WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.839 New Testament from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5. 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:16.000 We're going to read verses 27 to 30 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:20.600 as we continue to work through the Sermon on the Mount. 00:00:26.179 --> 00:00:27.500 So Jesus says this, 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:31.379 You have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery. 00:00:31.539 --> 00:00:36.000 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.060 has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:43.320 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away, 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:46.920 for it is better that you lose one of your members 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:50.039 than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:54.799 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away, 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:57.140 for it is better that you lose one of your members 00:00:57.140 --> 00:00:59.399 than your whole body goes into hell. 00:01:00.480 --> 00:01:01.500 This is God's holy word. 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:05.359 So Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, in verse 27, 00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:08.980 he quotes from the seventh commandment in the Old Testament 00:01:08.980 --> 00:01:11.799 and says, you shall not commit adultery. 00:01:12.519 --> 00:01:15.299 And then in verse 27, he then says, 00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:20.439 and let me tell you that if you've looked at another person with lust in your heart, 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:22.099 you've committed adultery in your heart. 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:27.119 Now, we tonight are going to talk about adultery and lust 00:01:27.119 --> 00:01:31.280 and some of the struggles we faced in terms of human sexuality. 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:34.599 So if you're a visitor, let me just say welcome to you. 00:01:34.939 --> 00:01:35.839 Glad to have you tonight. 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:36.899 Glad you came along. 00:01:37.399 --> 00:01:38.859 It's a perfect night for you to be here. 00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:40.719 It's God's word. 00:01:40.780 --> 00:01:41.219 It's always good. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:42.299 Why are we doing this tonight? 00:01:42.419 --> 00:01:43.919 Why are we talking about this? 00:01:44.739 --> 00:01:47.379 Let me give you a few reasons while it's really, 00:01:47.379 --> 00:01:50.179 really important for us to think about this issue. 00:01:50.299 --> 00:01:53.159 Number one, we are working our way through the Sermon on the Mount, 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:54.780 and this is the passage we're on. 00:01:55.420 --> 00:01:56.699 So that's the first important reason, 00:01:56.859 --> 00:01:58.259 is that we're working our way through the Bible, 00:01:58.399 --> 00:02:00.840 and so we want to talk about anything the Bible talks about. 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:05.159 And then secondly, most people in our culture, 00:02:05.419 --> 00:02:08.620 in a modern and post-Christian city like the city of Edinburgh, 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:11.859 think that Christianity is all about rules 00:02:11.860 --> 00:02:17.360 and think that the biggest rule that Christians really want to push 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:19.040 is rules surrounding sexual ethics. 00:02:19.820 --> 00:02:21.760 And so people think if you're going to be a Christian, 00:02:21.980 --> 00:02:24.440 it's about being a certain type of person. 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:26.100 Rules, rules, rules. 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:28.560 And the biggest thing and the most important thing 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:31.820 is to be committed to marriage 00:02:31.820 --> 00:02:34.460 and to never having any sexual expression outside of marriage, 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:35.600 and that's what it means to be a Christian. 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:37.920 And I think a lot of people in our city 00:02:37.920 --> 00:02:40.240 probably think about Christianity in that way. 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:42.800 And sometimes, as one writer puts it, 00:02:43.140 --> 00:02:44.400 even in the church, 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:47.980 we can struggle with frail devotion to rules 00:02:47.980 --> 00:02:50.260 driven by duty, not desire. 00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:53.300 And so it's very possible that even as Christians, 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:54.360 if you come tonight as a Christian, 00:02:55.060 --> 00:02:57.219 you can look at something like the Seventh Commandment 00:02:57.219 --> 00:02:58.120 or Jesus saying, 00:02:58.760 --> 00:03:00.300 and let me take that to the next level 00:03:00.300 --> 00:03:01.680 and say that if you struggle with lust, 00:03:01.760 --> 00:03:03.080 any time we struggle with lust, 00:03:03.100 --> 00:03:04.340 we've committed adultery in our heart, 00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:06.260 and we can come and think, 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:08.439 I don't know why that is, 00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:10.180 but I just know that I have to obey it. 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:11.760 That's what it means to be a Christian, 00:03:11.920 --> 00:03:13.000 just to follow the rules, 00:03:13.100 --> 00:03:13.960 rules, rules, rules. 00:03:14.980 --> 00:03:16.080 And we've got to come and see 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:18.100 that what the Sermon on the Mount is doing 00:03:18.100 --> 00:03:21.260 is it's offering something very different than rules. 00:03:22.420 --> 00:03:25.760 It's offering a life of joy and peace 00:03:25.760 --> 00:03:28.879 that walks in the grain of reality 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:30.000 the way God has made it. 00:03:30.780 --> 00:03:31.640 So the Sermon on the Mount 00:03:31.640 --> 00:03:33.560 and this issue of human sexuality 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:34.820 is teaching us what it means 00:03:34.820 --> 00:03:36.920 to actually walk along the grain lines, 00:03:37.020 --> 00:03:37.680 the wood lines, 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:40.020 of the way God actually made the world. 00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:42.939 And that's why when we come to this issue, 00:03:43.260 --> 00:03:44.819 when we come to so many issues, 00:03:45.460 --> 00:03:47.120 if we fail to walk along the grain 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:47.879 as God has made it, 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:49.700 if you break the rules 00:03:49.700 --> 00:03:51.200 in the way God has ordered them, 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:52.920 the biggest issue is that 00:03:52.920 --> 00:03:54.159 they break you. 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:57.379 You'll be broken by them. 00:03:58.600 --> 00:03:59.340 And so the Sermon on the Mount 00:03:59.340 --> 00:04:00.719 comes to first offer you 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:01.900 a life of joy and peace, 00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:04.360 but it does so also to protect. 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:06.140 Not to say Christianity is all about rules. 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:08.420 No, instead to offer you protection 00:04:08.420 --> 00:04:09.540 and help and healing. 00:04:09.900 --> 00:04:10.840 That's what it's here for. 00:04:10.980 --> 00:04:14.280 The third reason is that most of us, 00:04:14.480 --> 00:04:16.340 most people and everybody in our city 00:04:16.340 --> 00:04:19.920 comes to this topic with scars in their lives. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:23.740 And that's because sexuality, 00:04:23.900 --> 00:04:25.240 human sexuality expressed, 00:04:25.900 --> 00:04:27.660 has incredible power. 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:29.540 It's got power to fulfill 00:04:29.540 --> 00:04:30.620 in the right context, 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:32.500 and it has power to break you, 00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:34.360 to destroy your life 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:37.480 when engaged in the wrong context. 00:04:38.400 --> 00:04:39.920 And so in the modern world, 00:04:40.020 --> 00:04:41.180 people will say things like, 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:44.120 sex is existentially meaningless. 00:04:45.139 --> 00:04:46.340 It's part of the marketplace. 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:48.139 It's meaningless unless somebody chooses 00:04:48.139 --> 00:04:48.860 to give it meaning. 00:04:48.860 --> 00:04:51.400 And boy, because of that mentality, 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:54.240 that sexuality expressed is meaningless, 00:04:54.379 --> 00:04:55.379 existentially meaningless, 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:58.560 so many people have come from that mentality 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:00.699 with deep, deep scars in their lives. 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:03.900 And probably many of us are not immune to that. 00:05:03.980 --> 00:05:06.240 I think there's probably an unprecedented level 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.960 of pain all over our city 00:05:08.960 --> 00:05:11.120 based on the free expression, 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:12.780 quote unquote, of sexuality 00:05:12.780 --> 00:05:14.580 because of the modern mentality 00:05:14.580 --> 00:05:15.800 that sex is just a marketplace. 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:19.680 And that, let me put it like this, 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:20.720 one writer says it like this, 00:05:20.780 --> 00:05:21.900 in the sexual revolution, 00:05:22.740 --> 00:05:25.199 the sexual revolution has not left behind 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:26.840 any winners, only losers. 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:30.480 And when we think about human sexuality 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:32.819 expressed in utter options and freedom, 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:34.639 the writers have shown us, 00:05:34.699 --> 00:05:35.920 the sociologists, the commentators, 00:05:36.019 --> 00:05:36.480 the philosophers, 00:05:36.740 --> 00:05:37.960 that all we leave behind 00:05:37.960 --> 00:05:39.780 is a wake of pain and losers. 00:05:39.779 --> 00:05:41.659 And so it's really important 00:05:41.659 --> 00:05:42.819 that we come tonight 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:43.799 because some of us will come 00:05:43.799 --> 00:05:44.979 with guilt and shame 00:05:44.979 --> 00:05:46.859 in our lives that we've buried 00:05:46.859 --> 00:05:48.079 for things that we've done 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:49.439 or things that have happened to us 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:50.279 in the past. 00:05:50.379 --> 00:05:51.179 Many of us will come tonight 00:05:51.179 --> 00:05:51.759 with regret 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:53.739 and deep hurt 00:05:53.739 --> 00:05:57.399 over sexuality expressed 00:05:57.399 --> 00:05:58.139 in our past. 00:05:59.019 --> 00:05:59.959 Some of us will come 00:05:59.959 --> 00:06:01.619 with a lack of fulfillment 00:06:01.619 --> 00:06:02.500 and loneliness 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:03.959 in relationships. 00:06:04.719 --> 00:06:05.779 We'll come maybe, 00:06:05.779 --> 00:06:06.379 maybe, 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:07.599 maybe tonight 00:06:07.599 --> 00:06:08.399 with a feeling 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:10.539 that you have nowhere to go, 00:06:11.139 --> 00:06:12.319 nobody to talk to, 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:13.659 no help 00:06:13.659 --> 00:06:15.259 to get you out of deep, 00:06:15.479 --> 00:06:16.339 dark patterns 00:06:16.339 --> 00:06:17.959 that are really damaging 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:19.119 when it comes to sexuality. 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:21.139 And so we come tonight 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:21.799 with deep need 00:06:21.799 --> 00:06:22.799 and we read, 00:06:23.559 --> 00:06:24.219 that's all we read 00:06:24.219 --> 00:06:24.859 in our call to worship, 00:06:24.979 --> 00:06:25.899 Luke 5, 31. 