1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,600 You guys can have a seat. My name is Eric, one of the 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,440 pastors here. Glad to be here with you guys 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:08,360 today. And we are in the book of 4 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,120 Matthew chapter 5 in the Sermon on the Mountain. 5 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:15,080 So if you have your Bibles, please grab a Bible, open up to 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,720 Matthew chapter 5. By the way, we have free Bibles 7 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,360 at the welcome table always. And so if you don't have one, 8 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,880 you want your own paper or hard hardcover. 9 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:27,120 And we have some nice ones out there as well. 10 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,080 For those who don't have a Bible, we'd love to give you one 11 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,640 free today so you can follow along. 12 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,920 But today we are in the famous Sermon on the Mount, as I've 13 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:44,160 said, and Jesus has got into some very difficult teachings, I 14 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:47,520 think. And as a church, we are a church 15 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:52,960 that does expository preaching, but also what what would be 16 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,840 called in Latin lectio continuum, which is verse by 17 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,920 verse, chapter by chapter, sequentially through the Bible. 18 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:02,560 We continue. And so we pick a book and we 19 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:08,360 make it all the way through. And in doing so, the, the, the 20 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,800 thought is, is that the Holy Spirit wrote these words down in 21 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:16,720 such a way that we're supposed to walk through this to, to hear 22 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:22,040 all that God has for us. Because if we don't do that, 23 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,920 then we'll jump around to the the easier to hear truths and 24 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,080 sometimes skip the harder to hear ones. 25 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,440 But we want to hear the whole counsel of God because that is 26 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,640 what God has for his people. That's how God does has designed 27 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:39,560 to purify his people on earth before he comes back his his 28 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,360 bride, the church, he wants to purify her. 29 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,360 And it's going to be through the washing of the water of the word 30 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,200 is what Ephesians 5 says. And so it's through the word 31 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,320 that we learn how to be more like Christ and we learn how to 32 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,640 fight our sin. And and so I want to challenge 33 00:01:55,640 --> 00:02:00,600 you as we make it through these, the 6th antithesis of Jesus, 34 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:05,600 which are we started last week where Jesus is kind of taking 35 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:10,880 some of the Old Testament 10 commandments and breaking them 36 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:15,920 down and even even expositing them or expounding on them more. 37 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:21,280 I would challenge you to keep coming back and and not miss 38 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,800 these on purpose because it may be too hard to hear. 39 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,120 In fact, we need, all of us need this today. 40 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,760 God has decided that today here in this room, he said, this is 41 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,120 what I want this people, all of us to hear and to know today. 42 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,520 So with that being said, we're going to look at Matthew chapter 43 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:46,360 5, verses 27 through 30, and I've entitled the sermon today, 44 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:51,480 Lust, inappropriate sexual desire. 45 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:54,520 Let's go ahead and read those verses Now. 46 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,560 It says you have heard that it was said you shall not commit 47 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:01,760 adultery. But I say to you that everyone 48 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,440 who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already 49 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:06,200 committed adultery with her in his heart. 50 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,400 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it 51 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:12,080 away. For it is better that you lose 52 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,680 one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into 53 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,480 hell. And if your right hand causes 54 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:20,560 you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. 55 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,280 For it is better that you you lose one of your members than 56 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,840 that your whole body go into hell. 57 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,560 Now, as I've kind of prefaced, these are some harder teachings 58 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:33,840 of Jesus and. A lot of. 59 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:38,200 Times when you're new to the faith or you think about Jesus 60 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,720 from maybe the world's perspective, You think Jesus is 61 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,280 the nice one and the Old Testament God is the mean one. 62 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:48,800 I've heard that before from non believers or people that don't. 63 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,080 Just. Quite understand the God of the 64 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,200 Bible, the triune godfather, son, Holy Spirit. 65 00:03:55,440 --> 00:04:00,360 But what's going on here is Jesus is really showing us he is 66 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:06,360 the God of the Bible, the one who the law came from out of his 67 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,320 heart, his moral commandments. That's what the 1010 68 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:14,720 commandments are his, his moral standards for not only in his 69 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:16,839 own nature, but for his creation. 70 00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:20,519 And it's it's, it's expected upon all of his creation to 71 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:23,440 follow after then God's standard here. 72 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,600 And Jesus is expounding on this because remember, the context is 73 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,240 the disciples that are following Jesus are Jewish. 74 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:36,200 And then the audience surrounding listening in on this 75 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:39,440 sermon are also Jewish people. Some would be some of the 76 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:41,720 Pharisees and the religious leaders of the day. 77 00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:46,760 And you had the Pharisees were the legalists who only looked at 78 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:52,920 their outward actions as kind of breaking the law. 79 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:57,480 They didn't think about internal thoughts or internal heart 80 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:03,600 motivations applied to these these laws that God had laid 81 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:05,720 out. And so they as Jesus walks 82 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,480 through these, it says, you've heard that it was said and then 83 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:14,120 he'll follow it up with but I say to you, so he's saying they 84 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:19,320 taught you this, but here's what I'm going to say that this means 85 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:23,400 there's more to it than what they actually revealed. 86 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:27,920 And so let's get into this. And my first point then? 87 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:36,800 Is this that adultery does not protect or respect the sanctity 88 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,400 of sex? So right there in that first 89 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,760 part of the passage, he says, you've heard that it was said 90 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:44,880 that you shall not commit adultery. 91 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:49,560 And So what he's doing is he's quoting the 7th commandment of 92 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,720 the 10 commandments, the law as I had already kind of laid out 93 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:55,680 there. And there really is nothing 94 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,160 wrong with that statement. At all. 95 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:04,440 It's actually in Exodus 20 verse 14 where Moses went up on the 96 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:10,160 mountain and God wrote with his own finger in stone tablets. 97 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,200 Here are my standards for the people, my people. 