WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:06.240 Okay, this morning we are bringing to a conclusion our series called God's Good Design. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:14.220 And we have been looking at this area of marriage and sexuality and singleness and relationships and identity and desire. 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:17.660 And I hope it's been a good series for us as a church. 00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:24.060 I know it's been challenging, but I hope it's been hope-filled and I hope it's been encouraging even still. 00:00:24.059 --> 00:00:31.579 So, today we come to the final part and we're going to look at this idea of sexual desire and the heart of desire. 00:00:31.759 --> 00:00:42.420 And why the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ gives hope to those of us for which this area of our lives is an area of pain or shame or hurt or difficulty. 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:45.679 Now as we dive into this, I just want to write up front. 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:50.739 I want to tell you about two books that I want to encourage us to get and to read. 00:00:51.480 --> 00:00:53.079 Both in the area of pornography. 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:55.299 We're going to be talking about pornography a little bit later. 00:00:55.820 --> 00:01:01.659 But the first is a book by Deepak Reju on the right, left, called Fighting for Purity. 00:01:01.820 --> 00:01:03.140 Pornography, Fighting for Purity. 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:05.060 That's a 31-day devotional. 00:01:05.299 --> 00:01:09.640 Deepak Reju is an associate pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:16.259 And the second one is by Tim Chester called Captured by a Better Vision, Porn-Free Living. 00:01:16.659 --> 00:01:18.759 And so I really want to encourage you to download those. 00:01:19.019 --> 00:01:22.000 If you do struggle with this in any way, get those. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:23.739 Those are both fantastic books. 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:28.500 Now let's dive into our passage, Matthew chapter 5. 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:38.420 This passage that Justin read to us this morning is not just an isolated passage of Scripture about lust and sexual desire. 00:01:38.420 --> 00:01:45.700 It's a passage of Scripture which is found in a body of teaching which is known as the Sermon on the Mount. 00:01:45.900 --> 00:01:46.019 Okay. 00:01:46.320 --> 00:01:53.280 And the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, and 7, is a body of teaching which is found in a larger context. 00:01:53.859 --> 00:01:59.840 The book of Matthew, which one of Jesus' disciples, Matthew, wrote, is very carefully constructed. 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:01.840 There are seven parts to the book of Matthew. 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:06.359 We're going to be preaching through it starting in two weeks' time, so we'll talk about it a bit more then. 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:09.120 But there's an introduction, which is all about Jesus. 00:02:09.640 --> 00:02:12.500 And then there's five bodies of teaching. 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:16.759 And then finally, the climax, which ends with Jesus' death and His resurrection. 00:02:17.460 --> 00:02:21.379 And so in the middle in between these two bookends are five bodies of teaching. 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:26.539 And the Sermon on the Mount is found in the first body of teaching, which is chapter 4 to 7. 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:34.859 And the summary statement for this first body of teaching in Matthew's Gospel is actually found a little earlier in chapter 4. 00:02:34.979 --> 00:02:36.500 And it goes like this. 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:40.439 And Matthew, speaking about Jesus and His public ministry, says this. 00:02:40.840 --> 00:02:43.719 From that time on, Jesus began to preach, saying, 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:46.479 Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:53.259 And then a few minutes later, a few verses later, Jesus finds some fishermen, and He says to them, 00:02:53.519 --> 00:02:54.239 Follow Me. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:03:00.159 And so the rest of the first section of Matthew's Gospel, the first of these bodies of teaching, 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:04.000 is all about what it looks like to follow Jesus as King. 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:08.639 Or another way of saying it is, what does life in the kingdom of heaven look like? 00:03:08.979 --> 00:03:12.159 So remember, Jesus says, Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:03:12.579 --> 00:03:13.419 Follow Me. 00:03:13.419 --> 00:03:20.039 And so this whole Matthew chapter 4 to 7 is all about, what does it mean to follow Christ as King? 00:03:20.179 --> 00:03:22.699 What does it mean when the kingdom of God comes into our lives? 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:26.779 What does that look like to live under the reign and the rule of King Jesus? 00:03:27.219 --> 00:03:30.519 And so that's the context in which we find ourselves this morning. 00:03:31.119 --> 00:03:36.079 And that's really important, because sometimes we can read the New Testament or the Gospels and think, 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:42.720 Jesus did away with the Old Testament, like the Old Testament was bad, you know, didn't work. 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:44.660 And so let's come up with a new set of rules. 00:03:44.780 --> 00:03:46.320 And Jesus is saying, No, not at all. 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.060 I haven't come to do away with the Old. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:52.760 I've come to show you what the whole Old Testament is all about, 00:03:52.760 --> 00:03:57.900 is what do our lives look like under King Jesus when the kingdom of heaven comes. 00:03:57.900 --> 00:04:01.460 Now this morning, if you're here and you're not a follower of Jesus, 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:04.280 a couple of things that would be good for you to understand. 00:04:04.740 --> 00:04:08.360 The first is, Jesus' words here might seem strange to you. 00:04:08.819 --> 00:04:12.980 And that's fine, because Jesus is speaking to His disciples here this morning, 00:04:13.040 --> 00:04:15.159 to those who have come to know Him as King. 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:19.319 And so in some ways, you may think like, well, that doesn't really resonate. 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:25.680 But in many ways, as you read further, you'll see that Jesus is answering the big questions of our hearts. 00:04:26.159 --> 00:04:28.800 But in this passage, Jesus is speaking to His disciples, 00:04:28.939 --> 00:04:32.459 and He wants to show you what life looks like as you become a disciple of Jesus, 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:35.500 as you follow Him as Lord and King. 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:38.920 But the other thing that's good for us to know is Jesus tells us 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:43.039 that you can't divorce His teachings from Him as a person. 00:04:43.939 --> 00:04:48.399 Sometimes we think, I like Jesus, I like His teachings, I like His morals, 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:51.719 but I don't know if I want to submit to Him as King and Lord. 00:04:51.979 --> 00:04:57.199 I'll follow His teachings, but I'm more open about different religions and different teachers. 00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:00.599 And Jesus says, in that case, my teachings won't make sense, 00:05:01.139 --> 00:05:04.239 because I didn't come just to give you new teachings or new morality. 00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:07.620 The message of the gospel is the message of the person. 00:05:08.459 --> 00:05:09.979 Jesus Himself is the message. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:14.279 The gospel is that the King has come to rescue and redeem. 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:17.339 And so this morning, as we look at these passages, 00:05:17.339 --> 00:05:20.779 this isn't just good advice for us to improve our lives. 00:05:20.859 --> 00:05:23.839 This is the message about Christ the King Himself. 00:05:24.659 --> 00:05:27.919 Now, today's sermon, there are three parts, as usual. 00:05:28.339 --> 00:05:30.719 And so we're going to look at the heart of sexual desire, 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:32.979 when sexual desire goes wrong, 00:05:33.179 --> 00:05:35.899 and then thirdly, good news for a broken world. 00:05:36.159 --> 00:05:36.339 Okay? 00:05:36.599 --> 00:05:38.359 So let's dive in. 00:05:38.859 --> 00:05:42.219 So if you've got your Bible, let's look at the first verse that we read this morning. 00:05:42.339 --> 00:05:43.139 Verse 27. 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:45.120 Jesus says this, 00:05:45.860 --> 00:05:47.079 You have heard that it was said, 00:05:47.599 --> 00:05:49.099 You shall not commit adultery. 