Yesterday was our first ever relationship conference and it
was a tremendous blessing to me and I hope it was a blessing to
all who were there. It was a full day event, but
considering the theme of the message this Sunday, we can
actually think of it as an unofficial 1 1/2 day conference
because what has been prayed about concerning today, the
message that will be shared intersects with many of the
truths in the conversations that we did have yesterday.
And it does apply to each of us. Regardless of your relationship
status, I want to speak to you today about living in victory
over sexual sin. Living in victory over sexual
sin. And I want us to turn to 1st
Thessalonians chapter 4 in our Bibles and consider the 1st 8
verses of this chapter to see the mind of God concerning this.
Finally then brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus
that as you receive from us how you ought to walk and to please
God, just as you are doing, that, you do so more and more.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord
Jesus. For this is the will of God,
your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality,
that each of you know how to control his own body in holiness
and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do
not know God, that no one transgress and wrong his brother
in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger.
And all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly
warned you. For God has not called us for
impurity, but in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards
this, disregards not man, but God, who gives his Holy Spirit
to you. Lord, we ask that you fill our
hearts with holy love, love for you, love for the truth, love
for your precepts, your rules, your commands, your warnings.
And we pray, O God, that everything that would be shared
in the next few moments would be delivered in the wisdom of the
Holy Spirit, the love of the Holy Spirit, the power of the
Holy Spirit. We ask that hope would arise.
We pray that energy from heaven would be our portion, and that
we would know victory over this particular sin.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
These are pretty remarkable verses, but I think what makes
it even more astounding is when you and I consider the caliber
of Christians that Thessalonians were and the way that we can
discover that is by doing a brief survey of some of the
commendations that the apostle Paul makes to this particular
church. So hopefully you still have the
book of First Thessalonians there with you.
And look at chapter 1 and verse 8, Paul says in his
introduction. For not only has the word of the
Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and IKEA, but your
faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not
say anything. For they themselves report
concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and
how you turned to God from idols and serve the living and true
God. According to Paul's words, this
group of believers were widely known for their conversion.
There was something about their radical repentance and their
allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ that made them famous to
the neighboring Saints. And he commends them for this.
So inspiring was the response of of the gospel and to the gospel
that they were praised, they were recognized.
They were a means of encouragement to other bodies,
other churches, and we read earlier, we don't have to turn
to that. They received the gospel in much
affliction, but in this paradox away also with much joy.
And that affliction and joy caused them to turn away from
all these vain things and all these sinful practices and to
give themselves completely over to Jesus Christ.
So their example motivated others to stay the course.
And even if you look at the book of Acts and see the Jewish
opposition to Paul when he was in Thessalonica, you understand
that this cluster of believers must have known a great cost to
follow this Messiah. But there's more.
Look at chapter 2 and verse 13. Paul says, and we also thank God
constantly for this, that when you receive the word of God,
which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of
men, but as what it really is, the word of God which is at work
in you believers. So Paul praises them for another
thing. Now he highlights how this group
of Christians had a high regard for the word of God when they
were approached with the gospel, when they understood the the the
truths about who God was and what God has done for them.
They didn't, they didn't hear sermons as mere intellectual,
emotional or entertaining subject matter.
They upheld it for what it really was, the Word of God.
They trembled at it, they rejoiced in it, and when they
learned from it, they sought to apply it.
You can know a lot about a professing Christian based on
this one simple thing. How do they view the Bible?
That tells me almost everything I need to know about a person's
walk with Christ. And I say that because for Paul
to make this particular commendation says something very
special about this group of believers.
But there's even more. We read from verse 1 to 8 of
chapter 4, but look at verse 9 quickly.
And he says now concerning brotherly love, you have no need
for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught
by God to love one another. Wow.
You know, the Lord Jesus said many things about love in the
Gospels, and one of the most profound statements that he made
was in John 1335, that all people would know that you are
my disciples. Based on what premise?
Based on the fact of how you love one another.
The Thessalonians had that vibrant love, so much so that
Paul just mentions it, and he doesn't even expound on
practical ways to love because it's as though they've been
directly taught by God how to love the brethren.
The only thing he really adds in the following verses that they
do this more and more. OK, I bring this to your
attention to hopefully conclude with you that this is a
motivating, impressive group of believers.
So how strange is it, then, that to this church, Paul takes a
whole section in his letter to warn about sexual immorality?
That seems a little awkward, but it's not.
What actually seems uncomfortable, questionable is
deeply insightful. Because, you see, for Paul to
write to this church and to warn them about this particular sin
means that sexual immorality is a real danger to any church, for
any believer, for that matter. So this is telling.
This is sobering because the persistent and deceptive danger
of sexual transgression is so relevant that we learned that
Paul did not just mention it for the first time here in this
letter. Look back at chapter 4, verse 2
again, for you know what instructions we gave you through
the Lord Jesus. Scroll down to verse six that no
one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter because
the Lord is an avenger and all these things as we told you
beforehand and solemnly warned you.
