WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:05.520 My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church, 00:00:05.520 --> 00:00:08.900 and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today. 00:00:09.259 --> 00:00:12.480 A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. 00:00:12.519 --> 00:00:16.839 We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats, 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:20.620 but because we're following Jesus together as one community. 00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:25.539 And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced there's no one so good, 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:29.600 they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it. 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:36.300 And that's why we come back week after week, because we believe that God has something to say to everyone in His Word. 00:00:36.700 --> 00:00:40.060 And so we open it to hear from Him every Sunday. 00:00:40.660 --> 00:00:43.359 We're continuing our series in the book of 2 Peter. 00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:47.140 We're going to be in 2 Peter 2, verses 17 through 19. 00:00:47.760 --> 00:00:52.180 And you'll remember that the book of 2 Peter is a letter written by a man named Peter, 00:00:52.420 --> 00:00:57.760 and he writes this letter to a church somewhere in the Roman Empire in the 60s AD. 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:01.339 And he writes this letter with one desire. 00:01:01.539 --> 00:01:03.619 He wants these people to grow. 00:01:04.780 --> 00:01:07.120 We know that because at the very beginning of the letter, 00:01:07.239 --> 00:01:11.159 he wants their grace to be multiplied to them through knowledge. 00:01:11.739 --> 00:01:14.759 And he tells them at the very end of the letter, in the last verse, 00:01:14.859 --> 00:01:18.340 to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:01:18.340 --> 00:01:24.500 And so he wants them to grow in two ways, to grow in grace and to grow in knowledge. 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:29.120 We're in chapter 2, which talks about the problem of false teachers. 00:01:29.320 --> 00:01:31.700 And so in this entire chapter, we've been tackling that. 00:01:31.859 --> 00:01:37.580 Last week, we had a very difficult passage as we looked at what it means to blaspheme angels. 00:01:38.580 --> 00:01:43.520 And we got to tussle with that and figure out how it applies to us today. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:49.239 We're continuing our discussion of the false teachers and the way that they attack both knowledge and grace. 00:01:49.739 --> 00:01:54.920 And unlike last week, our passage this week is incredibly straightforward. 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:59.039 We find out in verse 18 what these false teachers are up to. 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:02.620 They entice by sensual passions of the flesh. 00:02:03.699 --> 00:02:09.379 And it also tells us in this passage that there's a choice between slavery and freedom. 00:02:09.379 --> 00:02:15.740 Verse 19, these false teachers promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves. 00:02:16.659 --> 00:02:20.099 And so we have clarity up front about what this passage is talking about. 00:02:20.139 --> 00:02:25.319 When it talks about this idea of sensual passions of the flesh, it's talking about sexual sin. 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:33.139 It's talking about the ways that false teachers will attempt to entice people to do things that God says are forbidden. 00:02:34.219 --> 00:02:37.840 And so it's with that that we're going to jump into this passage. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:45.659 This passage is telling us that there are many things that the world will offer us as freedoms that are actually slavery. 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:51.780 There are many things that the world will offer us as freedoms that are actually slavery. 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:55.480 And as I've done the last several weeks, I'm going to tell you our strategy headed in. 00:02:55.539 --> 00:02:58.900 Because even as the passage is clear, its topic is difficult. 00:02:59.259 --> 00:03:00.980 And so my strategy is going to be this. 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:05.020 We are going to briefly look at what this passage means at the very beginning. 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:07.500 And then I'm going to apply it in several ways. 00:03:07.500 --> 00:03:13.599 Ways that today we're given offers of freedom that actually result in slavery. 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:15.539 And so it's with that that we're going to jump right in. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:19.819 I invite you to turn with me to 2 Peter 2, verse 17. 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:22.240 You can turn near the end of your worship guide. 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:23.360 You can turn in your Bible. 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:25.060 Of course, you can turn in your phone. 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:28.060 No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word. 00:03:28.060 --> 00:03:33.900 And Isaiah chapter 40 tells us that the grass withers and the flowers fade. 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:37.420 But God and his word stand forever. 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:41.199 And so that's why we read now, starting at verse 17. 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:46.399 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. 00:03:46.399 --> 00:03:50.479 For them, the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 00:03:51.299 --> 00:04:01.539 For speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 00:04:01.539 --> 00:04:06.959 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. 00:04:07.739 --> 00:04:12.479 For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:17.039 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:04:18.620 --> 00:04:25.279 Our Father in heaven, we thank you that you are not a God of slavery, but a God of freedom. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:32.259 And we also thank you that you provide that freedom through the knowledge that you give us in your word. 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:34.480 And most of all, the knowledge of Jesus Christ. 00:04:35.699 --> 00:04:40.379 And so we ask this morning that you would use that knowledge to grow us in grace. 00:04:40.379 --> 00:04:44.860 That Peter's desire, his command, would be true of us. 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:48.100 That we would grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. 00:04:48.379 --> 00:04:53.579 We ask that you would do that by showing us our need, our great need for your grace. 00:04:54.019 --> 00:04:58.980 And also showing us how you meet us at that very same point of need. 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:05.360 We thank you that we don't have to earn or deserve these things, but instead we ask them in the name of Jesus. 