00:05:49.740 --> 00:05:52.019 Now, what's Jesus talking about when He says this? 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:53.459 He says, you've heard it, right? 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:54.519 This is common knowledge. 00:05:54.579 --> 00:05:55.259 We all know this. 00:05:55.699 --> 00:05:56.919 What's He referring to? 00:05:57.919 --> 00:05:59.839 He was referring to the Ten Commandments. 00:05:59.939 --> 00:06:01.199 Remember the seventh commandment? 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:03.339 You shall not commit adultery. 00:06:04.019 --> 00:06:08.079 Which is a commandment that every Jewish man and woman and child would have known. 00:06:08.180 --> 00:06:10.539 They would have learned it early on at school. 00:06:10.540 --> 00:06:13.319 But in addition to these Ten Commandments, 00:06:13.520 --> 00:06:16.340 the entire body of Moses' teaching, 00:06:16.460 --> 00:06:18.819 the entire law, the first five books of the Bible, 00:06:18.960 --> 00:06:23.439 had many commands and rules having to do with sexuality and relationships 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:27.400 and intimacy and our sex lives. 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:32.080 And so Jesus is referring to this entire body of teaching. 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:33.720 He's not just saying the seventh commandment. 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:35.420 He says, remember what Moses taught you. 00:06:35.520 --> 00:06:39.560 Remember what the entire Old Testament has been teaching you about relationships. 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:43.500 Now, why does God give us these rules? 00:06:43.819 --> 00:06:45.379 Why does God give us these commands? 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:51.100 Sometimes as Christians, we can get a bit strange and awkward and weird around sexuality 00:06:51.100 --> 00:06:53.759 and blush when we talk about these things. 00:06:54.220 --> 00:06:56.720 But God, why does God give us these commands? 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:03.439 Why is God so strict and stringent and so careful about what He says about sexuality? 00:07:04.139 --> 00:07:07.160 Doesn't God know that we're fluid human beings and we've got passions? 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:09.460 And can't He just, you know, understand that? 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:11.400 Well, there's a whole bunch of reasons, 00:07:11.480 --> 00:07:14.340 but I want to just remind us of two of what we've been saying this whole series. 00:07:14.939 --> 00:07:20.320 The first reason is because God tells us that our sexuality is a reflection of Him. 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:24.400 And God's design for our sexual lives, our sexual relationships, 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:28.900 is meant to reflect the nature and the character of God, His selfless love. 00:07:28.899 --> 00:07:34.159 When sexuality is distorted and becomes about me and what I can get out of it 00:07:34.159 --> 00:07:38.479 and how I can please myself, it paints a distorted picture of who God is. 00:07:38.859 --> 00:07:42.060 It tells the world that God is self-centered and self-seeking. 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:46.139 But sexuality, which is about me giving of myself to somebody else 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:47.759 with whom I'm in covenant relationship, 00:07:48.219 --> 00:07:51.779 is meant to be a picture of God's selfless, self-giving nature 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:54.579 that He gives to those with whom He's in covenant relationship. 00:07:54.579 --> 00:07:59.339 And so sexuality is a picture of the nature and the character of God's selflessness. 00:08:00.159 --> 00:08:03.359 But secondly, because God's design for marriage and sexuality 00:08:03.359 --> 00:08:08.159 is such that He designed it beautifully and purposefully 00:08:08.159 --> 00:08:09.459 and it's well thought out. 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:12.919 And whenever you take something that's well thought out and well designed 00:08:12.919 --> 00:08:16.740 and you take that away from the original design 00:08:16.740 --> 00:08:18.240 and you use it for another purpose, 00:08:18.599 --> 00:08:21.319 it's always going to get messy. 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:25.219 You take anything in life that's been well thought out and designed 00:08:25.219 --> 00:08:26.699 and you use it for something else. 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:30.139 I take this iPad and I use it for a chopping board. 00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:33.939 And I think, oh, it's nice and flat and it'll work well. 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:35.600 It's not going to end well. 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:39.319 It's not going to serve the purpose for which it was designed very well. 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:42.860 God's got to design an intention for our sexuality. 00:08:43.539 --> 00:08:47.120 And when we divorce it from that, it's never going to end well. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:49.059 And so God gives us specific instructions 00:08:49.059 --> 00:08:51.739 and He says, follow my design and things will go well. 00:08:52.359 --> 00:08:55.839 And God's design is that two distinct people, male and female, 00:08:56.259 --> 00:09:00.299 come together in covenant commitment to live together for the rest of their lives, 00:09:00.359 --> 00:09:02.379 to give themselves to the other person. 00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:05.719 And when that happens, we are bonded and united 00:09:05.719 --> 00:09:11.199 in a very strange and physical and spiritual way. 00:09:11.599 --> 00:09:12.559 And there's this deep union. 00:09:12.719 --> 00:09:14.959 And out of this oneness comes new life. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:17.960 And that life is nurtured and cared for and protected. 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:22.840 And out of that new life is families and societies and communities are formed. 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:27.259 And so when that goes wrong, it not only defaces the nature and the character of God, 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:29.700 it causes all sorts of problems and dysfunctions 00:09:29.700 --> 00:09:33.500 and families and problems and homes and society. 00:09:33.660 --> 00:09:36.460 And it causes a whole bunch of pain and heartache. 00:09:37.500 --> 00:09:40.680 That's not, of course, to say that every family that does things by the book 00:09:40.680 --> 00:09:41.980 is going to have a perfect marriage. 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:44.820 Of course, we're still broken and we've got to work through our sinfulness. 00:09:45.700 --> 00:09:47.500 But friends, I think most of us here can testify 00:09:47.500 --> 00:09:52.879 that there's nothing that causes such pain and heartache as sexuality that's gone wrong. 00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:57.720 There's nothing that causes such devastation in lives and hearts and families and homes 00:09:57.720 --> 00:10:00.240 is when God's design is distorted. 00:10:00.920 --> 00:10:03.420 And so God gives us clear instructions. 00:10:04.039 --> 00:10:07.800 And so God's instructions to His people throughout the entire Old Testament 00:10:07.800 --> 00:10:09.759 and throughout the entire Bible is this. 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:14.220 So sacred is human sexuality, so profound is intimacy, 00:10:14.539 --> 00:10:17.419 that it's only to be given to one other person 00:10:17.419 --> 00:10:22.259 in the context of a lifelong commitment and covenant forever. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:27.100 Anything other than that is going to result in heartache and pain and difficulty. 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:27.779 Okay? 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:29.259 That's the big picture. 00:10:29.819 --> 00:10:32.939 And so now Jesus comes to His disciples here in the Sermon on the Mount 00:10:32.939 --> 00:10:33.439 and He says, 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:34.920 You've heard all this. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:36.940 This has been told to you from the beginning. 00:10:37.060 --> 00:10:40.080 This is what Moses had been telling you from thousands of years ago. 00:10:40.880 --> 00:10:42.300 That you've heard it said, 00:10:42.400 --> 00:10:43.400 Do not commit adultery. 00:10:43.500 --> 00:10:45.200 So Jesus doesn't set that aside. 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:46.720 He doesn't nullify it or say, 00:10:46.820 --> 00:10:47.520 That's old. 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:48.960 Let me give you something new. 00:10:49.180 --> 00:10:51.320 He affirms everything that God has said. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:53.600 But now Jesus ups the ante. 00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:54.580 Because what does He say? 00:10:54.700 --> 00:10:54.980 He says, 00:10:54.980 --> 00:11:09.860 What's Jesus doing here? 00:11:10.820 --> 00:11:12.000 What's Jesus saying? 