So Paul is essentially saying here look, I know we've talked
about this before, but we got to talk about it again.
I know that I brought this before you in the past, but it's
good for you. It's essential that you be
reminded of these things. Here's what this means for us.
No matter the wonderful testimonies of salvation in this
place. No matter the high view of
Scripture, you may have as important as a Spirit LED love
for other Christians may be, what Paul has to say here
applies to every person sitting in this place, standing in this
place and where the Holy Spirit wants us to do.
What he beckons us to do is for all of us to lean in and to
humbly accept what he is saying in these verses and how we can
actually know to live in victory.
So what is it that the Lord wants us to know exactly?
Well, let's take it step by step, shall we?
Let's revisit verse one finally then, brothers, we ask and urge
you in the Lord Jesus, that as you receive from us how you
ought to walk in to please God, just as you are doing that, you
do so more and more. Listen, everybody lives their
life pleasing someone. You're either pleasing yourself,
your spouse, your children, your your friends.
You're living to please your spiritual leaders, perhaps your
employers. There isn't anybody who is not
living to please someone. But if you're born again, if
you've been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ, if you
are resting in His salvation work, then you have this new
found desire that your aim in life is to please God.
That is your holy ambition. That is the spirit energy that
motivates everything that you do.
I want to bring pleasure to my God.
I want to make Him happy. I want to bring the light to Him
and though this determination, this level of devotion is
becoming increasingly rare, it was true for this early church
and Paul already commended them for that.
How do we know that they were living to please God?
Because look back at verse 1. He says in the middle of it,
just as you were doing so, he says you receive from us how you
ought to walk and to please God just as you are doing so.
They were walking in this, but we see here that he follows it
up with something so crucial. Do it more and more.
You would think that if you were
to tell a believer or a church, Hey, you receive from us how you
ought to walk that please God and you're doing it that there's
nothing more to follow with that gleaning affirmation, but he
does follow it with go further. And what I think he means by
this, what it reveals is that this God word objective can
easily become static. That is not difficult for us to
push aside the pleasure of Christ in our ambitions in life.
And So what Paul's saying here by saying do so more and more is
you have a duty to protect this ambition.
You have to shield that. You have to be mindful of it.
You have to be conscious. You have to be, you have to be
calculated. Do so more and more because it
can dissipate at various phases of life and it can easily be
overlooked in certain areas of life, including how it governs
our sexuality. And that's why Paul from this
point forward wants to speak on that particular issue, because
there is a potential danger with this church that though they
were doing so much, though they had a wonderful history with
God, that some were disregarding how the pleasure of God governed
their impulses, their desires, their lusts, saying where do you
get that from? Go back to verse 8.
He says, therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not
man, but God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
So it's possible that there were some in this church who are
tempted to not take God's standard for sexuality
seriously, but there are some in there who are actually making up
the rules, their own rules regarding it.
So Paul wants to talk about it and so we move on.
In verse two he says what for you know what instructions we
gave you through the Lord Jesus, for this is the will of God,
your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality.
So you heard in verse one what the priority of the Christian is
after he has given his heart to the gospel to please God, not to
win his favor, but because you've been favored in the
gospel. But in the following verse, we
now know one of God's priorities, one of his strong,
his will really for your life. You know what it is your
sanctification. There's a lot of questions.
We even received some questions yesterday about the will of God.
How I know the will of God. What, what, what?
What's the recipe to discovering his step by step blueprint for
my life? And though there are answers for
that, this is important to grasp, that one thing you can be
certain of is that no matter where the Lord leads you, how He
leads you, what He permits, what He prevents, how He accelerates
when he delays, there is this one goal in mind.
And all of that, your holiness, that in every movement you make,
every plan that you might have, everything that you're seeking
God for, God has this goal through that, that you become
more sanctified. And that word sanctified is very
simple, simply means to be set apart unto something, and in
this case is to be set apart unto him, that your convictions
and your conduct becomes a court in accordance to his desires.
That's all it is. It's this conformity, the inner,
the outer, everything in between to his will and his good
pleasure. And he says this is the will of
God for you. And The thing is, when you bring
up holiness, I know that word has been abused in evangelical
circles in the past. And so some people feel uneasy
with a message that I'm about to present.
And some people might even be very tense right now.
We haven't really started yet, but hopefully this helps.
You have no reason to fear holiness.
Do you know why? Because what holiness is to your
spirit is what health is to your body.
I don't think there's anybody here who says they're afraid of
perfect health. Many people pay money sacrifice
time to have greater longevity in their physical state and
rightfully so. That's what holiness is to your
inner man I I want you to train yourself to view holiness in
that way. It is soundness for my spirit.
It's the vigor of my inner person.
It it's what will make me the the most clear and understanding
and hearing God and position me to be the most useful to God.
Holiness is good and I'm afraid that good hearted believers have
this strange understanding of holiness and they throw around
statements. Maybe you've said it, maybe
you've heard it. I certainly have heard it.
