched toddlers before I think the following two statements you'll understand are absolutely true. A toddler can be very loving and kind they can draw a big heart give it to you. I love you so much. Kiss you hug you right and that's the part of your child that is created in the image of God. We all have that we all have the capability to show love and kindness. However, your toddler also represents the other part of truth that the Bible says that we all have a fallen sinful and selfish nature and your toddler at times can I claim they're the center of the universe. It's all about them write me me me my mama I want this right and so maybe you create this good meal for your Toddler Anna you've gone to the trouble and nutritious and tasty that should like it. It's tasty but it's also nutritiously good for them. And you said it down 4 in front of them and maybe or Tyler. I don't want that. I want candy. I want candy. I want candy and you're like no. No, we're not doing right now. It's time to time and place we're doing food. That's good for you or doing this. Well, I don't want that. Well, this is what we're doing what you are a big meanie head. Right and it's not fair and I don't know if you ever seen a toddler tantrum. What is something to behold man is something to watch like

But here's the thing. Would you look at your child then go? Oh my goodness. My child isn't happy. Everything needs to be about my child being happy, right? I see post on Facebook where people say it's all about my child being happy. Everything is about my child being happy. If you've ever had that thought, I would just ask you to consider. Maybe that's not the most important thing. Right, maybe what's best for them is more important than what they and their ignorance think will make them happy. Your toddler thinks that he can candy 24/7 and not eating nutritious food. That's what's going to make him happy, but that's an ignorant thought because the reality is if your toddler does that their teeth are going to ride out there going to be a diabetic they're going to have all kinds of health issues. So I'll loving parent actually cares about what's good for their child more than they care about what their child in their ignorance thinks will make them happy. And by the way, God is a loving parent. That's how he thinks about us to he's all about what's good for us? Not what we in our ignorance think will make us happy. And that brings us to spiritual principle number 3. Satan is a liar. He's always been a liar and he always will be a liar and he gives the same lies from the Garden of Eden. He keeps using them over and over and people keep laughing it up. Right? So we start off in Genesis 31 Satan says the eve did God really say You must not eat from any tree in the garden a Satan knows full. Well God didn't say that. He tries to make it look like God's even work like this. It is from any tree, right and then she says well no except for the tree of the Forbidden tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil if we eat from that we will die. Now, what does Satan then come back and say? Surely you will not die if you eat of that fruit. Write God just knows that if you eat of that fruit, you will be as wise as God. Another words God is holding out on you even really love you. He's not looking out for your best interest, right? He doesn't want you to be happy and what kind of God wouldn't want you to be happy right, but me saying I'm your buddy. I'm on your side. I want you to be happy. You see that for you to be happy and he says used car salesman selling happiness. And so they suppress the truth. They should have known God love them. They should have known he was on their side. They should have trusted them, but they didn't they decided they wanted to decide for themselves. What was right and wrong or was sending what was not the 8th of that fruit that here's the shrimp share with them and share with them. That one sin came into the world. They were going to have to watch their oldest son Cain murder their second born son able. Can you imagine as a parent that would rip the heart out of your chest that have to watch that don't know if you've ever thought about that how painful it had to be for Adam and Eve awful and they washed all the consequences of sin roll in and we see the consequences of sin in the world around us. Right, but it's all about happiness that once those consequences start rolling for Adam and Eve with Satan there to comfort them know it was God Who provided them clothes even though they didn't listen to him. He was still there trying to take care of them and love them. He didn't stop loving them even though they didn't listen but there were consequences the same thing happens with sex things like sex is great if two people love each other they should be able to have sex forget whether they're married or not. It's enjoyable. What kind of God wouldn't want you to be happy. right Once again, he doesn't give you the fine print. How about sexually transmitted diseases that make you happy? How about hookup culture? God created sex to bond one man and one woman for life. But when you say well I'm just going to have all this happiness with all these different people. I'm going to buy myself as that person that person of that person that person that person. Why you start to Splinter your spirit starts a splinter yourself, right? It's damaging and instead of drawing you closer to people it makes you feel more isolated. There's lessons me see when you do that. Not more but he doesn't tell you that it doesn't tell you if you're married and you look over to the side so it won't be that big of a deal. I'll just have a little fun over here on the side. He doesn't show you the conversation. You're going to have time with your husband or your wife and how you how their you have broken their heart and they're going to be in agony or the conversation with your children who you will have to admit that you betrayed their mother or father. Don't show you that just be happy right or how about the single man in a single woman? the guys like

