Tsunami Warning

[0:00] My message just now is called Tidal Wave or Tsunami.! Friends, my message now is about the tidal wave or tsunami, if you like, of sin that threatens our world and us and our families.

[0:16] We should look out because the tsunami is coming. Right now it seems like there's a tidal wave, a flood tide of evil, a tsunami of sin and it's sweeping right across our sick society.

[0:30] We read in 1 Corinthians 6 verses 18 through 20, it reads, Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

[0:43] What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

[0:57] It's saying that our body belongs to God. As a Christian, as a believer, it's telling us, keep on running. Flee from sexual immorality. Run from it. Avoid it. Avoid sexual looseness like the plague.

[1:10] It's true that a tsunami of sin is sweeping our sick society and it's leaving behind it many ruined young people in its wake. It truly is a tidal wave of destruction. We know there's dirty movies, there's homosexuality, there's ever more perverse shows.

[1:28] Our society is fatally sick and this pleasure-driven world has lost its way. It's like there's no moral compass. We've lost our ability to be shocked. There's adultery, premarital sex, lesbianism, pornography at the local store, sick movies on TV, quick abortions, incest, child abuse, and the list goes on.

[1:49] It's like we're constantly bombarded with anti-God messages and shows where people just jump into bed together without any thought for commitment or faithfulness, let alone marriage, all the consequences.

[2:02] Our world says it's old-fashioned to wait for marriage. Well, truly, we're living in times of great danger. In one sexual encounter, it is possible to pick up as many as five separate diseases and there's no cure for HIV, AIDS.

[2:18] There's no cure for herpes or genital warts. The best way to avoid these diseases is to steer clear of sex outside marriage or you are at risk. And when the tidal wave hits, you need to find that place of safety.

[2:33] So, friends, take the safer path. We could think of that spiritually so. In other words, flee from danger. The safer path is to get away from temptation. It's dangerous to play around with matches. What may seem like innocent fun can lead to disaster.

[2:48] Have you ever noticed those large field tankers travelling down the highways and the sign on them says, Danger, contents are flammable. You don't go playing around with matches around the tankers because if you do, it could explode.

[3:02] But, friends, many are playing with matches around flammable relationships, flammable places, movies, TV shows, magazines. And we underestimate sometimes, I think, how strong and powerful and complex our sexual drives are.

[3:17] Don't mess with sin. Sex can be a blessing or it can be destructive. People who play around with sex outside of marriage risk the threat of sexually transmitted venereal diseases.

[3:29] And 20 of these diseases are not prevented by contraception. Many of them are actually incurable. Friends, God's way is safest. That's the point we're making here.

[3:39] God has created limits because he wants you to be safe. He wants to protect you. One out of three babies born in the USA is born without the benefit of married parents. And I'm sure it's the same in our own country.

[3:52] At times we see these things that these trends. Sin can lead to the trauma of an unwanted pregnancy. And no contraceptive is 100% foolproof. Only abstinence prevents pregnancy.

[4:04] Being born out of wedlock means a lifetime stigma and embarrassment to your child. An abortion is never an option as it is the murderous shedding of innocent blood. So when the tidal wave hits, you need to have the right advice to take the safer path.

[4:21] And secondly, take the better path. When a tsunami strikes, you need the right advice. You need to know and take action for your sake and for your family. Take the best path to escape the coming onslaught and be safely out of harm's way.

[4:36] Of course, we don't live in much threat of a physical tsunami here, but there is certainly a spiritual tsunami. How will we know the better path? How can we build stronger families in this kind of society?

[4:48] There is a better plan, a perfect plan, a better path. And we can make those wiser choices, godly choices, as we choose God's design for the home and his plan for living.

[4:59] God's instructions for life give us the very best pathway to tread. So don't settle for second best. Go for God's best. Do not disobey God's command. Do not damage your Christian testimony.

[5:11] Commit to God and to your husband or wife to refrain from any sexual activity until your wedding night. God gives us the very best advice, the right advice. In 1 Corinthians 6 verse 18 it says, Flee fornication.

[5:25] In other words, sexual immorality. Run from it. Honour God with your body. God created us and he knows what's best. God wants us to have what is healthiest and happiest without regrets or guilt.

[5:38] And what does God say? He says that sex belongs only in the marriage bed. Hebrews 13 verse 4 where it reads, Marriage is honourable in all and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

[5:54] So marriage should be honoured by all and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Abstain from sexual immorality.

[6:06] Do the will of God. Stay sanctified. Set apart pure, holy, untainted, unstained. Stay away from sin so far away that you are unstained.

[6:16] And don't play with fire. It's better to marry than to burn. We read in 1 Corinthians 7 verses 8 through 9, When it is time to marry, what makes a marriage and home strong?

[6:28] How can our marriage and home become strong? These are the things that matter. God's word says in Ecclesiastes 4 verse 12, A threefold cord is not quickly broken. Rope makers found that a cord of three strands was not so easily broken.

[6:44] And it's the same in a marriage. In marriage and the family, a three strand cord is the husband and the wife and God knitted together as a threefold cord.