Things like God is not concerned with your happiness, but with
what your holiness, as though they're at odds with one
another. When people say things like
that, it proves to me that they don't really know what holiness
is about because holiness will lead to happiness.
Holiness is the means of knowing wholeness.
And so this is good. It's not scary, it's not
judgment. It's an invitation into the
state of your soul that will make you the most vibrant, the
most ready, most strong, most prepared.
And so this is what Paul wants to remind him of.
God is concerned about your holiness, and included in your
holiness is sexual immorality. What constitutes sexual
immorality? I don't need to get into
details, but here's a general summary.
Sexual morality is any sexual activity or intention outside of
a monogamous heterosexual marriage.
And these days you have to emphasize heterosexual It's any
activity, any intention. Because remember, Jesus even
talks about the meditations of the mind and what we do with our
looks. It doesn't necessarily need to
be an act, though it includes many acts.
It's any activity or intention outside of the confines of a
marriage between a man and a woman.
And as a messenger of Christ, the apostle Paul leaves no room
for managing sexual sinful impulses with mere moderation,
complete abstinence. So here's what that means, that
for those who are not yet married, you by the power of the
Holy Spirit will abstain from all sexual activity and
intentions until the Lord brings a spouse into your life.
And what that means for those who are married is that you are
to enjoy the gift of sex with the person that God has brought
into your life and exclusively with that person.
And I believe that Paul, even in writing this in his day,
anticipated rolling eyes, size of disbelief, maybe even some
criticisms, clever ones. So you know what he does.
Maybe you noticed it. But in those eight verses he
makes appeal after appeal to the authority of Jesus Christ.
Look back at verse one. We ask and urge you in the Lord
Jesus, verse 2. For you know what instructions
we gave you through the Lord Jesus, verse 3.
For this is the will of God, verse 7.
For God has not called us for impurity.
Verse 8 Whoever disregards this disregards not man, but God.
This is God's decree. This is his standard.
This is not coming from Paul's mind.
It's not coming from the preacher who's faithfully
preaching God's words, ideas. This is God, this is the Lord,
and to pursue anything that contradicts it means that we are
outside of His will. In fact, to engage in habitual,
unrepentant sexual immorality is an indication that you may not
be a part of his Kingdom at all. And if that troubles you, that's
a good sign. And if you are in disbelief that
I encourage you at your own time to look at First Corinthians 69
and 10, where Paul provides a catalogue of those who will not
inherit the Kingdom, and one of them is those who are sexually
immoral. But a true child of God,
however, who desires to be in the complete will of God, will
take heed to what Paul says here in verse 4.
Let's look at it again, that each of you know how to control
his own body in holiness and honor.
There are two very important things, imperative things, that
we have to draw from this number One, when Paul says this in
verse 4, he's showing that controlling our sexual impulses
is possible. The Bible doesn't tease us.
The Bible doesn't lie to us. The Bible doesn't provide
imaginary potential. He expects that believers can
know how to control their own bodies in holiness and honor.
So whether it be pornography or you flirting with a woman's
husband, you can by the power of God, abstain from all impurity.
And that's what else he says in verse four, he says that you
abstain, right? But in verse four, he says that
each of you, that each of you each read your Bible slowly,
that each of you, he doesn't leave anybody out.
He say, all right, for you, woman.
But you know, man, we have testosterone, we struggle.
So no, each of you, young and old, seasoned in Christ, fresh
in Christ, man or woman, that each of you know how to control,
which means that self-control is attainable and maintainable for
all of us. There should be resounding amens
hearing that truth. We're not left to these
seductions. We're not left to the power of
these afflictions and these allurements and enticements.
We're not helpless in the gospel.
There's hope. Which brings me to the second
point that although victory is possible, although that path has
been paid for us, we have to learn how to walk on it.
Go back to verse four, that each of you know how know how to
control his own body, Meaning it's not automatic, meaning it
requires some training. More specifically, there is some
kind of knowledge that I must acquire, then apply in order for
me to have access to this strong control.
So there's an invitation for us to learn because the thing that
you can break free from sexual habits without any strategy,
without any mindfulness, without doing warfare in your mind is
foolish. It's a recipe for perpetual
bondage. And here's where we have hope in
the remaining verses here, I believe that Paul beautifully
lays out motivations, insights that can enable each of us to
know victory over sexual sin, no matter what that sin is.
So I have three points here with these verses that remain, and
they're absolutely important, imperative for you to know and
then apply. Are you ready?
Number one, you must, you must know God experientially.
Look at verse 5. Not in the passion of lust like
the Gentiles who do not know God.
I'll tell you how most people interpret this verse.
They simply see it as a contrast between believers and how they
ought to conduct themselves, and unbelievers who are slaves to
their lusts. Look deeper.
What is Paul under score as the primary cause for those who are
in bondage to this particular sin?