98 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:16,840 And the 7th. Commandment is you shall not 99 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:21,920 commit adultery. Now why is this a big deal to 100 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:23,920 God? Why is sex a big deal to God? 101 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:30,240 Well, God created sex. And it's meant to be used in an 102 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:35,040 appropriate relationship. So the point was that or the 103 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:39,240 title of our message was that it's in lust is an inappropriate 104 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,120 sexual desire. Well, adultery is the same thing 105 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:44,400 here. And and adultery then is an 106 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,720 inappropriate use of something God created. 107 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,040 It's a pollution of something God created. 108 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:54,960 Actually, the word adultery comes from the word to 109 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:59,120 adulterate. Which means to corrupt, debase 110 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:03,640 or make impure by the addition of a foreign or inferior 111 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:08,720 substance or elements. So just an illustration here if 112 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:10,120 you have. A glass of water. 113 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,280 It's. Hopefully a pure glass of water 114 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:17,560 and you you would drink that. But if you add just one drop of 115 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:21,960 Roundup or one drop of some kind of poison. 116 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,280 That's not meant for human use. This thing is now tainted. 117 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:31,360 It's impure, right? It has become corrupted and you 118 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:34,960 wouldn't drink that anymore. Well, that's the same thing. 119 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:41,480 When sex is something is taken out of context when when in the 120 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:48,720 application of what God created sex for, sex is meant only for a 121 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:52,000 man and woman in a covenant marriage relationship together. 122 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,960 And what is it is beautiful picture of God? 123 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,360 'S oneness and intimacy with his people. 124 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,880 There are several. Reasons why why he created sex 1 125 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:09,320 is for procreation, to have children so that we could 126 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:13,160 continue to multiply, take dominion of the earth as he 127 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,440 commanded in when he created man and woman. 128 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,320 But it also is an analogy or an illustration. 129 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:25,360 In fact, marriage itself is an illustration of God's commitment 130 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:29,680 to his people. So the nation of Israel was like 131 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:32,480 his bride, and God is the husband. 132 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,400 And in the New Testament the same language is used that 133 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:41,159 Christ is the the bridegroom, the husband, and the church is 134 00:08:41,159 --> 00:08:45,840 his bride. And so in the old. 135 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:47,480 Testament. One of the prophets. 136 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,880 Ezekiel 16/8. Uses. 137 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:54,320 Some language, some intimate language about God's love for 138 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,040 his people. It says this, When I passed by 139 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,360 you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, 140 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,480 and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered 141 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,600 your nakedness. I made my vow to you and entered 142 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:08,600 into a covenant with you, declares the Lord your God, and 143 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:13,800 you became mine. So in a sense, sex is meant to 144 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:18,800 consummate. A marriage and that's what when 145 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,080 God looks at his people, he looks at us as a a people he 146 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:29,280 loves so dearly and that he he wants an intimate relationship 147 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:37,000 with and a oneness with. And on top of that, not just our 148 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,680 relationship with God, but when you see when last week we looked 149 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:43,680 at that man and woman were created in the image of God. 150 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:49,880 And last week we looked at anger or to commit murder is to 151 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:54,680 devalue or disrespect the image of God, the image bearers of 152 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:57,280 God. To not preserve life is to 153 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,760 disrespect God himself and to sin against God. 154 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,840 Well, in that same passage with a little bit different look at 155 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:08,640 it, he created male and female in the image of God. 156 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,240 So not just one kind of being, but two. 157 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:18,720 And when he created male and female, the story goes is that 158 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:23,080 he created Adam and then out of Adam he pulled a rib out of his 159 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:26,720 side and made woman. So human beings were just one. 160 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:31,440 And now he makes 2 out of 1. And then what does he do when he 161 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,600 brings the first human beings back together in marriage? 162 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,720 He brings them back together and he says you shall. 163 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,640 A man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall 164 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,600 become. 1. Flesh. 165 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:49,120 Again, there's a Oneness. There's only one other being in 166 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:55,600 the universe that is plural and yet unified, right? 167 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:58,080 Three in one. That's Godfather, Son, Holy 168 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:01,040 Spirit. He created human beings to be 169 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:05,400 man and woman. 2IN1 flesh, right? 170 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:09,520 So you could say when God made us in his image, not only after 171 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,480 his moral attributes and his character and the ability to 172 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:18,200 create things and to have emotions, a mind and a will like 173 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:23,200 God does, he also created man and woman together in his image. 174 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,120 Now, I know that's kind of, you know, a little bit deep to think 175 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:30,560 about, but the illustration there is when the 2 become one 176 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:35,400 flesh, that's the consummating of the marriage, which involves 177 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:43,960 intimacy or sex. So then adultery is any sex 178 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,240 outside of that covenant relationship that God created. 179 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:53,360 It's a perversion, it is a corruption, it makes it impure, 180 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:58,160 and it disrespects God's design as image bearers, just like we 181 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:03,440 talked about last week in Jeremiah 3/6. 182 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:09,120 Again, there's another analogy of of when the nation of Israel 183 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:13,360 goes out and seeks other gods in idolatry. 184 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:16,160 And here's what he says. The Lord said to me in the days 185 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:19,840 of King Josiah, have you seen what she did, that faithless one 186 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,040 Israel, how she went up on every hill and under every green tree 187 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,640 and there played the whore. And then in verse 9, because she 188 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:30,480 took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing 189 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:36,600 adultery with stone and tree, meaning she gave herself over 190 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,240 the nation of Israel. The gods people gave themselves 191 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:43,320 over to worshipping, entering into covenant relationship, 192 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:49,120 consummating with these other made-up gods made out of stone 193 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:54,480 and tree. So adultery in its simplest 194 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:59,000 sense is cheating on a spouse or causing another to cheat on 195 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:03,400 theirs. But even in its context here, if 196 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:06,320 you think about the 10 commandments when Jesus goes 197 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:13,000 deeper on it with with a teaching, this encompasses not 198 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:19,040 just one specific kind of inappropriate relationship, but 199 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:23,400 all sex outside of marriage then has different names. 