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god knows what you like he knows our
propensity
and he has compassion when we come home
come back home as quickly as possible
though your sins being startled
they shall be white as snow though they
be red like crimson
they shall be his wolf so whatever
inheritance whatever god
still wants to do for you to you through
you in you
don’t lose anymore jesus christ broke
the curse
so don’t ever talk about you being
cursed again if
you know jesus christ the curse the
consequence of the law
is broken the greatest miracle of all
is when you dip yourself in the blood of
jesus christ for the forgiveness of sins
and the gift of eternal life we have
become
a sex saturated society
tv music
smart devices
all give us access to and permission
for this particular
sin
it has become the drug of choice within
the culture
and as the culture has
devolved
increasing in that devolution of the
culture
has been promiscuity
gone crazy there used to be shame
associated with it guilt associated with
it
now it’s become like mcdonald’s
drive-through fun
or even worse yet 24-hour stop and go
and it is wreaking havoc in our world
unwanted and unplanned pregnancies
creating whole
industries that are supported by the
government to facilitate the abortions
of the children that are not wanted due
to the
sexual activity creating a response
even by the church to promote life
and not to abort but the high cost
involved in even doing that as a result
of the consequence of the sin
diseases have run rampant
stds are coming in all shapes and sizes
as the medical community has to amp up
to fight against the consequences
of the sexual free-for-all
that the culture has endorsed and that
far
too many within the culture even
christians have adopted
when we look at our own struggles when
we look at our own lives
we can see back
areas of disobedience in this area that
has cost us
there are many who can look back and say
with regret
i wish i hadn’t
there are many who’ve been used abused
and thrown away
when play time was over
sex was created by heaven not by
hollywood
it was god’s idea and god’s creation and
the bible says
and what he created was good
satan is an expert at taking what has
been created
by god for good and to turn it around
against us
for bad
in genesis chapter 6
he opens up the chapter with the world
having to be destroyed in the first
seven verses
because demons inhabited men who had
relations with women
giving birth to children and all manner
of wickedness
so the whole world had to be destroyed
so satan used
sex in order to get women pregnant in
order
for wickedness to spread so that god has
to now
send a flood and judge the whole world
because
it was viewed as irredeemable
international consequence
for rebellion in this area
and the problem with this particular
area
is it is the most natural area to sin
in because it is
birthed out of a natural god-given
desire it’s not
when you have to go out there and find
something
it’s the something is already there it’s
built
into our human makeup
so let’s start off with why it was
created
god created sex since it comes from
heaven not hollywood
to inaugurate and renew a covenant
a marriage covenant that’s why it was
created
so it was not merely for entertainment
it was a covenant that was entertaining
what the culture has done is remove the
covenant but want to maintain the
entertainment
and therefore a major purpose of it
the major purpose of it has been ripped
from the definition
of it
now paul gives an extended discussion of
this
in first corinthians chapter six and i
do want you to turn there because
he gives a theological understanding of
this area
that we need to take into account as we
move forward here today
we’re being somewhat didactic or
teaching today because
i want you to understand it i want us to
understand it so that we can
no matter where you’re starting from
begin to acclimate ourselves
in order to recover what god’s will will
allow in the consequences of our
rebellion here
he says in verse 9 of
chapter 6 of first corinthians or do you
not
know that the unrighteous will not
inherit the kingdom of god do not be
deceived
neither fornicators or adulterers or the
effeminate
or homosexuals or thieves or
covetousness or drunkards or revilers
or swindlers will inherit the kingdom of
god
he says this lifestyle
blocks you from inheriting the kingdom
of god now don’t misunderstand that
he doesn’t say it stops you from
entering the kingdom of god
you enter the kingdom of god based on
faith in the finished work of jesus
christ
but you inherit the kingdom of god that
is you accrue the benefits of the
kingdom of god
having to do with lifestyle
so while you may be on your way to
heaven heaven may not be on its way to
you
because when you adopt this lifestyle
he says that inheriting that is
receiving the benefits
of the kingdom do not accrue to you
he says in verse 14 such were some of
you that’s
that’s how that’s how you rolled in your
unsaved days
but you are washed and sanctified and
justified in the name of the lord jesus
christ that’s not who you are now
now it may be how you feel but that’s
not who you are
that we’ve been duped into thinking
it’s only natural
the desire is natural
the activity is not
he takes it deeper theologically