00:06:26.059 --> 00:06:26.919 Jesus comes tonight 00:06:26.919 --> 00:06:27.359 and says, 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:28.879 I came for those, 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:30.479 I didn't come for the people 00:06:30.479 --> 00:06:31.000 that are well, 00:06:31.219 --> 00:06:31.779 I came for the people 00:06:31.779 --> 00:06:32.319 that are sick, 00:06:32.459 --> 00:06:32.939 I came for the people 00:06:32.939 --> 00:06:34.000 that know they need healing, 00:06:34.539 --> 00:06:35.759 I came as the great physician 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:37.120 so Jesus comes tonight 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:37.800 in the Sermon on the Mount 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:38.699 to help us 00:06:38.699 --> 00:06:39.439 and to protect us 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:40.139 and to heal us 00:06:40.139 --> 00:06:41.620 in these issues. 00:06:41.779 --> 00:06:42.519 And so let's think 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:43.879 about two things together. 00:06:44.500 --> 00:06:45.120 Number one, 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:47.519 what is wrong with lust? 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:49.779 Why is lust wrong? 00:06:50.180 --> 00:06:51.319 And then number two, 00:06:51.599 --> 00:06:52.539 the path to healing. 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:53.659 All right, 00:06:53.719 --> 00:06:54.139 so first, 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:57.180 why is lust wrong? 00:06:58.339 --> 00:06:58.819 Jesus, 00:06:59.060 --> 00:06:59.659 we saw here, 00:06:59.699 --> 00:07:00.240 is reflecting 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:02.159 on the seventh commandment. 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:03.860 So he says in verse 27, 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:04.959 you have heard 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:05.739 that it was said, 00:07:06.159 --> 00:07:07.659 you shall not commit adultery. 00:07:07.819 --> 00:07:08.339 That's a quote 00:07:08.339 --> 00:07:09.339 from the Ten Commandments. 00:07:10.659 --> 00:07:11.680 And the word adultery 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:12.739 is well known, 00:07:12.979 --> 00:07:14.139 it technically means 00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:15.120 being unfaithful 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:15.799 to one's spouse, 00:07:16.019 --> 00:07:17.399 cheating on a spouse 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:18.539 in the context of marriage. 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:22.019 And in the first century, 00:07:22.179 --> 00:07:23.099 just like in the Old Testament, 00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:24.279 we see that that word 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:26.500 has a whole family of words 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:28.500 that broaden out the list 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:29.579 and so that there's 00:07:29.579 --> 00:07:30.259 a whole spectrum 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:31.219 of the ways 00:07:31.219 --> 00:07:32.319 we can commit adultery. 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:33.339 So in the Westminster 00:07:33.339 --> 00:07:35.500 larger catechism, 00:07:35.599 --> 00:07:36.040 the confession 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:36.899 that we subscribe to 00:07:36.899 --> 00:07:37.639 here at St. Columbus, 00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:39.079 it talks about a whole list. 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:39.779 What does adultery mean? 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:40.719 It's much more than that. 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:41.779 Paul uses another word, 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:42.779 fornication, 00:07:43.540 --> 00:07:44.500 the Greek word porneia, 00:07:44.860 --> 00:07:45.480 from which we get 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:46.259 the word pornography. 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:47.639 And it talks about 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:48.920 sexual sin as a spectrum 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:49.639 that exists 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:50.879 in all sorts of degrees, 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:51.560 right? 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:52.000 And of course, 00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:53.259 we all know that. 00:07:53.659 --> 00:07:54.399 But in verse 28, 00:07:54.539 --> 00:07:55.379 Jesus says, 00:07:55.819 --> 00:07:56.659 there's a foundation, 00:07:56.959 --> 00:07:57.560 a base, 00:07:57.800 --> 00:07:58.600 a line 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:00.459 where sexuality expressed 00:08:00.459 --> 00:08:01.079 becomes sinful. 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:01.680 And what is it? 00:08:01.719 --> 00:08:02.279 And he tells us 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:02.899 in verse 28, 00:08:03.979 --> 00:08:04.300 he says, 00:08:04.599 --> 00:08:05.219 I say to you 00:08:05.219 --> 00:08:06.079 with utter authority 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:07.319 that anyone 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:07.939 that has looked 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:08.899 at another person 00:08:08.899 --> 00:08:10.259 would lust in their heart, 00:08:10.479 --> 00:08:11.379 in their heart 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:12.459 and in their imagination 00:08:12.459 --> 00:08:14.500 has already committed adultery. 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:16.919 In the very deep recesses 00:08:16.919 --> 00:08:17.279 of the soul, 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:18.439 you've already committed adultery. 00:08:18.539 --> 00:08:19.360 Now that means 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:20.719 that Jesus does something 00:08:20.719 --> 00:08:21.839 that no one expected 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:22.479 in the first century. 00:08:22.659 --> 00:08:23.860 He broadens the concept 00:08:23.860 --> 00:08:25.079 of the line 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:26.919 of where sexual sin begins. 00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:28.099 All the way down 00:08:28.099 --> 00:08:28.560 to the soul, 00:08:28.759 --> 00:08:29.219 all the way down 00:08:29.219 --> 00:08:29.620 to the heart, 00:08:29.620 --> 00:08:30.540 all the way down 00:08:30.540 --> 00:08:31.819 to the imagination, 00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:33.379 to lust itself. 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:35.279 And look, 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:36.220 in our modern world, 00:08:36.299 --> 00:08:37.100 everybody agrees. 00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:39.419 Everybody tends still 00:08:39.419 --> 00:08:39.940 to agree 00:08:39.940 --> 00:08:41.060 in the marketplace 00:08:41.060 --> 00:08:42.039 of human sexuality 00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:43.799 that is this 21st century 00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:45.700 that adultery is bad. 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:48.220 Adultery in the most basic sense. 00:08:48.299 --> 00:08:49.379 There's not that many people 00:08:49.379 --> 00:08:50.340 that would argue for it, 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:50.500 right? 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:51.240 Because nobody wants 00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:51.960 to be cheated on. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:54.120 And so in the modern world, 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:55.039 the ethic is 00:08:55.039 --> 00:08:56.279 do what you want 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:57.180 as long as you don't 00:08:57.180 --> 00:08:57.960 harm anybody, 00:08:58.100 --> 00:08:59.200 as long as there's consent. 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:00.860 And so we all feel 00:09:00.860 --> 00:09:01.800 that if I'm cheated on, 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:02.379 I've been harmed. 00:09:02.540 --> 00:09:03.240 And so people generally 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:03.640 will say, 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:04.000 yeah, 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:05.340 don't cheat on people. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:06.259 Adultery is bad. 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:07.840 Don't break your promises. 00:09:08.980 --> 00:09:10.000 But when it comes 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:11.120 to what Jesus does 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:11.720 in verse 28, 00:09:11.860 --> 00:09:12.460 and he says, 00:09:13.060 --> 00:09:14.080 but that's not the line. 00:09:14.280 --> 00:09:15.180 Lust is the line. 00:09:15.640 --> 00:09:15.900 Boy, 00:09:16.259 --> 00:09:17.360 people come 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:18.100 in our modern world 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:18.720 and they say, 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:19.860 lust, 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:20.920 what is that doing 00:09:20.920 --> 00:09:21.580 to anybody? 00:09:22.300 --> 00:09:23.120 That's me. 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:24.600 That's just my imagination 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:25.200 and my heart. 00:09:25.340 --> 00:09:26.780 That doesn't bother anybody. 00:09:27.280 --> 00:09:28.280 It doesn't harm anybody. 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:29.299 And so how in the world 00:09:29.299 --> 00:09:30.519 can that be a problem? 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:32.299 Can that be an issue for us? 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:34.039 And so what Jesus is doing 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:34.639 is here something 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:35.819 that was shocking, 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:38.279 that was broadening 00:09:38.959 --> 00:09:39.759 what was very narrow 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:40.519 in the first century 00:09:40.519 --> 00:09:41.399 just like today. 00:09:41.579 --> 00:09:42.299 And here's what he does 00:09:42.299 --> 00:09:43.879 in Matthew 5 here. 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:44.500 He says, 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:44.899 when he says, 00:09:45.059 --> 00:09:46.139 you've heard it said, 00:09:46.899 --> 00:09:48.299 you shall not commit adultery, 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:49.919 he's not just quoting 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:51.079 the Ten Commandments, 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:51.919 the Seventh Commandment. 00:09:52.220 --> 00:09:53.279 He's also quoting 00:09:53.799 --> 00:09:55.539 how the Ten Commandments 00:09:55.539 --> 00:09:56.259 were interpreted 00:09:56.259 --> 00:09:57.340 in the first century. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:09:58.559 So when he says, 00:09:58.659 --> 00:09:59.399 you've heard it said, 00:09:59.439 --> 00:10:00.000 he's talking about 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:01.200 the way that had been taught 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:02.220 by the scribes 00:10:02.220 --> 00:10:02.840 and the Pharisees 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:03.460 in that time. 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:06.620 And the way that they taught 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:07.960 about this issue of adultery 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:08.299 is very, 00:10:08.439 --> 00:10:09.779 it's actually incredibly similar 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:12.139 to the way we think about it 00:10:12.139 --> 00:10:12.960 in our modern city. 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:15.000 And so what did they say? 00:10:15.659 --> 00:10:16.179 Well, they took it 00:10:16.179 --> 00:10:17.519 very, very, very literally. 00:10:18.120 --> 00:10:19.439 You shall not commit adultery. 00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:20.019 And that means 00:10:20.019 --> 00:10:21.480 the boundaries of sexual sin 00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:22.240 are quite narrow. 00:10:23.620 --> 00:10:24.419 To commit adultery 00:10:24.419 --> 00:10:25.259 means that you actually 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:25.919 are married 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:26.899 and you cheat, 00:10:27.339 --> 00:10:28.299 you commit adultery 00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:29.839 relative to having a spouse. 00:10:30.179 --> 00:10:30.799 And so the Pharisees 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:31.579 and the scribes said, 00:10:32.099 --> 00:10:33.240 the way is narrow 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:34.620 to commit this sin. 00:10:34.959 --> 00:10:35.059 You know, 00:10:35.319 --> 00:10:36.740 you have to actually be married 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:38.079 and you have to actually 00:10:38.079 --> 00:10:39.219 commit the act 00:10:39.219 --> 00:10:40.639 of committing adultery 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:41.339 against your spouse. 