200 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,160 But this encompasses that in the 7th commandment. 201 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:32,520 So it it can be fornication or a swinger lifestyle, polyamory or 202 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:37,120 having an open marriage, sex before marriage, being 203 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:42,880 unmarried, transsexuality, homosexuality, pedophilia, rape, 204 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:46,720 polygamy, bestiality, prostitution. 205 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:53,760 Now, again, you know, going through these passages of 206 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,360 Scripture, I think This is why probably some churches are like, 207 00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:59,280 you can't talk about that. You're going to offend too many 208 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,160 people. Because you know what I hear 209 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:05,080 from people today when you bring up the topic of sex, it's like 210 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:08,280 you need to get with the times, pastor. 211 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,720 It's 3000 years later since those commandments were written 212 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,640 and the culture is different. The people are different. 213 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,840 And and so doesn't God just want people to be happy? 214 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,280 And if these actions or these relationships or these things 215 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:29,120 make them happy, isn't that just OK with God? 216 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:33,880 And the answer is no, the word of God has not changed and it 217 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:37,040 will not change. And its relevance is just as 218 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:40,600 relevant to 3000 years ago as it is today. 219 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:45,480 And sin is sin. The the the. 220 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:50,280 World is trying to get us to believe that God is shifting and 221 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:55,960 changing and morphing with with the people so that really 222 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:57,680 people. Become God, and then they 223 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:02,120 fashion their own God that fits their own morality and 224 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,920 standards, rather than trying to fit God's standards. 225 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:09,880 And here's the simple. Truth about this? 226 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:14,400 Is that if we could just keep sex inside of marriage alone? 227 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:19,400 You know as well as I know that we would have much fewer issues 228 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:21,200 in our world. Amen. 229 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:28,920 Because all of us, I can bet, have been affected by sexual 230 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:34,440 sin. All of us, whether it's being 231 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:38,120 abused by someone, whether it's ourselves. 232 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:42,600 Having so much shame because we've done something and haven't 233 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,960 found the Lord and haven't found forgiveness that we continue in 234 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:49,320 aspiring cycle of doing it over and over again. 235 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:56,400 Trying to to self medicate or because of unhealthy situations. 236 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:00,400 We we try to get love in all the wrong places. 237 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:04,920 We've all been affected by sexual sin. 238 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:10,960 And so This is why it's important to God. 239 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:13,320 It represents our relationship with him. 240 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:18,560 But he also knows that when used inappropriately, it can really 241 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:25,120 affect you and me badly. So going to his his first verse, 242 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,000 it says you've heard that it was said you shall not commit 243 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,680 adultery again. At first glance, there's nothing 244 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:34,520 wrong with this statement. But as I said, the Pharisees 245 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,120 have been teaching about this, and it's incomplete. 246 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,360 They thought they were living righteously because most of them 247 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:43,400 could say that they were following the letter of the law. 248 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,480 OK, I haven't, I haven't stepped out on my wife. 249 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:51,840 And that's all that this means. Black and white, as long as 250 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,800 everything looks good on the outside, what people can see 251 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:58,920 what's going on in my life. I haven't broken any laws. 252 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:03,520 There were 613 Old Testament laws and they tried to follow 253 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,400 them all. In fact, they tried to follow 254 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,160 their own laws they made-up to try to get them to not break 255 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,839 these laws and they would tick boxes basically, K haven't 256 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:15,040 broken that one, haven't broken that one, haven't broken that 257 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:16,240 one. And they walked around with 258 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:23,160 spiritual pride saying I'm not as bad as these other people, 259 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:27,359 therefore God, God favors me. In fact, listen to. 260 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:28,680 The. Prayer. 261 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:34,320 Of the Pharisee in the analogy that the illustration that Jesus 262 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:37,760 uses about the Pharisee in the tax collector and it says this 263 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,760 in Luke 1811, the Pharisee standing by himself prayed thus. 264 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:44,160 God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, extortioners, 265 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,880 unjust adulterers and even like this tax collector. 266 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:51,000 So he stands there with pride. We know the rest of the verse 267 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,520 says that the tax collector stood there and beat his chest 268 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:56,080 and said, forgive me Lord, for I am a Sinner. 269 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:02,320 I'm not even worthy to come in your presence, but the 270 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:06,320 Pharisees. Jesus said this in Matthew 2327. 271 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,520 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you 272 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,640 are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear 273 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:16,680 beautiful, but within our full of dead people's bones and all 274 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:18,840 uncleanness. And that's what it's like when a 275 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:22,200 person thinks. That they are right with God 276 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:24,880 because they're externally following. 277 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:32,160 Commandments in their most literal sense, but Jesus turns 278 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:36,200 this up on its head, and his purpose is to try to let 279 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:39,760 everybody know that all have sinned and fallen short of the 280 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,520 glory of God. And he's going to do a fuller 281 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:46,520 teaching on the 7th commandment. And my point about it is this, 282 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:52,920 that lust is an internal sin that has external and eternal 283 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:59,640 consequences. So it might not be visible on 284 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:00,720 the. Outside of a. 285 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:07,680 Person in the early stages, but it does have external 286 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:11,320 consequences and eternal consequences. 287 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,920 The definition of lust in its general use of the word is just 288 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,240 evil desire, and it can be used for other things other than just 289 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:24,160 inappropriate sexual desire. It can be used for covetousness 290 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,440 as well, like the Bible calls it, the lust of the eyes. 291 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:29,480 You know, you see things that you want out there. 