[0:00] If you turn with me to the book of 1 Thessalonians, chapter number 4, we're going to continue on in our study. We just came through chapter 3 that highlights so much of how we as believers grow in our walk with the Lord.
[0:13] Our faith needs to be strengthened. It needs to be brought in line with the faith as has been received through God's Word. We need those in our lives that will help us and disciple us and teach us and help fill those gaps in our faith.
[0:26] That's what we came through last week. Now this week we come to 1 Thessalonians, chapter number 4, and this passage is an incredibly important passage.
[0:38] Now I want to start actually in 1 Corinthians. Let's do this. Actually, hold your place there, but turn with me back to 1 Corinthians, chapter number 6, verse 19.
[0:50] This verse really hit me in a special way a couple years ago. In this chapter, when you get down to verse number 19, we're going to come back to this a little bit later on, so you're going to want to hold on, maybe put a little piece of paper in there to hold on to this passage.
[1:04] Let me read this verse to you, and then there was a phrase that just really hit my mind that helped me so much to think about how real this is. You all know what I'm talking about.
[1:15] Sometimes there's Bible verses you read many, many times, but then you get it. This one was one of those. Listen to this. 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?
[1:35] All right, I want to read that one more time, and I want you to really consider this. This verse is true. Do we believe the Bible is true? Okay. This verse is about you.
[1:49] Let me read it again. 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?
[2:02] Would you think about that for a second? Man, here's the phrase that just hit me one day, just like a ton of bricks. This body, this is a Holy Spirit temple, like this thing right here, this flesh and bones.
[2:16] That is a Holy Spirit temple. It is a dwelling place of God. When I got saved at 15 years old, the Holy Spirit took up residence right here.
[2:27] And every day since then, no matter where I've been, no matter where I've gone, He lives in me. And this verse is about you. If you're saved, your body, your flesh and bone, He lives in you.
[2:43] You are a Holy Spirit temple. Okay, I'll tell you how weird I am. All right. I love keeping a journal. And I've been doing this for a long time. I took a picture of myself that day, put it in my journal, and said, this is a picture of a Holy Spirit temple.
[2:55] Does that sound weird to say? That sounds very weird to say. But that is what this verse says. You, your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost.
[3:09] How incredible is that? That's a wonderful thing. And look at what it says in verse 20. And this is just kind of what, this is a passage that goes right along with where we are in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
[3:21] For you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. And that's where I got the title for this as I was thinking about it.
[3:35] And really, we need to add, be holy in body and spirit, because that's what the verse says. But believer, be holy in body. That's what 1 Thessalonians chapter number 4 is going to talk about. Now, as we get into this tonight, I want to make a few comments about this.
[3:49] I know that this is a bit of a sensitive, sometimes uncomfortable topic to talk about what we do with our bodies. Because 1 Thessalonians chapter number 4 is going to talk about sexual sin.
[4:01] And he's going to say that sexual sin has no place in the believer's life. And he speaks of it in terms of our vessel. We're going to look at that a little bit more. But he says, and our vessel is our bodies.
[4:14] These bodies that contain the Holy Spirit of God as believers. How do we use those? That's the question. How do we use those? And how should we use them in light of God's truth?
[4:28] And it's a sensitive, uncomfortable thing. Because honestly, it's just one of those things that we don't talk about that much in church. Right? We just don't. It's usually you're not expecting a Sunday school class.
[4:39] So like, okay, let's talk about this. But it's difficult because the messaging around what we do with our bodies and how we think about our bodies is a very confused thing in the world.
[4:51] It's also difficult because it is something that misuse of the body has so much shame attached to it.
[5:02] And there's stories and pasts that are brought up and it's just like you don't even want to think about it. Because it's something that's heavy.
[5:14] But we come to this passage because it's the next passage in 1 Thessalonians. We go from 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. And he says, listen, I've got to tell you about this.
[5:26] I've got to talk to you about how you use your body. So here's a couple things I hope for our study tonight. These are the things I've been praying for. I pray that as we look upon God's Word, we would be ready to receive what God has to say for us.
[5:40] No matter how difficult or uncomfortable or confronting it is. I'm praying that we would examine our lives and uproot wrong beliefs and wrong actions, wrong behaviors.
[5:52] I'm praying that God's Word would reinforce truth on this matter. One of the big things that stood out to me as I was studying this is how much of the goodness of God is shown in this passage and in related scriptures.