It's like a fire that burns a rocket to the moon and she listens listen to how much he loves me and I start having sex and it's all great and then she gets pregnant. Right, and then she decides to keep the baby. And he's like what you know good for you. You want to keep that baby good for you and if that's going to make you happy great, but you know, I'm about my happiness too. And I don't think raising the kids going to make me very happy to have sex with this woman over here. That's going to make me happy, but good luck to you best of luck and he rides off into the sunset. Now if your philosophy is everybody should just do what makes them happy. I don't understand how you can get mad at that guy cuz he's just pursuing what makes him happy right? Of course. This is not what God says we should do but I'm pointing out if that's your philosophy. You can't be mad at the man for pursuing his happiness. Now the woman is left raising a child on her own. Which is 10 times more hard than if you were of a co-parent with a father, right and God didn't want that for her. Now does that mean that this child can't be a blessing in her life? No, this child can be a wonderful blessing in her life right now. I can bring good out of things that we mess up his career. that being said now she's had the difficult task of trying to raise a child by herself. That's a consequence. He didn't want for her cuz he loved her and now the child is having to grow up without a father around all so difficult on the child. And then of course, he doesn't tell you that just in general if you had sex with somebody and then you break up that that break up is going to be a million times harder than if you didn't have sex, right? Or he doesn't tell you that if a man has sex with another man. But those men have double the rate National rate of depression. They have double the national rate of drug addiction. Now those statistics would seem to indicate maybe that's not friends with much happiness is we're led to believe right so all in all these cases sayings like it's all about happiness within the rally is everything starts to fall apart and he he's just laughing it cuz he's for your destruction. He's not your buddy, right? He just wants your destruction, but the guy who was trying to hold your happiness That's what Satan tells you. That's the same God that once you have screwed up will be there on the other end to welcome me back and forgive right? God didn't stop loving you when you started to screw up. He kept loving you the whole time Satan his claim. He's a liar. alright spiritual principle number 4 sexual Purity is important to God and he is calling you to walk in holiness.

God has prioritized dealing with sexual immorality. Before I read acts 21 25. I want to give the background. Jesus is already died on the cross. He rose from the dead. He's ascended back to heaven and now his disciples are sharing the gospel people are coming in to be with Jesus right and many of the people coming in or gentiles. They don't have the same background of the juice have and so the elders are trying to figure out what is it that we're supposed to tell that you took the Gentiles. What is it that we were supposed to emphasize that God is already made clear that they didn't have to get physically circumsized and things like that. So what is it that we are supposed to emphasize that they prayed about it. And here's what the Holy Spirit came back with acts 21:25 as for the Gentile Believers. We have written to them our decision that they should have stain from food sacrificed to Idols from blood from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. Those first three things are all kind of related to their religious practices and we got to clean that up. You can't be worse than all these false gods and doing all this religious stuff. You are now under the one true God one God in three persons. God the Father God the son God the Holy Spirit Jesus as your lord he needs to be at the top of your list makes perfect sense, but that's the top priority. I find it fascinating. What's the second priority? Is it could have been you need to forgive people? It could have been you need to stop lying. You need to stop stealing some of the things that are at the end of the list that will get to lighter. That could have been the top priority, but it wasn't. It was we're going to deal with sexual immorality first. Think of it this way if you walk into an emergency room and three people show up the first person that looks like they're being helped in it. Looks like their ankle is really twisted. It might even be broken. The second person has a big gash on their arm. It's not bleeding, but they're going to need some serious stitches and it might get infected and the third person. It looks like they're having a heart attack right there right now. Things are important about the yeah, we do. We don't have to worry about what this will get infected. Yes we do. But we're going to deal with the heart attack first and so an ox 2125 God is clearly saying we're going to deal with the sexual immorality first. Now you might be like well, that's ridiculous. As long as two people love each other and have sex outside the bounds of marriage that's not nearly as important as some of these other things, but I just want to point out. That's your party list. The song God's we're God sexual immorality is a high priority to deal with right? Well, Jesus we can keep going Jesus is the one who to find. What marriage is God the funds marriage Matthew 19 4. He said have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female and said for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh so that they are no longer to but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together. Let not man separate. I find it interesting that Jesus combine the concept of how we were born as either male or female. He directly link that concept to marriage. It's all God has defined marriage as one man. And one woman who make a commitment for life that's marriage and within the bounds of that marriage got to said the two shall be the two shall become one flesh put sex within that balance. So it's the fireplace analogy. You've heard this before. I'll say it again. If you build a fire in a fireplace, you can enjoy the crackling of the logs. You can enjoy the warmth of the fire. It's safe, right, but if you take that same fire and you build it in the middle of your living room on the carpet, it's going to burn your house down. Right. There's something wrong with the far. It's where are you using it? It's not that there's anything wrong with sex. It's where are you using it? That's his sex within the bounds of marriage between a committed man and woman is safe and sex outside of that balance leads to all kinds of problems. now along that lines sex was designed to be enjoyed inside of marriage. I've heard some YouTube pastor's Christians and it's like what?