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:06.139 Amen. 00:05:06.139 --> 00:05:06.279 Amen. 00:05:09.699 --> 00:05:14.120 In looking at this passage, one Bible teacher explains it this way. 00:05:14.219 --> 00:05:18.639 He tells the story captured in the film called Sahara. 00:05:18.919 --> 00:05:21.719 And in the film Sahara, it came out in 1942 or 43. 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:27.579 We find out the story of a tank commander who was involved in the Battle of Tubrook in World War II, 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.099 which was about a garrison in Libya. 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:33.439 And in this battle, it was the Germans who won. 00:05:34.400 --> 00:05:41.040 And so the Americans, actually not the Americans, but the British, well, the American tank commander, excuse me, is fleeing after this defeat. 00:05:41.780 --> 00:05:43.120 He's fleeing in this tank. 00:05:43.200 --> 00:05:44.720 There's a variety of people who join him. 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:51.760 He's played by Humphrey Bogart, who will be familiar to you if you're perhaps a lover of old movies. 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:56.000 And he has this task as this tank commander. 00:05:56.199 --> 00:06:00.839 They are racing against time, really against gasoline. 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:02.539 They're in the Sahara Desert. 00:06:03.099 --> 00:06:05.860 They have very limited water available to them. 00:06:05.860 --> 00:06:12.520 And they need to make it to a spring, to a well, before they run out of gas. 00:06:13.660 --> 00:06:18.920 And so the question is, are they going to make it in time, or are they going to run out before they make it to the spring? 00:06:19.080 --> 00:06:21.800 Are they going to get the water that they need to live? 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:24.740 They make it to the well. 00:06:26.540 --> 00:06:31.360 The only problem is that all that's in the well is sand. 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:41.520 And that's the problem, the picture that Peter uses for us in this passage of what it's like to follow after false teachers. 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:43.060 We see this in verse 17. 00:06:43.220 --> 00:06:45.920 We're told they are waterless springs. 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:49.379 There's the promise of life. 00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:52.460 There's this hope for deliverance, for preservation. 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:56.080 What they find out in the movie is it's full of sand. 00:06:56.740 --> 00:07:00.540 What those who follow the false teachers in this passage find out is that it's waterless. 00:07:00.540 --> 00:07:02.340 There's actually no life there. 00:07:03.379 --> 00:07:04.740 What's promised is false. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:11.100 This image continues when we're told in verse 17 that the false teachers are also like mists driven by a storm. 00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:16.379 Now, this is a difficult image in the way it's translated, but basically what it's telling us is this. 00:07:16.939 --> 00:07:19.759 There seems to be to someone this promise of rain. 00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:21.040 There seems to be this mist. 00:07:22.300 --> 00:07:25.500 And yet before the rain can come, the rain is driven away. 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:37.120 And so there's two different images here of hope for water, hope for life, promise of life replaced with nothing, replaced with death. 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:43.120 And Peter is telling us that this is what it is like to look at the false teachers. 00:07:43.220 --> 00:07:47.839 In other words, the false teachers promise what they cannot deliver. 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:52.959 The false teachers promise what they cannot deliver. 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:56.379 And we find out more about what it is that they promise in verse 18. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:02.259 Speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh. 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:09.239 The false teachers are promising sexual experiences, sexual freedom to the people who are following after them. 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:15.939 They are telling them, if you do whatever you want sexually, that is what freedom is going to look like. 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:19.000 That is what is going to give you life. 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:22.300 And yet Peter reveals for us what's actually going on. 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:27.040 What appears to be a well is actually empty. 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:29.280 And he gives us another category here. 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:35.580 And that's not just this category of water taken away, but the category of slavery and freedom. 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:38.700 Verse 19, they promise them freedom. 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:42.280 But they themselves are slaves of corruption. 00:08:42.920 --> 00:08:46.340 For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:50.440 The well promises water and delivers stand. 00:08:51.280 --> 00:08:55.780 The false teachers promise freedom and deliver slavery. 00:08:57.259 --> 00:08:59.160 And that's the point of this passage. 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:02.540 Very simple, very clear, very straightforward. 00:09:02.539 --> 00:09:08.159 And so this morning, I'm just going to take a look at a variety of lies that we're told. 00:09:08.980 --> 00:09:14.319 Of how we're promised freedom in ways that actually deliver only slavery. 00:09:14.459 --> 00:09:20.059 And as I say, every time we come up against a hot topic, I'm going to say something, but not everything. 00:09:21.099 --> 00:09:23.139 Something, but not everything. 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:27.099 There are plenty of lies that our culture tells us about sex. 00:09:27.179 --> 00:09:28.879 I'm not going to cover every single one. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:32.620 And even the ones that we do cover, we're going to cover some of it. 00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:35.179 We're not going to say everything that could be said. 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:40.679 I'll also mention that this is a perfect time to apply the category we talked about two weeks ago. 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:45.439 Remember, Lot and Noah were examples to us because they grieved over sin. 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:48.980 They were not angry Christians or cool Christians. 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:51.659 They did not rail against the world around them. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:53.240 They also didn't downplay it. 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:54.600 They were grieved in their hearts. 00:09:54.700 --> 00:09:55.899 They had great sorrow over it. 00:09:55.899 --> 00:10:02.340 And it's tempting for Christians when we talk about these sorts of things to become people who are sarcastic and mean. 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:10.000 But instead, we have the example of Noah and Lot who instead are sad and grieved at the presence of sin in the world. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:14.840 And so first, as we talk about the sexual lies of our world that promise freedom, 00:10:14.899 --> 00:10:18.620 I want to talk for a minute about the lies of transgenderism. 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:21.399 This is a movement that promises freedom. 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:28.579 It tells you if you feel that you're a gender that's different than your body, there is a path to freedom, 00:10:28.819 --> 00:10:30.959 and there's only one path to freedom. 00:10:31.419 --> 00:10:37.939 You are facing various forms of depression and other sorts of mental health challenges, and there's a solution. 00:10:38.379 --> 00:10:41.100 The solution to that is to change your body. 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:46.939 The solution to that is to change the way you think of yourself as a man or a woman. 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:48.919 And this is going to be a path of freedom. 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:50.939 In fact, this is the way that it's marketed. 00:10:51.139 --> 00:10:52.740 This is the way that it's sold. 00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:56.299 In fact, some people are told this is their only path to freedom. 00:10:56.419 --> 00:11:03.379 If you don't choose this path of change, you have only a life of despair to look forward to. 00:11:04.199 --> 00:11:06.279 And so you need to go through this process. 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:09.979 It's the only option you have of freedom. 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:12.959 This is what's going to solve your problems. 00:11:13.740 --> 00:11:14.740 Rejecting your body. 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:16.699 That's the path of freedom. 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:21.080 However, we know what the Bible tells us. 00:11:21.580 --> 00:11:25.660 This is a promise of freedom, but it only delivers slavery. 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:29.940 And it delivers slavery in a variety of ways. 00:11:30.640 --> 00:11:36.440 If you are like me and you listen to The World and Everything in It, the news podcast from World Magazine on Thursday, 00:11:36.640 --> 00:11:40.580 they had the story of a woman who had pursued this path of supposed freedom. 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:42.820 She was about 16 at the time. 00:11:42.820 --> 00:11:49.960 Her name was Kirabel, is Kirabel, and she was told that changing genders would save her mental health. 00:11:51.280 --> 00:11:52.080 She would have freedom. 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:53.520 There's only one problem. 00:11:54.420 --> 00:11:55.200 It didn't. 00:11:56.340 --> 00:11:57.620 The article says this. 00:11:57.620 --> 00:12:02.600 She says, no one challenged her ideas or offered a different way of thinking. 00:12:03.060 --> 00:12:04.100 And this is a quote from her. 00:12:04.820 --> 00:12:10.440 I should have been told to wait and not affirmed in my gender identity I was claiming to have. 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:14.000 No one challenged her ideas. 00:12:14.820 --> 00:12:17.100 Everyone told her this was the only path of freedom. 00:12:17.100 --> 00:12:19.300 Now she understands that it didn't. 00:12:19.379 --> 00:12:20.639 It did not solve her problems. 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:23.220 It did not resolve her mental health challenges. 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:25.680 In fact, quite the opposite. 00:12:26.060 --> 00:12:29.580 What this movement presents is not freedom, but slavery. 00:12:29.720 --> 00:12:31.220 And I want you to think about it in this way. 00:12:31.980 --> 00:12:36.040 If your body does not determine whether you're a man or a woman, 00:12:36.820 --> 00:12:40.340 what does determine whether you're a man or a woman? 00:12:40.340 --> 00:12:44.680 Well, it must be your behavior in some way, right? 00:12:45.300 --> 00:12:49.780 And so you're suddenly bound to these very rigid gender stereotypes 00:12:49.780 --> 00:12:54.399 in a way that you would not be if you allowed your gender, your sex, to be determined by your body. 00:12:54.460 --> 00:12:59.639 And I'm going to read a couple times from this book called Love Thy Body by a woman named Nancy Piercy. 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:01.660 And she explains it. 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:04.519 She explains it in this way. 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:09.460 The transgender script tells young people that embracing their cross-gender feelings 00:13:09.460 --> 00:13:12.120 will liberate them to be their authentic selves. 00:13:16.299 --> 00:13:17.740 And then it asks this question. 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:21.480 Eventually, he's talking about this young man. 00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:23.799 He realized the promise of liberation was a lie. 00:13:24.659 --> 00:13:28.819 And he realized it was a lie because he discovered if he wasn't letting it be defined by his body, 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:31.500 he had to let it be defined by his actions. 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:37.500 Ironically, queer theory actually reinforces rigid gender stereotypes. 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:41.940 In other words, he felt like he had to act in this very stereotyped way 00:13:41.940 --> 00:13:43.639 to prove that he was a man or a woman. 00:13:44.379 --> 00:13:47.460 By contrast, if you take your identity from your body, 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:50.519 you can engage in a range of diverse behaviors 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:54.460 without threatening the security of your identity as a man or a woman. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:57.139 When we are defined by our bodies, 00:13:57.320 --> 00:14:00.159 the whole width of human experience remains open. 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:02.959 There is freedom in the body. 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:05.000 And then she ends with this. 00:14:05.339 --> 00:14:07.620 Contrary to what postmodern gender theory says, 00:14:07.740 --> 00:14:10.939 there is greater diversity and inclusivity 00:14:10.939 --> 00:14:14.839 when we anchor our psychosexual identity in the objective, 00:14:15.539 --> 00:14:21.240 scientifically knowable reality of our biology as male or female. 