[6:06] Now that might seem like a little bit of a contradiction because it seems like a very intense, like, get rid of this, don't do this. You know, like old school, hardcore preaching of like, get your life right with God.
[6:17] But there's so much of God's goodness in this. And I hope to show that to you. And I'm praying that we would walk forward in reverence for God in this matter.
[6:27] So why don't we do this? Let's pray. And we're going to turn to 1 Thessalonians 4 and begin working through verses 1 through 8. Father, we come to you tonight. And God, I pray that you'd have your hand upon this time that we get to share together around your Word.
[6:39] That as we come to your Word, we'd be ready to receive. Lord, I pray we'd be ready to respond. Lord, I pray that we would examine our hearts, our beliefs, our behaviors.
[6:52] And God, I pray that you'd help us to see the goodness and grace of Jesus in this matter. Lord, thank you for your love for us. Thank you for showing your love for us. Thank you for loving people like us that certainly don't deserve your love.
[7:06] We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Would you read with me 1 Thessalonians chapter number 4? Let's turn back over there. 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 through 8. Look at these verses with me. It says this, Further more then, we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
[7:31] For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God, that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
[8:04] For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit.
[8:19] If you have your handout, let's start with this. Here's where this begins. Verses 1 and 2 talks about determining to walk in the way of Christ. Determine to walk in the way of Christ.
[8:31] Did you notice how that passage started off? He says, listen, because of all these things that we've told you about the love of God and how the love of God is to abound in your heart and is to establish our hearts in holiness.
[8:43] Listen, you're doing well, you have faith, you do love Jesus, but I want to encourage you to abound in this type of life. This honoring God, loving Jesus, walking in holiness type of life.
[8:58] Let's read 1 and 2 one more time. Furthermore then, we beseech you, brethren. This is urging. It's like, hey, listen, pay attention. I need you to get a hold of this. This matters.
[9:09] We urge you, we implore you, and exhort you, encouraging of like, encouraging this way of life by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us, how ye ought to walk in to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
[9:25] Did you notice what he says? You know what we taught you. You know the truth, right? Isn't that so much of the Christian life? You do know the truth.
[9:36] I think almost everyone in this room, you've been in church for more than 10 times. Let's say more than 100 times. We should do more than 1,000 times. Like, I mean, how many times have we heard the truth of God's word, preached, presented, taught, Bible studies, Sunday school, devotions, all of these things.
[9:56] You have the truth. And he says, listen, I want to encourage you. I want to urge you to keep walking and pleasing God. There's no place for apathy in our walk with God.
[10:07] There's no place for stopping at a level of spirituality or a level of holiness and saying, this is enough. There's no place for that. He says, you know how to walk and please God, and I want to urge you, abound in that walk that pleases God.
[10:23] And where does that walk start? It starts with faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. And that faith that we hold, it should infuse and transform every single part of our lives.
[10:38] He says, walk and abound. You see, here's the thing. This is for new believers like the Thessalonians were, and it's for old believers too. You know, I love checkboxes.
[10:49] Checkboxes are great because once you got the checkbox on the paper, you put a checkmark in it, and it's done, and you move on with your life. Praise God for that, all right? I got a bunch that I really want to get checked off, and I'll be very happy to move on.
[11:02] This is not a checkbox. This is not a checkbox that you say, got holiness down? Let's move on with our lives. He says, no, abound in this.
[11:12] Grow in this, that our lives would be just full and overflowing of holiness. Now, let me encourage you to think about one thing. We can't mix this up.
[11:24] We've got to move on quickly. Walking and pleasing God, walking to please God with our lives, that is not about earning, right? This is not about earning favor with God or making God love us any more.
[11:36] He loved us when? While we were yet... Okay, y'all can talk. Let's try that one more time. While we were yet... There we go. Okay, He loved us when we were sinners. So if He loved you back then when you had no care for God, you did not believe God, you turned your back on God, now you're a child of God, and you're living for God, oftentimes falling, stumbling down, having difficulties, sometimes your faith isn't all it ought to be.
[12:04] Does He love you now over here? Yes or no? Yes! That has not changed. It's not about earning, but it's about living in a way that honors God because we love Him, because we trust Him, because we want to follow Him.
[12:18] He is our Father. That brings us into the second thing. Know and receive God's will for you. It's amazing to me how this matter of sexual sin, of how we use our body, is talked about in terms of God's will for our lives.