00:11:12.899 --> 00:11:14.240 He reminds them what God has said. 00:11:14.940 --> 00:11:15.700 But then He says, 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:19.720 Let me tell you what is behind God's rules and God's laws. 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:21.360 Let's dig under the surface, 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:25.519 but let me show you what's underneath God's instructions for you. 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:29.000 Let me color in the pictures so that you get the whole story. 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:34.860 And Jesus is saying that when we end up in bed with someone other than our covenant partner, 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:38.659 it's not only wrong and destructive and blasphemes God's name 00:11:38.659 --> 00:11:40.360 and His holiness and His character, 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:42.060 but more than that, says Jesus, 00:11:42.059 --> 00:11:45.119 it's not just the behavior that God is interested in. 00:11:45.199 --> 00:11:47.699 It's the motivation that's behind the behavior. 00:11:48.319 --> 00:11:51.319 Jesus is saying the problem is not just the behavior or the conduct. 00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:54.979 The problem is that the behavior and the conduct is actually downstream 00:11:54.979 --> 00:11:57.959 from a source that started way upstream. 00:11:58.279 --> 00:11:59.919 And that source is, where does He say? 00:12:00.739 --> 00:12:01.559 It's in our hearts. 00:12:02.319 --> 00:12:03.199 It's in our hearts, right? 00:12:03.859 --> 00:12:05.459 And so what Jesus is saying is, 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:07.279 He's not only interested in our behavior. 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:08.279 He is interested in behavior. 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:11.799 But He's actually interested in the heart that's behind the behavior. 00:12:13.059 --> 00:12:14.579 Which drives our behavior. 00:12:15.019 --> 00:12:18.779 Behavior and conduct is downstream from something that started way up here, 00:12:18.899 --> 00:12:21.979 and it's the source of this behavior that is so destructive. 00:12:22.439 --> 00:12:24.859 It's the source of this that ends up committing adultery. 00:12:24.959 --> 00:12:27.679 It's the source of this that ends up having sex outside of marriage. 00:12:27.939 --> 00:12:30.899 It's the source of this, our heart, that calls us to visit strip clubs 00:12:30.899 --> 00:12:33.719 or look at pornography or whatever it is. 00:12:33.719 --> 00:12:36.479 Because these things are not found in just our behavior. 00:12:36.479 --> 00:12:37.679 It's found in our heart. 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:41.179 And this is true for women as much as it is for men. 00:12:41.359 --> 00:12:46.579 Sometimes we think of pornography and strip clubs and sexual sin as just a man's problem. 00:12:46.699 --> 00:12:48.759 But Jesus is saying that actually the problem is our heart. 00:12:49.099 --> 00:12:54.259 And all of us, male and female, have a heart that has been turned in on itself because of our sin. 00:12:55.299 --> 00:12:57.579 And so Jesus is saying it's not just a matter of biology. 00:12:57.579 --> 00:12:58.959 It's a matter of the heart. 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:02.179 And so what is it that Jesus is critiquing here? 00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:04.859 Well, the ESV calls it lustful intent. 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:13.259 In other words, it's when we feed our sexual desire and our pleasure outside of who Christ is 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:15.199 and who God has called us to be. 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:18.959 So does that mean that now when you go to work tomorrow, you go on the MTR, 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:23.579 and you kind of just sit like this in case you don't see any beautiful women around you? 00:13:23.580 --> 00:13:27.980 Or maybe you walk to work and just close your eyes and hope you don't bump into anyone? 00:13:28.500 --> 00:13:33.900 Or sit at the office desk with your sunglasses on and just blindfolded? 00:13:34.340 --> 00:13:35.320 No, no, of course not. 00:13:35.420 --> 00:13:36.639 What's he talking about? 00:13:37.580 --> 00:13:43.340 He's saying he's talking about looking or staring or feeding our eyes in such a way 00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:45.560 that feeds the sexual desires of our hearts. 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:51.020 It's when we see something that grabs our attention and we take that second look or that third look 00:13:51.019 --> 00:13:53.919 or we follow that look and stare, right? 00:13:54.620 --> 00:14:01.319 It's looking in order to feast on something that we know God has not given us. 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:07.879 And so the problem, Jesus says, is not just that you and I might have broken one of the Ten Commandments. 00:14:08.439 --> 00:14:09.860 We have a far deeper problem. 00:14:10.939 --> 00:14:12.179 We have a far deeper problem. 00:14:12.279 --> 00:14:17.159 And that is in the private places of our hearts, in the deepest and most fundamental places of our lives, 00:14:17.779 --> 00:14:20.699 we may be actually no different from those whose sin is obvious. 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:22.360 We may just be better at hiding it. 00:14:23.400 --> 00:14:28.140 And the reason is because whether we find ourselves in bed with someone other than our covenant partner 00:14:28.140 --> 00:14:33.720 or whether we undress a colleague at work in our minds or whether we are looking at pornography 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:36.940 or whether we are hooking up with a random guy or a girl at a club, 00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:40.360 all these things are actually downstream from the source of the problem, 00:14:40.540 --> 00:14:43.000 which is that our hearts are turned in on themselves. 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:49.120 Our hearts want to take what God has given for His glory and use them and consume them for our own desires. 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:52.940 And Jesus says the problem with this is that it's a cancer in our hearts. 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:58.919 It's like there's a virus in the control room of our lives and it's not going to end well. 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:01.560 And so Jesus always goes off to our hearts. 00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:04.580 And the question He's asking us this morning is what's happening in our hearts? 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:06.399 What's happening in our hearts? 00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:10.299 Remember, Jesus tells us that outwardly obeying the rules doesn't make you a Christian. 00:15:10.299 --> 00:15:16.319 A Christian is someone in their heart in the most fundamental part of their lives has come to surrender to Christ as Lord, 00:15:16.779 --> 00:15:20.159 confess our sin, and ask Him to come and be our King and our Master. 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:22.879 Someone in our hearts has put our hope and our faith in Jesus. 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:25.659 And the reason is because unlike traditional religion, 00:15:26.219 --> 00:15:30.000 Jesus tells us that the things that our hearts love and the things our hearts long for 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:33.120 and the things our hearts delight in, those things are actually our functional God. 00:15:33.699 --> 00:15:38.319 We can read all the Bible verses and memorize the Bible and come to church and go to CG 00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:42.640 and do all the Christian activities, but the things that our hearts love and trust in, 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:43.860 that's actually our God. 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:48.100 That's who we really worship and bow down before, whether it's sex or money or career. 00:15:48.800 --> 00:15:52.360 And so Jesus points out here that looking at someone with lustful intent, 00:15:52.560 --> 00:15:57.820 taking that second, that third look, is actually not just a matter of biology or anatomy. 00:15:58.460 --> 00:16:03.760 It's the same thing as ending up in bed with someone because it's where our heart is. 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:06.880 The heart is rooted in self-seeking and self-serving. 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:07.279 Okay? 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:11.600 So that's, Jesus talks about the heart of sexual desire. 00:16:12.179 --> 00:16:18.340 Now you may say, but Kevin, what happens if my desires don't affect anyone else? 00:16:18.779 --> 00:16:24.340 I mean, I look at pornography, let's just say, or maybe someone walks down the street 00:16:24.340 --> 00:16:29.519 and I just stare the hallway, or maybe I've got a colleague at work and I'm thinking in my mind, 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:31.279 I wonder what they would look like undressed. 