00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:27.299 And so we say this not to mock anyone, 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:33.440 but instead to name the reality of an offer of freedom that results in slavery. 00:14:34.299 --> 00:14:36.320 We say this as people with compassion. 00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:39.100 For folks who have been told the lie, 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.120 the same sort of lies that these false teachers are spreading. 00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:48.399 There are wells that look like they're going to provide water and have only sand. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:54.559 Of course, that's not the only lie that the world tells us about freedom 00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:56.819 when it comes to our sexuality. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:14:59.500 This is one, of course, that's easy for us to agree on. 00:15:00.659 --> 00:15:04.759 In the church, there's ones that are perhaps less easy. 00:15:05.299 --> 00:15:07.579 One of the challenges when it comes to our sexuality 00:15:07.579 --> 00:15:13.199 is we've lost an understanding of why it is that God has given us the rules that he has. 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:18.300 And so another lie that Christians are told is the general lie of sexual freedom. 00:15:18.560 --> 00:15:21.759 And I'm going to use a word that's fallen out of fashion in these days, 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:22.840 but it's fornication. 00:15:24.259 --> 00:15:29.440 Fornication is when you have a sexual relationship with someone you're not married to. 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:31.680 It is different than adultery. 00:15:32.680 --> 00:15:35.660 Adultery is a subset because to commit adultery, you have to be married. 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:40.120 So, for example, by definition, it is actually impossible for me to commit adultery. 00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:43.899 However, fornication is an option. 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:48.899 The biblical ethic, however, what God tells us is that sex is reserved 00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:52.139 for a man and a woman who are married to each other. 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:55.720 Now, this used to be more accepted in our society. 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:59.940 It's now becoming something that's the exclusive realm of traditional religions. 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:04.399 And the promise that the culture gives us is, again, a promise of freedom. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:08.519 You can have these wonderful experiences. 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:10.120 Sex is fun and good. 00:16:10.439 --> 00:16:11.799 Why wouldn't you do it? 00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:17.939 You don't need to be repressed and have your freedoms taken away like people had in the past. 00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:19.699 You can live freely. 00:16:19.819 --> 00:16:22.159 You can enjoy all sorts of things. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:28.879 And many Christians today, unfortunately, would not be able to raise any arguments against this. 00:16:29.839 --> 00:16:33.959 There are many Christians who would say, I know it's wrong because the Bible tells me that it's wrong. 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:35.519 And that is reason enough, right? 00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:36.879 So don't hear what I'm not saying. 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:44.000 But they would not be able to articulate why God's world is set up in such a way that this is the best option. 00:16:45.299 --> 00:16:48.059 God's rules, in other words, are not arbitrary. 00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:54.979 There is a reason that he's restricted sex to a relationship between a man and a woman who are married. 00:16:55.579 --> 00:17:01.819 There's a famous quote from a movie that came out in 1991, or 2001, excuse me, called Vanilla Sky. 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:08.319 And there's a woman named Julie, played by Cameron Diaz, who says famously, she's in the car talking to this man, 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:17.339 Don't you know that when you sleep with someone, your body makes a promise whether you do or not? 00:17:18.059 --> 00:17:26.720 Don't you know that when you sleep with someone, your body makes a promise whether you do or not? 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:33.819 And if that doesn't make sense right away, I'll read you another quick excerpt, again, explaining this reality. 00:17:34.619 --> 00:17:42.960 As one sex therapist puts it, when we have sexual relationship with someone, we create an involuntary chemical commitment. 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:55.200 The upshot is that even if you think you are having a no-strings-attached hookup, you are in reality creating a chemical bond, whether you mean to or not. 00:17:56.480 --> 00:18:02.279 An advice columnist for Glamour magazine warns that because of hormones, we often get prematurely attached. 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:09.000 Even when you intend to just have casual sex, biology might trump your intentions. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:15.480 That might be why Paul said, whoever sins sexually sins against their own body. 00:18:16.339 --> 00:18:20.899 Sex involves our bodies down to the level of our biochemistry. 00:18:20.900 --> 00:18:30.860 In other words, and one theologian has put it this way, a sexual relationship is a life-uniting act. 00:18:31.820 --> 00:18:33.660 It's a life-uniting act. 00:18:33.780 --> 00:18:36.980 It is meant to take two lives and make them one. 00:18:37.560 --> 00:18:41.440 And so it cannot be separated from a life-uniting commitment. 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:48.200 It is a life-uniting act that cannot be separated, should not be separated from a life-uniting commitment. 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:57.680 You do not share your body with someone in that way unless you're prepared to share your bank account and your house and your future and your commitments and your children. 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:08.440 And so sex is only safe when it comes with a life-uniting commitment, when it comes within the context of marriage. 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:11.680 And it is true because that's the way God has made the world. 00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:15.680 In other words, another way of putting it is this. 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:22.200 When people who are not married sleep with one another, there is a lie that is being told. 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:30.460 When people who are not married sleep with one another, there is a lie that's being told even if there's consent. 