WEBVTT 00:00:00.920 --> 00:00:07.060 Okay, so reading from 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verses 12 through to 20. 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:13.080 Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.960 Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 00:00:18.740 --> 00:00:23.400 Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will destroy them both. 00:00:23.399 --> 00:00:30.079 The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 00:00:30.979 --> 00:00:36.679 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.659 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? 00:00:41.480 --> 00:00:44.980 Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:45.759 Never. 00:00:46.659 --> 00:00:51.899 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? 00:00:51.899 --> 00:01:00.899 For it is said, the two will become one flesh, but he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 00:01:01.739 --> 00:01:03.479 Flee from sexual immorality. 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:09.759 All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:16.280 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? 00:01:17.019 --> 00:01:18.000 You are not your own. 00:01:18.620 --> 00:01:20.400 You were bought at a price. 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:23.680 Therefore, honour God with your body. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:30.500 Thanks very much, Ralph. 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:35.880 Well, we're in our third of our series, Pure. 00:01:36.240 --> 00:01:40.180 And this morning we're looking at purity in an age of porn. 00:01:40.440 --> 00:01:46.800 And just to remind people that we are going to be having discussion evenings, ladies meeting in the Newnham House at 8 o'clock, 00:01:47.080 --> 00:01:51.640 and the men can meet in the Grant's House at 8 o'clock. 00:01:51.640 --> 00:02:03.019 So before we look at this subject, and we're going to be staying in that passage there of 1 Corinthians 6 verses 12 to 20. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:05.540 So we're going to pray and ask for God's help. 00:02:05.540 --> 00:02:14.420 Our Father God, we thank you for your word. 00:02:14.540 --> 00:02:25.860 We thank you for how practical it is, how relevant it is, speaking into our lives and speaking into the context of the world in which we live. 00:02:25.860 --> 00:02:38.220 And we realise that we do live in a world that lives very different from your good design and your good order. 00:02:38.219 --> 00:02:40.219 Father God, we pray that we live in a world that lives very different from our lives. 00:02:40.219 --> 00:02:49.919 We pray that this morning, as we look at this subject of purity, that you would help us to realign our own lives where we need to, 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:59.439 that we would speak up where we have to, and that we would be encouragers of those around us. 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:08.579 And we pray, Father, that you would also keep our minds pure as we think through these issues this morning. 00:03:10.819 --> 00:03:18.979 And we ask for your Holy Spirit's help to be present with us in understanding and in applying. 00:03:18.979 --> 00:03:23.379 We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:03:27.699 --> 00:03:34.159 Three clicks of the mouse and you have entered into a world of sexual fantasy. 00:03:35.519 --> 00:03:41.919 Unhindered in the privacy of our own home, we can explore our secret desires. 00:03:41.919 --> 00:04:11.899 Unhindered in the privacy of our own home, we can explore our own home, we can explore our own home, 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:14.179 with exits, but they were very rare. 00:04:14.839 --> 00:04:16.699 Very few people had the nerve 00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:20.180 to lift Playboy from the top shelf of a crowded newsagent. 00:04:22.180 --> 00:04:25.599 There were rumours, of course, of the odd video in senior years, 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:27.419 but that was about it. 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:33.000 Thanks, Alex. You're reminding me that, er, 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:35.819 if you're getting a pen now... 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:38.240 I've got notes here. Sorry. 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:38.899 Hold all those thoughts there. 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:40.899 Everybody want to take those as they can. 00:04:40.899 --> 00:04:42.899 And there's pens here as well. 00:04:45.899 --> 00:04:47.899 Sorry for the interruption. 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:18.899 OK. 00:05:18.899 --> 00:05:28.899 The point is that in the past, you either stumbled upon it or you had to search for it. 00:05:28.899 --> 00:05:30.899 Today, we can't escape it. 00:05:30.899 --> 00:05:37.899 We're bombarded by explicit images on TV from adverts right the way through to films. 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:42.899 Sex scenes on TV have doubled in the last ten years. 00:05:42.899 --> 00:05:49.899 And what were once under the shelf mags are today popular reading for both men and women. 00:05:49.899 --> 00:05:53.899 But perhaps most of all is the impact of the internet. 