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:33.440 But it's not affecting anyone else. 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:36.720 It's just me and the privacy of my own mind or my own bedroom. 00:16:36.900 --> 00:16:38.420 It doesn't hurt anybody else. 00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:39.300 What's the problem? 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:43.240 And that leads us to our second point, which is desire gone wrong. 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:49.380 You see, there's many problems with private sexual sin and with pornography in particular. 00:16:49.540 --> 00:16:51.820 And so let's just talk about a couple of them. 00:16:52.180 --> 00:16:56.580 One of the problems with sexual sin is that it's addictive and it's progressive. 00:16:56.580 --> 00:16:57.259 Okay? 00:16:57.660 --> 00:17:03.440 How many of us here, you don't need to raise your hands, but how many of us here have been 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:08.200 gay, looking at pornography, or maybe involved in a relationship which we just knew this isn't 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:12.779 right, this isn't good, this dishonors God, and we promised ourselves this is the last time. 00:17:13.220 --> 00:17:13.980 The last time. 00:17:13.980 --> 00:17:20.200 And then a day later, two days later, three days later, we find ourselves back there again. 00:17:20.980 --> 00:17:21.559 Why is it? 00:17:21.579 --> 00:17:22.599 Unable to say no. 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:26.980 And the reason is because pornography and sexual sin is so addictive. 00:17:27.460 --> 00:17:28.940 It has a power over us. 00:17:29.019 --> 00:17:32.099 We think we're in control of it, but actually it controls us. 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:38.500 I was reading this week a testimony of someone who said, he used to just watch normal pornography, 00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:42.359 and I don't know what normal as opposed to unnormal is, but anyway, normal pornography. 00:17:42.940 --> 00:17:49.059 And he said, hardcore, max pornography, abusive pornography was distasteful to him. 00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:49.839 It was disgusting. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:51.059 He couldn't stomach it. 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:55.819 But he'd look at it just now and then, just to see what is out there, what other people 00:17:55.819 --> 00:17:56.400 are looking at. 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:02.099 And before he knew it, he was looking at it every week, and then every third day, and 00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:04.859 before he knew it, he was loving it and enjoying it. 00:18:04.859 --> 00:18:09.519 What was once distasteful and disgusting, his appetite started to change. 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:10.039 Why is it? 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:13.199 Because pornography and sexual sin is addictive and it's progressive. 00:18:13.679 --> 00:18:14.619 It reels us in. 00:18:14.679 --> 00:18:19.079 It gets its hook inside of us, and we think we're mastering it, but actually it has mastery 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:19.699 over us. 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:24.899 And one of the markers of an addict in every sphere of life, whether it's alcohol or drugs 00:18:24.899 --> 00:18:28.259 or anything, is that we deny that it has control over us. 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:30.839 But pornography is deeply addictive. 00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:34.899 And so, I want to ask you, do you have control over it? 00:18:35.019 --> 00:18:36.599 You think you do and you can't stop? 00:18:36.899 --> 00:18:38.759 Just try stopping for six months. 00:18:39.899 --> 00:18:41.220 Friends, it's deeply dangerous. 00:18:41.399 --> 00:18:45.559 Another reason why it's so dangerous is the sin of lust often leads to more sins that are 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:46.959 with grave consequences. 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:51.720 This is actually true of all sin, but often with sexual sin, because it's so private and 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:56.240 there's so much shame involved, when we sin in one way, we often end up committing 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:58.439 more sins in order to cover it up, right? 00:18:58.440 --> 00:18:58.519 Right? 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:04.299 And so, let's just say, for instance, a wife is addicted to pornography, and she starts 00:19:04.299 --> 00:19:07.860 lying about it to her husband in order to protect her reputation. 00:19:08.120 --> 00:19:13.580 Or a man is addicted to sex, and so maybe starts keeping money from his wife who has a separate 00:19:13.580 --> 00:19:17.120 bank account in order to feed and fuel his desire. 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:22.039 Or maybe someone falls pregnant outside of marriage and ends up having an abortion in order 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:23.460 to protect their reputation. 00:19:23.460 --> 00:19:27.779 And so, we might think, oh, it's just one little sin, doesn't hurt anyone, doesn't affect anyone, 00:19:27.840 --> 00:19:32.799 but actually, the consequences lead to bigger sins, which have massive consequences. 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:36.740 And part of the problem is because of the private nature of sexual sin. 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:38.680 Its powers and its secrecy. 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:45.920 In order to keep it a secret, we have to cover it up, and so we engage in more and more addictive 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:46.299 sins. 00:19:46.299 --> 00:19:50.980 Another problem with sexual sin and porn is that it actually damages people. 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:56.419 Gail Dines is a professor of sociology and women's studies at Wheeler College in Massachusetts, 00:19:56.659 --> 00:19:58.259 and she wrote a book called Pornland. 00:19:58.899 --> 00:20:03.259 And just one little line, this book, there's a lot of good stuff in it, but one line says 00:20:03.259 --> 00:20:03.460 this. 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:11.220 She says, men addicted to pornography demonstrated zero empathy, respect, or love for the woman 00:20:11.220 --> 00:20:13.399 with whom they did actually have sexual relations. 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:20.480 So, men and women addicted to pornography actually destroy the empathy, the love, the tenderness, 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:25.240 the respect that they should have for either their current spouse or their future spouse. 00:20:25.700 --> 00:20:30.000 And the reason is because pornography, whether viewed by men or women, tells us a story. 00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:36.100 And the story is that we are not human beings made in the image of God, worthy of dignity 00:20:36.100 --> 00:20:37.120 and value and respect. 00:20:37.540 --> 00:20:42.980 We are just physical bodies with appetites to use and abuse one another for our own pleasure. 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:45.440 And so, just think about the Me Too movement. 00:20:45.940 --> 00:20:51.220 Thousands of women around the world are testifying to the fact that generally men, and generally 00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:56.420 a few about pornography that have now viewed women as just objects to satisfy themselves, 00:20:56.620 --> 00:21:01.820 are being sexually harassed and assaulted at work, by bosses, by colleagues, at church, 00:21:02.340 --> 00:21:04.360 by family members, by church leaders. 00:21:04.860 --> 00:21:05.019 Why? 00:21:05.120 --> 00:21:09.740 Because pornography has told us a story that people are there just as objects for us to use 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:10.560 for our own pleasure. 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:16.019 Fourth problem with porn and sexual sin is that it lies to us. 00:21:16.619 --> 00:21:17.619 It deceives us. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:19.419 Porn promises respect. 00:21:19.559 --> 00:21:20.579 It tells you you're sexy. 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:21.819 It tells you you're desirable. 00:21:22.059 --> 00:21:23.220 It tells you you're looked up to. 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:24.879 It tells you you're wanted by others. 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:26.619 But friends, it's a lie. 00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:27.240 It's not true. 00:21:27.879 --> 00:21:34.099 The people that are acting in those movies or on the whatever it is, I'm sorry to tell you 00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:35.059 this, they don't know you. 