They don't know God. So then now you have the right
to do this because it is consistent with the rest of the
Bible. Look at it from the positive
aspect. If not knowing God is what makes
Gentiles another word, a synonymous term for those who
don't believe in Christ in many contexts, if that shows that to
not know God means that these unbelievers are in bondage, then
knowing God must be the secret to being set free from these
bondages. And Paul is not speaking about
simple data. He's not talking about
information about God. He's not even talking about
believing in his existence. He's talking about a personal,
individual, experiential understanding of God, and the
moment you lose touch with the personal and experiential
element of your relationship with God, I can assure you that
cheap substitutes like sexual sin will become more alluring in
your life. How does that work?
It's quite simple. Please pay attention to this.
So many people miss this because they have reduced their
Christianity to just mere performance and just
disciplinary acts. A vibrant walk with God truly
satisfies that. When you regularly interact with
God through the means that He is provided, you will know sincere
gratification to the degree that it will subdue strong desires,
including that of sexual seduction.
That's how powerful satisfaction in God is in your victory over
sin. It's actually essential.
And whenever the attraction to an illegitimate or illicit
pleasure becomes real to me, more real to me than anything
else more real to me than my covenants with with people,
covenants with my spouse, my ministry.
When that desire pulls on you, you can know one thing about the
state of your soul even in that moment you have lost sight of
the beauty of God. Your your soul in that moment
has not been captivated by his glory.
There's an interesting verse that is so packed with meeting.
You can have a whole conference on Psalm 7325, whom I have I in
heaven, but you and there is nothing I desire on earth
besides you. Here's what that teaches me.
Because we we limit our pleasure in God to a future expectation
that once I'm clothed my resurrection body, I'll have the
capacity to enjoy God forever and ever and ever.
That's not what the psalmist said.
He does talk about heaven. Whom have I in heaven but you?
Heaven is not heaven without you, but he follows it with
this. And there is nothing I desire
not in heaven on earth besides you.
Evidently there's something that this God, the true God, can
offer me in this life that so satisfies me that any other
desire can't even compete with it, or else the Bible is not
telling the truth. There's something that God's can
so do in my soul that there is no rival.
So it's not just me. You know, I believe this.
And you know, checking all the theological boxes as a Christian
satisfaction, real satisfaction, to the point where it makes
everything else look cheap. That doesn't mean that you don't
know temptation, because as long as we're in this flesh,
Galatians 5 tells us there's this war between the Spirit and
the flesh. Yes, but you can know victory
and you will never know it until you know how to enjoy God.
If God is just a moral standard in your life, if God is just
some supervisor for your well-being and for your
children's thriving in society, you're missing the depths of the
power of the gospel. Who am I in heaven about you?
And there's nothing on earth I desire besides you.
This is my go to counsel all the time, all the time.
You can only go so far with security measures and cutting
things off in your life. If you want to know a real,
real, real investment to strengthen this area in your
life, you have to come before God.
And I actually even encourage people to pray like this.
And you need to begin to get desperate before God.
And here's how I'd encourage you to pray.
Lord, if you don't make yourself so real to me, and me so happy
in you, I'm not going to survive.
Pray like that. I'm not going to survive.
I will give in to the sin over and over and over again.
I know what the gospel is. I, I've told people the gospel.
I know many verses, I memorize them.
But I need you to satisfy my soul in you or else I am doomed.
You must know God experientially, see.
But what does that look like? Some things can be explained,
other things can only be experienced.
And all I can tell you is that it's there in the Bible that
there's all this language that denotes true joy, true tasting,
an anchoring that comes with a relationship with God.
And all I can tell you is that when you begin to pray like that
and approach the Bible in that way, the truths that God reveals
to you, how he manifests his presence in your life will
provide this source of joy. And with that joy, this ability
to pin down urges of the flesh. Why and how?
Because you're not willing this this experience with God, this
knowledge of God through the means that he's provided is so
good to you that you're not willing to throw it away for
something that you know is going to bite you back.
You must know God experientially and you must stay there and you
must understand that when my soul is pulled in that direction
or that direction or when this temptation is so real in that
moment, my inner person, the, the eyes of my heart have lost
sight of how glorious God is #2 You must you must keep in mind
the consequences of sexual sin. Let's look at verse six that no
one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter because
the Lord is an avenger and all these things as we told you
beforehand and solemnly warned you.
So Paul in his pastoral letter did not hold back from warning
the people about the consequences of sexual sin.
He did not refrain from using consequence as an incentive for
holiness. People throw around the word
legalism all the time. They don't even know what it
means anymore. Anything that is a command or is
a direction is legalism now. And as one preacher said it,
legalism to most people are things in the Bible they don't
like. Now Paul as a pastor looked at
his people with great love, with a throbbing love, and he warned
them, and he's warning them here.
He's warned him actually again and he's telling them, listen,
consequences are not the only incentive, but it is an
important one. And he he highlights horizontal
consequences as well as vertical ramifications.