00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:36.980 I'll read from you a quick excerpt from another book called Why Does God Care Who I Sleep With? 00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:41.500 And the author says this. 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:48.259 There is a degree of union that remains after a couple has had sex. 00:19:48.620 --> 00:19:54.120 They might not be physically joined anymore, but at a deeper level, they are still united. 00:19:54.860 --> 00:19:56.600 This is hugely important. 00:19:57.299 --> 00:20:03.360 Sexual union is both an expression of and a vehicle for a wider and deeper form of union. 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:07.299 And this greater union is not designed to be undone. 00:20:08.439 --> 00:20:15.559 Sex is a means by which two people are being united, not just physically, but also emotionally and psychologically. 00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:22.679 Our culture often claims that we can give someone our physical body without giving them our whole self. 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:26.759 But Christians would say this is not so. 00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:33.299 What we do sexually affects the whole body in a way that is not generally true of other things. 00:20:33.879 --> 00:20:40.640 Whether we know it or not, mean it or not, Paul is saying that sex engages far more of who we are. 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:43.960 It involves the whole person. 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:53.079 And so, if you are not married to someone, you don't sleep with them. 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:54.120 Period. 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:55.120 Full stop. 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:03.180 It's a lie of freedom that the world tells us what you're actually doing is something destructive. 00:21:03.180 --> 00:21:06.720 By the way, I'm just going to say this. 00:21:06.840 --> 00:21:08.960 Being engaged doesn't give you a pass. 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:12.860 It's become commonplace now in the church, even the Reformed Church. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:17.220 Of course, the church is often only one step behind the world for Christian couples to think, 00:21:17.380 --> 00:21:20.500 well, we're not going to be like the world, so we're going to wait until we're engaged, 00:21:20.940 --> 00:21:22.400 until we have a sexual relationship. 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:26.279 And yet, that still falls short of what God commands. 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:28.880 If there is not a life-uniting commitment, 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:32.300 if there are not wedding vows that have been taken, 00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:36.320 there should be no life-uniting act. 00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:40.120 One characteristic of slaves, 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:43.000 remember we're talking about the difference between slavery and freedom, 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:47.420 a characteristic of slaves is that they are treated as less than human. 00:21:49.160 --> 00:21:52.780 When you have sex with someone you are not married to, 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:55.980 there is something deceptive and destructive going on, 00:21:56.340 --> 00:21:58.180 even if you both have agreed to it. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:04.920 Because God has designed it in such a way that it cannot help but be a life-uniting act. 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:11.980 Your body makes a promise, whether you do or not. 00:22:13.860 --> 00:22:19.820 And so there's a promise that is given, a promise of freedom that delivers slavery. 00:22:20.060 --> 00:22:22.760 You are treating someone as less than human. 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:27.279 Again, even if you both agree to it. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:33.240 And so that brings us to this question, right? 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:38.200 So in the church, when we talk about sex and things of that nature, 00:22:38.259 --> 00:22:41.500 there's often this complaint that the church has only negative things to say. 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:46.079 And yet it's not that we think so low of sex, 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:48.420 it's actually that we think so much of it. 00:22:48.420 --> 00:22:54.259 It's not that we value the body too much, it's that we value it too little. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:58.120 Christianity points us to a way to value it more. 00:22:58.800 --> 00:23:03.140 If we're avoiding the empty wells, what's the water that we actually want to have? 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:06.539 Well, remember, I've told you before, God loves sex. 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:10.240 And he made it to be incredibly powerful. 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:15.000 And so since it's incredibly powerful, it needs to be channeled correctly. 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:19.539 I've used the illustration before of guns and fire, right? 00:23:19.659 --> 00:23:20.740 Both are wonderful. 00:23:21.859 --> 00:23:23.139 Both are also very dangerous. 00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:25.079 Both are wonderful. 00:23:25.319 --> 00:23:28.019 Both need to have rules and constraints. 00:23:29.139 --> 00:23:34.259 Someone who observes strict rules with their guns is not someone who hates guns. 00:23:34.899 --> 00:23:36.420 It's someone who loves them. 00:23:36.539 --> 00:23:40.639 And also understands how powerful they are. 00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:44.839 And so we ask, what's the proper use? 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:48.519 We want the freedom to enjoy something the way it was intended, 00:23:48.779 --> 00:23:51.440 without damaging ourself, without damaging others. 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:53.799 The freedom to be fully human. 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:57.899 And so when we embrace God's sexual ethic, 00:23:58.460 --> 00:24:02.859 we are embracing true freedom and avoiding real slavery. 00:24:02.859 --> 00:24:08.879 And yet the world and the culture around us promises the opposite. 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:17.440 I'm going to give you one more example, one more lie that our culture tells us. 00:24:17.500 --> 00:24:19.600 Again, we're not going to cover all the lies today. 00:24:20.540 --> 00:24:24.760 These sorts of lies are rampant and becoming more and more rampant. 00:24:25.280 --> 00:24:27.600 But the final one is related to the previous one. 00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:28.980 It's related to fornication. 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:31.400 And that's the lie of cohabitation. 