00:10:42.059 --> 00:10:42.620 And that means 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:43.219 that what they did 00:10:43.219 --> 00:10:43.679 was they left 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:45.259 a really broad space 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:46.259 for freedom, 00:10:46.959 --> 00:10:48.439 that they could live their lives 00:10:48.439 --> 00:10:49.139 in other ways 00:10:49.139 --> 00:10:50.219 that they wanted to live them. 00:10:51.019 --> 00:10:51.919 Lust was not really 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:52.539 on the mind 00:10:52.539 --> 00:10:53.199 as an issue. 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:54.699 And in the same way 00:10:54.699 --> 00:10:55.620 when you come to the modern world, 00:10:55.699 --> 00:10:56.299 what do modern people say? 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:57.099 Most ways, 00:10:57.199 --> 00:10:57.759 modern people say 00:10:57.759 --> 00:10:58.399 most ways 00:10:58.399 --> 00:10:59.879 of expressing sexuality 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:00.759 is absolutely fine. 00:11:01.099 --> 00:11:01.759 Most ways. 00:11:02.199 --> 00:11:02.819 Adultery, yeah, 00:11:02.899 --> 00:11:03.379 that's bad. 00:11:03.480 --> 00:11:04.679 That's a narrow path 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:05.839 that you don't want to go down. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:06.759 But every other way 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:08.059 is pretty much fine 00:11:08.059 --> 00:11:09.039 as long as you're not 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:09.980 doing anybody any harm 00:11:09.980 --> 00:11:11.459 and as long as you have consent. 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:12.019 And you see, 00:11:12.819 --> 00:11:13.799 just like the Pharisees 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:14.259 and scribes 00:11:14.259 --> 00:11:14.839 in the first century 00:11:14.839 --> 00:11:16.279 and modern people today, 00:11:16.740 --> 00:11:17.779 everybody is trying 00:11:17.779 --> 00:11:18.799 to make the way, 00:11:18.899 --> 00:11:19.719 the way of actually 00:11:19.719 --> 00:11:20.379 doing wrong 00:11:20.379 --> 00:11:21.220 really narrow 00:11:21.220 --> 00:11:22.960 in the path of freedom, 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:23.620 options, 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:24.460 really, really broad. 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:26.220 And Jesus comes 00:11:26.220 --> 00:11:27.299 and does the exact opposite. 00:11:28.439 --> 00:11:28.840 He says, 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:29.259 actually, 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:31.740 where does the line begin? 00:11:33.019 --> 00:11:33.879 Sometimes when I meet 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:34.240 with people 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:35.720 who are in a dating relationship 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:37.320 or thinking about marriage, 00:11:37.419 --> 00:11:38.120 they want to know 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:39.320 when it comes to sexual expression, 00:11:39.460 --> 00:11:40.240 where's the line? 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:42.399 And Jesus gives it to us. 00:11:42.820 --> 00:11:43.139 He says, 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:44.159 lust is the line. 00:11:45.340 --> 00:11:46.440 Desires in the heart, 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:47.720 that's where it begins. 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:48.740 That's where the sin problem 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:49.460 actually starts. 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:50.700 Lust is the line. 00:11:51.400 --> 00:11:52.060 And so we've got to think 00:11:52.060 --> 00:11:53.480 for a second about lust. 00:11:53.560 --> 00:11:54.340 It's all about the heart, 00:11:54.440 --> 00:11:54.879 he says. 00:11:55.040 --> 00:11:56.519 And what is this thing 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:57.360 that he's talking about? 00:11:57.920 --> 00:11:58.180 Now, 00:11:58.320 --> 00:11:58.820 last week, 00:11:58.879 --> 00:11:59.900 Lewis helped us think 00:11:59.900 --> 00:12:00.820 about the fact that 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:01.519 murder, 00:12:02.160 --> 00:12:03.160 physical murder, 00:12:03.300 --> 00:12:04.060 the act of violence 00:12:04.060 --> 00:12:05.680 begins with murder 00:12:05.680 --> 00:12:06.180 in the heart, 00:12:06.300 --> 00:12:06.980 as Jesus put it, 00:12:07.040 --> 00:12:07.740 unjust anger. 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:08.879 And what did he say? 00:12:08.920 --> 00:12:09.160 He said, 00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:11.139 you can have unjust anger 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:11.940 in your heart 00:12:11.940 --> 00:12:13.639 and that unjust anger, 00:12:13.800 --> 00:12:14.540 unrepented of, 00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:15.639 becomes disdain. 00:12:16.400 --> 00:12:17.160 And disdain, 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:18.060 unrepented of, 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:18.879 becomes hatred. 00:12:19.460 --> 00:12:20.100 And hatred, 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:21.139 unrepented of, 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:22.480 can become violence. 00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:23.500 So he talked about 00:12:23.500 --> 00:12:24.879 anger on a spectrum, 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:26.139 all the way from 00:12:26.139 --> 00:12:27.060 anger in the heart 00:12:27.060 --> 00:12:28.060 to murder itself. 00:12:28.460 --> 00:12:29.139 And in the same way, 00:12:29.180 --> 00:12:29.900 he comes and says 00:12:29.900 --> 00:12:31.180 that sexual sin 00:12:31.180 --> 00:12:31.820 is a spectrum. 00:12:33.100 --> 00:12:34.139 And lust, 00:12:34.400 --> 00:12:34.980 imagination, 00:12:35.420 --> 00:12:36.000 lustful intent 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:36.460 in the heart, 00:12:36.560 --> 00:12:37.879 is on the same line 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:39.220 as the act of adultery 00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:39.639 itself. 00:12:40.060 --> 00:12:40.820 The very same thing. 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:42.379 And so what is this 00:12:42.379 --> 00:12:43.200 wrongdoing, 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:44.259 lust in the heart 00:12:44.259 --> 00:12:44.980 that he's talking about? 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:45.500 Okay, 00:12:45.539 --> 00:12:46.360 this word for lust 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:47.060 in Greek 00:12:47.060 --> 00:12:48.420 is a word that simply 00:12:48.420 --> 00:12:49.460 means desire. 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:50.899 Desire. 00:12:51.420 --> 00:12:53.039 And if it's translated 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:55.000 with its full intent, 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:55.620 its meaning, 00:12:56.060 --> 00:12:57.519 it means over-desire. 00:12:58.899 --> 00:13:00.240 So you can lust, 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:01.340 you can have over-desire 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:01.980 for anything. 00:13:02.180 --> 00:13:03.000 It's not just expressed 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:03.500 in sexuality. 00:13:03.860 --> 00:13:05.639 You can long for things 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:06.480 in wrong ways 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:08.019 and have the object 00:13:08.019 --> 00:13:08.519 of your desire 00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:09.500 be anything at all. 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:09.980 Right, 00:13:09.980 --> 00:13:10.940 so Jesus is saying here 00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:11.920 lust is simply 00:13:11.920 --> 00:13:13.320 when you want 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:14.500 good things in life 00:13:14.500 --> 00:13:16.560 in really bad ways. 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:18.420 That your affections, 00:13:18.560 --> 00:13:19.240 your longings, 00:13:19.340 --> 00:13:19.920 your imagination 00:13:19.920 --> 00:13:20.860 about those things 00:13:20.860 --> 00:13:21.519 is disordered. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:22.259 You can take anything 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:24.139 in life and over-want it, 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:25.159 want it too much. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:25.960 And how do you know 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:26.480 when that's happened? 00:13:26.560 --> 00:13:27.279 It's when you want 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:28.039 something more 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:29.480 than you want God himself. 00:13:30.920 --> 00:13:31.779 Lust happens 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:32.680 anytime you desire 00:13:32.680 --> 00:13:33.500 anything in this life 00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:34.720 more than you long 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:35.920 for God himself. 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:37.220 And so we are all, 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:38.080 we are all prone. 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:39.000 Calvin, 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:39.740 what did he say? 00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:40.259 John Calvin, 00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:41.980 he said that the human heart 00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:44.399 is an idol-making factory, 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:45.680 that we're all cranking out 00:13:45.680 --> 00:13:46.960 things that we lust after, 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:48.200 idols that we lust after 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:49.000 all the time. 00:13:49.019 --> 00:13:49.539 And that's exactly 00:13:49.539 --> 00:13:50.460 what Jesus is talking 00:13:50.460 --> 00:13:50.799 about here, 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:51.680 but he's talking about it 00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:53.019 in the frame particularly 00:13:53.019 --> 00:13:55.019 of sexual lust, 00:13:55.779 --> 00:13:56.539 the lustful intent 00:13:56.539 --> 00:13:58.080 in the realm of sexuality. 00:13:58.740 --> 00:13:59.480 And it's important 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:00.360 to say then that 00:14:00.360 --> 00:14:01.799 if lust, 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:02.460 the word lust, 00:14:02.580 --> 00:14:03.240 over-desire, 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:06.419 means misplaced desires 00:14:06.419 --> 00:14:08.879 or good things, 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:09.939 good things in this life 00:14:09.939 --> 00:14:11.159 that we mistreat 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:12.460 by desiring them 00:14:12.460 --> 00:14:13.360 in the wrong ways. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:15.179 Jesus is not in any way 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:16.039 being prudish 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:18.340 about sex and sexuality, 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:18.960 not at all. 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:20.580 And boy, 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:21.659 if you read through the Bible, 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:22.720 you find that out, 00:14:22.860 --> 00:14:23.600 that the Bible 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:24.720 is not prudish 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:25.700 about these things, 00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:26.439 not at all. 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:27.559 Read the Song of Songs 00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:27.980 sometime 00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:29.379 and you'll find out 00:14:29.379 --> 00:14:30.500 what the Bible says 00:14:30.500 --> 00:14:31.120 about these things. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:31.639 No, not at all. 00:14:31.700 --> 00:14:32.559 He's talking about 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:34.419 these things misplaced, 00:14:35.259 --> 00:14:35.860 disordered, 00:14:36.419 --> 00:14:37.139 disorganized 00:14:37.139 --> 00:14:38.820 from the grain of reality 00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:40.399 the way things should be. 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:41.399 So what is wrong with lust? 