And out of all of the potential gut wrenching horizontal
potential problems that can it can sue out of sexual sin, he
brings up one that is often not really considered.
Look at it again, that no one transgressed and wronged his
brother in this matter. The Spirit of God describes
sexual sin in this place as defrauding someone.
He sees it as taking advantage of a trusting relationship, as
stealing something that belongs to another.
And this applies both to married people and unmarried and married
people. Think about it.
For one to engage in premarital impurity strips that person's
future spouse of the purity of that union that is not yet
realized. You're wronging your brother in
this matter. And that's possible for people
who are not yet married. How much more for those who are
that to have an affair with someone who is married is a
violation of the prerogative in the exclusive right that belongs
to the spouses who are connected.
You are giving yourself some to something as someone that
belongs to someone else and vice versa.
So here's the overarching message that Paul is trying to
convey. Sexual sin in all its variety
does not only impact the parties that are involved.
There is almost always collateral damage.
It destroys trust. It shatters friendships, it
stains reputations, it severs fellowship, it breaks up
families, it devastates children, and it dismantles
ministries, among other things. And in case some may not be
convinced of the potential devastation that comes from
sexual sin, I want you to hear how Solomon puts it in his own
words. So meet me in the book of
Proverbs chapter 6 and look at verse 32 with me.
Proverbs 632 I'll wait for you. He who commits adultery lacks
sense. He who does it destroys himself.
He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be
wiped away. For jealousy makes a man
furious, and he will not spare. When he takes revenge.
He will accept no compensation. He will refuse though you
multiply gifts. You know what question I had
when I stumbled upon this passage?
How do we reconcile something like what we read in verse 33
where his disgrace will not be wiped away with all the
comforting promises of God's complete forgiveness like we
heard last week, which I hope liberated so many of us.
But then you come to this kind of passage, you go, I thought he
did wipe away everything. Now you come here and it says
they actually will never be wiped away.
Here's the distinction. Solomon is not speaking about
how God will regard our record of sin.
We are comforted in proverbs and beyond proverbs that the Lord
will never hold our scandal against us if we truly repent.
But that doesn't mean man won't. Man might.
And this is what he is describing the horizontal
possibilities and even talks about how jealousy makes a man
furious. He will not spare when he takes
revenge. Thankfully God in his mercy does
not count our sins that are repented of in eternity.
But man is not so merciful. There are people who have been
killed for stuff like this. We see it on the news, we watch
it on documentaries. The Bible is so accurate.
That being said, Paul teaches that the Lord is though he is
merciful. He is also ready to get directly
involved if we sin in this matter.
So now we go to the vertical ramifications.
So go back to First Thessalonians 4 and let's
complete the verse. In verse 6, he says that no one
may transgress or wrong his brother in this matter, but
that's not the end of the thought.
This is because the Lord is an avenger and all these things, as
we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.
What does that mean? Well, primarily means that the
Lord alone has the right to execute vengeance.
It is not your prerogative if you've been offended.
You cannot seek revenge for the harm that's been done to you or
to others, But because the Lord is a perfect judge, only He can.
And when someone sin sexually, we are warned that the Lord may
discipline us directly for it. We don't have the liberty to
determine how He will do that, but the ambiguity of it should
be enough to instill the fear of God in each of our hearts.
It's a case by case thing, and in His perfect sovereign will,
He knows what to do and when to do it.
He may afflict somebody physically for it.
He may expose the sin to humble that person.
He may withhold blessings because of it.
We're not here to try to determine the level of
punishment. All we are trying to understand,
and what Paul wants us to understand, is that just because
we have been saved by grace and that we've been sealed with the
Holy Spirit, and that yes, we have heaven as our home, does
not mean that we can't experience severe consequences
for sin, even sexual sin, especially sexual sin.
And so you have to keep in mind the consequences of sin.
Isn't it funny that when you and I are tempted, we never consider
the consequences of sin? You're only thinking about what
good you're going to get out of it.
If you want to get really good at doing spiritual warfare with
temptation, train yourself. Deposit in your heart, inform
your mind from experiences in your own life, but primarily
what you see in the Word of God of the damage that follows these
kind of pursuits, so that when that temptation arises, you'll
recognize it for what it is. You're a mirage and you're lying
to me right now. You're promising me a dump of
ecstasy, a fantasy, but in reality, you're poison.
You're here to destroy me. You're here to ruin my witness.
You're here to destroy my family, my ministry.
See it for what it is. Nobody goes into this kind of.
So nobody gets involved with any kind of habit thinking that this
will do this much damage. And so that's why Paul brings it
up. And again, I have to say
something. Notice again that he he says at
the end of verse 6, as we told you beforehand and solemnly
warned you, Paul, as an apostle, yes, but as a church planner, as
a pastor, you know what I want to get from this?
He regularly talked about sexual temptation with his church.
How much do we hear about sexual sin in churches today?
How much warning do we hear about?
Paul did it more than once with one congregation.