You making it sound like this is awful thing that we have to do. That was the case. Why is all the world? Will I have sex right? It's enjoyable or sex is all about bringing children into the world. That is one function of sex, right? But that's not the only function. That's the only reason God created sex. What if you can't have children or what? If you're past the age of having children you stop having sex. No God created sex to be enjoyed in side of marriage Proverbs 5:18. May your fountain be blessed and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth 11 do a graceful deer met her breasts satisfy you always may you ever be intoxicated with her love don't know if you thought you were here that in church straight from God. I didn't write that God did God is not a prude. He's not against sex. He's the one who created it to be enjoyable. So if you are married it is a gift for you as a couple and you should enjoy it. There's nothing wrong with it. That being said coming back to sex outside of marriage Jesus breaks this down in three different ways that I want to go through. He spoke truth in love that doing what makes you feel good may not in fact be good for you. In John 8 32 11. We see the adulterous woman that I've seen stuff on Facebook that said the following Jesus is the only one that had the right to throw the Rock and he didn't throw it. Okay, there's truth in that what that really means is Jesus reset the consequence or two consenting adults having sex that the state needs to stay out of it. If you're a bible-believing Christian, you don't believe that the police should be knocking on somebody's door who's having sex outside of marriage voluntarily do adults or given a ticket or anything. But Jesus said no, but he did the last thing he did tell her though was going sin no more. Yes. Even if they're consenting adults and even if they say they love each other it can be sinful and wrong. She he is destroying his family and she's helping him do it. And even though she says she loves him and the married man says he loves her. This is a Forbidden Love. This is a sinful not all love is good. This is a bad love and he's telling her to stop doing this. This is harmful to you and others and then we get to the woman at the well.

She is a Samaritan woman that no other Jewish man was willing to talk to and yet Jesus deliberately goes up and starts a conversation with her. He loves her and he treats her with kindness and compassion is very gentle. What's in all that kindness and gentleness? He does throw in a bit of a truth bomb on her. He says go and bring your husband back. When he says that Jesus knows full. Well her circumstances. He knows exactly what her circumstances and she says, well, I'm not I don't have a husband. Alexis Jesus drop it. No. The next thing Jesus says is but what you say is true. You don't have a husband. In fact, you've been married to five different men in the past and currently you're living with a man. Who's not your husband. So when you say you're not married but you speak is true, why did why did you just bring that up? Why is this part of the conversation? That doesn't say this in a text someone take some Liberties and say this is Eric Van over his interpretation, right? Maybe I'm wrong. But no one would I know about Jesus and God, I don't think I'm wrong here. This situation where she's had five different husbands in the past. I don't believe they divorced her. I don't believe she was the victim and they threw her out and they left her. Or else I don't think Jesus would have brought it up. I don't think they were abusive and beaten her to within an inch of her life. I don't think it was a massive abuse, or I don't think he would have brought it up. I don't think they were sexually running around on her left, right and whatever or I don't think Jesus would have brought it up. I think the reason Jesus brought it up is because her definition of Love is the same definition as the world's definition. So when you here as long as two people love each other, why should they be able to have sex? We always as Christians focus on the sex part, we don't focus enough on the love part. We should be like, what do you mean by love? Right and what she means about love is she met the first guy and he grade he's awesome. She tells all her girlfriends about him. He makes my heart go pitty-pat, right? That's what she means by love. And as long as he makes my heart go pitty-pat, then she starts to have sex with him. She marries him as long as her heart's going pitty-pat. Everything is good, but you can't stay on that emotional high right? It's not the other person is not always going to make your heart go pitty-pat. Sometimes there are things in a relationship where you have to work through communication stuff. Sometimes like they're bugging you you have to work through a bunch of stuff. It's not abuse this stuff that everybody has to work through if they get married, but she didn't want to do that. Like this isn't Pleasant. I don't like that. This isn't making my heart go pitty-pat. So she's like peace out. She believes that guy divorces him and she's on to the next one. And then she tells all her friends about the second