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:42.340 What is wrong 00:14:42.340 --> 00:14:44.340 with desiring someone 00:14:44.340 --> 00:14:45.399 with lustful intent? 00:14:45.560 --> 00:14:46.019 And let me give you 00:14:46.019 --> 00:14:47.800 just two deep reasons why. 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:48.960 And we could talk about this 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:49.539 for a long time, 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:51.120 but I can't do that, 00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:52.039 so I'm just going to give you two. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:53.680 And the first is this. 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:55.720 Lust is wrong 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:56.480 because lust 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:57.840 is fundamentally selfish. 00:14:58.820 --> 00:14:59.560 It's greedy. 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:01.620 Lust is 00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:03.240 an attempt 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:04.159 in the imagination 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:04.960 and in the heart 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:05.840 to satisfy 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:07.019 an appetite 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:08.379 with selfish motivation. 00:15:09.680 --> 00:15:10.180 So C.S. Lewis 00:15:10.180 --> 00:15:10.820 talks about this 00:15:10.820 --> 00:15:11.220 and he says, 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:13.159 the real damage of lust, 00:15:13.820 --> 00:15:14.419 the real damage 00:15:14.419 --> 00:15:15.000 of pornography, 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:15.720 the real damage 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:16.639 of sexual expression 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:17.360 outside of marriage 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:18.379 in any context 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:20.039 is that it makes us 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:21.340 more and more selfish, 00:15:21.580 --> 00:15:22.000 he writes, 00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:24.000 because we were not made 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:25.820 for sexual action, 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:26.639 physical union 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:28.560 without total union. 00:15:29.860 --> 00:15:30.279 And so, 00:15:30.820 --> 00:15:31.360 we're made 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:33.000 for emotional union, 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:34.019 spiritual union, 00:15:35.180 --> 00:15:36.060 legal union 00:15:36.060 --> 00:15:36.840 in marriage, 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:37.899 and only then 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:38.620 physical union. 00:15:39.560 --> 00:15:40.820 And when you don't have 00:15:40.820 --> 00:15:41.419 a relationship 00:15:41.419 --> 00:15:42.560 of total union, 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:44.240 emotional union, 00:15:44.419 --> 00:15:45.180 where you've been called 00:15:45.180 --> 00:15:46.200 to give yourself away 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:46.960 to somebody emotionally, 00:15:47.560 --> 00:15:48.320 legal union, 00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:49.000 where you've been called 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:50.080 to make vows to somebody 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:50.720 and say, 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:51.620 no matter what happens, 00:15:51.659 --> 00:15:52.440 as bad as it gets, 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:53.080 I'll stick with you 00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:53.720 and it'll be for you, 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:55.759 then you've actually 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:58.019 committed selfishness 00:15:58.019 --> 00:15:59.200 when you lust 00:15:59.200 --> 00:15:59.659 after them 00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:00.580 for just one type 00:16:00.580 --> 00:16:00.920 of union, 00:16:01.040 --> 00:16:01.660 physical union. 00:16:02.139 --> 00:16:02.840 All you're doing 00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:03.520 is trying to attempt 00:16:03.520 --> 00:16:04.759 self-satisfaction 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:06.420 without the costliness 00:16:06.420 --> 00:16:08.560 of the deep commitment 00:16:08.560 --> 00:16:09.240 that's required 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:10.160 in giving yourself away 00:16:10.160 --> 00:16:11.220 to somebody totally, 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:12.920 totally in total union. 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:14.600 That's the first reason. 00:16:14.660 --> 00:16:15.040 When you read 00:16:15.040 --> 00:16:15.820 the old writers 00:16:15.820 --> 00:16:16.740 in the Christian tradition 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:18.500 on what makes lust 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:19.160 so damaging, 00:16:19.300 --> 00:16:20.000 you know what the first thing 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:20.900 they say is every time? 00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:22.879 Because it makes people selfish. 00:16:23.540 --> 00:16:24.540 More and more selfish, 00:16:24.660 --> 00:16:25.480 more and more self-centered 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:27.360 by seeking satisfaction 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:28.860 through your own means, 00:16:29.040 --> 00:16:29.759 through your own means, 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:30.740 without having to give yourself 00:16:30.740 --> 00:16:31.480 away to anybody 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:32.580 in any other way. 00:16:33.299 --> 00:16:34.200 The second reason 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:36.100 that you see quite often 00:16:36.100 --> 00:16:37.019 throughout Christian history, 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:37.840 church history on this, 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:39.100 of what's wrong with this 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:41.419 is it treats other people 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:43.480 as less than whole people. 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:45.319 So every single one of us 00:16:45.319 --> 00:16:45.840 has been made 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:46.720 in the image of God 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:48.700 and we've got emotions 00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:49.399 and reason 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:50.500 and personality 00:16:50.500 --> 00:16:51.419 and habits 00:16:51.419 --> 00:16:52.659 and preferences 00:16:52.659 --> 00:16:53.659 and loves 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:55.159 and all of us 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.079 have ways of speaking 00:16:57.079 --> 00:16:58.079 and accents 00:16:58.079 --> 00:16:59.500 and places we're from 00:16:59.500 --> 00:17:00.100 and stories 00:17:00.100 --> 00:17:00.679 and narratives 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:02.139 and that's the whole 00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:02.879 of who we are. 00:17:03.500 --> 00:17:04.379 So every single one of us 00:17:04.379 --> 00:17:05.579 is in God's image. 00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:06.399 We are a unity 00:17:06.399 --> 00:17:07.180 in diversity. 00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:08.539 We are one person 00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:09.839 made up of so many parts. 00:17:10.879 --> 00:17:11.700 But when we lust 00:17:11.700 --> 00:17:12.839 after people sexually, 00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:14.180 lustful intent 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:14.799 and the imagination 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:15.359 and the heart, 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:16.319 what is happening 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:17.240 is that we're reducing 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:19.680 the holistic image of God 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:20.519 down to nothing 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:21.599 but physical attractiveness. 00:17:22.299 --> 00:17:23.399 We've taken a person 00:17:23.399 --> 00:17:24.019 who was made 00:17:24.019 --> 00:17:24.939 in the image of God 00:17:24.939 --> 00:17:25.899 and we've said 00:17:25.899 --> 00:17:27.379 all you really are 00:17:27.379 --> 00:17:28.539 is your physicality. 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:30.679 The measure of your beauty. 00:17:30.899 --> 00:17:31.240 That's it. 00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:32.819 Physical attractiveness 00:17:32.819 --> 00:17:33.799 is all that you are. 00:17:34.899 --> 00:17:35.779 Now it's really interesting 00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:36.459 that when you think 00:17:36.459 --> 00:17:37.319 about the Ten Commandments 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:38.480 and the Second Commandment, 00:17:38.959 --> 00:17:39.439 God says, 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:41.480 do not make any images of me. 00:17:41.919 --> 00:17:42.699 No graven images. 00:17:43.740 --> 00:17:44.299 And when you get 00:17:44.299 --> 00:17:44.959 to the prophets, 00:17:45.419 --> 00:17:47.139 the prophets say to Israel 00:17:47.139 --> 00:17:48.659 when they make graven images, 00:17:49.179 --> 00:17:49.799 what do the prophets say? 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:50.199 They say, 00:17:50.200 --> 00:17:51.980 you have committed adultery 00:17:51.980 --> 00:17:52.580 against God. 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:54.360 You've cheated on Him. 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:56.100 You've tried to reduce God 00:17:56.100 --> 00:17:57.140 down to an image. 00:17:58.019 --> 00:17:59.840 You've tried to objectify Him 00:17:59.840 --> 00:18:00.920 in an object itself 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:02.000 and so you've committed 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:02.960 adultery against Him. 00:18:03.700 --> 00:18:04.360 And likewise, 00:18:04.620 --> 00:18:05.319 in a lesser way 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:06.180 but a real way, 00:18:06.299 --> 00:18:06.920 in the Bible, 00:18:07.360 --> 00:18:09.200 it says when you objectify 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:10.420 a person 00:18:10.420 --> 00:18:12.200 who is the image of God 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:13.680 and reduce them 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:15.160 to nothing but their physicality, 00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:16.200 their physical attractiveness, 00:18:16.580 --> 00:18:17.380 you have done what? 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:18.039 Committed adultery 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:18.400 in the heart. 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:19.900 So in the same way 00:18:19.900 --> 00:18:20.820 that you can commit adultery 00:18:20.820 --> 00:18:21.480 against God 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:23.140 by whittling Him down 00:18:23.140 --> 00:18:24.220 to some little idol 00:18:24.220 --> 00:18:24.820 that you worship, 00:18:24.900 --> 00:18:25.480 in the same way 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:26.620 you can whittle a person 00:18:26.620 --> 00:18:27.200 down to nothing 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:28.340 but their physical attractiveness 00:18:28.340 --> 00:18:30.280 and commit the very same sin 00:18:30.280 --> 00:18:31.620 towards that person. 00:18:32.660 --> 00:18:33.460 Adultery of the heart 00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:34.640 we learn here. 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:35.920 And so Jesus says, 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:36.620 now He takes this, 00:18:36.860 --> 00:18:37.960 He turns this up to 11 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:40.080 because in verses 28 to 30, 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:40.780 what does He say? 00:18:41.300 --> 00:18:41.800 He says, 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:44.000 in 29 to 30, 00:18:44.060 --> 00:18:44.440 I should say, 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:45.559 if your right eye 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:46.400 causes you to sin, 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:47.100 you tear it out. 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:47.720 If your right hand 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:48.539 causes you to sin, 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:49.220 rip it off. 