00:05:53.899 --> 00:06:04.899 Psychologist Dr. Alvin Cooper talks about the triple A engine that drives cybersex and makes it so enticing. 00:06:04.899 --> 00:06:11.899 He calls it accessibility, affordability and anonymity. 00:06:11.899 --> 00:06:17.899 Practically, everybody has a computer where you can log onto the web with ease. 00:06:17.899 --> 00:06:25.899 Faster download speeds mean we can type in a three-letter word and we have immediate access to unlimited porn. 00:06:25.899 --> 00:06:30.899 But what makes it so accessible is, it's for free. 00:06:30.899 --> 00:06:35.899 Of course, there's lots of websites where you are asked for your credit card details. 00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:42.899 But to entice you in and to entrap you, you can watch endless videos without paying a cent. 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:48.899 However, I think it's the anonymity that has caused such a rise in online porn. 00:06:48.899 --> 00:06:55.899 The internet brings an unlimited supply of porn directly into your own home. 00:06:55.899 --> 00:07:05.899 From the privacy of your own home, you can surf the web with absolute freedom and no one is ever going to know. 00:07:05.899 --> 00:07:12.899 No longer do we have the embarrassment of having to go to the local news agents. 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:19.899 The PC and the internet have seen porn become part of our daily diet. 00:07:19.899 --> 00:07:25.899 As one writer has put it, our culture has become pornified. 00:07:25.899 --> 00:07:32.899 Yesterday, in the paper in the Independent, I read an article which talked about one website 00:07:32.899 --> 00:07:37.899 and it had the tagline, Life is short, have an affair. 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:42.899 And the journalist noticed that when they logged onto this particular website, 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:48.899 there were 3,000 members from her own locale of central Dublin, 00:07:48.899 --> 00:07:53.899 all online on a Thursday afternoon looking for an affair. 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:57.899 And that's just in one part of Dublin. 00:07:57.899 --> 00:08:01.899 But it's not just our culture that we find this issue. 00:08:01.899 --> 00:08:04.899 It's also an issue within the church. 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:09.899 Look at 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 18. 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:14.899 It says there, flee from sexual immorality. 00:08:14.899 --> 00:08:20.899 Now that phrase, sexual immorality, comes from the Greek word pornea, 00:08:20.899 --> 00:08:27.899 which we get our word pornography from, or a shortened version to porn. 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:38.899 And if you want a definition, we could say porn is anything that we use to promote sexual desire outside of God's design. 00:08:38.899 --> 00:08:43.899 So it can be the internet, it can be magazines, it can be television, it can be what you see, 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:46.899 it can be anything that you do. 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:51.899 Now, back to Corinth in chapter 6, verse 18. 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:55.899 There may have been no internet cafes available at that time, 00:08:55.899 --> 00:09:00.899 but they did have easy access to the local prostitutes at the local temple. 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:02.899 Back in verse 16, it says, 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:16.899 Sexual immorality was a big issue for the Christians in the first century. 00:09:16.899 --> 00:09:21.899 And as we've seen over the last couple of weeks, it was a big issue within the church. 00:09:21.899 --> 00:09:27.899 So we shouldn't be surprised then that it's also an issue in the 21st century. 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:31.899 And the statistics are frightening. 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:42.899 Of one survey conducted, 50% of Christian men and 20% of Christian women struggle with porn. 00:09:42.899 --> 00:09:46.899 That breaks down to one out of every three. 00:09:46.899 --> 00:09:52.899 Now, if we're to believe even half of those statistics, it's still very worrying. 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:56.899 The figures are the same for pastors and for leaders. 00:09:56.899 --> 00:10:05.899 A survey in the US revealed that 30% of pastors had viewed online porn in a period of 30 days. 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:15.899 One student worker said porn addiction was 60-70% with single young men in universities. 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:22.899 So it's not restricted to the dark alleys and somewhere away out there. 00:10:22.899 --> 00:10:28.899 It exists in virtually every home in Ireland and within every church. 00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:37.899 Now, before we move on, let me say that while it's not exclusive to men, it is a particular issue for men. 00:10:37.899 --> 00:10:42.899 So much of what we say this morning will be directed to the men. 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:48.899 Generally speaking, men are turned on visually, while women are turned on relationally. 