[12:34] Isn't that funny? We often think about God's will for our lives in terms of, what does God want me to do? What does God want me to go do? What is my purpose in life? But He doesn't talk about that here.
[12:46] He's like, God's will is not what He's going to have you do sometime in the future. It's what He's going to have you not do right now and for every day for the rest of your life.
[12:58] God's will is simply this. Here's your next blank. God's will is your sanctification. That's a word that we're going to look at in a number of ways. Sanctification.
[13:08] What is that? It is something being set apart from something. So like you have a object. It is removed from this and it is set aside special for another purpose.
[13:27] Right? You think about the Old Testament. In the tabernacle, in the temple, there were bowls and spoons and plates. Okay? But they weren't the ones that you bought at Target. And they weren't the ones that you just, you pulled out for having cereal.
[13:40] They were set aside specifically for the service of God. And what He's going to say is, that's your life. You know, okay, all right, let me, I want to share, think about this another way.
[13:52] Has anyone ever thought about how weird it is that we brush our teeth in the bathroom? For germaphobes, that might be a little bit of a unsettling thought.
[14:05] We brush our teeth in the bathroom. Why don't we like, you know, eat lunch in the bathroom? Right? Why don't I go down, why don't I get my, you know, my leftover hamburger that we heated up tonight, take it up to the bathroom, sit there on the floor by the toilet, and be like, man, this is a good hamburger, man.
[14:22] I don't know who grilled this, but this is awesome. Why don't we do that? Because there's a place that's set aside for eating, and it's not the bathroom.
[14:34] And you don't do bathroom stuff at the kitchen table. Just saying. Like, that's sanctification, right? This is cleansed and set aside for a specific purpose.
[14:47] I think we need to make a movement of like, we no longer brush our teeth in the bathroom, because it's just weirding me out the more I think about it. All right? We're gonna... Although it's also weird to brush your teeth like at the kitchen sink.
[15:00] Isn't it? That is the... Yeah. I don't know. We just need another bowl with water where we brush our teeth, and it's the brushing teeth station in our house. That is sanctification.
[15:13] Okay? And so he says, listen, this is not something that is abstract, this matter of sanctification, because look with me in verse number three, he moves on. He says, this is the will of God, even your sanctification.
[15:29] And then there's going to be a number of phrases that all start with the word that. T-H-A-T. He says, your sanctification, that... You see this first one? That ye should abstain from fornication.
[15:41] That's your next one. Sanctification is abstaining from fornication. What is fornication? It is sexual acts that are against God's word, against God's order and boundaries that he has described in Scripture.
[15:58] It's against God's design. Anything that is against God's design, outside of God's design, for sex, is fornication.
[16:09] It's any way that we use our bodies to fulfill unbridled sexual desire that includes how we use our eyes, our minds, our hearts, and every other part of our body.
[16:22] Jesus specifically highlighted how we use our eyes and our minds and our hearts. You might think about it in terms of like imaginations. Anything that is, any, you know, sexual fantasy that is driven by videos, by images, by social media, posts, by novels, fantasies, looking around and checking someone out.
[16:45] It is actions, adultery, hooking up, living together, flings on travels, work trips, looking to overcome loneliness. It is in society, there's fornication in society, in prostitution, in abuse, in trafficking.
[17:01] All of these things are against God's design. All of these things are evil. All of these things are sinful. And what is God's expectation for His people?
[17:13] Would you turn with me to Ephesians 5, verses 3 and 4? Ephesians 5, verse 3 and 4. There's a part of this message, as you know and as we are going to see as we go through it, that is incredibly sobering, that really makes us take a hard look at how we view these things and how strongly we ought to feel about them not having any part of our lives.
[17:43] Ephesians 5, verses 3 and 4. I'm going the wrong way. Let me back up here. Listen to these words. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as becometh saints.
[18:00] That's really the only verse we need to read. I think we might read the next one in a second. But did you notice those words? Let it not be named once. No hint of it. No word of it. No speech of it. It's like this has no place among believers.
[18:13] Now, one other thing I want to highlight here because you might be sitting and saying, well, okay, I can check this box off because I don't deal with that. Did you notice what he said? He said, fornication, uncleanness, covetousness.
[18:25] Covetousness. Do you know that covetousness is in the exact same vein as fornication? Because what is it? It is, I must have that.