And so it's important for us to discuss this and to again have
holiness as our hope, not as this far reaching thing that can
never be attained. Which brings me to my Third
Point. If we want to know victory over
sexual sin, any kind of sexual sin, yes, you must know God
experientially. He must become sweet to you,
real to you. And if you seek God for it,
he'll give it #2 you have to keep in mind the consequences of
sin #3 you must rely on the power that God has provided you
to prevail. Let's look at verse 7 and 8.
For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
Therefore, He's wrapping it up. Whoever disregards this
disregards not man, but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you.
Think deeply. Meditate.
If you don't, you'll see verse 8 simply as just a wrap up
warning. Hey, if you disregard this,
you're disregarding God, not me. And then you'll move on with
this letter. But there's something tucked in
here. There's a promise and it is
packed with power. Who gives His Holy Spirit to
you? Did you see it?
So Paul is saying, do not, don't you dare disregard this teaching
about holiness. Why?
Because God is ready to supply you with the grace to experience
it, His Holy Spirit. Don't swat it away.
Don't get so caught up with your past.
Don't think about how you can ever even imagine the
possibility of being a perpetual purity.
Don't let yourself get there. God has supplied a power for you
to know it. It's not theoretical.
It's real power and has been granted to us through the
gospel. He can sanctify your sexual
appetites. He can strengthen your spiritual
muscles to wrestle and to win. When you're up at night and
everybody else is sleeping and there's this urge to pick up
that device, or when you go into that workplace and that woman is
giving you more attention to perhaps your spouse is in that
season, You can know a real force in your soul that helps
you move ahead and not get caught in a trap.
You were waiting for marriage and feel like you can't get out
of a cycle of sin with your significant other.
You can know it. You can know a purity in a way
you never thought was possible. May I remind you that this
church believes in the power of the gospel over the power of
sin. We're not here just celebrating
the fact that our penalty has been erased.
We're here regarding the fact that the power of sin can lose
its clutch because of the precious royal blood of Jesus
Christ. But you know what?
This is me. And maybe you're like me.
When I come to verses like this or promises indirect directly, I
don't want to just know the general promise.
I don't want to just memorize it.
I want to know the mechanics of it.
OK, if the Holy Spirit's been given to me, then what?
What do I do with that? Well, there are other places in
the Scriptures that give us wonderful guidance.
Go to the Epistle to the Galatians in chapter 5, and
we're concluding in these final verses.
I'm sure many of you know where I'm going in verse 16, but I say
walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the
flesh. OK, so we're a step closer, no
pun intended, walk by the Spirit.
I learned in verse eight of First Thessalonians 4 that the
Holy Spirit's been given to me. Great my go to Galatians.
Now I learned that if I walk by the Spirit, I not, may not, will
not gratify the desires of the flesh.
But I still got some questions. What does it mean to walk by the
Spirit? And I believe the ESP does a
wonderful job elaborating on this in the very same passage a
few verses down. So you're there in chapter 5.
Go to verse 25 if you have the ESV.
This will be especially helpful if we live by the Spirit.
Let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
OK, now I've seen where you're talking about Paul.
Walk by the Spirit and if we live by the Spirit in the
Spirit, then I'm going to keep in step with the Spirit.
Now going back to verse 16, to walk by the Spirit, if you look
at the original, the verb, there is a present continuous thing,
meaning it's a daily choice. You don't just Once Upon a time
walk by the Spirit. It's a thing that you do moment
by moment. And then when you go to verse
25, he says keep in step with him, keep in step with him.
The imagery there is one of motion mirroring motion, oneness
and motion, consistent motion. So I believe what this is saying
is remain dependent, remain near, remain under His guidance.
Wherever you go, whatever you do, you are to be conscious.
You are to be aware of His presence, of His near power.
You're supposed to take His word with you in your heart.
You're supposed to develop this reflex of an inner turning to
Him, seeking his grace, even spontaneously when you realize
you need it. But even as believers, this
rhythm is not immediately developed.
It's something that you have to adjust to, something that you
have to train yourself for. Now, I had a brother, you know
who you are, I'm not going to mention you by name, who asked a
wonderful question not too long ago about marriage.
And he asked me, brother, if you have one thing that you would
provide in terms of preparation for marriage, something that I
should expect that I may not be expecting, what would it be?
And what came to mind very swiftly was the word adjustment.
I said, brother, be prepared to adjust.
It's going to be a different way of life.
You're living under one roof with a person that you never
lived with before, who has a different history and
upbringing, who's done things differently.
So prepare to adjust. And every married person knows
this. Prepare to adjust in ways you
never thought you would have to adjust.
Now, what about the same may sound funny to you, but it's
true. One of the ways in which I had
to adjust after I got married was in how I walked.
Not spiritually, physically. What are you talking about?
Well, let me explain. Naturally, when I walk, I take
long strides. What if I'm when I'm with my
group of friends, I'm always ahead.