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:37.039 They don't actually think you're that amazing. 00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:38.379 They're just actors. 00:21:38.380 --> 00:21:39.620 It's a lie. 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:44.340 And it's a lie because your value and your worth are not determined by how sexy or appealing 00:21:44.340 --> 00:21:45.700 you may be to popular culture. 00:21:45.840 --> 00:21:49.580 It's based on the fact that you're a human being made in God's image, designed by Him. 00:21:50.140 --> 00:21:52.280 Porn lies to us because it promises us relationship. 00:21:52.840 --> 00:21:57.200 It tells us that you can be known in the most intimate and vulnerable way, that somebody cares 00:21:57.200 --> 00:22:00.140 about you and that you can know them and that they can know you. 00:22:00.140 --> 00:22:05.560 Porn actually triggers a chemical reaction in our brain that God designed to be released 00:22:05.560 --> 00:22:09.600 during intercourse between His spouses that forms a bond of relationship. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:14.700 So porn triggers this chemical reaction so you feel like you're bonding to this person, 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:16.920 but then actually that person disappears. 00:22:17.540 --> 00:22:21.060 And so porn promises a relationship, but that relationship is never there. 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:25.840 But it's a lie because you can't experience true relationship through porn or casual sexual 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:26.240 relations. 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:33.740 As we mentioned a few weeks ago, sexual relations, casual sexual relations actually hinder and 00:22:33.740 --> 00:22:38.240 undermine the sexual intimacy that we actually desire and crave. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:41.000 Thirdly, porn promises us a refuge. 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:44.959 For some of us, we may go to porn because it's an escape. 00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:47.099 It's an escape from the storms of life. 00:22:47.659 --> 00:22:50.139 Maybe from a difficult relationship, a difficult marriage. 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:54.800 Maybe marriage is hard and you feel like this is one way I can escape from the difficulty 00:22:54.800 --> 00:22:58.440 of marriage, but still have my needs satisfied. 00:22:59.060 --> 00:23:00.300 Or maybe you're running away from work. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:01.240 Work is pressured. 00:23:01.380 --> 00:23:01.920 It's stressful. 00:23:02.040 --> 00:23:04.220 You come home late at night and you're exhausted. 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:07.000 And one of the ways you just deal with it is by porn. 00:23:07.100 --> 00:23:09.900 So porn promises a refuge on the storm. 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:11.840 Friends, it's a lie. 00:23:12.540 --> 00:23:18.680 Because whenever we medicate or just go to something to distract us from our worries of life, 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:19.860 it doesn't solve the problems. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:23.620 It just kicks the can further down the road and we're going to have to deal with it later 00:23:23.620 --> 00:23:23.940 on. 00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:26.440 The problems just grow and get bigger and bigger. 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:28.279 And so porn lies to us. 00:23:28.299 --> 00:23:29.440 It doesn't take those things away. 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:30.580 You still need to face them. 00:23:31.340 --> 00:23:35.900 And finally, porn lies to us because it tells us that intimacy and pleasure are found in consuming 00:23:35.900 --> 00:23:38.299 sexual experiences rather than giving it away. 00:23:39.240 --> 00:23:43.680 But it's a lie because God designed us that the most pleasurable sexual experiences we have 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:47.200 are when we give of ourselves to our spouse for their pleasure. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:49.200 We think, how can I please you? 00:23:49.539 --> 00:23:50.779 How can I make you happy? 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:53.100 Non-consuming sexual experiences. 00:23:53.700 --> 00:23:57.900 And so porn lies to us because it promises a shortcut that it can never deliver. 00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:03.799 And then finally, the problem with sexual sin is that it eventually will destroy you. 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:10.779 In the book of Proverbs, the book of Proverbs is predominantly written by a man, a father to 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:11.340 his son. 00:24:11.339 --> 00:24:17.079 And he wants to teach his son what does it mean to be a godly, God-fearing, mature man. 00:24:17.179 --> 00:24:20.480 It's this young son that's going through adolescence. 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:23.579 And his father is giving him all this wisdom. 00:24:24.179 --> 00:24:27.899 And in the book of Proverbs, particularly the first 10 chapters, there are these two voices 00:24:27.899 --> 00:24:31.799 that this father's warning his son about, saying, you're going to have two voices that 00:24:31.799 --> 00:24:33.079 are competing in your ear. 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:36.339 One of them is going to lead to life and one's going to lead to destruction. 00:24:36.339 --> 00:24:38.220 And so in chapter 3, we read this. 00:24:38.699 --> 00:24:40.099 The first is the voice of wisdom. 00:24:40.419 --> 00:24:43.720 And so this father says, wisdom cries aloud in the street. 00:24:44.299 --> 00:24:46.199 In the marketplace, she raises her voice. 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:50.399 She is a tree of life for those who lay hold of her. 00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:52.899 Those who laid hold of her are called blessed. 00:24:53.539 --> 00:24:57.259 And so this father's saying, the voice may be distant, but there's a voice of wisdom. 00:24:57.480 --> 00:24:58.079 Listen to her. 00:24:58.099 --> 00:25:00.919 She will bless you and she'll produce life for you. 00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:03.819 But then there's this other voice, the voice of lust. 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:09.519 And so the father warns his son, says, with much seductive speech, she persuades young 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:09.879 men. 00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:13.240 With her smooth talk like honey, she compels you. 00:25:13.779 --> 00:25:17.919 All at once, a man will follow her as an ox goes to the slaughter. 00:25:18.619 --> 00:25:22.319 He does not know that it will cost him his life. 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:32.240 Friends, men, women, husbands, wives, singles, marrieds, sexual desire is a gift from God. 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:37.779 But because of our corrupted nature, because sin and the fall has corrupted us, the consequences 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:42.980 of sexual desire gone wrong is broken homes and broken families and broken lives and broken 00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:43.500 hearts. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:48.799 Our culture is a graveyard of brokenness of men and women that have felt the consequences 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:49.099 of it. 00:25:49.380 --> 00:25:53.160 They have no idea whether they are loved or ever can be loved. 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:57.620 Our city is full of men and women that wonder, will anybody ever love me? 00:25:57.619 --> 00:26:02.099 Because the promises of porn and sexual desire gone wrong have just broken their promises 00:26:02.099 --> 00:26:04.000 and lied to them time and time again. 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:07.219 And so the question is, what should we do about this? 00:26:07.919 --> 00:26:08.699 What should we do? 00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:12.679 Well, let's look at what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 5. 00:26:12.779 --> 00:26:15.139 Let's look at verse 29 and 30 together. 00:26:16.139 --> 00:26:17.739 Jesus says something quite interesting. 00:26:17.899 --> 00:26:18.279 He says, 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:37.700 So what should we do? 00:26:38.700 --> 00:26:41.759 Those of us that struggle, should we book ourselves in for an operation? 00:26:42.660 --> 00:26:45.379 Maybe change our bodies a little bit? 00:26:45.380 --> 00:26:49.860 But, well, I think that's clearly not what Jesus is saying, because Jesus has just told 00:26:49.860 --> 00:26:54.600 us the week before, the verse before, that the problem isn't with our bodies, the problem 00:26:54.600 --> 00:26:56.000 is with our hearts, right? 