292 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,200 You see what your neighbor has and you want it and you're 293 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:36,320 jealous and you're envious and and so a lust for evil, a 294 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:40,480 wanting for evil, but in this specific sense it is used. 295 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:47,320 As this intense and unbridled sexual desire, that's the lust 296 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:49,880 that we are talking about today. So let's see what Jesus has to 297 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:52,440 say in his fuller teaching on this commandment. 298 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,960 He says, but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman 299 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:01,840 with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in 300 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:06,640 his heart. So you see how it was narrow. 301 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,560 It was like, OK, only people who've cheated on their spouses 302 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:11,560 are in this and now Jesus saying no. 303 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:13,920 You're not going to get off that easy. 304 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:20,680 This is for everyone who has ever looked at another person 305 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:22,520 and. Thought evil thoughts. 306 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:27,240 And desires in their heart. You have broken the 7th 307 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:32,800 commandment. Now you might say, well. 308 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:35,560 That's that's a little harsh. Because in the Old Testament, 309 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:38,280 someone who was caught in adultery was actually stoned to 310 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:40,160 death. That was the capital punishment. 311 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:46,800 And so as I said. It's an internal sin with 312 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,560 external and eternal consequences. 313 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,280 Now the consequences might not be same the same on Earth. 314 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,480 But they are the. Same in heaven and that's what 315 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:04,640 Jesus is saying if you've sinned James, his brother James in 316 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:07,920 chapter 2 verse 10 says forever, keeps the whole law, but fails 317 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,440 in one point, has become guilty. Of all of it. 318 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:17,160 And so if you've even looked with lustful intent, you've 319 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:20,200 broken not just one law, but all of it. 320 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:21,520 I'm going to show you that in just a minute. 321 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:29,320 But So what is this look then? Because where does it become sin 322 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:33,440 versus just a look like where is the where is the line? 323 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,680 And I hope I can help you find that some of it's a conscience 324 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:41,720 issue, but let me help you with what Warren Weirsby says is that 325 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,560 the desire and the deed are not identical, but spiritually 326 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:49,240 speaking, their equivalent. The look that Jesus mentioned 327 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:55,040 was not a casual glance, but a constant stare with the purpose 328 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,320 of lusting. So it's not just a casual glance 329 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:07,280 looking at someone or something, but it's a looking with an 330 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,000 intent to. Feed off of it. 331 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:15,320 To continue to intake something to feed a internal thought or 332 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,040 desire that you have in your heart, that's when it becomes 333 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,960 lustful sin. And pornography is probably the 334 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:26,600 most obvious thing that we can all come to an agreement here is 335 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:34,320 certainly the sin of lust. And here's an interesting thing 336 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:36,680 I think we think, you know, pornography is probably a bad 337 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:38,280 thing, especially in America, right? 338 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:43,880 But no pornography is a world problem, a world problem. 339 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:50,080 In 2018 there was an Internet sample taken of kind of trying 340 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:51,880 to encompass. Just all all. 341 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:58,520 Internet youth and so a sample taken says this that 91% of men 342 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:03,680 and 60% of women access porn in the last 30 days. 343 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:11,480 That's a lot of people I heard just recently. 344 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:14,600 Yeah, well, maybe it's different in some areas of the world and 345 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:18,040 but I had just heard a story, you know, when we invaded Iraq 346 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:22,200 and took got into Saddam Hussein's kind of bunker and 347 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:28,400 took him, came to, you know, kind of make justice happen in 348 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:33,360 his quarters was found hordes and hordes of pornography. 349 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:37,400 And in the Middle East, the women are wearing, I mean, 350 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,160 basically from head to toe, they're covered and all you can 351 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,520 see is maybe their their eyes. And you would think because in 352 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,280 their culture it wouldn't be that bad. 353 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:51,440 But no, I mean it's everywhere because this is a human problem. 354 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:56,760 Again this. Isn't just some people now, now, 355 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:01,240 I'm not going to get into the pot why the percentage is higher 356 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:05,080 in men than it is in women. There's a lot of. 357 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:10,000 You know, kind of I could spectate on that or have some 358 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,240 different opinions, but it's in both men and women and that's 359 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:16,320 the point and that's out there in the world, but. 360 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:17,200 OK, you say. Well. 361 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,240 What about in the church? What's it like in the church? 362 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:23,760 Because we're supposed to be different, right? 363 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,200 Jesus taught us these things and we're supposed to know that lust 364 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,840 is evil. While in the church, a study was 365 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:34,280 done. It says 68% of men struggle with 366 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:38,080 unwanted sexual behavior. That could include porn that can 367 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,160 include other things and 3030% of women so. 368 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:43,000 Why is this? Important to talk about and why 369 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,000 does the Holy Spirit want us to talk about this today? 370 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:47,400 Because it can't be skipped over. 371 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,560 Young people and old people alike need to hear. 372 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:58,800 About the sin of lust, because it's all-encompassing and I've 373 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:00,280 heard people say. Well, why is it? 374 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:02,800 Such a big deal to look at something in my mind. 375 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:05,280 I mean, I'm not hurting anyone, right? 376 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:11,320 And I say give me a break. Your spouse is going to find out 377 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:12,920 soon. The Bible says your sin will 378 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:16,960 find you out and she might want to divorce you. 379 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,800 He might want to divorce you. Your kids might stumble upon 380 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,240 your porn stash or find your search history. 381 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:26,400 It'll come out in all kinds of ways that you treat other people 382 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:32,520 as objects rather than respecting them as image bearers 383 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:36,000 of God, Daughters and sons of God. 384 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,280 You might spend all of your money and on top of that. 385 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,720 The biggest thing, the ultimate thing that Jesus is getting at 386 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:50,080 here is that you've offended God with your eyes and with your 387 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:56,920 thoughts and with your heart. Because what we lust after isn't 388 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:01,760 just a sin of lust, but it also becomes idolatry because when 389 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:05,600 we're lusting, we're thinking, oh, I want some of that right? 