And that has been a great advantage to me whenever I'm
late for anything. But it's not helpful when you're
holding your wife's hand. Now you see where I'm getting
at, right? So once I got married, once this
person came into my life, the greatest gift apart from
salvation in this life, I did not automatically change in how
I walked. And so while I'm holding her
lovely hand and we're making our way somewhere, I had the
tendency to get ahead. And there was that gentle
squeeze. And I look back and there's that
reminder I don't walk as fast as you.
And So what happened? Well, thankfully for her
patience, it didn't change right away.
But I had to remind myself. I had to change my thinking.
I had to be mindful of her as I walk myself because I'm no
longer walking by myself. It's no different with the Holy
Spirit. So many when it comes to living
life in the Spirit think that means you just read your Bible
certain minutes in a day, say some prayers, get up and go
about your day and you fail to keep in step with the Spirit.
The Spirit filled life is not you waking up a little bit
earlier so that you started your day right though.
That's a wonderful starting point.
It's walking with him moment by moment.
It's including him wherever and whatever you do that looks like
you going to the gym and saying a brief prayer.
Lord, I know that I might see some things because people don't
live holy. And so I'm asking that you guard
my mind and my heart. Help me have a fruitful and
beneficial workout that might look like you going to work or
having an appointment somewhere. Lord, bestow wisdom, wisdom, I
need your mind. I need, I need your ability to
be able to not react to unfavorable news or situations.
Help me just just throwing those things out there as you keep in
step with him, being sensitive to his convictions, not ignoring
it, not not thinking that you can just move ahead without
inquiring, without waiting. It's this wonderful rhythm, but
it's not automatic. And let me tell you this, if you
know, if you grow, if you mature in keeping in step with the
Spirit, including a moment by moment, day by day, plan by
plan, it's much more difficult for the devil to knock you off
your feet with temptation because I've set the Lord always
before me, therefore I will not be easily shaken.
He's at my right hand. The same verse says keeping in
step with the Spirit, and it's possible to lose touch with
that, to get ahead, so to speak, saying what do you mean?
Well, look back in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 7, you were
running well, Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
In other words, you had that pace of walking in the Spirit,
walking by the Spirit, keeping yourself with the Spirit, but at
some point you got ahead. He began to do life
independently from him. It's there in chapter 3 as well.
Look at chapter 3, verse 3 of Galatians.
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit?
Are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Same idea you started with walking by the Spirit, keeping
in step by and with the Holy Spirit, and somewhere along the
way you begin to trust in yourself, became independent of
his influence. So let me remind you, keeping in
step with him is if I can use this, taking Him with you.
If you do that, you will know greater success in private and
in public. I thought about Joseph pre and
filling of the Holy Spirit pre knowledge of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, pre law, Mount Sinai actually, and yet this man was
able to overcome his managers consistent seduction.
Potiphar's wife. You think how is this young man?
We're told that he was handsome. How was he able to do it?
How did he not take advantage of his looks to satisfy these
desires? And he tells us, he rebukes the
woman, He says, how can I do this great evil against God?
You know what that tells me? That every day when Joseph went
to work, he brought an awareness of God with him every day.
Don't make drinking coffee in the morning a greater priority
than that. So when he was in that room
alone, you know what he believed?
I'm not alone in this room with this woman.
God is in this room. That changes everything.
You know when I'm alone in this room by myself, with access to
an endless menu of filth, I'm not by myself.
God is with me in this room. You know, somebody can give me
with a resource or a power tool, but it can remain in the box and
I can keep using my hand with a screwdriver and never access
that. You got to do something with
this resource. You got to unbox it, so to
speak. You may have a person in your
life, but you got to engage with that person to know the
privileges of that relationship. It's no different with the Holy
Spirit. You and I can know holiness, not
temporary holiness, not sporadic holiness, but real holiness
until we see him face to face. That's my desire for you.
Now, I'm aware that this subject, even being brought up,
has probably ripped open some scabs of personal wounds that
you've inflicted upon yourself or wounds that others have
inflicted upon you. The past is the past.
Remember last week's message. Let today be a new day.
His mercies are new every day, and so today can be a new
chapter. Today you can.
If you've never experienced God supernaturally, experientially,
today can mark the beginnings of a new depth with your walk with
God. If you've never taken seriously
the consequences of sin, don't believe the lie that just
because you evaded something in the past that there can't be
something that comes in the future if you continue in that
sin. And lastly, don't ever believe
the lie. Your hope, your cue doesn't come
from statistics. X amount of men in the church
struggle with sin, this particular sin.
OK, that's great. You did statistics.
I read my Bible. That's where I get my hope and
my news from. And my Bible tells me that if I
walk by the Spirit, I can live in victory over this sin.
Believe in that power. It's going to be an adjustment
though. Can God do something overnight?
Absolutely. But oh, this flesh is pretty
strong. And sometimes we can get ahead
of God. Often times we can get ahead of
God even after a message like this Monday can look very
different than how you feel today.
So it's going to be an effort. Lord, help me to pray without
ceasing. Lord, help me take this word.