00:26:56.120 --> 00:26:57.040 He's just said that. 00:26:57.600 --> 00:27:01.900 And so Jesus said, you can go and cut off your hand or constrate yourself or poke out 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:05.720 your eyes, but actually if your heart is still corrupted, you're going to find a way 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:08.180 to still give in to sexual desire and temptation. 00:27:08.860 --> 00:27:12.520 And that's why even putting software on our phones and our computers or being accountable, 00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:17.599 those are good things, but if our heart isn't in the right place, we're going to find a 00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:18.980 way around those things, right? 00:27:19.700 --> 00:27:22.559 And so Jesus is saying, you need to be radical with this. 00:27:22.619 --> 00:27:25.259 This is a cancer in our heart that's going to destroy us. 00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:28.879 Be radical and ruthless with the measure that you take. 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:33.839 It's like, friends, if you've been diagnosed with cancer, you know, you don't just take an 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:36.539 aspirin and go to bed and hope that it goes away in the morning. 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:37.920 What do you do? 00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:39.299 You get radical. 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:40.879 You go for surgery. 00:27:41.019 --> 00:27:41.879 You go for radiation. 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:42.980 You go for chemo. 00:27:43.639 --> 00:27:47.500 You take a drastic measure to destroy the cancer in your body. 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:51.079 Friends, when there's a cancer in our heart, Jesus says, don't just take an aspirin. 00:27:51.859 --> 00:27:53.779 You've got to get radical and ruthless. 00:27:54.359 --> 00:28:00.559 And so Jesus is saying, whatever price it costs you is a small price to pay now compared to 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:03.740 the massive price you'll pay one day if this thing gets out of hand. 00:28:04.139 --> 00:28:05.839 It may feel like a big price now. 00:28:05.899 --> 00:28:07.960 You cut off your hand, that feels like a big price. 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:12.519 It is pocket change compared to the price you'll pay if this gets out of hand. 00:28:13.340 --> 00:28:15.340 And so Jesus is saying, don't compromise. 00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:16.460 Don't give in. 00:28:16.900 --> 00:28:18.160 Don't bargain with it. 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:19.460 Don't cut a deal. 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:21.860 It's lying to you and it's going to stab you in the back. 00:28:22.360 --> 00:28:25.200 You make a deal, say just once a week, it's lying to you. 00:28:25.220 --> 00:28:26.120 It's going to kill you. 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:28.400 Friends, be ruthless with it. 00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:32.960 Whatever it takes, make sure you walk out of here alive because it wants to destroy you. 00:28:33.420 --> 00:28:34.539 You fight the fight. 00:28:34.660 --> 00:28:35.740 You wage your warfare. 00:28:35.740 --> 00:28:36.940 Don't give up. 00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:37.839 Don't give in. 00:28:38.539 --> 00:28:41.240 Friends, for some of us here, maybe we've given in. 00:28:42.019 --> 00:28:44.339 And some of us, we feel such guilt and such shame. 00:28:44.420 --> 00:28:45.579 And we feel like, what's the point? 00:28:45.740 --> 00:28:46.680 I'm so far gone. 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:48.279 I've messed up so badly. 00:28:48.359 --> 00:28:49.700 I might as well just keep on going. 00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:53.019 Friends, let that guilt drive you to fight. 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:58.359 Let it put steel and concrete in your backbone. 00:28:58.359 --> 00:29:02.079 Let that guilt drive you to pick up your sword and you fight this fight. 00:29:02.679 --> 00:29:06.839 Jesus is saying, yeah, it may cost you, but you fight it because it wants to destroy you. 00:29:08.159 --> 00:29:11.099 And so for some of us, what's that small price that we need to pay? 00:29:12.339 --> 00:29:15.000 Which seems like a big price, but it's a small price now. 00:29:15.099 --> 00:29:16.879 For some of us, maybe we need to quit our jobs. 00:29:17.779 --> 00:29:21.759 If your current job is incompatible with sexual purity, you quit your job. 00:29:21.819 --> 00:29:22.719 You find another job. 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:23.399 You ask God. 00:29:23.459 --> 00:29:24.039 He's faithful. 00:29:24.700 --> 00:29:27.099 You ask him to look after you, but you take the radical step. 00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:29.659 For some of us, maybe you're a boss or a CEO. 00:29:30.420 --> 00:29:32.019 Why don't you institute a policy at work? 00:29:32.139 --> 00:29:34.659 No two people traveling together of the opposite gender. 00:29:34.980 --> 00:29:36.159 You put that in place. 00:29:36.200 --> 00:29:39.659 It'll cost you business money, but put it in place. 00:29:39.659 --> 00:29:42.940 For some of us, we may need to confess to our spouse. 00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:46.420 Now just on that, that's a good thing to do. 00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:47.139 Be careful. 00:29:47.819 --> 00:29:49.599 Maybe don't do it on the bus on the way home. 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:53.980 Maybe find a third-party member that can sit with you and help you. 00:29:54.039 --> 00:29:55.279 And work through that together. 00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:58.079 Don't drop that bombshell as if it's nothing. 00:29:58.819 --> 00:30:00.859 But maybe we need to talk to our spouse. 00:30:00.980 --> 00:30:03.460 For some of us, we need to break up with a boyfriend or a girlfriend. 00:30:03.700 --> 00:30:05.659 Because your whole relationship is built on intimacy. 00:30:06.619 --> 00:30:09.799 For some of us, actually for all of us that are struggling, we need to tell someone. 00:30:10.740 --> 00:30:11.159 Tell someone. 00:30:11.259 --> 00:30:12.180 Talk to your CG leader. 00:30:12.940 --> 00:30:13.379 Talk to me. 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:14.000 Talk to anyone. 00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:14.940 We'll pray with you. 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:16.059 We'll fight with you. 00:30:16.659 --> 00:30:17.539 Talk to somebody. 00:30:17.700 --> 00:30:19.420 Let's walk out of here alive. 00:30:20.039 --> 00:30:23.279 Friends, this is a cancer of the heart, which is more dangerous than we like to admit. 00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:27.200 In the words of John Owen, be killing sin or sin be killing you. 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:28.759 Let's get radical. 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:34.879 And so thirdly and finally, in this super-sexualized world of ours, with phones and internet and travel, 00:30:35.079 --> 00:30:39.259 and where pornography is throwing itself at us, we don't even need to go look for it. 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:40.579 It's coming into us all the time. 00:30:40.660 --> 00:30:41.519 Is there any hope? 00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:44.420 And so thirdly and finally, the hope of the gospel. 00:30:44.680 --> 00:30:46.279 Now there are four things I want to say to us. 00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:47.759 First thing is this. 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:51.899 Jesus came for sinners, for the broken, for the hopeless. 00:30:52.579 --> 00:30:57.180 Jesus came for people like me and for people like you, and therefore there is hope. 00:30:57.799 --> 00:31:00.599 As we said earlier, the book of Matthew is about an announcement. 00:31:00.859 --> 00:31:03.059 It's not about good advice. 00:31:03.180 --> 00:31:04.139 It's about good news. 00:31:04.639 --> 00:31:07.099 And the good news is that the King has come. 00:31:07.579 --> 00:31:13.440 The King has come to rescue and to redeem and to bring healing and freedom to those that are slaved. 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:20.259 The gospel of Jesus Christ is that Christ has come to die on the cross for sinners like me and sinners like you. 00:31:20.759 --> 00:31:24.740 Friends, there's not a single person in this room that has not been affected by sexual sin. 00:31:25.140 --> 00:31:30.380 There's not a single person in this room that has not fallen short of God's standards of holiness and righteousness. 00:31:30.860 --> 00:31:35.320 There's not a single person that can stand before the holiness of God on your own merit and say, 00:31:35.420 --> 00:31:36.200 I am fine. 00:31:36.759 --> 00:31:39.539 But friends, Jesus came to take our sin upon the cross, 00:31:39.539 --> 00:31:45.379 to cover our shame, to give us a righteousness and a holiness, which isn't ours, which is His, 00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:48.039 but He gave it to us as if it is ours. 