[18:37] Instead of being, I must have that person is, I must have that thing is covetousness. It is in the exact same vein. And he says, fornication, covetousness, not named among saints.
[18:50] Let's read verse 4. Neither, now in this is, we do need to read this actually because this goes right along with it. And this tells us how serious these matters are. Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks.
[19:08] It says, all those things, not once named among us as saints. Sanctification, what is it? Let's continue there back in 1 Thessalonians chapter number 4.
[19:22] Verse number 4 says this, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor. I'm going to pause there, we're going to continue reading in a second. It is this, sanctification is right usage of our bodies in sanctification and honor.
[19:39] Do you notice how he kind of switches a little bit? He says, it is abstaining from fornication, putting off all these things that are outside and against God's design. It is also knowing, what?
[19:51] Knowing how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor. Now, that seems a little bit strange of like, I definitely, I think we're all on the same page.
[20:02] We get, there's bad things, get rid of them. But notice what he says, there is a way of using our bodies that is honorable. There is a way of using our bodies that is sanctifying.
[20:17] Did you know that? And that is something that you and I need to know. We can't be ignorant of that fact. That there is a, the thing that is much more obvious is all the ways that we shouldn't use our bodies, but there's also a way that we should.
[20:36] That we should use our bodies, its faculties, this vessel, to honor God. God. Let's continue reading the next verse because we're going to talk about that idea a little bit more and that's kind of one of those things.
[20:47] Just think about that for a second. We'll get back to that. Would you continue reading in verse number five? Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God. He says, listen, how do we use our bodies?
[20:57] Not in a way like those who are godless, those who have no belief of God's truth, no relationship with God, no care of God, no care of his ways, no care of his boundaries.
[21:13] Those who don't know God, anything goes. He says, that's not how it works for the Christian. That is not how we allow our lives to be run and to be driven.
[21:23] We possess, we hold on to our bodies in a way that is honorable and sanctifying. Would you turn with me to 2 Timothy for a second? Because I think this is a passage that will help put this in perspective of like, what does this even mean?
[21:37] How does this play out in our lives? 2 Timothy, chapter number 2. When we get down to verses 20 and 21 and into 22, there's some statements about vessels.
[21:52] Okay? Let's read this together. But in a gray house, there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth and some to honor and some to dishonor. So get the picture real quick, right?
[22:04] You got a house, a estate that has vessels that are honorable and some that are dishonorable. Some that are for clean special uses and some that are for not so special uses.
[22:16] Right? You got watering cans and you got water bottles. Right? One of them you put, you definitely want to get your filtered drinking water in. One that's like, just hey, whatever you got, just put it in there and water the plants.
[22:27] All right? But look at what he says. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor. Vessel, what is that?
[22:39] Vessel, body. A vessel unto honor. Sanctified, there's our word, and meet for the master's use and prepared unto every good work.
[22:51] Now look at verse number 22 because this ties these things together. What is this purifying? What does it mean for me to be a vessel that God can use? A person that God can use.
[23:01] Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, patience with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Did you see the two sides of that? Run away from all of those things that are against God's plan and outside of God's boundaries and follow after those things that are honoring to God, those things that are sanctifying, those things that are purifying so that we might be usable to the Lord.
[23:29] That's kind of a hard thing to say, is it not? We want to say, God can use anybody. And certainly He can. Right? But there's also things that we can do with our bodies that make it where, you know, maybe God can't use us quite the same way that He could if we were seeking after, pursuing, following after righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
[23:58] So you see what He says. What is the sanctification? Knowing how to use our bodies in a way that is honorable, in a way that is sanctifying. Now, let's get to the next one. Sanctification is not transgressing against or misusing others.
[24:13] It is not transgressing against others and it is not misusing others. Would you back up with me there to 1 Thessalonians chapter number 4? Look at what it says in verse number 6, that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter because that the Lord is the avenger of all such.
[24:30] As we also have forewarned you and testified. Now, I can only spend a little time here because I've got some things that I really want to share with you that I think are going to help in how we think about this matter. But notice what He says, that no man would go beyond, that is the idea of transgression, crossing a boundary, breaking a line, breaking a rule of God, and that no man would defraud.
[24:50] That's the idea of manipulating, misusing, abusing. Right? When we misuse our bodies for lust, whether it is something that is in the heart and the mind or whether it's something that is physical, we're not only sinning against ourselves, but we are misusing others.