390 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:10,880 We're, we're breaking the first commandment now instead of being 391 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:15,800 happy with God's provision in our life, instead of being happy 392 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,200 with the, the situation that we have in our life that was 393 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:25,920 sovereignly put there by God, someone would say, I'm not happy 394 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,640 with my situation, God. So who am I married to or, or 395 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,840 whether I'm not married yet or not, or I'm not sure if the 396 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,800 person I'm dating is ready to be committed to. 397 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:39,680 And so instead of doing it your way, I'm going to do it my way. 398 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:45,840 Because either I'm God or my passion for sex is God. 399 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:51,120 Wanting to fulfill that desire that is deep within me is the 400 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:56,160 thing I worship more than you. And that is what idolatry is. 401 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,520 So we've broken the first commandment, the 7th 402 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:00,920 commandment, and the 10th commandment because the 403 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:03,160 covetousness that I've told you about as well. 404 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,240 Colossians 35 says put to death, therefore what is earthly in 405 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:14,080 you? Sexual immorality, impurity, 406 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:18,080 passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry. 407 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:22,640 So we need to do something about this. 408 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:24,880 And recently I I saw something in the news. 409 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:28,880 The Republican A few of the Republican Party have put 410 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:32,840 together a bill to make porn a federal crime. 411 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,680 And I'm, I'm thinking, I think to myself, would I vote for 412 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,400 that? Of course I would vote for that 413 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:44,720 because I mean, porn has destroyed so many people's 414 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:51,600 lives, has caused so many external consequences just in 415 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:56,880 this world, not a, you know, beyond it just being well. 416 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,960 The sin being more important, but eternally, but even 417 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,960 externally temporarily. All of us. 418 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:09,640 Including myself, have faced consequences because of sexual 419 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,920 sin out there in the world. And do I want to protect my 420 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:14,840 family? Do I want to protect my kids 421 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:17,200 from temptation? Yes. 422 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:23,160 But here's the thing. You can't just legislate all sin 423 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:29,000 to be gone either because as I said, it's all over the world. 424 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,200 And whether we, you know, covered ourselves from head to 425 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:37,160 toe so that nobody could see us or not, the lust is still there. 426 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:40,600 It's not because of anything external out there. 427 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:43,880 It's what's in here. It's what's in our hearts and 428 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,320 our minds. And while some things might 429 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:51,480 trigger it here and there, it really is birthed in the heart 430 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:56,200 internally. And by the way, this has been 431 00:28:56,200 --> 00:29:00,920 going on way before we ever had Internet TV, you know, 3000 432 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,240 years ago. I don't think they had magazines 433 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:05,600 or anything like that either, right? 434 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:10,120 And so, but one of the most famous people in the Bible that 435 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:15,400 is guilty of lust and then it turning to adultery is David 436 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:20,280 himself, King David. I'll just read one verse to you. 437 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,760 It says it happened late one afternoon when David arose from 438 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:25,800 his couch and was walking on the roof of the King's house that he 439 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:29,520 saw from the roof of a woman bathing and the woman was very 440 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:32,440 beautiful. So this started with that. 441 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,880 Look. We're talking about he saw a 442 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:38,920 woman saw that she was beautiful. 443 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:41,440 And I'm going to answer the question, is it OK to appreciate 444 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:43,880 beauty? But but let's just think about 445 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:47,160 this for a moment. It was birthed in his heart. 446 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,160 He already had it in his heart. And then when? 447 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:53,640 When opportunity presented itself. 448 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:59,800 He says she's beautiful, but he kept going in his mind and he 449 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,760 contrived this whole thing and he asked who is this woman? 450 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:08,760 He found out that they that she was married to Uriah and so that 451 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,040 should have stopped him, but that didn't stop him. 452 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:14,200 And So what does he do? He he says, well, send her over 453 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:16,000 here. And so they go get her. 454 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:20,920 They lay together, she becomes pregnant and then to try to 455 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,800 cover up the consequences. He says, well, let's pull your 456 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,320 husband out of battle, who's fighting for me by the way, and 457 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:31,640 says let's get him in here and we're we're going to see if 458 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:33,640 he'll. Go and lay with his wife while 459 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:35,520 he's on break. He wouldn't do that because he 460 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:38,720 had too much integrity because all of his fellow soldiers were 461 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,040 out at war. And so that fails. 462 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:48,360 So then David devises a plan, sends a note to the the captain 463 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:52,160 and says, hey, when when war gets heavy, pull back and leave 464 00:30:52,160 --> 00:31:00,640 Uriah there to get killed. And so lust turned into lying, 465 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,800 adultery, and then finally murder. 466 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:10,680 And the Lord was very displeased with David and he'll never 467 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:14,320 outlive this sin because it was written down for us. 3000. 468 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:17,760 Now all of our sins, thank God, are not written down on piece of 469 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:18,520 paper. Amen. 470 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,840 But David's was why I still believe I'm going to see him in 471 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:27,280 heaven because he's been forgiven by the Lord Jesus. 472 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,800 But it was written down for our instruction so that we could 473 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:36,720 learn from. Even a man as great as David 474 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:41,520 could fall like this. So we better watch out for lust. 475 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,760 The intent there was to take it further than just appreciating 476 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:51,960 attractivity. So is it OK for us to appreciate 477 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,040 beauty? Yes, it is. 478 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:59,120 God made men and women and things out there in the world 479 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:04,120 beautiful to look at. The image of God is beautiful. 480 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:07,880 And so it's OK to appreciate beauty? 481 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:11,040 Or what about trying to look attractive? 