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:38.460 Our culture has this lie now telling you that you need to live with someone before you're married to them. 00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:40.579 That's the way that you have freedom. 00:24:40.779 --> 00:24:42.960 Because if you live with someone before you're married, 00:24:43.100 --> 00:24:45.840 then you can sort of test the relationship out. 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:47.819 Because what would be worse, right? 00:24:48.019 --> 00:24:51.299 What would be worse than becoming married to someone 00:24:51.299 --> 00:24:54.140 and then finding out that you don't actually get along that well? 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:56.900 And so you just need to kind of take it for a test drive. 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:58.579 You need to keep your freedoms, 00:24:58.579 --> 00:25:00.639 try out your options, 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:04.039 and this is going to protect you in the long term. 00:25:04.699 --> 00:25:05.740 You're going to have freedom. 00:25:05.899 --> 00:25:07.159 That's the lie our culture tells us. 00:25:07.159 --> 00:25:10.899 It's good to live with someone you're not married to, 00:25:10.939 --> 00:25:13.519 to sort of try on marriage for size. 00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:16.579 You get all of the benefits, right? 00:25:17.159 --> 00:25:18.379 And none of the risks. 00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:20.619 That's the lie that our culture tells us. 00:25:21.879 --> 00:25:24.679 Now, many of you are familiar with this publication. 00:25:24.679 --> 00:25:27.740 It's a great bastion of Christian conservatism. 00:25:27.740 --> 00:25:29.460 It's called the New York Times. 00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:33.620 And over the last 10 years or so, 00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:35.220 they've actually run a variety of articles 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:37.359 talking about the risks of cohabitation, 00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:39.120 the dangers of cohabitation. 00:25:39.299 --> 00:25:41.299 And there are statistics that show 00:25:41.299 --> 00:25:44.380 that there's a lower rate of satisfaction 00:25:44.380 --> 00:25:47.380 in marriages that result after cohabitation, 00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:49.099 and there's not a lower divorce rate. 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:50.940 There's a higher divorce rate. 00:25:52.599 --> 00:25:54.299 Cohabitation actually does the opposite 00:25:54.299 --> 00:25:55.880 of what it's supposed to do, 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:57.099 of what it's intended to do. 00:25:57.099 --> 00:25:57.980 And to explain this, 00:25:58.039 --> 00:26:00.819 they use a phrase called sliding rather than deciding. 00:26:01.480 --> 00:26:03.119 Sliding rather than deciding. 00:26:03.219 --> 00:26:03.799 In other words, 00:26:03.939 --> 00:26:07.099 the bar, the threshold for living with someone 00:26:07.099 --> 00:26:09.500 is much lower than the threshold for marrying them. 00:26:10.379 --> 00:26:11.579 And so what ends up happening 00:26:11.579 --> 00:26:13.019 is you end up in this situation 00:26:13.019 --> 00:26:14.119 where you're living with someone, 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:16.839 and then you realize how challenging it is 00:26:16.839 --> 00:26:17.939 to get out of that situation. 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:19.259 You bought furniture together. 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:21.839 You have a lease together. 00:26:22.879 --> 00:26:24.319 Maybe you share some pets together. 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:27.759 The cost of leaving rise and rise and rise, 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:30.740 and you find that you've made this marriage-like commitment 00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:35.079 without taking a marriage-like look at the relationship 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:36.839 to see if it's worth it. 00:26:36.919 --> 00:26:38.720 And so instead of having all of the freedoms 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:40.259 and none of the responsibility, 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:41.740 you actually have all of the costs 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:42.720 and none of the protection. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:48.500 You get to have all the costs 00:26:48.500 --> 00:26:50.339 are similar to a divorce. 00:26:50.980 --> 00:26:52.680 Not the same, but they're similar. 00:26:52.779 --> 00:26:53.319 You're leaving. 00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:54.680 You've got to figure out 00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:56.200 how to extricate yourself financially. 00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:57.579 You've got to figure out 00:26:57.579 --> 00:26:59.319 how to extricate yourself in terms of property. 00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:00.720 Or you end up marrying someone 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:01.839 you wouldn't have married otherwise 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:03.579 because the threshold, the standard, 00:27:04.120 --> 00:27:05.700 was so much lower. 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:08.920 And so there's a marriage-level commitment 00:27:08.920 --> 00:27:11.059 without marriage-level protections. 00:27:12.819 --> 00:27:14.340 So it promises freedom. 00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:17.039 It delivers the opposite. 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:18.519 It delivers slavery. 00:27:19.220 --> 00:27:20.960 But it's, again, one of the lies 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:23.420 that our culture tells us about sin. 00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:24.059 What's the goodness? 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:25.299 What's the protection here? 00:27:25.380 --> 00:27:28.160 What's the good thing that God is looking to preserve? 00:27:28.819 --> 00:27:30.720 Well, it's that people would be honored, right? 00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:33.759 If this is a life-uniting act, 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:35.319 we want it to be guarded and protected 00:27:35.319 --> 00:27:36.680 by a life-uniting commitment. 00:27:37.700 --> 00:27:39.539 In fact, preventing cohabitation. 00:27:39.640 --> 00:27:40.420 Cohabitation, by the way, 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:42.319 especially if it benefits anyone, 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:44.000 and I've just argued it doesn't benefit anyone, 00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:45.319 but if you're going to argue 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:46.160 that it benefits anyone, 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:47.920 it benefits men, not women. 