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:50.700 Right? 00:18:50.860 --> 00:18:51.720 What is He doing there? 00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:52.720 He's being hyperbolic, 00:18:52.840 --> 00:18:53.180 definitely, 00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:55.240 but He's being hyperbolic 00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:55.940 to make a point. 00:18:56.019 --> 00:18:57.480 He's saying that lust is serious 00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:00.200 because lust never stays 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:00.920 where it is. 00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:01.660 Remember, 00:19:01.779 --> 00:19:02.420 it's a spectrum. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:04.039 And so just like 00:19:04.039 --> 00:19:05.820 if you don't crush your anger, 00:19:06.019 --> 00:19:06.820 your unrighteous anger 00:19:06.820 --> 00:19:07.240 in your heart, 00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:08.380 it can become murder. 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:09.759 In the same way 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:10.580 that if you don't crush 00:19:10.580 --> 00:19:11.059 and destroy 00:19:11.059 --> 00:19:12.180 and seek to kill, 00:19:12.299 --> 00:19:14.160 mortify lustful intention, 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:16.420 reducing the image of God 00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:16.960 in somebody down 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:18.200 to just their physical attractiveness, 00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:19.120 it's going to make you 00:19:19.120 --> 00:19:19.920 more and more selfish. 00:19:20.600 --> 00:19:21.500 More and more selfish. 00:19:21.700 --> 00:19:23.259 And lust never stays put. 00:19:23.779 --> 00:19:24.559 It grows. 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:26.100 And it becomes something 00:19:26.100 --> 00:19:26.740 far more. 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:27.440 Far more. 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:28.460 Right? 00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:29.180 And so He says lust 00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:30.259 is really serious. 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:31.160 So Louise Perry, 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:32.880 one contemporary commentator, 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:34.220 she points out 00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:35.600 that in modern culture, 00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:36.660 our modern culture, 00:19:36.740 --> 00:19:37.019 she says, 00:19:37.080 --> 00:19:37.860 teaches the myth 00:19:37.860 --> 00:19:38.740 that sex is, 00:19:38.740 --> 00:19:39.000 quote, 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:40.539 a leisure activity 00:19:40.539 --> 00:19:41.759 invested with meaning 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:43.480 only if the participants 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:44.940 choose to give it meaning. 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:45.660 Boy. 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:47.759 No. 00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:49.259 It's so full of meaning. 00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:50.319 It's so full of power. 00:19:50.460 --> 00:19:51.079 It can make you. 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:51.940 It can break you. 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:53.319 And if it's not used 00:19:53.319 --> 00:19:54.240 in the right context, 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:56.620 then it really can destroy. 00:19:57.200 --> 00:19:58.259 Jesus is not here to, 00:19:58.700 --> 00:19:59.819 Jesus is not prudish. 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:00.779 Jesus is not, 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:02.819 Jesus is here 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:04.839 to come and heal you 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:05.940 and protect you. 00:20:07.140 --> 00:20:09.099 And so that's the negative side. 00:20:09.099 --> 00:20:10.299 Now let me turn very quickly 00:20:10.299 --> 00:20:10.799 and just give you 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:11.659 the positive side. 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:13.500 Because I don't want 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:13.899 to walk away 00:20:13.899 --> 00:20:14.799 with just thinking 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:17.399 I shouldn't have lust 00:20:17.399 --> 00:20:17.899 in my heart. 00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:18.659 I want you to walk away 00:20:18.659 --> 00:20:20.039 thinking there's a better vision. 00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:21.379 There's a better way. 00:20:21.500 --> 00:20:22.579 There's a Christian vision, 00:20:23.019 --> 00:20:24.459 a God-given reality to this 00:20:24.459 --> 00:20:25.299 that's so good. 00:20:25.919 --> 00:20:27.199 And here's what it is. 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:28.359 There's three levels to it 00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:29.539 and I'll just list them 00:20:29.539 --> 00:20:30.219 for you briefly. 00:20:30.899 --> 00:20:31.459 Number one, 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:32.219 what the Bible teaches 00:20:32.219 --> 00:20:33.599 is that physical union 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:36.159 is meant by God 00:20:36.159 --> 00:20:36.799 to take place 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:38.119 in the context of total union, 00:20:38.460 --> 00:20:39.139 legal union, 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:40.720 union of every kind 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:41.399 and that's the union 00:20:41.399 --> 00:20:42.200 called marriage, 00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:42.960 one flesh marriage. 00:20:43.700 --> 00:20:45.200 And that means 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:46.519 that physical union 00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:47.740 is meant to take place 00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:48.619 in a union based 00:20:48.619 --> 00:20:49.559 in a real love. 00:20:49.619 --> 00:20:50.480 And what is real love? 00:20:51.059 --> 00:20:51.980 Love, not lust. 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:52.700 What's the difference 00:20:52.700 --> 00:20:53.559 in love and lust? 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:55.659 Love is a decision 00:20:55.659 --> 00:20:56.579 and a commitment 00:20:56.579 --> 00:20:58.599 to self-sacrificially 00:20:58.599 --> 00:20:59.659 give yourself away 00:20:59.659 --> 00:21:00.440 for other people 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:01.200 to the point of 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:02.000 great cost to yourself. 00:21:03.180 --> 00:21:04.480 Lust is entirely inward. 00:21:04.659 --> 00:21:05.220 It's selfish. 00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:06.980 It doesn't cost you anything. 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:08.720 But in real love, 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:09.640 you've got to make 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:10.220 such a commitment 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:10.860 that you're willing 00:21:10.860 --> 00:21:11.860 to give yourself away 00:21:11.860 --> 00:21:12.880 to the point of great cost 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:13.519 to somebody else. 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:14.819 And that's why 00:21:14.819 --> 00:21:16.019 it's meant only for marriage. 00:21:16.180 --> 00:21:17.400 It's total commitment, 00:21:17.600 --> 00:21:18.100 real love, 00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:18.600 real love. 00:21:18.660 --> 00:21:19.200 The difference in 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:20.200 covenantal love 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:21.680 versus the market economy 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:22.720 of lust. 00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:23.900 Number two, 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:24.339 level two. 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:25.240 Let's go a level deeper. 00:21:25.500 --> 00:21:26.039 What's the meaning? 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:27.720 What's the better vision? 00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:29.440 That's the first level. 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:29.900 Level two is 00:21:29.900 --> 00:21:31.059 God tells us 00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:31.980 that physical union 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:32.960 is meant for marriage. 00:21:33.259 --> 00:21:33.480 Why? 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:34.900 Because marriage 00:21:34.900 --> 00:21:36.860 is a signpost, 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:37.759 analogy, 00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:39.059 and living illustration 00:21:39.059 --> 00:21:40.579 of the kind of love 00:21:40.579 --> 00:21:42.000 that God has 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:42.839 for His people, 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:43.279 for us. 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:45.120 And so Ephesians 5 00:21:45.120 --> 00:21:46.000 is really explicit 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:46.480 about this, 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:47.120 that marriage 00:21:47.120 --> 00:21:48.180 from the very beginning 00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:48.940 of human history, 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:50.559 including one flesh, 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:51.339 physical union, 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:52.200 has always meant 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:52.779 to point 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:54.299 to the kind of love 00:21:54.299 --> 00:21:55.120 that God has 00:21:55.120 --> 00:21:55.660 for His people, 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:56.360 total love, 00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:57.599 committed, 00:21:58.220 --> 00:21:58.599 legal, 00:21:59.240 --> 00:21:59.839 never ending, 00:22:00.140 --> 00:22:00.839 always enduring. 00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:02.679 And so every single person 00:22:02.679 --> 00:22:03.579 that's ever been married 00:22:03.579 --> 00:22:04.759 in all of human history 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:06.859 has been meant 00:22:06.859 --> 00:22:08.099 to be a signpost 00:22:08.099 --> 00:22:08.959 of the gospel itself. 00:22:09.639 --> 00:22:10.199 That's what marriage 00:22:10.199 --> 00:22:10.759 exists for, 00:22:11.199 --> 00:22:12.500 to point to something 00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:13.299 far greater. 00:22:13.439 --> 00:22:14.439 It doesn't exist for itself. 00:22:14.919 --> 00:22:15.139 You see, 00:22:15.199 --> 00:22:15.740 physical union 00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:16.419 doesn't even exist 00:22:16.419 --> 00:22:16.819 for itself. 00:22:17.220 --> 00:22:17.839 All of it, 00:22:17.879 --> 00:22:19.000 the total union of marriage 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:19.759 is meant to point 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:20.779 to something far greater 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:21.319 than itself, 00:22:21.659 --> 00:22:23.059 and that's the love of God 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:23.759 that God has 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:25.139 to rescue human beings 00:22:25.139 --> 00:22:26.179 and be for them forever. 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:26.500 Now, 00:22:27.820 --> 00:22:28.799 that's why thirdly, 00:22:28.860 --> 00:22:29.440 the third level, 00:22:30.100 --> 00:22:34.240 our greatest unmet desires 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:35.400 in this life 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:37.759 can only be fulfilled by God. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:41.299 So this is the most deep level 00:22:41.299 --> 00:22:42.100 of understanding 00:22:42.100 --> 00:22:42.720 what's going on 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:43.160 in our hearts, 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:43.620 desire. 00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:46.100 The greatest desires we have, 00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:47.240 even when they're pointed 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:48.160 at the wrong things 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:48.680 with lust, 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:51.200 those desires can only ever 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:53.400 be truly and finally fulfilled 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:54.519 by God Himself. 