482 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:14,720 Yes, that is OK. Now this becomes a conscience 483 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:19,920 issue for some because I remember, you know, I was 484 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:21,880 discipling this guy. We were going to the gym 485 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:26,120 together and you know, he was, he was single at the time. 486 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:31,560 And, and one time at work, he, he, he made a comment and he was 487 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,920 like, I want to be a sex symbol, you know, and I, I said, that's 488 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:37,200 probably not the reason you should be working out, man. 489 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:41,520 I mean, like it's OK to look good, but it starts to become 490 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:47,440 wrong when I'm dressing like or, or even getting in shape with 491 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:52,120 the thought in my mind that I'm hoping somebody looks at me and 492 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:57,840 thinks of sexual desire. See, that's when it becomes the 493 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,880 the sin in the heart. So you have to. 494 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:02,400 Decide. I have to decide. 495 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:03,680 When we. Put on the. 496 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,960 Clothes that we wear every day or whatever, Is that a thought 497 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:09,560 that? Crosses my mind when I put this 498 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:13,240 on or when I'm at the gym or whatever it is. 499 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:20,040 It's not necessarily like, oh, if I do this, this, this could. 500 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:24,920 'Cause my brother or sister to stumble. 501 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:27,680 If it is the thought in your mind that that could be 502 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:32,160 possible, I would also love your neighbor as yourself and not try 503 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:35,000 to do that. But that turns into a conscience 504 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:40,920 issue again, because as I said before, the sin is internal. 505 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:44,960 You can't go blaming whatever comes up in your mind and your 506 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,240 heart on everybody else and what they look like and what they're 507 00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:51,840 wearing. It really comes from your own 508 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:55,560 evil heart. And so we've got to get our 509 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:58,600 hearts right if we're going to live in a world where not 510 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,360 everybody understands this type of stuff yet. 511 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:03,680 Some people haven't. Even preached about this to 512 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,280 them. A lot of people, most people 513 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:08,840 aren't even believers. Why would they follow a moral 514 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:11,800 code that they don't actually believe in, but yet we have to 515 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:14,920 live in this world but but not be of the world? 516 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:20,719 Hold yourself to the standard before you start holding 517 00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:25,719 everybody else to it again, AB Bruce writes. 518 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:28,320 The look is not casual but persistent. 519 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:31,920 The desire is not involuntary or momentary, but cherished. 520 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:36,840 All right, so the look of lust. That Jesus is talking about here 521 00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:40,120 when he says looks at a woman with lust. 522 00:34:40,159 --> 00:34:43,679 Again, it's intentional. It's not now I don't want to 523 00:34:43,679 --> 00:34:45,800 walk away. I'm like, oh man, like somebody 524 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,480 crossed my path and I looked for a split second. 525 00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:52,440 I'm going to hell. You know, that's not what I'm 526 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:58,240 trying to say here today because it's not an involuntary or 527 00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:01,200 momentary thing. It's when it starts to be 528 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:06,200 cherished in your heart. It's when you're going back and 529 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:10,000 you're looking at a person and you're saying in the right 530 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:16,200 circumstances. Or in another life, I would 531 00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:20,240 consummate my yes is on the table and in the right 532 00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:25,000 circumstances, possibly those circumstances might line up. 533 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:27,560 What are you going to do when the other person gives you that 534 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:31,120 look back? You got to be ready for this 535 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:37,160 because he says, look when you look at someone like that. 536 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:41,280 It's already adultery. You've already broken the law to 537 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:47,360 God, and it's in your heart as a possibility. 538 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:52,040 And the whole point here though is this, that lust is just as 539 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:56,400 bad as what we consider the worst of sins. 540 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,000 All of us are guilty of the sin of lust. 541 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:07,840 I can guarantee it, all of us in the room, including me, and that 542 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:10,000 makes us desperate for a solution. 543 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:14,400 We have a. Sickness in our hearts and in 544 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:20,400 our minds that needs a cure, and Jesus has come to be that 545 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:24,520 physician and to bring that cure, and we must be desperate 546 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:27,280 to hear from Him and to follow Him. 547 00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:30,200 And so let's. Get into my last point, which is 548 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:33,960 then this Desperate times call for desperate measures. 549 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:41,600 Now this is a quote actually kind of modified from a guy 550 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:44,920 named Hippocrates who some people call he's the father of 551 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:49,840 medicine. His quote was for extreme 552 00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:55,640 diseases, extreme methods of cure as to restriction are most 553 00:36:55,640 --> 00:37:00,400 suitable. So if we have a desperate 554 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:03,920 problem and it needs a desperate cure. 555 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:10,720 We should go to desperate methods of restriction and so 556 00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:13,720 let's look what Jesus has to say, he says. 557 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,080 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it 558 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:19,920 away, for it is better that you lose one of your members than 559 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:23,160 that your whole body be thrown into hell. 560 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:26,640 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw 561 00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:30,120 away, for it is better that you lose one of your members than 562 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:32,760 that your whole body go into hell. 563 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:38,520 So he's saying right there, if we just look at this at first 564 00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:42,680 glance, pull out your eye, cut off your hand. 565 00:37:42,720 --> 00:37:46,160 And then in Matthew 18, he uses the same illustration and he 566 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:48,120 says, and then cut off your foot. 567 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:54,920 And so is he saying then that we all need to become pirates like 568 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:58,320 Captain Hook. That could be the story of 569 00:37:58,320 --> 00:37:59,760 Captain Hook. I don't know. 570 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:03,520 You know, maybe there's a deeper story there where he was 571 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:05,480 struggling and he took this very literal. 572 00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:11,280 But what this is? Hyperbole. 573 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,720 He's not saying maim yourself. In fact, one of our early church 574 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:18,080 fathers named Origen because. Of this passage. 575 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:20,920 Took it so literal that he actually castrated himself 576 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:24,040 because he wanted to follow the Lord in a more faithful way. 577 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:27,000 And people have done that over over the centuries. 578 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:31,960 Again, because legalism creeping into the teachings of Jesus in 579 00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:37,600 Scripture. But what Jesus is really saying 580 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:42,400 here is that you must be extreme about getting rid of sin. 581 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:46,960 And as a committed Christian, we're not supposed to live like 582 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:51,760 the world, and we should so much try to live for him that we 583 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:55,880 would be willing to sacrifice normal human function and 584 00:38:55,880 --> 00:39:01,800 privileges so. I went through or have been in 585 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:04,680 addiction recovery, you know, for a long time did a lot of 586 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:07,960 addiction recovery ministry. And one of there was a lot of 587 00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:11,360 sayings, you know, that we would come up with in addiction 588 00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:15,280 recovery. And, and one of them was like, 589 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,360 you've got to change your playmates, your playgrounds and 590 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:22,480 your playthings if you want to stay clean and sober. 