he says all things verse 12 are lawful
for me
but not all things are profitable
all things are lawful for me but i am
not mastered
by anything so whenever
anything in your christian life
my christian life our christian life
holds us hostage
it is spiritually illegal
says i will be mastered or controlled
by nothing including my passions
i have them but i’m not going to let
them rule me
he takes it deeper food is for the
stomach and the stomach
is for food but god will do away with
both of them
yet the body is not for immorality but
for the lord and the lord is for the
body
because corinthians had this problem
they had this problem
they had this sexual immorality problem
people had come out of that lifestyle
and now they were in church but that’s
what they knew that’s how they function
that’s how they rolled
and they had a they had a philosophy
their philosophy is
food is for the stomach and the stomach
is for food translation
you have an appetite when you have an
appetite and you’re hungry
you go eat because you got a stomach
your stomach is growling for food so you
go get the thing that’s
out there designed to satisfy what your
stomach is crying out for
in order for your stomach not to cry out
for it anymore because
food was made to satisfy the cry of the
stomach
because the body is crying out to be
relieved and to be
satisfied so just like the stomach cries
out for food and you satisfy the stomach
for food
when the body calls for sex then you go
start knocking boots that’s just
what you do they were saying that that
is the
natural expression of the desire
god intervenes into this discussion
and he says that is not correct
he says while food is for the stomach
and the stomach is for food he says
yet your body verse 13 is not for
immorality
but for the lord and the lord is for the
body
so your body is not for anything you
want to do with it
just because it’s your body and he
explains why
now god has not only raised the lord but
will also
raise us up through his power
in other words if god got jesus up from
the grave
he can get you up from the illegitimate
bed
because he’s in the resurrections so
since he’s in the resurrections just as
he got jesus up out of the grave
he can get you out of that yielding
to that legitimate passion that’s being
addressed in an illegitimate way he then
goes deeper do you not know
that your bodies are members of christ
shall i then take away
the members of christ and make them
members of a prostitute
may it never be or do you not know that
the one who joins himself to a
prostitute
is one body with her for he says and the
two
shall be one but the one who joins
himself to the lord
is one spirit with him
he says when you have sex you enter into
a union
you enter into a union
and you are now as a christian unified
with christ
so what wherever you go you take him
with you
[Music]
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kingdom
anytime anywhere fleeing morality verse
18 for every other sin
that a man commits is outside the body
but the immoral man sins against his own
body he says
that this sin is unlike any other sin
because of the unique internal damage it
does to the soul
what he says is this sin is unique
because
when you disconnect from it you take
some of your
soul with it
and it’s not hard to testify that that’s
what happens
in scenarios that paul
is describing he goes deeper
or do you not know that your body is a
temple of the holy spirit who is in you
whom you have from god and that you are
not your own
for you have been bought with a price
therefore glorify god with your body
you are not your own you have been
purchased
he makes an interesting statement he
says
your body is the temple of the living
god the temple of the house of worship
so whenever you have sex you have church
it was designed to be a worship
experience because he says it is a
temple
temple is a place of worship you are to
glorify god
he says with your temple
because it was designed for the
establishment of the and the renewal of
a covenant and so
he wants us to understand
the seriousness the depth
of this matter
so much and so that hebrews 13 4 says
fornicated and adulterers he will judge
therefore sex for the believer is not
merely a physical thing
nor is it merely an emotional thing
it becomes a spiritual thing
now we have a problem and the problem is
that there is the reality
of life there is this reality
that we’ve been through things we’ve
done
things we’ve looked at things been
entertained by things
we’ve denigrated ourselves into things
and
we pay the price for that
if stories were told across the room of
regrets of mistakes of sins of
disobedience of iniquity of
transgressions
of failures of whatever would be the
best word to describe the departure from
god
and its consequence economically
spiritually relationally
psychologically emotionally the
testimonies would be replete because
of all the different backgrounds and
experiences that are represented
in the room and so the question becomes
well what do we do now
how do we recover
how do we beat back whatever
consequences that god has allowed
to take place because his standard has
been
violated at whatever level and for
however long that violation has occurred
because of a situation that happened in
john 8.
