Living Morally Pure

Intro:

Isn’t it great to be in the presence of God. Again we have been in the awesome series: Disciple: Being and Making Followers of Jesus. We have talked about passionately pursuing Jesus, loving people extraordinarily, having a servants heart, submitting to God’s Word, and submitting to the Holy Spirit. This series has been challenging. Today won’t be an easy message. Please turn in your Bibles to Galatians 5:19-21.

The Alter

I want to take a moment and talk about the alter. Let me take you back 4 years ago. I was going on vacation. I didn’t know Krista yet. A friend of mine was going to take me to the Detroit Airport that afternoon. We went to his church that morning. At the end of service there was an alter call for people who needed salvation. I had salvation and was about to exit the sanctuary and couldn’t. I just couldn’t. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me to go get prayer. The message had been on commitment and devotion. So I decided I would go and get prayer to stay committed and devoted. I tell you that morning the man that prayed for me, whom I really only know as an acquaintance didn’t pray for what I asked. He began to pray for me, and he said he felt that God was saying that whatever plans I had been praying about, that I had the green light. Then he said that God had a wife and family for me.

So here’s the deal, God can minister to you in your seat I am confident in that. But what does it say about your relationship if you’re always having God come to you? When we choose to take that step of faith and follow Him, there comes a blessing that we might have missed if we hold back. I don’t know if I would be married today or pastoring here if I would have walked out of that sanctuary that day. I am confident that when I made those steps to the alter that God sealed my commitment and devotion that day and look at what God has done. I tell you this to encourage you to be courageous and to take that step of faith to the alter when you sense the Holy Spirit urging you.

That’s not even the message today, thats bonus material. So lets dig in. Galatians 5:19-21(NLT).

Galatians 5:19–21 NLT

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

I talked last week about when I was a teenager I was submitted to my flesh. I was into going to teen dance clubs, crossing the loop in Alma, I even went to church because there would be girls there. My flesh wanted, my flesh desired to have a relationship with a girl.

Now let me share with you what I didn’t share last week. When I went to youth group I was hoping to meet a girl, something great happened, amazing actually, changed my life forever, I meant Jesus. Even though I meant Jesus, I hadn’t fully surrendered yet. How many can relate to that. I was still surrendered to my flesh. I was still cruising the loop, going to dance clubs, and pretty much anything that might give me an opportunity to obtain a girlfriend. Since that was how I was living my life, I couldn’t live completely devoted to Jesus, I couldn’t passionately pursue Jesus, I kept making compromises. Enter alcohol and cigarettes. A girl I wanted to date was drinking and smoking, so Ryan began to drink and smoke. Weed wasn’t far off either, and then a vicodin and heroin would enter my life later as well. This is what not living a surrendered life to Christ can turn into or worse.

Can you relate to what I’m talking about. For the moment think back to your teenage years, if your a teen, now is the time to pay attention and learn something. If you are a teenager can you repeat after me, “I do not know it all, I can and will learn from my parents, God, and others.” Awesome now we have that out of the way make sure you stay engaged for the rest of the message. For the rest of us think back to our teenage years and the things you did. Now think of that one thing that if you told someone about today would cause you some embarrassment. We all have that 1 thing. I mean I was cruising loops and dancing at clubs, some of you probably think I was really foolish back then. So do you have at least one thing. Ok, see you can relate to what I’m talking about. Did that thing cause you to compromise? Pastor what do you mean compromise? I mean compromise what you knew was right and you traded it for what was wrong because it felt or seemed to be good. You know what I mean, you got that feeling in your gut that you were doing something wrong, that kind of compromise.

If all of us were to be completely honest right now I think each of us would say that we have had times in our lives when our morals went out the window.

Lured

The reality is all of us sin. We live in a culture that embraces sin. Everywhere we look we are enticed to sin. Billboards and commercials. Think about the last billboard or commercial you seen. Have you seen a beer commercial lately? There’s two parts to every commercial: the obvious and the hidden. The obvious part to a beer commercial is the product and its the best. But what about the hidden? Look at the picture of an advertisement. Everyone is happy. Look at the people, they’re attractive. They always put cool looking dudes in it and attractive ladies and everyone is happy. The hidden message is drink our beer and you can be a cool dude and get the homecoming queen. I don’t want to go after just beer. Every commercial does this. Toothpaste. Toothpaste seems innocent right? Again cool dude, beautiful girl. The first google result was a video Shakira, its not just sex appeal commercials use although most do use sex appeal, they use fame, money.

Sin has this wild ability to attract us by promising us sex appeal, fame, money, etc. It makes these promises, we buy in thinking this is going to be what I need to be happy, only to end up down the road miserable again.

Driven

Then we become driven by the sin. When I was addicted to heroin, I was absolutely driven by that substance. In the beginning I had a little bit of control. Only used it to party and have fun. But then my body began to build a tolerance and I had to use more and more. I became driven by it because of the tolerance. The same is with any sin we leave unchecked and don’t repent of. We become driven by it and tolerance makes it extremely difficult for individuals to recognize they have a sin problem, and if the person can’t recognize it they won’t turn to Jesus and repent.

Are you tracking with me, can you relate to what I’m saying? Good. It is impossible to live morally pure when you are living a life that has been lured and driven by sin.

Disciples

Disciples live morally pure lives. I love each person here, everyone that attends this church I consider family. I tell you that because what I am about to say might sound harsh. It’s not my intention to be harsh. I am compelled by God and the mission of this church to be honest and speak the truth to you. There are things that will not allow you to be a disciple if you refuse to allow God to help you remove them. And here’s the kicker we are all called to be disciples. We are all called to passionately pursue Jesus.

Let’s look at our text again.

Galatians 5:19–21 NLT

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

This is not a suggestion. The Bible is very clear here. If we continue to live lives that are filled with these intentional sins we will not inherit the Kingdom of God. And if we don’t have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God, that means we have an inheritance somewhere else. Hell is a real place. Real people end up in hell, if they choose to live a life apart from Christ. Disciples do not live lives intentionally committing sins. When a disciple observes one of these sins in his or her life that person goes to God and asks for forgiveness and repents. Meaning turns away and allows God to help.

Alter Time

Maybe your here this morning and in your heart you know that you really don’t have a relationship with Jesus. You might be saying to yourself I thought I had been living a morally pure life. I want you to know I have been in the place you are today. I’ve been in that place where I knew that today had to be the day I asked Jesus to come into my heart. That today I needed to surrender to Jesus. That today I was going to have to make changes in my life, and those changes were going to be hard. But I was willing to do it because the pain of staying the same was greater than the pain of change. If that relates in the least bit, let me encourage you. If that’s you Jesus is knocking on your door. He is passionately in love with you and desires to set you free. In a moment I want to pray with you.

For those of us that have been set free. If your here today and you know in your heart that there have been decisions in your life that don’t line up with being a disciple of Christ, today is your day. Jesus is extending his hand saying son or daughter come to me let me heal you and free you. Today is your day to free of that drop of the gut when you think about some of those things in Galatians.

Will you stand with me. I’m going to pray. If you feel that burning in you, that nudging to come forward to the alter please don’t hesitate come forward. If you want to just spend some time with Jesus kneel at the alter, if you want prayer please stand at the alter and someone will pray with. Today is your day, let today be the day you take that step towards God. Let’s pray.