[25:11] And did you notice what He said about that? The Lord is the avenger of such. That means that God pays attention when people are misused. And God avenges those who have been misused.
[25:25] That's pretty sobering, is it not? Now, let's continue on to the last bit. Don't reject God. It's going to get a little more sobering before we get to some other things. Don't reject God.
[25:36] That's your next blank. Verse number 8. Would you look at, let's read 7 and 8 here. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. There's that idea again, that calling, the calling of God upon our lives is holiness.
[25:49] Verse 8. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us His Holy Spirit.
[26:00] Do you catch what's going on there? To despise, which means to reject, or to basically say like, you know, just kind of write it off. You know, Lauren cracks me up because sometimes she's trying to talk to the kids, and the kids are just like totally ignoring her.
[26:17] And it's like, she'll say, I just love being ignored. Obviously sarcastic, like, which means, I can't stand that you won't listen to what I'm saying. Right? What's going on there?
[26:29] To despise is to reject and to ignore and to say, you know what, hurt it, but don't care. And he says, if you or I despise this teaching about how we use our bodies, you're not despising me, you're not despising the Apostle Paul, you're not just, you're not just despising an old-fashioned moral, you're despising a person, and that person is the God who made you.
[26:58] You're rejecting the God who made you. You're rejecting the God who put His Spirit in you. He makes it real serious. He's like, this matters.
[27:09] This matters. Don't turn away from this. All right. So that, oh, we got a couple of things that we gotta get. Despising God often looks like choosing to rationalize and to choose idolatry.
[27:24] It looks like rationalizing and idolatry. Rationalizing. Well, hey, that's old-fashioned talk. Those are ancient morals. We're smarter than that now. It doesn't really matter how we use our bodies.
[27:37] We're not harming anyone. There's one of the, probably one of the worst things that Satan's done is call pornography adult entertainment. Like, there's nothing adult about it.
[27:47] It's just wrong. Come on. I haven't harmed anyone. I haven't touched anyone. It's normal. I have needs. Harley Snowed said something that was so good. I think it was in the men's section on Sunday night.
[27:59] He said, needs is often a euphemism for idols. I'm choosing to worship my lust instead of worshiping God. And what are we doing when we reject God?
[28:11] We're making a fool's trade. That's your next blank there. A fool's trade. Because, see, the thing is that God's way of life for us in every area of our lives is good.
[28:24] And to despise this truth and to misuse our bodies, Corinthians says it is sinning against our own bodies. Hebrews says that we're inviting the correction and the discipline of God upon our lives.
[28:38] Hebrews 13 says that marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled. He says, sex within its right bounds is holy.
[28:49] But to take it outside of that place is sinful. You know what it is? It's trading water for fire. God's design is good. God's design is wonderful. Think about, there's two passages you might want to write down and think about.
[29:02] Proverbs 5, 15 through 18, that talks about sexual intimacy within marriage in terms of a fountain of water. And he talks about rejoicing with the wife of your youth and enjoying the relationship in marriage.
[29:18] And he says, it's like fountain of water. You drink water out of your own cistern. It's like it's water is running down in the streets. It's kind of a weird imagery to think about.
[29:29] But you know what hit me the other day? It's like, what is more fun than just splashing around in water? You see this with young kids. I think about when I lived up on the farm in Ohio. When it rained outside and there's giant puddles out there, my sister and I, we would go out and run through the puddles as fast as we can and hopefully try to get a little hydroplane going.
[29:47] I mean, it's raining, pouring, we're muddy, it's wet, but it's like, we're just, it's like sheer delight, right? But he says, to take sexual intimacy and to partake of it outside of marriage is to take burning coals into your bosom.
[30:08] And that is Proverbs 6.27. Proverbs 6.27 talks about that. It says, it's like taking burning coals and holding them. You know, we were grilling last night and I don't know, I'm not hungry.
[30:21] I did have food, I promise, but you might be getting hungry. It's like, I need to go get a hamburger after this. We were grilling last night. My favorite thing about grilling is a charcoal chimney. Who has a charcoal chimney? We got a amen over here. We got a witness.
[30:33] When you put the charcoal in that thing, you get it going. That charcoal, it really gets going. Now, it's always scary when you take that thing, pick it up and you're going to dump it out because like, you're dumping out like literally lumps of fire, like burning red hot fire.