591 00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:27,280 Or in this case, you know if you want to beat the sin of of lust 592 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:30,640 or a sexual addiction. You've got to change who you 593 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:36,880 hang out with where you go and the types of things that you do 594 00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:41,760 or find entertainment in you. You got to change your life and 595 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:45,840 that's really the essence and message of of Jesus's sermon on 596 00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:50,560 the Mount anyway to his disciples is look like if you're 597 00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:53,840 going to follow me. This is what Kingdom minded 598 00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:56,240 people disciples. Look. 599 00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:58,240 Like and live like in the Kingdom. 600 00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:01,840 They're completely different than the legalists, and they're 601 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:06,240 completely different than the people who have no law or do not 602 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:13,440 follow God. And so if there's a place that 603 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:16,040 often triggers you, why do you keep going there? 604 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:17,040 There's a. A. 605 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:19,440 Thing that you do, why do you keep doing it? 606 00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:23,000 If, if, if you know, again, and, and there was a statement that 607 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,200 said, don't go to the Barber if you don't want a haircut. 608 00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:30,160 Like, why are you going to hang out at the Barber saying, Oh, 609 00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:32,120 I'm not here for a haircut. I'm just here to hang out. 610 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:33,920 I'm not going to partake. Right. 611 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:37,080 That was, that was an analogy for people who are trying to 612 00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:39,880 quit drinking, but they go hang out at the bar because that's 613 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:42,520 just what they've always done. Well, if you hang out at the 614 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:44,440 Barber long enough, you're eventually going to get a 615 00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:46,440 haircut. That's just what happens. 616 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:52,920 The same is true for the things that we do. 617 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:58,080 If we don't change the persons, places, and things in our lives 618 00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:02,800 as we follow Christ, then we're probably going to continue to 619 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:06,160 sin more. And our objective as Christians 620 00:41:06,600 --> 00:41:09,880 is not to follow the law. But we do want to, by the power 621 00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:13,960 of the Holy Spirit, sin less. We'll never be sinless, but we 622 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:17,640 do want to sin less to the glory of God. 623 00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:21,160 Here's what 1st Thessalonians 4 three says. 624 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:24,200 It says for this is the will of God, your sanctification. 625 00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:28,480 His will is that you would become more holier and holier 626 00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:32,480 throughout the years, days, months, week that you live. 627 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:36,400 And then it goes on that you abstain from sexual immorality, 628 00:41:36,720 --> 00:41:39,400 that each one of you know how to control his own body and 629 00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:41,880 holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the 630 00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:50,360 Gentiles who do not know God. We should live in righteousness. 631 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:56,840 I love what Job says in Job 31 verse one, as he's defending 632 00:41:56,840 --> 00:42:01,320 himself against his friends. You know about why all this bad 633 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:05,280 stuff is happening to him and and he says this, I have made a 634 00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:09,400 covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze out of 635 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:12,560 virgin? He's basically saying like I'm 636 00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:17,480 living in righteousness. Mike, the covenant I've made is 637 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:23,160 to keep my eyes fixed on the Lord and His law and what brings 638 00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:25,920 life from Him. And the same is true for us is 639 00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:29,280 that if we're in covenant with Jesus Christ, then the Bible 640 00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:32,960 says our eyes should be fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher 641 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:36,960 of our faith. We need to be looking to him, 642 00:42:37,120 --> 00:42:40,800 not scanning the world for all that our eyes can take in for 643 00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:44,520 some kind of evil desire because we have a hole in our heart and 644 00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:48,560 nothing can fill it, even though we keep filling it with more and 645 00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:50,200 more sin and more and more things. 646 00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:53,200 We eventually come to realize that this isn't helping me, it's 647 00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:57,200 only making more more sick. But what we need to do is take 648 00:42:57,200 --> 00:43:06,040 in Jesus Christ going back to our verse that says if, if, if 649 00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:07,920 your right eye causes you to sin. 650 00:43:08,840 --> 00:43:12,960 And that is not like a theoretical statement like if 651 00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:17,160 this happens, then do this. What he's actually saying is 652 00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:20,800 it's going to happen. It's. 653 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:24,520 Going to happen when your right eye causes you to sin. 654 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:27,600 Do this. Of course it's going to happen. 655 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:32,800 Of course your eyes, your hands, and your feet are going to cause 656 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:36,440 you to sin, Christian, I know that for a fact. 657 00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:38,960 You are not going to be able to live the rest of this life 658 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:43,320 sinless. So what are you going to do 659 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:46,520 about it? We've got to have a solution to 660 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:53,760 this sickness, an antidote for this problem. 661 00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:00,960 Even if we try really hard to escape the computers and phones 662 00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:04,080 and don't go out in public anymore, one day we're going to 663 00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:06,320 see something or someone because of our hearts. 664 00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:09,000 We will have inappropriate sexual desire that will make its 665 00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:12,400 way up and out of our hearts. That is going to happen. 666 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:18,800 But here's the solution. It's not in the text at first 667 00:44:18,800 --> 00:44:23,560 glance at least, but it's standing right there in the 668 00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:26,520 context. And it's Jesus Christ, the 669 00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:30,160 person and work of Jesus Christ. Think about it. 670 00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:32,680 This is the whole reason why he came. 671 00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:36,000 And he's preaching this sermon to them because what he's saying 672 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:40,200 is this, like you think you can follow me by following the law. 673 00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:43,440 And in verse 20, he reminded them, your righteousness 674 00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:46,760 exceeds, should exceed the Pharisees and the scribes or you 675 00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:48,360 won't answer the Kingdom of heaven. 676 00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:50,840 And for them, they're looking around and they're like, man, 677 00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:53,440 this is a hard teaching because those are the holiest people 678 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:56,880 we've ever seen. Like they're, they're the most 679 00:44:56,880 --> 00:44:59,040 righteous people that we actually know. 680 00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:03,360 And so this is hopeless. And even at the end of this 681 00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:09,840 chapter in, in in verse 48, it says, you therefore must be 682 00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:13,640 perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. 