Not just OK, I read my few verses today and just go about
and no Lord I'm going to put this here.
Help me enjoy Your Word. Help me put the word in here as
I go. Whatever free time I have, let
me just immerse myself. Keep in step with the Spirit.
He will guide you and if and when you stumble, He will
forgive you. Don't stay there, don't load
there. Get up and walk again with Him.
Let's pray. Well, we ask that even with a
somber message like this, that it would not be interpreted as
so, that we would realize the rays of hope that come with a
section of scripture that we've just interacted with.
We pray that there would be a special infusion of grace from
heaven, that there would be incredible testimonies following
this time of people who can say, I know what it's like to delight
in God more than anything else. I know what it's like to live in
the power of the Holy Spirit. I know what it's like to, in a
holy way, fear sin because I love my God more than my sin.
So, Lord, we pray for divine strategies for every person in
their situation. If there's any struggle in this
place, we pray that for those who are standing strong, that
they would take heed lest they fall, that we would always be on
guard, that we would be prepared, that we would never
allow ourselves to slip into complacency, but we would keep
in step with the Spirit. When things are going well, when
things are going wonderful, help us to still be dependent on you.
We ask that you break any bondage here, that you liberate
people from captivity, that the power of the gospel will be
known in the freedom of these shackles.
We trust that you're able to provide it.
And we want to even be able to sing now with joy as the
shackles fall from us. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen. Amen.
If the praise team can come. When we stand, let's worship the
Lord. My friends, this was good news
today. This is good news today.
Here's what the word of the Lord is.
You can be free and you can stay free.
This is not the Lord looking at you saying, oh, look at you
struggling and messing up. I have some surprises for you.
You just wait. That's not God's heart.
God's heart is, this is serious, but my love is serious, this is
serious, but my power is serious.
This may be serious, but you can know true freedom if you believe
it. Permit me to give you 2
anecdotes before we close. I heard of a very blessed
preacher. I heard him say this in his
sermon, that when he was a young minister, very effective in his
preaching. A lot of fruit people were
getting saved. The presence of God would
manifest when he spoke the word of God.
He was one day invited to a conference.
He was put in a hotel room by himself, and after one of the
meetings he was just sitting up there at the headboard, and he
turned on the TV and something inappropriate came on the
screen. He watched for a few seconds.
A rush of conviction came. He turned it off.
He threw the remote, put his shoes on.
In the middle of the night, he walked out into a field.
And he sensed the Lord speaking to him, not oddly, just in his
conscience. Son, if you keep this up, my
hand will not remain on your life in your ministry.
I will no longer bless your preaching.
I cannot have you indulging in something that grieves my heart
and bless your ministry at the same time.
And praise God, that minister heard the consequence of his
sin, heard the ramifications, the potential trouble, the loss
they would have if he continued in this path.
And he never looked back again. And he had an incredibly
fruitful, powerful ministry that touched the world.
Here's a personal story. I met with a young man after a
meeting. He came up to me.
They didn't preach on anything to do with this, but he
expressed one of his struggles, particularly in the sin, self
gratification, watching things that he shouldn't have watched.
And he asked me, do you have any counsel?
And I believe in precautions. I believe in what Jesus said.
If your right hand causes sin, cut it off.
If your right eye, pluck it out. I believe in preventative
measures, wise, simple, basic things that you got to do.
But I, I love to get quick to that point.
Listen, brother, your soul is hungry.
You're looking for satisfaction and you're, you're after cheap
substitutes. You got to diagnose yourself
honestly. And you need to get before God
and you need to ask God to satisfy you or else you will not
survive. I gave him a few verses, prayed
with him there, left the conversation at that.
A few months later I get a text and this is what I received.
Brother, it worked, it worked. I'm free.
I never knew that I can enjoy God like this.
I never knew that it could deliver me like this.
And I thought, yes, it does work because it's God's word now.
Maybe a fight, maybe you struggle, but you can't afford
to give in. You can't afford not to fight.
He's there with you if you fear him, He'll give you everything,
including victory over sexual sin.
Let's pray. We do.
Thank you for this day, Lord. We sense your grace.
We feel equipped even now as we fellowship.
May we fellowship with hearts that are full, believing that
you loved us so much that you have given us this warning.
You've reminded us of this. And so, Lord, we will not
disregard this, We will not disregard you, but we will
realize that you've given us your Holy Spirit, and you've
given us your people filled with the Holy Spirit to also help us.
So Lord, even at this place as a church, may purity reign, may we
respect boundaries. May we honor one another.
May we honor each other's spouses.
May we live in holiness. May we see even your wisdom in
the fact that you call us to call one another brothers and
sisters for a reason. So we pray that in this place we
would not excel merely in the Word and having testimonies of
transformation, Lord, that we would also excel in the will of
God, our sanctification and sexual purity.
We ask for that. Bless our fellowship, bless the
food that we are going to eat, and bless our lives as we try to
keep in step with Your Spirit. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.