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:56.200 Now, 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:58.059 that's why we can say tonight 00:22:58.059 --> 00:23:01.180 that sex, 00:23:01.339 --> 00:23:02.039 physical union, 00:23:02.460 --> 00:23:04.440 sexuality expressed 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:05.319 in marriage itself 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:06.400 are gifts 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:07.680 and they're not necessary 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:08.559 at the same time. 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:10.359 They exist to point 00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:11.400 to something far bigger, 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:12.379 far greater, 00:23:12.639 --> 00:23:13.599 and that's the longing 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:15.059 and desires we have 00:23:15.059 --> 00:23:16.099 to experience the love 00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:17.220 of God in our lives. 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:18.680 And that's why Christianity 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:19.519 came into the world 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:21.259 and revolutionized 00:23:21.259 --> 00:23:22.599 the reality of, 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:23.420 well, 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:24.220 you can be married 00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:25.100 or you can be single 00:23:25.100 --> 00:23:26.060 and both are good. 00:23:27.080 --> 00:23:27.480 Why? 00:23:27.820 --> 00:23:30.100 Because sexuality expressed 00:23:30.100 --> 00:23:30.480 in marriage 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:31.320 are not necessary 00:23:31.320 --> 00:23:32.560 because they exist simply 00:23:32.560 --> 00:23:33.220 to point to something 00:23:33.220 --> 00:23:34.880 far greater than themselves. 00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:36.259 And that's the love 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:37.160 that we can have 00:23:37.160 --> 00:23:38.300 truly fulfilled 00:23:38.300 --> 00:23:39.240 with God Himself 00:23:39.240 --> 00:23:39.860 through Christ. 00:23:40.800 --> 00:23:41.980 And so you can be married 00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:43.660 and if you are, 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:44.420 you've got, 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:45.460 you're calling us 00:23:45.460 --> 00:23:46.160 to illustrate 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:47.880 the love of the gospel 00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:48.600 in your love 00:23:48.600 --> 00:23:49.259 for your spouse 00:23:49.259 --> 00:23:49.880 to the point 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:50.940 of great cost to yourself. 00:23:50.940 --> 00:23:52.600 and physical union 00:23:52.600 --> 00:23:53.299 is only appropriate 00:23:53.299 --> 00:23:54.420 when you are giving yourself 00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:55.420 away self-sacrificially 00:23:55.420 --> 00:23:55.880 to somebody. 00:23:57.620 --> 00:23:58.820 And you can be single 00:23:58.820 --> 00:24:00.120 and you can show forth, 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:00.420 look, 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:01.220 you can be single 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:02.940 and you can show forth 00:24:02.940 --> 00:24:04.299 the sufficiency 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:05.900 of God's love 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:06.600 in your life for you. 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:08.019 So if you're married, 00:24:08.120 --> 00:24:08.860 you can illustrate 00:24:08.860 --> 00:24:09.519 the gospel 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:10.340 in the way 00:24:10.340 --> 00:24:10.980 you love your spouse. 00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:11.920 If you're single, 00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:12.960 you can illustrate 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:13.480 the gospel 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:14.059 in the way 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:15.240 other people can see 00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:16.400 you fighting 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:17.519 for sufficiency, 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:18.840 seeing God 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:19.779 as sufficient. 00:24:19.919 --> 00:24:20.579 God's love for you 00:24:20.579 --> 00:24:21.459 as truly sufficient. 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:22.799 In both ways, 00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:24.079 in both ways, 00:24:24.119 --> 00:24:24.639 you get to reflect 00:24:24.639 --> 00:24:25.500 the highest order 00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:26.639 of what these things 00:24:26.639 --> 00:24:27.179 exist for 00:24:27.179 --> 00:24:28.119 to experience 00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:28.720 the love of God 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:29.019 in your life. 00:24:29.099 --> 00:24:30.079 God is the true fulfillment 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:31.500 of all of our unmet longings. 00:24:31.699 --> 00:24:32.480 That's the real key. 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:33.199 Now that's the key 00:24:33.199 --> 00:24:34.619 to the path of fighting 00:24:34.619 --> 00:24:35.859 against the problem of lust. 00:24:36.359 --> 00:24:36.480 Alright, 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:37.119 so let's turn to that 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:37.819 briefly. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:38.220 Secondly, 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:40.279 what's the path to healing? 00:24:40.459 --> 00:24:40.740 Tonight, 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:42.599 Jesus Christ says 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:43.559 lust is adultery 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:43.980 of the heart, 00:24:44.299 --> 00:24:45.159 it's a problem of the heart, 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:46.879 and you can lust 00:24:46.879 --> 00:24:47.839 after anything. 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:49.679 A person or a career? 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:51.039 Anything in this life. 00:24:51.859 --> 00:24:52.579 And what is the path 00:24:52.579 --> 00:24:52.939 to healing? 00:24:53.639 --> 00:24:54.299 Let me give you 00:24:54.299 --> 00:24:55.059 three quick things. 00:24:55.159 --> 00:24:55.559 Number one, 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:59.339 when it comes 00:24:59.339 --> 00:25:00.199 to sexual lust, 00:25:00.639 --> 00:25:01.579 there may be 00:25:01.579 --> 00:25:02.299 some of us tonight 00:25:02.299 --> 00:25:03.399 who come and say, 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:03.659 you know, 00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:05.699 I can see maybe 00:25:05.699 --> 00:25:06.899 that I struggle 00:25:06.899 --> 00:25:08.039 with lust of a different kind, 00:25:08.139 --> 00:25:09.079 but this is an issue 00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:10.539 that's not really my issue. 00:25:12.199 --> 00:25:14.259 And if that's you, 00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:15.199 then you've got to come 00:25:15.199 --> 00:25:15.899 and see tonight 00:25:15.900 --> 00:25:17.759 where it is 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:18.820 that your over desires, 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:19.340 your lust, 00:25:19.420 --> 00:25:20.460 your idol-making factory, 00:25:20.580 --> 00:25:21.120 what is it? 00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:21.800 What is the object 00:25:21.800 --> 00:25:22.440 of your lust, 00:25:22.800 --> 00:25:23.240 your desire? 00:25:23.320 --> 00:25:24.259 And that's really important 00:25:24.259 --> 00:25:26.140 because we all need 00:25:26.140 --> 00:25:26.560 to come tonight 00:25:26.560 --> 00:25:27.720 and see that this is 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:28.940 an issue we struggle with. 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:30.640 And the reason 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:31.780 that we need to see that 00:25:31.780 --> 00:25:33.480 is because it's very, 00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:34.120 very critical 00:25:34.120 --> 00:25:35.100 that we protect 00:25:35.100 --> 00:25:36.240 this church community 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:37.320 and anybody 00:25:37.320 --> 00:25:38.480 that walks through our doors. 00:25:39.240 --> 00:25:39.759 And the way 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:40.440 we want to protect them 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:41.519 is that if you 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:42.540 are a person 00:25:42.539 --> 00:25:44.500 who is deep 00:25:44.500 --> 00:25:45.240 in the muck, 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:46.599 in the darkness perhaps, 00:25:46.980 --> 00:25:47.559 of struggling 00:25:47.559 --> 00:25:49.139 with patterns of lust 00:25:49.139 --> 00:25:50.240 that have led 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:51.079 to all sorts of things 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:51.559 in your life, 00:25:52.299 --> 00:25:53.159 you need to know 00:25:53.159 --> 00:25:53.859 that the church 00:25:53.859 --> 00:25:54.680 is a hospital 00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:56.740 for sinners. 00:25:57.980 --> 00:25:58.099 Yeah? 00:25:58.500 --> 00:26:00.059 And that you can come 00:26:00.059 --> 00:26:00.720 and be safe. 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:02.079 And this is not 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:02.940 a space of shame. 00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:03.899 Why? 00:26:04.019 --> 00:26:05.180 Because Jesus Christ 00:26:05.180 --> 00:26:06.420 came to forgive us. 00:26:07.500 --> 00:26:08.519 So you can come, 00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:09.059 you can come. 00:26:09.180 --> 00:26:10.079 You can know 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:10.940 that at St. Columba's 00:26:10.940 --> 00:26:11.880 you will always have a place 00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:12.460 where you can come 00:26:12.460 --> 00:26:13.299 and if you need somebody 00:26:13.299 --> 00:26:13.880 to talk to 00:26:13.880 --> 00:26:15.200 and to help you fight 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:16.600 the path of lust, 00:26:16.900 --> 00:26:17.840 this will be a place 00:26:17.840 --> 00:26:18.380 you can do that. 00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:19.100 A safe place 00:26:19.100 --> 00:26:19.559 that you can come 00:26:19.559 --> 00:26:20.200 and do that. 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:20.740 And that means that 00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:21.240 for those of us 00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:21.980 who don't struggle 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:22.799 as much 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:24.059 with the temptations 00:26:24.059 --> 00:26:24.779 of sexual lust, 00:26:24.820 --> 00:26:25.480 we've got to be willing 00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:25.900 to see, 00:26:26.259 --> 00:26:26.559 but boy, 00:26:26.660 --> 00:26:27.600 do I struggle with it 00:26:27.600 --> 00:26:28.559 in all sorts of other ways. 00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:30.539 So that we're humble enough 00:26:30.539 --> 00:26:32.100 to keep the church, 00:26:32.220 --> 00:26:32.740 this space, 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:33.759 a place that's safe 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:34.960 for people to come 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:36.240 and wrestle and fight 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:37.580 against the sin patterns 00:26:37.580 --> 00:26:38.759 that are deep and dark 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:39.779 down in their hearts. 00:26:39.779 --> 00:26:41.240 It also means 00:26:41.240 --> 00:26:42.220 that we can never be a place 00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:43.079 where we're surprised 00:26:43.079 --> 00:26:43.619 by sin. 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:45.700 Sin is never surprising. 00:26:45.940 --> 00:26:46.420 It's sad. 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:46.920 It hurts. 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:48.240 It's never surprising. 