the scribes bring a woman to jesus
while he’s teaching in the temple and
they say to him
teacher because you’re teaching jesus we
caught this woman in adultery in
the very act and when they
say what should we do jesus stooped down
the end of verse six and with his finger
began writing on the ground
but they kept pressing him what are we
going to do with her verse 7
jesus says he that is without sin cast
the first stone
but he stoops down again and he writes
again
they said the law of moses
said we should stone her
so they are thinking about the law and
talking about the law
and the divine standard is on their
minds for the test they’re doing
jesus deals kneels down and writes once
he that is without the sin
cast the first stone he kneels down and
writes a second time
so if you’re telling me you’ve never
been immoral if you’re telling me
you’ve never done this or that or the
other
throw the first stone you you you lead
the way
so i can be true to the law of moses but
i just want you to know
just so you know after you’ve thrown
your stone
and we call your number
just make sure you understand some rocks
are coming your way
and so jesus as only jesus could do
through the same law in their face
that they were throwing at him
it says that they begin to walk away
so now it’s just jesus and the woman
it’s just jesus and so they’re standing
there
and jesus straightening up says to her
in verse 10 woman
where are they did no one condemn you
where are the people at i don’t see them
well
nobody here throwing those stones
and she says
no one lord
now the scribes that call jesus teacher
she calls him lord
she affirms the uniqueness of jesus
christ
no one lord
my accusers are not here
and then jesus hits her with the mother
lode
short statement
but pregnant with theological truth
i do not condemn you either
go from now on sin no more
and i want me taking away your
condemnation
to be the motivation for you to go and
sin no more
the law says i’m going to hurt you
because
of what you’ve done god does not change
the law
the standard it’s still sin but what
grace does is shift the motivation
in other words i want you to respond to
me
out of the fact that what could have
happened
didn’t happen even when the lord
disciplines us the bible says
he disciplines us for whom the lord
loves he disciplines so even
consequences of discipline
come out of a heart of love he wants
the motivation for the transformation
to be the goodness he extends to you
even though you deserve stones
but what do you do if you already messed
up you already blown it you’re already
suffering the consequences
you’re hurting from it you’re
disappointed at it
but you’re saying like she said jesus
lord lord
lord i’m i recognize you and i want that
grace
and whatever the grace and the mercy
will allow
in terms of me moving forward since i
can’t change yesterday
wish i could if i could i would but i
can’t
but i’m here today and i want to go
different tomorrow
well most of us do this we send our
clothes to the cleaners when they get
dirty right
we shut our clothes to the cleaners
because they’re stained
so you take your clothes to the cleaners
and they begin their process
of cleaning it up you go back and you
pick up your clothes the next week you
know why you send your clothes to the
cause you want to wear them so you want
to wear them again so you want them
clean and pressed and
and you want to because you want to look
good in your clothes so you take them to
the
so what i’m trying to tell you is jesus
has a cleaning business
he’s got a cleaning business and he
knows you can’t get it clean like he can
get it clean
so he says if you will bring your dirt
to me
come unto me all ye that labor and a
heavy laden
and i will give you if you bring your
dirt to me
and you recognize who i am and what i
have to offer in fact
not only do you bring your clothes to me
but i got a pickup service
i will meet you because i want to get
rid of this dirt
and the reason why i want you to bring
your dirt to me
is cause i want to wear you and i want
to look good in you
and i want when you say i’m a believer
in jesus christ
i want you to be well dressed i want you
to be well
pressed i want you to look good so that
you can
show me off and if any folk from your
past
come up wanting to stone you cause they
remember what you used to be
and what you used to do and how you used
to act
you can show them the new jacket you can
show them the new pants
you can show them the new shirt you can
show them the new tie
they say yeah i used to be dirty but
i’ve been to the cleaners
and jesus christ has washed me white as
[Applause]
snow
[Music]
one of the great challenges of life is
our sexuality
we’ve been given it in our humanity
and god has given us parameters for the
exercising
of it when that fire leaves the
fireplace stuff starts to burn down
doesn’t it
our own lives our own guilt
our own relationships
because it’s a fire run wild it has left
the compartment that god has created for
it which is
of course marriage but i’ve got good
news for you today
god forgives
throughout the bible you see many sexual
failures
but you also see the forgiveness and
grace of god
healing those who have disobeyed him in
this area
the bible makes this a unique sin
because it’s a covenantal sin
and it affects you and your well-being
as well as
others who are affected by
immorality one of the great
things that god does in the bible
is that he sanctifies sex
he doesn’t make it a bad thing he
doesn’t make it a negative thing
he calls it a beautiful thing in fact
there’s a whole book that celebrates sex
song of solomon so god is not a gangster
he’s for it
he wants to promote it he just wants you
to have a high view of marriage for it
but when we have operated outside of it
and are bearing the consequences of it
and there are many
illustrations of that in the bible
he has a cleaning service he can clean
us up
he can wash us he can iron
so that we become spiritually pure again
and can go on with our lives having been
healed
of our moral failures so don’t give up
on yourself
or others who are getting right with god
because god knows how to show compassion
to the repentant
in this area
[Music]
[Applause]
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you