00:10:48.899 --> 00:10:52.899 So for men, online porn is more enticing. 00:10:52.899 --> 00:11:01.899 But for women, the slow romantic novels, which develop over time and eventually end up in the bedroom, are far more satisfying. 00:11:01.899 --> 00:11:06.899 So sexual purity is an issue for us all. 00:11:06.899 --> 00:11:16.899 And we all have to be aware of the dangers behind what is often portrayed as just harmless and good fun. 00:11:16.899 --> 00:11:22.899 So first, what we want to ask is, what are the dangers or what are the problems with pornography? 00:11:22.899 --> 00:11:28.899 Is it not just a little bit of stuff on the side? 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:31.899 Really not much problems there? 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:33.899 Well first, there's two things. 00:11:33.899 --> 00:11:38.899 First, it destroys God's good gift of sex. 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:41.899 Chapter 6, verse 12. 00:11:41.899 --> 00:11:45.899 Everything is permissible for me. 00:11:45.899 --> 00:11:48.899 But not everything is beneficial. 00:11:48.899 --> 00:11:56.899 Now it seems that the church in Corinth were twisting the truth to excuse their immoral behaviour. 00:11:56.899 --> 00:11:59.899 Everything is permissible, they said. 00:11:59.899 --> 00:12:01.899 We can do whatever we like. 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:06.899 Perhaps they had discovered their new found freedom in Christ, 00:12:06.899 --> 00:12:12.899 and they were using that freedom in a wrong way, an excuse to do whatever they like. 00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:14.899 Christ has set us free. 00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:17.899 We can do what we want. 00:12:17.899 --> 00:12:21.899 But the reality is, as Paul makes clear, not everything is beneficial. 00:12:21.899 --> 00:12:25.899 You may be free, but it's not all beneficial. 00:12:25.899 --> 00:12:29.899 In fact, it can be destructive, just like porn. 00:12:29.899 --> 00:12:32.899 You see, sex is not wrong. 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:34.899 It's a wonderful gift from God. 00:12:34.899 --> 00:12:37.899 It's part of his design for his creation. 00:12:37.899 --> 00:12:45.899 But it is only good within the context of an exclusive married relationship between a man and a woman. 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:50.899 And anything outside of that is a distortion of God's good design. 00:12:50.899 --> 00:12:55.899 And porn radically distorts God's good design. 00:12:55.899 --> 00:13:02.899 What people view and what people see in porn sex is not real sex. 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:03.899 It's mechanical. 00:13:03.899 --> 00:13:05.899 It's performance for a camera. 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:12.899 The so-called stars are airbrushed in and out, giving the impression that it's all fun and enjoyable. 00:13:12.899 --> 00:13:18.899 While off screen, they deaden the physical and emotional pain with a cocktail of drugs. 00:13:18.899 --> 00:13:24.899 It sets unrealistic expectations and exaggerated standards. 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:27.899 It's not real. 00:13:27.899 --> 00:13:34.899 But more than that, porn separates physical intimacy from relational intimacy. 00:13:34.899 --> 00:13:39.899 Let me quote to you from a book I'll mention in a little while. 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:41.899 It says, 00:13:41.899 --> 00:13:46.899 Sex in porn is just physical activity, nothing more. 00:13:46.899 --> 00:13:55.899 But real sex, sex as God intended, is the celebration and climax, quite literally, of a relationship. 00:13:55.899 --> 00:14:08.899 Godly sex is part of a package that includes talking together, sharing together, deciding together, crying together, working together, laughing together and forgiving each other. 00:14:08.899 --> 00:14:12.899 Sex that disregards these things is hollow. 00:14:12.899 --> 00:14:20.899 It will drive you apart rather than bring you together as God intended. 00:14:20.899 --> 00:14:29.899 So, the first big problem or first big danger is that it destroys God's gift of sex. 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:33.899 Second, it destroys God's gift of relationships. 00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:36.899 The second part of verse 12. 00:14:36.899 --> 00:14:44.899 Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 00:14:44.899 --> 00:14:49.899 You see, distorted sex leads to distorted relationships. 00:14:49.899 --> 00:14:54.899 And the big lie of porn is that you control it. 00:14:54.899 --> 00:14:59.899 You determine the quantity and you determine the quality. 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:03.899 But the reality is, it actually controls you. 00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:04.899 It masters you. 00:15:04.899 --> 00:15:06.899 It enslaves you. 00:15:06.899 --> 00:15:11.899 And that seems to be Paul's point here in the second part of verse 12. 00:15:11.899 --> 00:15:15.899 Sexual freedom is not real freedom at all. 00:15:15.899 --> 00:15:17.899 You become its slave. 