[6:55] This sort of marriage is not easily broken. This sort of marriage can endure the trials of life's journey. If you are getting married, will your marriage be a three stranded cord?

[7:05] If you want a strong marriage and home, then you have to have the Lord Jesus at the center. Young men and women, what do you look for in a spouse? Perhaps it's good looks, money, manners, breeding, education.

[7:19] What is the most important thing that you want your spouse to have? Make it your priority to find another Christian, a fellow believer to be your spouse. In a three stranded marriage and family, the members worship and fellowship with other believers.

[7:34] So take the safer path, take the better path. And thirdly, take the higher path. When there's a tsunami on its way, they say head to the higher ground.

[7:44] There's safety there, where you're standing on the high ground. And it's like that spiritually so too. In Psalm 119 verse 9 it says, Friends, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?

[7:56] By taking heed thereto according to thy word. The right path is the higher path. It's a higher path than this world. It's the higher path of purity. It's God's path of being clean in body, mind and speech.

[8:10] Friends, when the tidal wave of deception hits, you need to take to the higher ground. In other words, obey God's word. Keep thyself pure. Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 5 verse 22.

[8:23] 1 Timothy 4 verse 12 he says to Timothy, Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

[8:37] It's about deciding to glorify God with your body, soul and spirit. And friends, the real question of life is not, Do I want this or would I enjoy this or do I need this?

[8:48] But will this honour God? That's the right path, the higher path. It means that God is the first consideration. Will it honour God for me to read this book?

[8:59] Will God be glorified if I date this person? Does reading this book dishonour the Lord? Will it reflect badly on the Lord if I wear this or that? Purity is about doing what honours God.

[9:13] And purity means living so that God is not dishonoured by your own personal choices. So friends, take that path that is higher. Walk in purity.

[9:23] You can, by his grace, break that cycle of addiction, shame and guilt. And purity is worth it because the pure in heart, it says, shall see God. They know him deeply, personally, intimately.

[9:36] And when we walk in purity, God is glorified and we are blessed. So God's will is that you live holy. Avoid sexual immorality. Control yourself. God did not call us to be impure but to live a holy life.

[9:49] So it says flee youthful lusts. Run from them. Don't hesitate. Don't linger. Find God's way of escape. In 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13.

[10:02] God's way of escape. And use it, the way of escape. And look away from temptation. Psalm 119 verse 37. The psalmist says, Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy way.

[10:17] In other words, turn my eyes away from worthless things. Take the higher path. Turn off the TV. Turn off the radio. Put down the book. Say no to the invitation. Don't listen to the joke.

[10:28] Don't pursue that dangerous relationship. Don't answer the email. Don't click on that link. Commit to purity and right living. To faithfulness and holiness. Commit to following God's command, no matter what.

[10:41] God invented sex, but not for people to sleep around and experiment with it. He meant it to be a very precious and special bond between a married man and wife. Sex outside the bonds of marriage is sin.

[10:54] God's word makes it clear that it is wrong. When you trust in Christ, He comes to live inside you. He is your constant companion. And wherever you go, He is with you because He has made His home inside you.

[11:07] So whenever you go out with someone, God is there with you. So set yourself boundaries. Just like there's boundaries set around the footy field. If you go over them, it means you're out of play and the game stops.

[11:19] It's the same in relationships. Set boundaries. Safe areas to stay within. If you cross these boundaries, warning bells should start to ring. As in a footy game, the players should stop the game until they're back within the touch lines.

[11:33] So friends, don't place yourself in temptation. Don't spend long periods of time alone together with someone you're not married to. Commit to chastity before marriage. Do not go out with a person until you're certain that this is the person God wants you to marry and you are ready to be engaged.

[11:51] Romans 13, 14 it says, But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. So take the safer path, the better path, the higher path, and also take the right company.

[12:07] Don't mix with the wrong crowd. We read in 1 Corinthians 15, 33, it says, Be not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good manners. In other words, bad company corrupts good morals.

[12:18] I think it would be true to also say, good company promotes good morals. So don't start running with the wrong crowd, not dressing properly, going to wild parties. Don't become friends with people who say it's okay to fool around.

[12:32] If you hang out with ungodly people, they'll influence you in harmful ways. Don't ever date an unsaved or unspiritual person. As we read in 2 Corinthians 6, 14, Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

[12:46] For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? Determine that you want God's best concerning marriage. Romans 12, verse 2 says, And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

[13:09] Another important point is that we can receive forgiveness. You might have heard some of the things I've been talking about and feel regret for something that you've not done. You might be hearing this and thinking that you have made a grave mistake and a sin in this area of relationships.

[13:28] I want to assure you today that you can receive forgiveness. God can forgive those who make mistakes in these areas. As the Lord Jesus said to the woman in John chapter 8, He says to her, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.

[13:44] People can struggle with guilt because of their past. But there is nothing that God cannot forgive or restore. Here's some good news here again in 1 John chapter 1, verses 8 through 9.

[13:55] It reads, John promises, So when the tsunami threatens you, make the right choices, spiritually so, in your life.