[30:49] There was one time that I dumped it out and I go to pick up and I go sit on the ground and there was a little tiny coal that fell onto my sock. I was grilling with socks. That was a terrible mistake.
[31:02] And it burns a hole in my sock and I'm like, oh, that feels really hot. Like, what is that? It's like, oh, there's a little, I mean, it was tiny. It was like, I mean, it was minuscule, but that little piece of burning coal on my foot, I noticed it.
[31:14] I don't think I have that sock anymore, but it had a hole in it for all the days it lived after that. He says, listen, you're making a fool's trade.
[31:25] You're trading something that is wonderful and sanctifying for something that is just going to destroy you. Don't do that. Don't do that. All right, three questions and we're going to close out. What time is it?
[31:38] It's five till. All right, I'm going to try to go through this quickly, but please follow along with me because these I think will really help you. Question number one, will you surrender to God's will for your life?
[31:49] We talk about surrender oftentimes of something, I mean, what does God want me to go do, right? And we have so many friends and loved ones that are serving God. They've answered the call of God to serve Him on a foreign field and that's required great intentionality, great sacrifice.
[32:06] Like it's, this is the direction that God set for my life and I'm going that way. You have a call of God too and it's called holiness. And so perhaps, I don't know if I should, if this is accurate, but this is for, well, this is for everybody, but maybe it is, is it more of a surrender to say I will surrender to holiness than to say I will surrender to the mission field or I will surrender to serve God.
[32:38] It is a surrender and it is a surrender that we all must choose. Question number two, will you make it your personal mission to learn what it is to use your body honorably?
[32:51] Now, I word it that way because I really want you to think about a couple things. It's your personal mission. There's no amount of counseling, rules, accountability apps, restrictions that you can put upon your own life that will generate holiness.
[33:11] Because here's what happens. You put rules and restrictions and accountability apps and all these things upon your life. if your heart is not going after the Lord and is not going after holiness, you know what it does?
[33:26] It creates, it just, it becomes part of the game to play. How can I get around this thing? How can I, because I've not dealt with the heart of the matter and the heart of the matter is, am I going after God in holiness or am I trying to find a way to fulfill my lust?
[33:45] That's the, that's what it comes down to, right? And if you have not chosen to, to go after God in holiness, then any things you might put in your life to try to remove temptation or avoid temptation, like, it just becomes part of the game to play.
[34:02] And it, you'll probably end up just continuing to find new ways to fill desires that God has called us to surrender to Him. It is heart-based.
[34:14] It is heart-based. James 1.13 and 14 says this, Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil. Neither tempteth he any man, but every man is tempted, listen to this, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.
[34:34] It's not a matter of removing temptation. If I just get all the temptation out of my life, I'll do well. He says, no, no, no, it's in you. It's in your heart. And so, you've got to deal with it on a heart level.
[34:45] Can I give you something to think about? What does it mean to make it your personal mission to learn what it is to use your body honorably? It is choosing to renew your mind.
[34:57] It is choosing to renew your mind. And I think if you get a hold of that and say, okay, because you know in Romans where it says, be transformed by the renewing of your minds, they may be able to prove, was that good, acceptable, and is that holy, perfect will of God?
[35:10] That's basically how it goes. I think I might have missed a few words there. Whose job is it to renew your mind? It's yours. God gives us all the resources we need.
[35:21] He gives us His Spirit. He gives us His Word. He gives us His truth. But He says, be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds. You've got to get some truth in your heart and mind. Pastor Trent said something that was so good the other day.
[35:33] He said, the Scripture in your heart is better than the Scripture that you hold. Not to say that this has any deficiency at all, right? But having the Scripture in our hearts on the inside, being able to pull it up and for the Holy Spirit to use that, that makes a difference.
[35:51] You go after renewing your mind and that will lead you into all kinds of truth, all kinds of study about what this is. Now, the third one. I want to tell you a story about Thaddeus. Thaddeus, he cracks me up so much all the time.
[36:05] Sometimes, I'm groaning. I'm like, oh, Lord. All right, here we go again. He said at the dinner table the other day, he said, Thad, I just can't resist Legos. I don't know why he used those words, but he's like, I just can't resist Legos.
[36:19] I think he had like, we told him to like come downstairs. He was playing with Legos upstairs. He's coming downstairs. I'm like, wait, what? What's he saying? I want to play with Legos.