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:50.420 And so we've got to be a place 00:26:50.420 --> 00:26:51.099 where people can come 00:26:51.099 --> 00:26:52.460 and fight against patterns 00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:53.200 of guilt and shame 00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:54.599 that are perpetually leading 00:26:54.599 --> 00:26:55.639 to the same patterns 00:26:55.639 --> 00:26:56.359 of sin in their lives. 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:56.779 Number two, 00:26:58.359 --> 00:26:58.980 how do you find, 00:26:59.059 --> 00:27:00.379 if you're that person tonight 00:27:00.379 --> 00:27:00.700 that's there, 00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:01.660 how do you find hope 00:27:01.660 --> 00:27:02.839 in the midst of shame 00:27:02.839 --> 00:27:03.220 and guilt? 00:27:03.299 --> 00:27:04.180 Maybe for some things 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:04.720 you've done, 00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:06.000 things that have happened 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:06.619 to you, 00:27:06.619 --> 00:27:08.159 patterns that you're 00:27:08.159 --> 00:27:09.139 engrossed in right 00:27:09.139 --> 00:27:09.879 at the moment. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:10.500 How do you come 00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:11.839 and find hope? 00:27:11.919 --> 00:27:13.019 And there's so much 00:27:13.019 --> 00:27:13.739 to say here 00:27:13.739 --> 00:27:15.299 and I can only say 00:27:15.299 --> 00:27:16.259 something for two minutes. 00:27:17.299 --> 00:27:17.979 And so what I'll say 00:27:17.979 --> 00:27:18.419 is this, 00:27:19.139 --> 00:27:19.799 we've got to see 00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:20.779 that in the Old Testament 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:21.919 and the New Testament, 00:27:22.459 --> 00:27:23.779 the concept of lust 00:27:23.779 --> 00:27:25.799 is just idolatry. 00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:28.299 It's longing for things 00:27:28.299 --> 00:27:29.059 in this life 00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:29.839 more than we long 00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:30.319 for God. 00:27:31.259 --> 00:27:32.000 And every time 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:33.059 we see the prophets 00:27:33.059 --> 00:27:34.219 come and talk about idolatry, 00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:34.719 what do they say? 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:35.059 They say, 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:35.960 we have all, 00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:36.920 you have all Israel, 00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:37.579 all of us, 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:38.420 every single human 00:27:38.420 --> 00:27:39.799 has committed adultery. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:41.839 We've chased things, 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:42.819 we've lusted 00:27:42.819 --> 00:27:44.480 for things in this life 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:45.440 that we thought 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:46.220 could save us 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:47.079 and satisfy us 00:27:47.079 --> 00:27:47.700 far more 00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:49.100 than we ever wanted God. 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:50.900 And the thing 00:27:50.900 --> 00:27:51.480 that we need tonight 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:52.079 to see is that 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:52.779 Jesus Christ 00:27:52.779 --> 00:27:54.259 left His Father's home 00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:54.700 above, 00:27:55.160 --> 00:27:55.940 so free, 00:27:56.440 --> 00:27:57.019 so infinite, 00:27:57.160 --> 00:27:57.720 His grace, 00:27:57.960 --> 00:27:59.339 to give Himself away 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:00.700 to those that cheated. 00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:02.059 That's everybody. 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:03.940 That Jesus Christ 00:28:03.940 --> 00:28:05.180 came for the adulterer, 00:28:05.340 --> 00:28:06.220 that He came for us, 00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:07.700 that He came for us 00:28:07.700 --> 00:28:08.559 who chase after 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:09.580 all the wrong things 00:28:09.580 --> 00:28:11.000 to seek self-salvation. 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:13.400 Jesus Christ came, 00:28:13.460 --> 00:28:13.920 in other words, 00:28:14.420 --> 00:28:15.460 to forgive 00:28:15.460 --> 00:28:16.620 and to fulfill. 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:18.100 We mentioned this morning 00:28:18.100 --> 00:28:19.559 the woman at the well 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:20.140 in John 4. 00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:20.720 Let me come back 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:21.460 to her for a second. 00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:22.779 Remember what happened 00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:23.240 at the woman, 00:28:23.380 --> 00:28:24.519 if you've read the Gospels 00:28:24.519 --> 00:28:25.100 of John 4, 00:28:25.160 --> 00:28:25.799 the woman at the well. 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:27.559 Jesus said, 00:28:28.039 --> 00:28:29.299 I can give you water 00:28:29.299 --> 00:28:29.940 to drink 00:28:29.940 --> 00:28:31.160 by which you will 00:28:31.160 --> 00:28:31.960 never be thirsty again. 00:28:32.080 --> 00:28:33.200 The waters of eternal life, 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:33.720 and she said, 00:28:34.080 --> 00:28:34.960 what are you talking about? 00:28:35.019 --> 00:28:35.259 And He said, 00:28:35.299 --> 00:28:35.420 look, 00:28:35.500 --> 00:28:36.420 go and get your husband 00:28:36.420 --> 00:28:37.960 and bring him back 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:38.900 and we can talk about it 00:28:38.900 --> 00:28:39.640 all together. 00:28:40.220 --> 00:28:40.700 And she said, 00:28:40.740 --> 00:28:41.539 I don't have a husband. 00:28:41.660 --> 00:28:42.460 And Jesus turns around 00:28:42.460 --> 00:28:42.680 and says, 00:28:42.740 --> 00:28:43.840 I know you've had five 00:28:43.840 --> 00:28:45.000 and the person 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:45.720 that you're living with 00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:46.059 right now 00:28:46.059 --> 00:28:46.660 is not your husband. 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:47.779 Now why did Jesus do that? 00:28:47.880 --> 00:28:49.960 Did He do it just to expose her 00:28:49.960 --> 00:28:50.980 and bring shame into her life? 00:28:51.100 --> 00:28:51.700 Not at all. 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:52.660 Not at all. 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:53.259 What did He do? 00:28:53.360 --> 00:28:53.900 What was He saying? 00:28:53.940 --> 00:28:54.200 He's saying, 00:28:54.299 --> 00:28:55.180 you've been chasing 00:28:55.180 --> 00:28:56.480 relationship 00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:57.680 after relationship 00:28:57.680 --> 00:28:58.759 after relationship 00:28:58.759 --> 00:28:59.900 after relationship 00:28:59.900 --> 00:29:00.840 six times now. 00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:02.679 And none of it 00:29:02.679 --> 00:29:04.039 has ever fulfilled you. 00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:07.480 So sexuality expressed, 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:08.759 relationship after relationship, 00:29:08.919 --> 00:29:09.500 none of it has ever 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:10.199 really fulfilled you. 00:29:10.399 --> 00:29:11.379 But I can tell you today 00:29:11.379 --> 00:29:12.639 that I can forgive you 00:29:12.639 --> 00:29:13.419 and fulfill you. 00:29:13.939 --> 00:29:14.779 That's what He was doing 00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:15.480 when He was offering 00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:16.119 the water of life. 00:29:16.179 --> 00:29:16.799 And Jesus Christ 00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:18.119 comes to every one of us today 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:18.959 and says, 00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:20.099 I can forgive you 00:29:20.099 --> 00:29:21.259 by the power of the cross. 00:29:21.439 --> 00:29:22.500 I will forgive you 00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:23.480 for everything. 00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:25.740 And then I will turn around 00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:26.279 and show you 00:29:26.279 --> 00:29:26.759 what it means 00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:28.039 to reshape your desires, 00:29:28.259 --> 00:29:28.960 to fulfill you, 00:29:29.360 --> 00:29:31.360 to meet the unmet longings 00:29:31.360 --> 00:29:32.259 that you've been chasing 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:34.000 in root of this issue. 00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:35.680 And so thirdly and finally, 00:29:36.259 --> 00:29:36.799 a couple things 00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:37.319 that you can do. 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:37.960 Number one, 00:29:39.079 --> 00:29:39.980 let me put it this way. 00:29:41.099 --> 00:29:42.759 Jesus tells us 00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:43.440 to make a plan. 00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:45.180 So if you're a Christian tonight 00:29:45.180 --> 00:29:45.779 and you know, 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:46.740 hey, I'm forgiven, 00:29:47.980 --> 00:29:49.559 only Christ can fulfill 00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:50.299 the desires 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:51.000 that I'm fighting 00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:52.120 and battling with here, 00:29:52.119 --> 00:29:53.759 Jesus comes 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:55.379 in verse 28 to 30 00:29:55.379 --> 00:29:56.099 and He says, 00:29:56.299 --> 00:29:56.859 what do you got to do? 00:29:56.919 --> 00:29:57.119 He says, 00:29:57.159 --> 00:29:58.799 you got to gouge out your eye. 00:29:59.379 --> 00:30:00.319 What does He mean by that? 00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:01.079 He means you've got to have 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:02.119 a plan in place. 00:30:02.599 --> 00:30:03.779 You've got to take steps. 00:30:03.899 --> 00:30:04.779 You've got to turn from here 00:30:04.779 --> 00:30:05.599 and do something. 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:06.559 And what is it 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:07.119 that you've got to do? 00:30:07.159 --> 00:30:08.000 You've got to be practical. 00:30:09.399 --> 00:30:10.039 So number one, 00:30:10.439 --> 00:30:11.219 to be practical, 00:30:11.319 --> 00:30:12.699 to fight this issue of lust, 00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:13.539 you've got to first 00:30:13.539 --> 00:30:15.359 confess your sins 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:16.079 to one another. 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:18.259 Not to everybody, no. 00:30:18.839 --> 00:30:19.199 James, 00:30:19.679 --> 00:30:20.359 the book of James 00:30:20.359 --> 00:30:20.879 talks to us 00:30:20.879 --> 00:30:21.699 about having somebody 00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:22.340 in your life 00:30:22.340 --> 00:30:23.140 that you can go 00:30:23.140 --> 00:30:23.700 and talk to. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:25.220 And so, 00:30:25.380 --> 00:30:26.420 let me say it like this, 00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:27.900 it's nearly impossible 00:30:27.900 --> 00:30:29.279 to win and tackle 00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:30.840 the problem of lust, 00:30:30.940 --> 00:30:32.200 the patterns of lust 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:32.660 in your life 00:30:32.660 --> 00:30:33.980 without somebody else 00:30:33.980 --> 00:30:34.860 walking alongside you. 00:30:34.900 --> 00:30:35.680 Nearly impossible. 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:37.200 And I know that 00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:38.000 that may be 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:39.100 a step that you've 00:30:39.100 --> 00:30:39.819 never taken before, 00:30:39.940 --> 00:30:41.420 but it is nearly impossible 00:30:41.420 --> 00:30:42.880 to fight this battle 00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:43.360 by yourself. 00:30:44.059 --> 00:30:44.920 So you probably need 00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:45.539 to find somebody 00:30:45.539 --> 00:30:46.420 that you really trust 00:30:46.420 --> 00:30:47.920 that you can come 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:49.840 and walk alongside in this. 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:50.419 Number two, 00:30:51.019 --> 00:30:52.039 start where you are 00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:52.959 with deep honesty. 