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:50.700 For reasons that are hopefully obvious, 00:27:50.940 --> 00:27:52.319 we can talk about later if you want. 00:27:53.059 --> 00:27:54.900 And so this protects women 00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:57.619 from being in situations 00:27:57.619 --> 00:28:00.099 where they don't have the protection of commitment. 00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:02.940 And so all of these, 00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:04.380 the world around us offers us 00:28:04.380 --> 00:28:05.620 this vision of freedom 00:28:05.620 --> 00:28:07.740 that's actually incredibly dehumanizing. 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:11.380 Dehumanizing in the way we treat our bodies. 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:15.059 Dehumanizing in the way we treat other people. 00:28:15.820 --> 00:28:18.240 Dehumanizing in the way we enter into commitments. 00:28:19.980 --> 00:28:21.759 And so not much has changed in the world 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:22.900 since the 60s AD. 00:28:24.140 --> 00:28:26.960 There are still people who promise freedom 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:28.840 and deliver slavery. 00:28:28.839 --> 00:28:31.240 However, as I've named before, 00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:32.899 there's only one problem at this point, 00:28:32.959 --> 00:28:33.500 and it's this. 00:28:34.419 --> 00:28:37.039 If you're a Muslim or a Mormon, 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:40.279 you probably agree with every single thing 00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:41.179 I've said up to this point. 00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:46.600 What is it about Christianity that's different? 00:28:46.779 --> 00:28:50.400 What is uniquely Christian about this message? 00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:52.480 Well, one thing that's uniquely Christian, 00:28:52.580 --> 00:28:54.400 we can say, remember Matthew chapter 5, 00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:55.900 verses 44 and 45, 00:28:56.580 --> 00:28:58.500 Jesus tells us that God makes it rain 00:28:58.500 --> 00:28:59.600 on the just and the unjust. 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:03.160 And so yes, non-Christians are going to experience 00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:05.320 the blessings, the temporal blessings, 00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:07.079 in this world of obeying God's law. 00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:12.519 Yes, Muslims who adhere to a biblical sexual ethic 00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:14.679 are going to experience a certain level of blessing. 00:29:15.460 --> 00:29:16.619 And so part of what we say is 00:29:16.619 --> 00:29:18.720 everyone in this world enjoys God's blessings, 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:20.579 whether they recognize him or not. 00:29:21.799 --> 00:29:23.480 Another thing we can say is 00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:26.779 Jesus is the only one who offers healing 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:29.599 and restoration from our sexual brokenness. 00:29:31.019 --> 00:29:33.759 Jesus is the only one who offers healing 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:34.480 and restoration. 00:29:35.019 --> 00:29:37.099 And so I've described a variety of situations, 00:29:37.379 --> 00:29:38.980 some of which some of us have been in. 00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:42.579 Jesus still offers hope. 00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:46.140 This woman who's disappointed 00:29:46.140 --> 00:29:47.759 that I told you a story about earlier, 00:29:47.900 --> 00:29:50.519 Kirabel, she still has a future 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:52.220 and a hope in this life, 00:29:52.279 --> 00:29:53.980 despite what she's done to her body. 00:29:55.660 --> 00:29:58.220 Because Jesus offers a future and a hope 00:29:58.220 --> 00:30:01.400 to anyone and everyone who repents of their sin. 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:03.319 And so Jesus is the one who offers hope 00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:05.619 to this world in the midst of its sexual brokenness. 00:30:06.599 --> 00:30:08.159 That's something that other religions 00:30:08.159 --> 00:30:10.059 cannot offer to us. 00:30:11.220 --> 00:30:12.480 Jesus is also the only one 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:14.559 who can change our hearts and affections. 00:30:14.639 --> 00:30:17.339 If we are talking about slavery and freedom, 00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:20.779 who is going to free us from the slavery of sin? 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:24.519 The reason these things are alluring 00:30:24.519 --> 00:30:26.779 is because they offer us things our hearts want. 00:30:26.899 --> 00:30:30.240 And so our solution is not to be and behave better, 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:32.599 but to have new and changed hearts. 00:30:33.559 --> 00:30:36.400 And the apostle Paul talks about Jesus' ministry 00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:37.359 in this way. 00:30:37.460 --> 00:30:40.319 He talks about it as the defeat of slavery. 00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:42.579 We're told in Romans chapter six, 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:45.500 we know that our old self was crucified with him 00:30:45.500 --> 00:30:47.640 in order that the body of sin 00:30:47.640 --> 00:30:48.859 might be brought to nothing 00:30:48.859 --> 00:30:53.380 so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 00:30:53.380 --> 00:30:58.400 Jesus' death breaks the slavery of sin over us. 00:30:59.080 --> 00:31:02.660 It means that we're actually able to do what's right. 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:07.480 We're also told in Romans chapter six, verse 22, 00:31:07.660 --> 00:31:09.700 but now that you have been set free from sin 00:31:09.700 --> 00:31:11.780 and have become slaves of God, 00:31:12.180 --> 00:31:14.400 the fruit you get leads to sanctification 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:16.420 and to its end, eternal life. 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:19.700 In other words, there's a switch here. 00:31:19.940 --> 00:31:22.340 It's not that we actually give up slavery ultimately. 00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:24.899 It's that we all are slaves. 00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:26.259 We just choose our master. 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:31.599 We can be slaves to sin or slaves to God. 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:35.259 Being slaves to God leads to eternal life. 00:31:35.339 --> 00:31:37.839 And so it is only Jesus who's able to free us 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:39.059 from the power of sin 00:31:39.059 --> 00:31:43.319 and only Jesus who's able to give us the life 00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:46.179 eternally that this ethic looks forward to. 00:31:46.180 --> 00:31:51.660 And so yes, there are people who don't believe in God 00:31:51.660 --> 00:31:53.680 and people who believe in other gods 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:57.019 who will experience some of these benefits for a time 00:31:57.019 --> 00:31:58.799 if they follow these rules. 