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:50.200 And now we can stand before God saying, 00:31:50.539 --> 00:31:54.399 Father, I can stand confidently because Jesus' righteousness covers me. 00:31:54.920 --> 00:32:01.139 Friends, those who turn to Jesus in faith and repentance no longer carry their guilt or their sin or their shame. 00:32:01.420 --> 00:32:02.579 They are set free by Him. 00:32:02.579 --> 00:32:07.759 And I recently had a conversation with a new friend of mine that I met here in Hong Kong. 00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:10.539 And he was trying to convince me. 00:32:10.799 --> 00:32:12.819 We were talking about karma and grace. 00:32:13.379 --> 00:32:15.359 And so he was saying to me, I believe in karma. 00:32:15.879 --> 00:32:16.460 I believe that. 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:20.099 And the one thing he said was, karma always comes true. 00:32:20.419 --> 00:32:25.199 Whether it takes a thousand years or a few hours, karma will always be balanced in the end. 00:32:25.879 --> 00:32:28.220 And so my response to him is, I said, I agree with you. 00:32:28.539 --> 00:32:29.740 You reap what you sow. 00:32:29.740 --> 00:32:33.339 We're going to be held accountable for our actions and our desires and our thoughts. 00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:34.640 I absolutely agree with you. 00:32:35.120 --> 00:32:38.099 The problem is, in my case, that's very bad news. 00:32:38.680 --> 00:32:40.339 Because I've done a lot of bad things. 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:42.160 And I may look like I've got it all together. 00:32:42.299 --> 00:32:43.819 And I may put on a brave face. 00:32:44.200 --> 00:32:46.460 But in my heart, I'm more of a mess than I let on. 00:32:47.140 --> 00:32:49.720 And if karma is all I've got, I'm in a bad way. 00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:51.660 Because I'm holding out for grace. 00:32:52.299 --> 00:32:53.319 I'm holding out for Jesus. 00:32:53.940 --> 00:32:55.240 That's the only hope I've got. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:59.660 Friends, some of us here this morning, you're feeling so condemned about what you've done this week. 00:33:00.279 --> 00:33:01.759 Maybe even what you've done this weekend. 00:33:02.519 --> 00:33:04.980 Maybe even what you've done this day. 00:33:05.940 --> 00:33:08.319 Friends, maybe you think that you're too far gone. 00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:11.279 Friends, the truth is that you're worse than you think you are. 00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:14.559 The truth is the situation is worse than you think it is. 00:33:15.319 --> 00:33:18.019 The truth is you're worse of a sinner than you like to admit. 00:33:18.559 --> 00:33:20.599 Friends, we don't just sin because we make bad choices. 00:33:20.599 --> 00:33:24.940 We make bad choices because we are sinners and our heart is distorted and turned in on ourselves. 00:33:25.640 --> 00:33:27.620 And you and I are more sinful than we like to admit. 00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:30.400 And our situation is more hopeless than we think it is. 00:33:31.019 --> 00:33:31.920 But friends, you know what? 00:33:32.440 --> 00:33:33.860 No matter how hopeless it is. 00:33:34.259 --> 00:33:35.820 No matter how far gone you are. 00:33:36.140 --> 00:33:39.340 No matter how beyond the reach of redemption you think you are. 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:48.879 Jesus Christ came for sinners like you and like me to rescue us and redeem us and to bring us out of the pit of destruction and debauchery and to set us free. 00:33:49.619 --> 00:33:51.500 Friends, you are never too far gone. 00:33:52.019 --> 00:33:53.740 Some of us here think, I'm too wicked. 00:33:54.059 --> 00:33:55.059 What I've done is too wrong. 00:33:55.059 --> 00:34:00.460 Some of us may feel like what you've done, what you're currently doing, you can't even fight anymore. 00:34:01.220 --> 00:34:05.480 Friends, Jesus came for people like you and I. 00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:11.360 Friends, if you will humble yourself, you'll come to Jesus in faith and repentance and rejoicing. 00:34:11.659 --> 00:34:14.920 If you'll turn from your sin, Christ will give you his righteousness. 00:34:15.799 --> 00:34:17.980 There's an old hymn which I love and it goes like this. 00:34:17.980 --> 00:34:47.960 It says, 00:34:47.980 --> 00:35:02.000 Friends, Jesus Christ is a majestic Savior. 00:35:03.340 --> 00:35:06.300 Friends, some of us here are maybe in the middle of an affair. 00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:09.980 Maybe even just this week you've been unfaithful to your spouse. 00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:11.920 Friends, you need to confess that. 00:35:12.019 --> 00:35:12.780 You need to come clean. 00:35:13.699 --> 00:35:14.539 You need to repent. 00:35:15.260 --> 00:35:16.539 But you can rejoice in Jesus. 00:35:16.539 --> 00:35:18.119 Jesus, he came for you. 00:35:18.860 --> 00:35:19.980 You're not too far gone. 00:35:20.699 --> 00:35:23.199 He came to save you and rescue you. 00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:24.880 Jesus came for sinners. 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:27.460 Secondly, Jesus came to pour his love into our hearts. 00:35:28.259 --> 00:35:36.719 One of the lies that porn tells us is that the reason we're stuck in porn is because nobody will ever love us sincerely or deeply or love us as we really are. 00:35:37.699 --> 00:35:42.739 Porn tells us that we're nobodies and that this is the only option we have to really fulfill our desires. 00:35:42.739 --> 00:35:44.279 Porn tells us that we're stuck. 00:35:44.779 --> 00:35:45.259 We're nobodies. 00:35:45.259 --> 00:35:45.699 We're useless. 00:35:45.859 --> 00:35:46.879 No one will really love us. 00:35:46.959 --> 00:35:49.159 And so the best option we have is just to use porn. 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:55.979 Friends, Jesus came to pour his unending, never ceasing, never giving up, steadfast love into our hearts. 00:35:56.559 --> 00:36:03.359 Where porn and sexual encounters affirm the lie that your identity is based on your sexual appeal or how good looking you are, 00:36:03.360 --> 00:36:05.780 Jesus says, I love you because I chose you. 00:36:06.280 --> 00:36:08.559 Jesus says, I love you because I set my sights on you. 00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:13.039 I love you because I created you before the world, because I called you before the world was made. 00:36:13.460 --> 00:36:16.900 I love you just the way, and I made you just the way I wanted you. 00:36:17.019 --> 00:36:22.099 I love you because my heart overflows with love and I choose to direct that love to you. 00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:25.620 Friends, what do we do with sexual desires when we have them? 00:36:26.120 --> 00:36:29.039 What do we do with our heart's desires to love and to be loved? 00:36:29.619 --> 00:36:31.599 Buddhism tells us desire is wrong. 00:36:31.699 --> 00:36:32.639 Just eradicate it. 00:36:32.699 --> 00:36:33.940 Try and get rid of your desires. 00:36:34.420 --> 00:36:36.659 Western thinking says desire is all you have. 00:36:36.759 --> 00:36:37.380 Go with it. 00:36:37.880 --> 00:36:43.400 Jesus Christ says your desires are a small picture of the real longing that your heart is made for, which is heaven. 00:36:44.059 --> 00:36:50.320 Jesus says the desires in your heart is a small picture of the intimacy that I promised to give you and that I will give you one day. 00:36:50.900 --> 00:36:54.659 Jesus Christ comes to fill our hearts with the love that our hearts were made for. 00:36:55.179 --> 00:36:58.699 Jesus Christ promises us what our hearts long for. 00:36:59.420 --> 00:37:00.300 Third thing is this. 00:37:00.920 --> 00:37:02.559 Jesus came to change our hearts. 00:37:03.239 --> 00:37:04.139 Came to change us. 00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:06.380 Sorry for all the ancient hymns. 00:37:06.440 --> 00:37:08.719 There's another ancient hymn I like, and it goes like this. 00:37:08.759 --> 00:37:09.019 It says, 00:37:09.019 --> 00:37:25.639 You see what he's saying there? 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:28.559 He's saying Jesus' death on the cross was a double cure. 00:37:28.699 --> 00:37:29.639 It did two things. 00:37:29.639 --> 00:37:34.279 It saved from wrath and judgment, and it gave us forgiveness, but it didn't just do that. 00:37:34.699 --> 00:37:41.059 It also is the means by which we are purified and cleansed and sanctified and made whole and made more like Jesus. 00:37:41.719 --> 00:37:49.699 Friends, God's, Jesus' death on the cross is the reason that you and I can be purified and actually fight sin and get better and overcome it. 00:37:49.699 --> 00:37:52.139 Because Jesus died to give us a new heart. 00:37:52.719 --> 00:37:54.419 Remember in the Old Testament, Ezekiel says, 00:37:54.759 --> 00:38:00.739 There will come a day where I'll take out their hearts of stone, which are centered on themselves, and I'll give them a new heart. 00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:02.059 A heart which is tender. 00:38:02.199 --> 00:38:03.179 A heart which loves me. 00:38:03.259 --> 00:38:04.639 A heart which is made for me. 00:38:04.639 --> 00:38:06.579 I'll give them a heart of flesh. 