guy. He's great. And so it doesn't anymore right then she divorces him. She's on the next guy the next guy the next by the way. This is an example of a woman doing this men do this too. So I don't want you to think this is only women. Who do this. But the point here is the way the world finds love it was not a good way. And Jesus is the saying this is not good for you. You're constantly chasing your tail if that first husband if she had worked this again, this is on the abuse situation or he's sexually if I swear anything, it sounds like he was a decent husband if she can work through some of the issues with him couples that work through those kind of issues surveys have found their much happier than couple people who do this where they just keep failing and failing and failing a constantly searching for that emotional. Hi and that he makes my heart go pitty-pat and basically Jesus is bringing it up because this isn't healthy for her, right? This isn't healthy for people now. How did God blessed in his right his love for us? It says that he did best Illustrated his love for us when Jesus died on the cross. After Jesus had the beard ripped off of his face tumbled in his face Pottery shards rip In the Flesh off of his back right sped on Mark ridiculed hung up naked to shame him hanging on a cross in agony. Do you think that

I don't think so. He demonstrated his love for us and his commitment to stay on that cross the sacrificially give himself for us and save us. That's love. I want to have a marriage sir. My love what it is if I get invited to the wedding, I'm there. I'm a secret romantic and I can come across like a true Sky whatever but I love weddings. I love to see two people get together what I love best about the wedding is the valves. Richer or for poorer For Better or For Worse in sickness and in health till death. Do we part if the couple means that that's love that couple they may feel their heart go pitty-pat, right? Then I ain't going to last or going to be times when we get on each others nerves right? But if they have the commitment to work through that that's love and God's plan. This is good and then we get to The Prodigal Son Luke 511 232 he represents hookup culture and party culture, right? And so he asks for his inheritance before his dad do you think about it but his dad loves him. It's like okay. There's all your money. It says in verse 13 the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into the far country and there he wasted his substance on righteous living righteous living was that mean let me see the party begin drunk is having sex with all kinds of different women. It's great. Right and Wally has his money all the women are like buddy friends are like you're so cool. But he blows through all of his money. I guess what happens now that he's broke now the women are interested in me anymore and all his guy friends are gone and he finds himself all alone eating the pigs and then he realizes you know, maybe this pursuing happiness above everything else. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea and he starts to think about it. He starts to repent and realize that he'd walked away from his father who loves him, right? And he wants to go back to his father, but he did he feels so condemned that he feels like he did the best he can do is ask his father if he'll take him back as a servant like he no longer deserves to be his son until he goes back. But before he can even get to his father his father season runs down the road doesn't even he can't even get the words out. I'm sorry wraps him in his arms kisses and tell them he loves him and welcome him back as his son. You know, I love telling that that's so awesome. But there's two things we can get out of that. Don't forget the first part to the first part is when you pursue happiness Above All Else sooner or later you can eat with the pigs and Satan selling your happiness happiness happiness. He's a liar and sooner or later. There's going to be a bill to pay but when it comes to do your heavenly father, this is the second he never stopped loving you. You're the one who left him not the other way around and he's just waiting for you to come to your senses and come back and if you're currently struggling with sexual immorality, I want to encourage you I don't care how far down the road you gone or how bad you think you are if you got is just he just wants to come to your senses knowing that this is not good for you. He wants you to turn from it and come back to him. And if you'll do that he wants to Lavish his grace and his Mercy is forgiveness in his love on you. now you may say why I like that all sounds great. But you don't understand. I have such a pattern of behavior in my life of sexual immorality that the current is so strong that I can't come out of it right? I just want to I'm not up here to throw rocks today. I'm up here to throw encouragement. I want to encourage you that you do not have to remain a slave to your son and I want to give you some practical tips that I hope or encouragement and hope were helpful. Number one trust that God is smarter than you and he's looking out for your best interest. the earlier the sermon gave a whole bunch of practical reasons why having sex after the bounds of marriage can be problematic and bad, but even if you dismiss all of that