683 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:16,120 And you're thinking, what are we to do? 684 00:45:17,040 --> 00:45:18,960 I don't have enough self-control. 685 00:45:19,120 --> 00:45:22,880 I I've tried to do things in my life to put up boundaries and 686 00:45:22,880 --> 00:45:25,760 stuff, but I still slip and still fall sometimes. 687 00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:29,800 Where's the hope? Well, the hope is in Jesus 688 00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:35,040 Christ. Jesus is not coming to preach a 689 00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:38,120 new set of laws and standards for the people. 690 00:45:38,240 --> 00:45:47,200 He's expounding that the law of God is, is so holy that even the 691 00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:50,160 most religious people 2000 years ago didn't get it. 692 00:45:50,160 --> 00:45:53,720 So God himself had to come down and say, look, it's not just 693 00:45:53,760 --> 00:45:56,880 external, it's internal. It's in your heart. 694 00:45:56,880 --> 00:46:01,280 And all humans because of the fall of sin are totally and 695 00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:05,080 utterly depraved. And so why I've come here, it's 696 00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:09,120 to be an example for you. But ultimately to die for you to 697 00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:13,520 take your place, because when it says you must be perfect or your 698 00:46:13,520 --> 00:46:17,600 righteous succeed the Pharisees, there's only one person that 699 00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:22,960 that actually applies to, and that's Jesus Christ himself, the 700 00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:28,000 God who became man, who walked this earth a sinless life and 701 00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:31,600 became the sacrifice for our sins. 702 00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:35,840 And on the cross, all of our sins, all of the internal 703 00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:39,280 thoughts, all of the things that we've done to other people, the 704 00:46:39,280 --> 00:46:43,720 wrong things, the evil things, even the little things that we 705 00:46:43,720 --> 00:46:49,120 think when Jesus was nailed on that cross, all of those sins 706 00:46:49,120 --> 00:46:54,280 were applied to Him. And when that perfect blood of 707 00:46:54,280 --> 00:47:00,160 Jesus was spilt running down the cross, He knew that all of His 708 00:47:00,160 --> 00:47:04,400 righteousness was going to be exchanged at His death to all 709 00:47:04,400 --> 00:47:09,400 sinners who put their faith and trust alone in Jesus Christ. 710 00:47:09,400 --> 00:47:15,200 And He is our only hope. We are going to fall. 711 00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:18,840 We can become more holier in this life. 712 00:47:19,440 --> 00:47:24,080 But ultimately, we rely on Jesus Christ alone to be right with 713 00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:26,760 God to make it into the Kingdom of heaven. 714 00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:32,160 But when you do put your faith and trust in Jesus, you do have 715 00:47:32,160 --> 00:47:35,720 a lot more power than you ever had before to now start fighting 716 00:47:35,720 --> 00:47:38,200 the sin that you've struggled with your whole life. 717 00:47:38,200 --> 00:47:40,840 You have the Holy Spirit, God himself dwelling in you. 718 00:47:41,480 --> 00:47:45,360 You have a church family who will preach the hard text to you 719 00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:47,160 and walk through scripture with you. 720 00:47:47,280 --> 00:47:50,600 You've got groups of people that will do discipleship with you 721 00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:55,960 and sanctification. That is His will for your life 722 00:47:56,080 --> 00:47:59,800 will be worked out. I can guarantee that because 723 00:47:59,800 --> 00:48:03,640 He's the one doing it. So I'm going to close with this 724 00:48:06,080 --> 00:48:08,800 for those of you who've already made a mess of your life. 725 00:48:10,080 --> 00:48:11,880 But have now experienced some restoration. 726 00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:14,760 Praise God. I know that's me. 727 00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:19,600 I mean, say praise God because he has forgiven us. 728 00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:22,720 He's changed us. He's taken some of the most evil 729 00:48:22,720 --> 00:48:27,960 people and turned them around to become people of his own 730 00:48:27,960 --> 00:48:32,080 possession. The greatest of sinners. 731 00:48:32,080 --> 00:48:34,320 Paul himself, he said I was the chief of sinners. 732 00:48:34,560 --> 00:48:36,920 And now I'm being used by God's glory to go. 733 00:48:37,920 --> 00:48:41,200 Start and plant churches and the God used Him to write scripture. 734 00:48:41,320 --> 00:48:45,000 He changed David's heart. Even so, you and I have things 735 00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:48,360 in common with everybody in the Bible that God used. 736 00:48:49,560 --> 00:48:53,720 Praise God that we've made a mess of our lives, but He's come 737 00:48:53,720 --> 00:48:55,760 and cleaned us up. We don't need to feel 738 00:48:55,760 --> 00:48:59,840 condemnation anymore. Those of you who are 739 00:48:59,840 --> 00:49:05,440 inappropriate in inappropriate relationships right now or are 740 00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:11,680 in the middle of struggling with sexual sin, come to Jesus, find 741 00:49:12,880 --> 00:49:16,240 support from his church. If you're struggling and you 742 00:49:16,240 --> 00:49:19,280 just feel like, look, I'm trying to pray, I'm trying to read and 743 00:49:19,720 --> 00:49:21,280 and he's not saying anything to me. 744 00:49:21,280 --> 00:49:24,920 I'm not hearing anything like you need to be around God's 745 00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:27,640 people as well. But Jesus is the only one that 746 00:49:27,640 --> 00:49:30,040 can change. The problem that exists is in 747 00:49:30,040 --> 00:49:33,680 your heart. You need a heart transplant and 748 00:49:33,680 --> 00:49:35,600 only Jesus can do that. Come to Him. 749 00:49:35,720 --> 00:49:40,680 He will forgive you of your sin. So many people here have 750 00:49:40,840 --> 00:49:44,280 experienced the grace and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ 751 00:49:47,640 --> 00:49:50,480 and it was nailed to the cross with Him and we believe that and 752 00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:57,360 we hold on to that. He will forgive you and those of 753 00:49:57,360 --> 00:50:00,760 you who are close. To ruining everything with a bad 754 00:50:00,760 --> 00:50:03,240 decision for a moment of pleasure. 755 00:50:04,080 --> 00:50:06,840 Run away from your sin. Run. 756 00:50:07,320 --> 00:50:09,240 Do whatever you can to run from that. 757 00:50:09,240 --> 00:50:12,560 Tell somebody about that. Run to Jesus. 758 00:50:15,640 --> 00:50:22,520 Reconcile with whoever you need to reconcile with your spouse if 759 00:50:22,520 --> 00:50:25,840 there's a rift there. And things aren't healthy in the 760 00:50:25,840 --> 00:50:29,280 relationship and you guys don't have intimacy For these reasons. 761 00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:32,960 And I guess I would say that to those who are married then, and 762 00:50:32,960 --> 00:50:37,240 you're just going through the motions, start looking at sex as 763 00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:42,000 a way of worshipping God, as a picture of his, his glory and 764 00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:49,000 his blessings on his people. It's a beautiful thing that God 765 00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:53,240 can use a relationship to bring about healing and restoring and 766 00:50:53,240 --> 00:50:55,640 sanctification and marriage. Will do that I. 767 00:50:55,640 --> 00:50:58,760 Promise you you want to get holier and you're single. 768 00:50:58,800 --> 00:51:05,400 Get married because God will show you what it's like to love 769 00:51:05,400 --> 00:51:07,480 one another and put others before yourself. 770 00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:12,600 But don't expect things from your spouse and use scripture to 771 00:51:12,600 --> 00:51:19,960 say, hey, this is no, you serve your spouse and you pursue each 772 00:51:19,960 --> 00:51:22,800 other. God wants healthy marriages in 773 00:51:22,800 --> 00:51:27,520 his church and you'd experience the blessing, the full blessing 774 00:51:27,520 --> 00:51:30,480 of what marriage is in the picture of what it is. 775 00:51:31,400 --> 00:51:35,720 Young people do not get unequally yoked just to stop the 776 00:51:35,720 --> 00:51:38,080 burning passion. I know that you have the 777 00:51:38,080 --> 00:51:40,320 hormones running and everything and you're like, I got this 778 00:51:40,320 --> 00:51:43,600 desire and and I don't have time to wait. 779 00:51:45,320 --> 00:51:48,280 There's so many consequences that do come from not waiting. 780 00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:52,800 I promise you, just one burning passion moment can be a 781 00:51:52,800 --> 00:51:56,120 generation of people that are affected by that. 782 00:51:58,680 --> 00:52:01,520 Wait for someone who's waiting for Jesus. 783 00:52:02,040 --> 00:52:05,560 And if you've already sinned in that area, it's OK, you can find 784 00:52:05,760 --> 00:52:08,680 forgiveness in Jesus. And you not married yet, so you 785 00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:11,560 can stop and you can think about, hey, I need to start 786 00:52:11,760 --> 00:52:15,560 being more committed to Jesus and finding my pleasure in Jesus 787 00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:20,360 and then maybe I'll be healthy enough for a relationship one 788 00:52:20,360 --> 00:52:25,040 day. To the glory of God, let's pray. 789 00:52:27,200 --> 00:52:31,000 Father, thank you. Thank you for forgiving all of 790 00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:40,720 our sins. Thank you for sending Jesus as 791 00:52:40,720 --> 00:52:44,920 he was beaten, whipped and bruised and drugged naked to 792 00:52:44,920 --> 00:52:50,040 the. Cross for all of our. 793 00:52:50,240 --> 00:52:58,160 Sin forgive us, Lord, Father, help us. 794 00:52:58,480 --> 00:53:02,280 To honor you, help us to speak the truth to people who need to 795 00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:03,680 hear it. Help us to have the power to 796 00:53:03,680 --> 00:53:08,120 follow after Your will and sanctification, and help us walk 797 00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:11,720 by the Holy Spirit Lord, and bring people to yourself. 798 00:53:12,840 --> 00:53:14,400 I pray in Jesus name, Amen.