00:38:07.460 --> 00:38:13.059 Friends, so many people in our city, my guess is many of us here are addicted to pornography and other sexual sin. 00:38:13.719 --> 00:38:15.099 And we don't know how to get free. 00:38:16.119 --> 00:38:16.819 We're lost. 00:38:16.920 --> 00:38:17.699 We feel enslaved. 00:38:17.819 --> 00:38:18.480 We feel trapped. 00:38:18.980 --> 00:38:19.859 We hate it. 00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:23.059 We hate ourselves, and yet we cannot get free from it. 00:38:24.500 --> 00:38:28.460 Because our hearts are hardened to God and hardened to others, and we're enslaved to our sin. 00:38:29.359 --> 00:38:31.000 Friends, Jesus came to set us free. 00:38:31.980 --> 00:38:33.539 Jesus came to change our hearts. 00:38:33.539 --> 00:38:36.179 Jesus came to rewire our hearts. 00:38:36.920 --> 00:38:40.440 Jesus came to take our hearts which are turned in on themselves and think about ourselves, 00:38:40.539 --> 00:38:43.300 and to open us up to look at others and to love others again. 00:38:44.119 --> 00:38:45.800 Jesus came to give us a new nature. 00:38:46.920 --> 00:38:48.159 Paul writes in Corinthians, he says, 00:38:48.259 --> 00:38:51.139 Don't you know if anyone comes to Christ, he is a new creation? 00:38:51.980 --> 00:38:54.920 The old life which is self-centered and self-seeking is gone. 00:38:55.559 --> 00:38:56.940 And now you're a new creation. 00:38:57.699 --> 00:38:58.820 He's given you a new heart. 00:38:59.400 --> 00:39:00.800 He's changed you from the inside out. 00:39:00.800 --> 00:39:04.039 And he says, All this comes from God through Jesus Christ. 00:39:04.640 --> 00:39:06.440 He reconciled us to himself. 00:39:07.480 --> 00:39:13.180 And then finally, friends, Jesus came that we might know him and love him and be satisfied by him. 00:39:14.039 --> 00:39:18.580 Remember in the beginning we said that you can't just follow Jesus without following him. 00:39:18.579 --> 00:39:22.840 And the reason is because Jesus didn't just come to give us new rules and new teachings. 00:39:23.039 --> 00:39:24.380 Jesus came to give us himself. 00:39:25.239 --> 00:39:27.559 Jesus knows that our hearts were actually made for him. 00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:31.480 Our hearts were made to delight in him and to feast on him. 00:39:32.380 --> 00:39:34.840 And Jesus didn't just come to give us good advice. 00:39:34.920 --> 00:39:36.380 He came to give us himself. 00:39:36.380 --> 00:39:42.480 And apart from encountering Jesus Christ, all his teachings will ever be good advice. 00:39:42.960 --> 00:39:43.880 There will just be rituals. 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:44.700 There will be rules. 00:39:45.240 --> 00:39:47.019 They won't give you the power to change. 00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:49.260 Friends, but you need to encounter Jesus. 00:39:49.860 --> 00:39:51.960 You need to have your heart ravished by King Jesus. 00:39:52.539 --> 00:39:55.500 You need to have your heart to sing and rejoice in him again. 00:39:56.019 --> 00:39:58.519 Friends, you need your heart captured by Christ and his glory. 00:39:58.680 --> 00:40:00.760 And you need his kingdom to become more beautiful. 00:40:01.540 --> 00:40:03.420 And Jesus came that that may be the case. 00:40:04.720 --> 00:40:08.460 You know, St. Augustine was a Christian around 1600 years ago. 00:40:09.040 --> 00:40:13.020 And he grew up, I think his mother and his grandmother brought him up. 00:40:13.520 --> 00:40:20.720 And so they taught him about Jesus and the Gospels in, I think it was Alexander or somewhere in Greece maybe. 00:40:21.200 --> 00:40:22.140 Even Greece or Egypt. 00:40:22.840 --> 00:40:24.260 And he knew the Gospel. 00:40:24.400 --> 00:40:25.240 He knew about Jesus. 00:40:25.480 --> 00:40:28.420 But he had these desires in him that he wanted to fulfill. 00:40:29.099 --> 00:40:32.539 And so he, as a young man, he goes off, I think, to Alexander and Egypt. 00:40:32.700 --> 00:40:33.320 And he studies. 00:40:33.599 --> 00:40:35.579 And he lives life to the maximum. 00:40:36.139 --> 00:40:41.220 And he fulfills all of his sexual desires and all of his sexual fantasies and even more. 00:40:41.599 --> 00:40:43.880 He absolutely just goes full tilt. 00:40:44.559 --> 00:40:47.800 And at one point in his life, he says, I prayed this prayer. 00:40:47.940 --> 00:40:50.240 I said, God, deliver me from my lusts. 00:40:50.380 --> 00:40:51.940 Just don't deliver me just yet. 00:40:52.340 --> 00:40:52.579 Okay? 00:40:52.700 --> 00:40:53.700 It's a very honest prayer. 00:40:53.699 --> 00:40:57.619 I said, God, deliver me, but maybe in a year or two time. 00:40:57.699 --> 00:40:57.779 Right? 00:40:57.799 --> 00:40:59.339 I'm quite enjoying myself right now. 00:40:59.919 --> 00:41:07.079 And so Augustine was fully delighting in all the sexual pleasures that these major cities were offering him. 00:41:08.319 --> 00:41:11.399 But at the end of his life or middle of life, he becomes a Christian. 00:41:11.539 --> 00:41:13.019 He discovers the wonder of Jesus. 00:41:13.819 --> 00:41:15.239 His whole life gets turned around. 00:41:15.939 --> 00:41:19.079 And at the end of his life, he writes this in his book called Confessions. 00:41:19.079 --> 00:41:49.059 He says, 00:41:49.079 --> 00:42:00.460 Friends, here is a man that tasted to the bottom every delight that he thought he could fill his heart and his body with. 00:42:00.880 --> 00:42:06.440 Here is a man that drank to the bottom of the dregs, the cup of self-indulgence and sexual desire. 00:42:07.179 --> 00:42:08.840 And in the end, he tasted Jesus. 00:42:08.960 --> 00:42:15.239 And he said, you are sweeter and more desirable and more beautiful and more pleasurable than all of those pleasures in all the world. 00:42:15.980 --> 00:42:17.480 Friends, this is why Jesus came. 00:42:17.480 --> 00:42:20.500 He came that our hearts will truly be satisfied. 00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:28.760 He came that we will no longer eat a little bit of rotten fruit down there, that our hearts will feast on true delight and true food, 00:42:28.860 --> 00:42:33.019 that our hearts and our minds and our bodies and our souls will be satisfied in him. 00:42:33.780 --> 00:42:37.400 Friends, if you struggle with porn, you'll never kick it just by trying hard. 00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:40.860 You'll never kick it by just telling yourself to be a better Christian. 00:42:40.860 --> 00:42:44.099 You'll kick it by delighting in the wonder of Jesus. 00:42:44.420 --> 00:42:47.640 You'll kick it by feasting on his glory and his grace. 00:42:47.840 --> 00:42:52.059 You'll kick it by having your eyes open to how wonderful and glorious he is. 00:42:52.720 --> 00:42:54.000 This is why Jesus came. 00:42:54.480 --> 00:43:01.740 That you might know him and encounter him and be set free by him and delight and rejoice in him. 00:43:01.739 --> 00:43:06.299 Deepak Raju in his book concludes his book like this. 00:43:06.359 --> 00:43:08.019 And let's conclude this series like this. 00:43:08.079 --> 00:43:11.419 He says, Jesus is always the beginning and the end of every matter. 00:43:11.899 --> 00:43:18.019 Because of what Christ has done for you in dying on the cross for you and being raised from the grave to conquer death and sin, 00:43:18.599 --> 00:43:20.500 you can have hope in the fight for purity. 00:43:21.239 --> 00:43:22.059 Trust in Jesus. 00:43:22.379 --> 00:43:23.319 Give your life to him. 00:43:23.599 --> 00:43:24.339 Rejoice in him. 00:43:24.779 --> 00:43:26.099 He will not disappoint you. 00:43:26.519 --> 00:43:28.659 He will be faithful to the very end. 00:43:28.659 --> 00:43:29.980 Let's pray together. 00:43:34.480 --> 00:43:41.859 Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning because we are sinners and we need you. 00:43:42.299 --> 00:43:43.239 Our hope is in you. 00:43:44.879 --> 00:43:50.559 God, as we come to the communion table, the Lord's Supper, we come to feast in you. 00:43:50.920 --> 00:43:54.319 It's a small picture of how you, Christ, satisfy our hearts and desires. 00:43:55.199 --> 00:43:56.599 God, come and set us free. 00:43:56.599 --> 00:43:58.819 Come and change our hearts. 00:43:59.659 --> 00:44:02.500 God, our hearts are corrupt because they're bent in on themselves. 00:44:02.659 --> 00:44:05.299 But God, you give us new hearts. 00:44:06.779 --> 00:44:10.980 God, once you come and make us more like you, we pray. 00:44:12.420 --> 00:44:19.259 God, I pray for those of us that feel hopeless, that feel like there is no solution, that feel like they are too far gone. 00:44:19.539 --> 00:44:22.199 I pray, God, once you give fresh courage and hope this morning, 00:44:23.099 --> 00:44:25.219 to carry on fighting and to delight in you. 00:44:25.219 --> 00:44:28.659 God, I pray for those of us that are not Christians this morning, 00:44:29.139 --> 00:44:32.919 those that are spiritual seekers or maybe we thought we're Christians but we're actually not. 00:44:33.759 --> 00:44:35.679 God, won't you come and cause us to be born again? 00:44:35.799 --> 00:44:36.859 Won't you open our eyes? 00:44:37.539 --> 00:44:43.199 Won't you give us the gift of faith to reach out to you and to call on you so that you can save us, God? 00:44:45.559 --> 00:44:46.759 Oh, God, we need you. 00:44:48.719 --> 00:44:50.139 Come and have your way, we pray. 00:44:50.139 --> 00:44:52.039 Amen.