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:20.899 They were saying, everything is permissible for me. 00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:22.899 We can do what we like. 00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:29.899 But Paul says, I will not be mastered by anything. 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:37.899 What they didn't realise is that their freedom to do whatever they liked, they were becoming mastered by their choices. 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:44.899 And this destructive control is worked out in our relationships. 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:50.899 Apart from degrading men and women and turning them into objects of gratification, 00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:51.899 the same way. 00:15:51.899 --> 00:15:56.899 The same way, porn replaces your spouse with an image on screen. 00:15:56.899 --> 00:16:03.899 In the context of a married relationship, not only does intimacy go, not only does communication go, 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:09.899 but so does affection and care and practical love. 00:16:09.899 --> 00:16:19.899 Men in particular cease to be able to relate to their wives as their sexual appetite is fulfilled through cybersex. 00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:21.899 Porn is a vicious circle. 00:16:21.899 --> 00:16:25.899 The more that you see, the less you become fulfilled. 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:30.899 The more that you watch, the more you want. 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:35.899 All the while, it's distancing yourself from the one that you are married to. 00:16:35.899 --> 00:16:38.899 And let's not just confine it to married lives. 00:16:38.899 --> 00:16:41.899 It affects all of our relationships. 00:16:41.899 --> 00:16:44.899 You don't relate to the opposite sex properly. 00:16:44.899 --> 00:16:48.899 You cease to communicate in a right way. 00:16:48.899 --> 00:16:54.899 It has terrible consequences on all of our relationships. 00:16:54.899 --> 00:17:01.899 Porn is destructive as it distorts God's good gifts. 00:17:01.899 --> 00:17:03.899 Look at verse 13. 00:17:03.899 --> 00:17:10.900 Food for the stomach and stomach for food, they say. 00:17:10.900 --> 00:17:16.900 You see, the Christians in Corinth were good at separating the physical with the spiritual. 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:22.900 The body, the physical body, they saw, was just, well, food for the stomach and stomach for the food. 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:24.900 Eat what you like. 00:17:24.900 --> 00:17:26.900 That's what the stomach is there for, isn't it? 00:17:26.900 --> 00:17:27.900 Put food in. 00:17:27.900 --> 00:17:33.900 The implication being that the physical body can be used however you want. 00:17:33.900 --> 00:17:37.900 If you want to go down to the local temple and visit the prostitutes, so what? 00:17:37.900 --> 00:17:38.900 Go and do it. 00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:40.900 That's what the body is for. 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:45.900 Why not watch whatever porn you want? 00:17:45.900 --> 00:17:50.900 Isn't that what the body is for? 00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:51.900 Let's be honest. 00:17:51.900 --> 00:17:54.900 That porn is pleasurable. 00:17:54.900 --> 00:18:00.900 But the problem is its pleasures are only temporary and they are destructive. 00:18:00.900 --> 00:18:03.900 Look at the rest of verse 13. 00:18:03.900 --> 00:18:08.900 It says, God will destroy them both. 00:18:08.900 --> 00:18:17.900 The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:22.900 Our bodies were made for the Lord and the Lord is there for us. 00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:34.900 In other words, we have been created and designed in a special and a particular way to serve the Lord within the context of right and good and healthy relationships. 00:18:34.900 --> 00:18:43.900 And it is serving God within these contexts that we find our true satisfaction and our true fulfillment. 00:18:43.900 --> 00:18:44.900 We were made for the Lord. 00:18:44.900 --> 00:18:46.900 We were made for the Lord. 00:18:46.900 --> 00:18:53.900 To serve Him and not to serve our sexual appetite. 00:18:53.900 --> 00:19:02.900 So, we must beware of the dangers of porn. 00:19:02.900 --> 00:19:10.900 Which brings us on to ask the question, how are we going to control or deal with such destructive behavior? 00:19:10.900 --> 00:19:17.900 Well, we can give out lots of rules and for the rest of the time I could give you lots of rules and say, don't do this and do that. 00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:20.900 But that's just legalism, isn't it? 00:19:20.900 --> 00:19:22.900 It's just lots of rules. 00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:30.900 It may bring an external change, but what we want is internal heart change. 00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:40.900 A heart that finds its delight and joy in Christ so much so that it has no need or desire for porn. 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:43.900 So, there's two things that we want to look at under this. 00:19:43.900 --> 00:19:47.900 The first is, remember the gospel. 00:19:47.900 --> 00:19:49.900 Firstly, the cross. 00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:54.900 Look down at verse 20 of chapter 6. 