00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:53.539 So tonight, 00:30:53.679 --> 00:30:54.439 we're going to pray 00:30:54.439 --> 00:30:55.019 in just a second. 00:30:55.179 --> 00:30:56.379 Are you willing 00:30:56.379 --> 00:30:57.259 to pray to God 00:30:57.259 --> 00:30:58.159 honestly about 00:30:58.159 --> 00:30:58.679 where you are 00:30:58.679 --> 00:30:59.199 in this issue? 00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:00.839 Sexual sin 00:31:00.839 --> 00:31:01.339 that maybe needs 00:31:01.339 --> 00:31:02.259 to be repented of? 00:31:02.899 --> 00:31:03.899 All sorts of other things 00:31:03.899 --> 00:31:04.599 that may be going on 00:31:04.599 --> 00:31:05.199 in your heart right now. 00:31:05.459 --> 00:31:07.299 It's a place for honesty. 00:31:07.959 --> 00:31:09.679 So offer that to you 00:31:09.679 --> 00:31:10.379 tonight in prayer. 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:10.720 Third, 00:31:12.039 --> 00:31:12.879 don't be passive. 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:13.419 You've got to be 00:31:13.419 --> 00:31:14.699 as active as possible 00:31:14.699 --> 00:31:15.559 to fight this issue. 00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:17.759 And so if you think about, 00:31:17.899 --> 00:31:18.819 this is a metaphor, 00:31:19.099 --> 00:31:19.639 an illustration 00:31:19.639 --> 00:31:20.079 that I've heard 00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:20.639 from other people, 00:31:21.419 --> 00:31:22.159 but if you want 00:31:22.159 --> 00:31:23.139 to be a healthy person, 00:31:24.039 --> 00:31:24.639 if you made it 00:31:24.639 --> 00:31:25.919 your New Year's resolution 00:31:25.919 --> 00:31:27.019 to get really healthy, 00:31:27.619 --> 00:31:28.299 to get fit, 00:31:28.419 --> 00:31:28.599 you know, 00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:30.039 you go to the gym 00:31:30.039 --> 00:31:31.179 and it's really 00:31:31.179 --> 00:31:31.799 just two things 00:31:31.799 --> 00:31:32.220 you've got to do. 00:31:32.279 --> 00:31:34.000 One is you need resistance. 00:31:34.940 --> 00:31:35.039 Right? 00:31:35.139 --> 00:31:36.079 So to get fit, 00:31:36.179 --> 00:31:37.319 to grow muscle, 00:31:37.500 --> 00:31:37.980 what do you need? 00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:38.879 You've got to have resistance. 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:40.519 You've got to pick 00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:40.940 something up 00:31:40.940 --> 00:31:41.500 that's heavier 00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:42.819 than a normal thing 00:31:42.819 --> 00:31:43.440 that you pick up. 00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:44.839 And that builds muscle. 00:31:45.079 --> 00:31:45.200 Right? 00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:46.740 And in the same way, 00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:47.679 the first step 00:31:47.679 --> 00:31:49.399 in spiritual health, 00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:51.259 in the health of your heart, 00:31:51.419 --> 00:31:52.099 is you've got to have 00:31:52.099 --> 00:31:53.379 resistance in your life. 00:31:54.059 --> 00:31:55.079 So you've actually 00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:57.039 got to actively resist 00:31:57.039 --> 00:31:58.039 the sin patterns, 00:31:58.619 --> 00:31:59.379 the idolatries, 00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:00.740 the lusts 00:32:00.740 --> 00:32:01.619 that you are currently 00:32:01.619 --> 00:32:02.299 chasing after. 00:32:02.859 --> 00:32:03.440 You've got to put 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:04.500 things in your life 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:05.379 that can help you 00:32:05.379 --> 00:32:07.039 practically to fight, 00:32:07.159 --> 00:32:07.519 to resist. 00:32:07.740 --> 00:32:08.339 You've got to resist. 00:32:08.639 --> 00:32:09.099 You've got to be really 00:32:09.099 --> 00:32:09.960 serious about resistance. 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:11.519 And then what's the second part 00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:12.059 of getting fit, 00:32:12.119 --> 00:32:12.599 getting healthy? 00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:13.859 You've got to have 00:32:13.859 --> 00:32:14.559 better nutrition. 00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:14.960 Right? 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:16.360 And in the same way, 00:32:16.420 --> 00:32:16.960 when it comes to 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:17.819 spiritual life, 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:19.559 better food has to go 00:32:19.559 --> 00:32:20.500 down into your soul. 00:32:21.360 --> 00:32:21.480 Right? 00:32:21.539 --> 00:32:22.440 The better food 00:32:22.440 --> 00:32:23.600 than the objects of lust. 00:32:23.660 --> 00:32:24.240 The better food 00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:24.960 than the imagination 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:25.900 is currently consuming. 00:32:26.440 --> 00:32:27.100 And what is that 00:32:27.100 --> 00:32:27.640 better food? 00:32:28.600 --> 00:32:29.319 And it's this, 00:32:29.340 --> 00:32:30.140 and I'll close with this. 00:32:31.140 --> 00:32:31.960 The most important 00:32:31.960 --> 00:32:32.620 thing we need 00:32:32.620 --> 00:32:34.700 is for Jesus Christ, 00:32:35.400 --> 00:32:36.120 God Himself, 00:32:36.900 --> 00:32:37.500 to become 00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:38.579 the apple of our eye. 00:32:39.360 --> 00:32:40.000 To become 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:40.860 our greatest desire, 00:32:41.019 --> 00:32:41.779 our greatest longing. 00:32:41.779 --> 00:32:42.920 God Himself 00:32:42.920 --> 00:32:43.779 can fulfill 00:32:43.779 --> 00:32:45.599 all of our unmet longings. 00:32:46.379 --> 00:32:46.899 And the more 00:32:46.899 --> 00:32:48.099 we look at the cross 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:48.700 and meditate 00:32:48.700 --> 00:32:49.899 on the cross, 00:32:49.980 --> 00:32:51.220 the beauty of Jesus Christ 00:32:51.220 --> 00:32:51.720 for us, 00:32:52.019 --> 00:32:53.000 the more and more 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:53.740 we'll be able 00:32:53.740 --> 00:32:55.319 in this lifetime path 00:32:55.319 --> 00:32:55.759 of fighting 00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:56.519 the problem of lust, 00:32:57.180 --> 00:32:58.500 be able to see 00:32:58.500 --> 00:32:59.759 a desire, 00:32:59.899 --> 00:33:00.720 a better desire, 00:33:00.879 --> 00:33:01.460 a true desire, 00:33:01.660 --> 00:33:02.440 good food 00:33:02.440 --> 00:33:03.859 replace the bad food 00:33:03.859 --> 00:33:05.079 that we've been eating. 00:33:05.539 --> 00:33:06.559 It's a lifelong path. 00:33:06.680 --> 00:33:07.519 I'll finish with, 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:08.400 I love, 00:33:08.500 --> 00:33:09.079 Alan Noble 00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:10.259 is one contemporary writer 00:33:10.259 --> 00:33:10.940 who's written 00:33:10.940 --> 00:33:12.879 a brief book about this. 00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:14.680 And he writes this 00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:15.700 especially to men, 00:33:15.799 --> 00:33:16.200 but of course 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:17.019 it can be for anybody. 00:33:17.480 --> 00:33:18.059 But he says this, 00:33:18.160 --> 00:33:18.519 that whenever 00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:19.619 the temptation 00:33:19.619 --> 00:33:21.220 of lust arises, 00:33:22.660 --> 00:33:23.660 anytime he notices 00:33:23.660 --> 00:33:24.639 another person 00:33:24.639 --> 00:33:25.720 and begins 00:33:25.720 --> 00:33:26.299 to make them 00:33:26.299 --> 00:33:26.879 an object 00:33:26.879 --> 00:33:27.779 and reduce 00:33:27.779 --> 00:33:28.440 the image of God 00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:28.759 in them, 00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:29.700 this is what he says. 00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:30.160 He says, 00:33:30.379 --> 00:33:31.759 that I immediately pray, 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:32.519 Lord, 00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:33.779 thank you 00:33:33.779 --> 00:33:34.559 for the beauty 00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:35.740 you create in others 00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:36.759 and help me 00:33:36.759 --> 00:33:37.799 to know in my heart 00:33:37.799 --> 00:33:39.620 now that such beauty 00:33:39.620 --> 00:33:40.519 is not mine 00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:40.940 to possess. 00:33:42.180 --> 00:33:42.620 Lord, 00:33:42.720 --> 00:33:43.539 thank you for the beauty 00:33:43.539 --> 00:33:44.220 that you've created 00:33:44.220 --> 00:33:44.900 in other people 00:33:44.900 --> 00:33:46.599 and thank you, 00:33:46.940 --> 00:33:47.099 Lord, 00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:47.880 help me now 00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:48.359 to realize 00:33:48.359 --> 00:33:49.299 that that beauty 00:33:49.299 --> 00:33:50.299 is not for me. 00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:51.299 It's not mine 00:33:51.299 --> 00:33:51.620 to possess. 00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:53.000 In other words, 00:33:53.200 --> 00:33:53.960 how do you fight 00:33:53.960 --> 00:33:55.140 with a better desire? 00:33:55.620 --> 00:33:56.279 The answer 00:33:56.279 --> 00:33:57.779 is prayer. 00:33:59.880 --> 00:34:00.819 Whenever the temptation 00:34:00.819 --> 00:34:01.319 arises, 00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:03.420 straight to prayer. 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:05.019 Pray without ceasing. 00:34:05.740 --> 00:34:06.359 Lift up your heart 00:34:06.359 --> 00:34:06.740 to the Lord. 00:34:06.859 --> 00:34:07.759 Confess in the moment 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:08.820 my desires are changing, 00:34:08.980 --> 00:34:09.079 Lord. 00:34:09.420 --> 00:34:09.639 Pray. 00:34:10.039 --> 00:34:10.559 And it's very, 00:34:10.659 --> 00:34:11.019 very difficult. 00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:12.360 It's very helpful 00:34:12.360 --> 00:34:13.780 in a season 00:34:13.780 --> 00:34:14.320 of temptation 00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:14.840 and lust 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:16.179 for whatever it may be 00:34:16.179 --> 00:34:18.940 to replace that 00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:19.840 with prayer. 00:34:21.079 --> 00:34:21.760 Let us pray. 00:34:22.059 --> 00:34:22.280 Father, 00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:24.460 we come now 00:34:24.460 --> 00:34:25.079 before you 00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:26.519 needing healing 00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:29.360 for things we've done, 00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:29.880 for things that have 00:34:29.880 --> 00:34:30.539 been done to us, 00:34:30.699 --> 00:34:31.900 for patterns 00:34:31.900 --> 00:34:32.579 in our lives, 00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:33.719 for the misuse 00:34:33.719 --> 00:34:34.579 of our imagination. 00:34:36.219 --> 00:34:36.899 And Lord, 00:34:37.219 --> 00:34:38.719 we ask tonight 00:34:38.719 --> 00:34:39.599 that the Holy Spirit 00:34:39.599 --> 00:34:40.279 will come and meet 00:34:40.279 --> 00:34:41.480 with us in this prayer 00:34:41.480 --> 00:34:42.899 and then as we sing 00:34:42.899 --> 00:34:43.879 this final song 00:34:43.879 --> 00:34:45.219 to bring healing 00:34:45.219 --> 00:34:46.219 to us. 00:34:47.079 --> 00:34:47.519 Would you, 00:34:47.719 --> 00:34:48.039 oh God, 00:34:48.179 --> 00:34:48.599 Holy Spirit, 00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:49.259 be the air 00:34:49.259 --> 00:34:50.719 lifting our wings 00:34:50.719 --> 00:34:51.619 that we would see 00:34:51.619 --> 00:34:52.639 that there really 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:53.459 is forgiveness, 00:34:53.739 --> 00:34:54.839 that you cast 00:34:54.839 --> 00:34:55.699 our sexual sins 00:34:55.699 --> 00:34:56.459 as far as the east 00:34:56.459 --> 00:34:57.159 is from the west 00:34:57.159 --> 00:34:58.339 and there really 00:34:58.339 --> 00:34:59.440 is a path forward, 00:35:00.359 --> 00:35:02.059 a better desire 00:35:02.059 --> 00:35:02.659 fulfilled 00:35:02.659 --> 00:35:04.159 and a better object, 00:35:04.279 --> 00:35:04.899 Jesus Christ. 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:06.059 So Lord Jesus, 00:35:06.659 --> 00:35:08.019 please make us, 00:35:08.440 --> 00:35:09.679 make yourself to us 00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:11.059 the apple of our eye. 00:35:11.480 --> 00:35:12.339 Make you 00:35:12.339 --> 00:35:13.319 our greatest affection. 00:35:13.399 --> 00:35:14.539 We pray the prayer 00:35:14.539 --> 00:35:15.639 of St. Augustine tonight. 00:35:16.259 --> 00:35:17.920 Give us the desires 00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:18.899 you command of us. 00:35:19.500 --> 00:35:20.420 And so we pray for that now 00:35:20.420 --> 00:35:21.299 in Jesus' name. 00:35:22.019 --> 00:35:22.379 Amen.