[36:30] I want to get more Legos. I just think about Legos. I want to build with Legos. Like, my life revolves around Legos. I think we have a Lego problem in our church. I think Oliver, he's got a Lego problem too, isn't he?
[36:42] That must be why he and Thaddeus get along so much together because they got Lego problems. I can't resist Legos. It's funny to hear a child say that, but here's the thing.
[36:56] Do you, here's the third question, do you honestly believe that this type of life is possible? Do you believe that it's possible for you to live a holy life before God?
[37:09] Because I think if you're being honest, for being honest, we might say, I just can't resist. I just can't help it. I just don't know what to do with it.
[37:21] It might be that, that you live with lust, bodily desires, that's just like, it never seems to subside. It never seems to go away. You might live with shame or secrets and you just have stopped believing that change is even possible.
[37:38] Can I give you some hope from Romans 6? And I'm so sorry. We are, it's 801. I'm going to try to go through this real quick, but I really want to encourage you to think about this because this is where the goodness of God really comes into play. Romans 6, verse number 11 to 14.
[37:52] Now, I've often thought about this scripture in terms of like, don't do this, do this. Or we talk about replacement, of replacing, like there's these ways we live versus those ways we live.
[38:03] But I want to read through this and I'm going to ask you to think about this idea. How incredible is it that the same bodies that were used for unrighteousness can be used for righteousness?
[38:20] Are you with me? How incredible is that? that a body that has been used for unrighteousness can actually be used for righteousness.
[38:32] Let's read Romans chapter 6, starting in verse number 11. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
[38:47] Neither yield ye your members. Members there? Members, that's our bodies. That's the parts of our bodies. Members, your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
[39:12] Did you notice what he said? Your members that at one time they were yielded to unrighteousness. All kinds of unrighteousness, not even just what we're talking about tonight, what the passage is talking about.
[39:24] Those same members can be yielded to God truly as instruments of righteousness. What does it say?
[39:34] Does it say righteousness unto holiness? Is that what it says? Unto God? Righteousness unto God. How incredible is that? You might believe that there is no way that that could even be possible.
[39:49] Like, maybe you're thinking, I've been so thoroughly corrupted by my desires, by my lust, that you know what?
[40:02] There's no way that that's even possible. But if you're a believer, it is. You can live a holy life. God I think one of the biggest things that Satan does is he whispers in your ear and says, you're too far gone.
[40:18] You have too many skeletons, too many secrets, too many things you've done wrong. There's no hope for you. But God says, no. You can yield that same body that was once used all kinds, once misused in all kinds of ways to God.
[40:35] Let me give you a couple things before we quit. I love the thing that Jason Rischel does.
[40:45] He has that little toy. Y'all ever seen that little toy he has? He has a little toy and he brings it up and I'm never, I'm not going to be able to do stories as good as Brother Jason. Jason Rischel, he is the master of stories.
[40:57] But he says, listen, I found this toy being sold in the markets in Burkina Faso and you know what that toy was made out of? It was made out of all kinds of trash. It was made out of all kinds of trash, all kinds of things that were dirty and thrown away and gotten rid of.
[41:12] But somebody took those materials, refashioned them into something that is useful and something that is wonderful and something that is enjoyable. Something that a little child can just love with all their heart.
[41:27] He, God, and what's the application? God can take your life, he can take my life, and he can help us to walk in holiness. Don't let the devil lie to you to believe that you can because you can.
[41:44] Would you bow with me? Father, we come to you and Lord, we've come through kind of a heavy passage of scripture, one that really gets to the heart, one that, it's a serious matter.
[41:59] God, I pray that you would use your truth to undo lies that have been believed, maybe even right now are being believed in hearts and lives.
[42:12] God, I pray that tonight there would be some decisions made that we will choose to obey you, to live in a way that pleases you, not because we're trying to earn any favor, but because you're God, you're wonderful, you love us, you have sanctified us, you have cleansed us, and our lives can show that.
[42:38] And as we live for you, and as we walk in holiness, Lord, our lives can be usable to you. Lord, I thank you for that truth. God, I thank you for the gospel that teaches us that you redeem, you save, you rescue, you take what has been corrupted by sin, and you make it holy.
[43:02] You make it pure. You make it sanctified. God, I pray that you'd work in hearts and lives tonight. Praise things in Jesus' name. Amen.