00:32:00.700 --> 00:32:06.019 And only people who believe in Jesus and his sacrifice 00:32:06.019 --> 00:32:09.980 have a hope of salvation from failures in the past 00:32:09.980 --> 00:32:14.860 and a hope of the life that God offers in the future. 00:32:15.660 --> 00:32:18.140 And so we as Christians can hold out the hope of life 00:32:18.140 --> 00:32:19.759 no matter what someone's past is, 00:32:19.799 --> 00:32:21.079 no matter what our past is, 00:32:21.079 --> 00:32:22.960 because Jesus has freed us 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:24.740 from the reality of slavery to sin. 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:26.160 He's done it by his death, 00:32:26.599 --> 00:32:27.779 doing what we could not do. 00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:30.660 And so the offer is to anyone and everyone 00:32:30.660 --> 00:32:32.200 who repents of their sins, 00:32:32.579 --> 00:32:34.259 turns to the life that God offers, 00:32:34.420 --> 00:32:36.640 knowing that it's Jesus who changes their heart 00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:39.120 and makes them able to obey. 00:32:42.700 --> 00:32:44.759 And so that's how Jesus is the one 00:32:44.759 --> 00:32:48.259 who gives us true freedom rather than real slavery. 00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:52.000 Now I told you last week, 00:32:52.040 --> 00:32:54.020 I reminded you of a passage from 1 Peter, 00:32:54.100 --> 00:32:55.820 1 Peter chapter five, verse eight, 00:32:56.100 --> 00:32:59.000 which tells us that the devil is like a ravenous lion 00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:00.480 looking for someone to devour. 00:33:01.400 --> 00:33:04.320 In other words, there's real spiritual warfare going on. 00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:07.159 I'm gonna interpret, not interpret, 00:33:07.240 --> 00:33:08.460 I'm gonna give you a different image 00:33:08.460 --> 00:33:11.740 than the devil is a lion looking for someone to devour. 00:33:11.859 --> 00:33:13.619 Some of you Coloradans will appreciate this. 00:33:14.419 --> 00:33:17.000 Our enemy, the devil, is a fly fisherman 00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:20.859 looking for fish to catch. 00:33:22.019 --> 00:33:24.399 Now fly fishing, very popular out here in Colorado, 00:33:24.599 --> 00:33:25.759 and the logic is this. 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:28.619 You find a fish, you promise the fish freedom, 00:33:29.099 --> 00:33:30.539 and you deliver slavery. 00:33:30.539 --> 00:33:34.359 You've got your fly, right? 00:33:34.819 --> 00:33:37.299 It's meant to appear to be something good 00:33:37.299 --> 00:33:38.920 and wonderful and sweet. 00:33:40.200 --> 00:33:42.079 The fish takes it, what does it get? 00:33:42.159 --> 00:33:43.799 Not the freedom, not the fly, 00:33:44.259 --> 00:33:46.259 but the hook in its mouth. 00:33:48.659 --> 00:33:50.139 And so the devil is a fly fisherman. 00:33:50.299 --> 00:33:53.200 He is looking for Christians that will take the bait. 00:33:54.299 --> 00:33:56.659 They will believe the offers of freedom 00:33:56.660 --> 00:33:58.240 that are actually false, 00:33:58.340 --> 00:34:01.200 that actually lead to slavery and death. 00:34:02.420 --> 00:34:05.740 Now, some people say Colorado's a great place to fly fish. 00:34:06.140 --> 00:34:07.100 Some ways that's true. 00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:08.200 We've got a lot of great rivers 00:34:08.200 --> 00:34:09.519 and we've got great locations. 00:34:10.180 --> 00:34:12.260 There's also some ways in which Colorado's 00:34:12.260 --> 00:34:13.940 not a great place to fly fish. 00:34:14.380 --> 00:34:15.180 And here's why. 00:34:15.700 --> 00:34:17.159 The fish have gotten smart. 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:20.779 If you go down, 00:34:21.139 --> 00:34:22.739 let's say you go down to the South Platte, 00:34:23.099 --> 00:34:24.579 you throw your fly in, 00:34:24.759 --> 00:34:26.559 those fish are not going to be snapping 00:34:26.559 --> 00:34:27.819 at every fly you throw. 00:34:29.179 --> 00:34:30.799 You've got to be really good 00:34:30.799 --> 00:34:31.859 if you're in some of those spots 00:34:31.859 --> 00:34:33.519 because they've been fished over and over, right? 00:34:33.539 --> 00:34:34.899 It's a catch and release place. 00:34:35.539 --> 00:34:37.679 This is not the fish's first rodeo. 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:42.480 And so they have been trained by experience 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:46.460 to be able to discern between freedom and slavery. 00:34:47.159 --> 00:34:51.920 We, as God's people, brothers and sisters, 00:34:52.159 --> 00:34:54.099 we want to know the difference 00:34:54.099 --> 00:34:56.199 between freedom and slavery. 00:34:57.199 --> 00:34:59.279 Not because of experience. 00:34:59.739 --> 00:35:02.460 Not because we've been hooked over and over again. 00:35:03.059 --> 00:35:05.159 We want to know the difference 00:35:05.159 --> 00:35:07.039 between freedom and slavery 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:11.639 because God has taught it to us in His Word. 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:15.639 And it's a freedom that He gives us 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:17.400 and only gives us 00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:19.480 through our Lord and our Savior, 00:35:20.019 --> 00:35:20.719 Jesus Christ. 00:35:21.940 --> 00:35:22.960 Please pray with me. 00:35:25.199 --> 00:35:26.259 Our Father in Heaven, 00:35:26.379 --> 00:35:28.219 we thank You for Your Word 00:35:28.219 --> 00:35:30.699 that speaks clearly and directly to us. 00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:32.119 It doesn't mealy mouth. 00:35:33.460 --> 00:35:35.159 Father, it doesn't talk around things, 00:35:35.179 --> 00:35:37.139 but it tells us the truth that we need to hear. 00:35:37.139 --> 00:35:40.119 We ask that You would use this truth this morning 00:35:40.119 --> 00:35:41.759 to protect Your people 00:35:41.759 --> 00:35:45.159 from the temptations and snares of the devil. 00:35:45.359 --> 00:35:47.159 We ask that for those who are not Your people, 00:35:47.279 --> 00:35:49.359 that You would draw them to Yourself even now, 00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:50.920 that You would bring them to desire 00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:52.159 and want true freedom, 00:35:53.039 --> 00:35:54.379 and that through it they would come 00:35:54.379 --> 00:35:56.719 to faith in Jesus Christ 00:35:56.719 --> 00:35:58.019 and repentance from sins. 00:35:58.460 --> 00:35:59.259 Father, we thank You 00:35:59.259 --> 00:36:01.199 that we can ask these things boldly 00:36:01.199 --> 00:36:03.099 because we ask them in Jesus' name. 00:36:03.099 --> 00:36:04.019 Amen.