He's not an idiot God. He's smarter than you and he loves you. Jesus died on the cross. There's no doubt. He loves you and he's smarter than you. So we need to start learning to trust God, even if we don't totally understand just trust him, right? That's the first tip second. It's not us not going to be enough. You need to actively form a battle plan. I'm just giving you from my own perspective and how how this works out for me is right. I should just I'll just stop and you're passive about it. Things are going to change right you need if you're in such a position that you've created such a pattern of sin in your life. You need an accountability partner. You need somebody who's going to ask you questions and keep you accountable. Now men will do different things and women will do different things in the situation. But for me, my wife Colleen was my best friend. And so I had hidden all this from her she didn't know about any of it and you can say all she did not know she didn't I had stuff locked up in a safe. She had no idea I was in it and so it was embarrassing to bring this out to her and admit that I'm struggling with sin in this area, right but that's to say I'm weak in this area. I need your help. Right. And so I asked her to be my calendar partner to ask me questions once a week. How am I doing and I need to be honest. That was my role. I need to be honest and then knowing that was coming. I had I knew that was coming. Right that was helpful. But also we had a home computer younger people want to stand this but there used to be desktops and you didn't just take your laptop everywhere, but I had a desktop at work in a different desktop at home and sew at home. I'm at home computer. I asked her to put a password on my computer and if I want to get on and log on to ESPN and find out what happened in the game last night, she had to log me on submitted myself to her as my accountability partner, right and if she left I logged out. Well, it can't all the responsibilities can all fall on your accountability partner you have to take responsibility to it so I knew when I knew where all the adult book stores were and so if I was going to drive somewhere I was like, okay, I will probably wind up going by that sign that's going to get my mind racing. I don't want that. I would deliberately recalculate my route. Add 10 minutes to my route to make sure I didn't do that. Right if a beautiful woman walking down the street scantily clad and by the way that happens, right and I see her and I said, wow, she's really pretty I didn't send but I know if I keep my mind on her and start lusting after her that is send my guys called me not to do that. And so my eyes will immediately go to the other side of the road on that tree a car. I wonder what year that car is or I'll be thinking about boring baseball statistics or whatever. It takes to D circuit my mind. My spirit is going to control my flesh and I'm going to be obedient and I'm not going to allow myself to go through with those thoughts. Right who else is all that's impossible. If not impossible. It is possible to do it, right? And then I will go out to lunch with groups of men and women and then the next thing you know, all the everybody's bailing out and it's down to me and one other woman right while my wife's at home. Well, guess what even if I didn't have a conflict I'm out. I'm not going to put her in that position and I'm not going to put me in that position. I'm out why you have to have some strategies here. If you're currently on married and you're having sex with somebody that you really love and you think they're awesome, you can't imagine spending the rest of your life without them then what are you waiting for? Go get married, right and until then stop having sex and set your wedding day by the way might make give you some incentive to move the person yet. You're not sure this is the person for you. What are you doing? You're in a risky situation even more reason to stop having sex right? It's just a practical things. But also the last one on these tips is understand that sex is not the ultimate in this life Jesus's Our society has raised sex up to such a level that it's at like god-like status. That were worshipping at the altar of sex. Hey, I was married for twenty-six years, right. The culture will act like if you said if you suggested maybe people need to not have sex and be abstinent. It's like asking somebody take a chainsaw and cut their arm off. That's the way the culture. I'm sorry, but it is not to that level. You got sex out of bounds if you think that way right my wife died in 2016. She's been gone for seven years. I have zero sexual Outlet of any type I'm single abstinent and happy. I enjoy life. I'm going through life with Jesus. He's walking beside me life is good. Now I'm not saying that there's not problems occasionally in life and things we have to do what I have promised to write, but that's not it. It's not that right. And so the last tip is to put sex in his proper perspective right and not be thinking like the world thinks of it.