00:19:54.900 --> 00:20:00.900 It says there, you were bought at a price. 00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:05.900 It's talking about Jesus' death on the cross. 00:20:05.900 --> 00:20:13.900 Through His death, the price has been paid for your sexual immorality. 00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:22.900 The cross is there to remind us that Christ was treated as a porn user for us. 00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:24.900 He paid the penalty for our sin. 00:20:24.900 --> 00:20:36.900 He took the blame and He suffered the wrath that we deserve so that we might be treated as sexually pure. 00:20:36.900 --> 00:20:41.900 Sexual sin, I think you would agree, is often portrayed as unforgivable. 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:47.900 Perhaps because of its broad, wide consequences. 00:20:47.900 --> 00:20:50.900 They can do so much damage. 00:20:50.900 --> 00:20:53.900 And people say it's unforgivable. 00:20:53.900 --> 00:21:00.900 Feelings of guilt and shame crush us as we view the web again and again. 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:04.900 And we feel there's no way that God is going to forgive me. 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:06.900 Not this time. 00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:10.900 No, we must remember the cross. 00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:16.900 We must remember that Christ has paid the price for all sin. 00:21:16.900 --> 00:21:22.900 So, the invitation is for us to run to Christ because He is running to us. 00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:24.900 He is ready to forgive us. 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:25.900 We genuinely repent. 00:21:25.900 --> 00:21:27.900 He forgives the past. 00:21:27.900 --> 00:21:29.900 He forgives the present. 00:21:29.900 --> 00:21:33.900 And when we fall again, He will forgive the future. 00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:35.900 The price has been paid. 00:21:35.900 --> 00:21:38.900 There is nothing more for us to do. 00:21:38.900 --> 00:21:49.900 Only accept His free gift of forgiveness and to be able to learn to enjoy His acceptance of you. 00:21:49.900 --> 00:21:53.900 So, we must start by remembering the cross. 00:21:53.900 --> 00:21:56.900 The point where we are forgiven. 00:21:56.900 --> 00:21:59.900 But we've also got to remember the resurrection. 00:21:59.900 --> 00:22:06.900 Because not only have we got to put porn to one side, we have to replace it with something else. 00:22:06.900 --> 00:22:09.900 Look at verse 14. 00:22:09.900 --> 00:22:16.900 By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also. 00:22:16.900 --> 00:22:23.900 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ Himself? 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:30.900 You see, through the resurrection of Christ, through our trust in Him, we have been united with Christ. 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:37.900 Just as Christ rose from the dead, He had a perfect body, perfect resurrected body. 00:22:37.900 --> 00:22:43.900 So, one day, we are going to rise with a perfect resurrected body. 00:22:43.900 --> 00:22:46.900 We will be free from sexual immorality. 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:51.900 Free once and for all from its struggles and its temptations. 00:22:51.900 --> 00:22:55.900 That means that we have a new way to live today. 00:22:55.900 --> 00:23:03.900 If that's what's ours to come, it's saying, if that's what you're going to be in the future, this is the way you are to live today. 00:23:03.900 --> 00:23:07.900 Look at the rest of verse 15. 00:23:07.900 --> 00:23:08.900 He says, 00:23:08.900 --> 00:23:13.900 Shall I take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? 00:23:13.900 --> 00:23:14.900 Never! 00:23:14.900 --> 00:23:20.900 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? 00:23:20.900 --> 00:23:24.900 For it is said that two will become one flesh. 00:23:24.900 --> 00:23:31.900 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 00:23:31.900 --> 00:23:35.900 You see, we have been united to Christ. 00:23:35.900 --> 00:23:42.900 We have been set free from our unity, if you like, with sexual immorality and our sinful desires. 00:23:42.900 --> 00:23:46.900 And we have now been united to Christ. 00:23:46.900 --> 00:23:49.900 We are servants of a greater master. 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:58.900 A king who loved us, who died for us, who treasures us, who welcomes us and who satisfies us for all eternity. 00:23:58.900 --> 00:24:06.900 Porn which once controlled us, that once mastered us and enslaved us. 00:24:06.900 --> 00:24:13.900 That master has now been replaced with a new king. 00:24:13.900 --> 00:24:16.900 The risen Lord Jesus. 00:24:16.900 --> 00:24:23.900 So through the resurrection we are reminded that we have been united with Christ. 00:24:23.900 --> 00:24:26.900 That we belong to him. 00:24:26.900 --> 00:24:31.900 And that it has been replaced that we have a new master in which to live for. 00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:37.900 And when we give ourselves completely to this new master, to the Lord Jesus, 00:24:37.900 --> 00:24:43.900 we discover that we have everything that we ever need. 00:24:43.900 --> 00:24:47.900 So in dealing with issues such as sexual immorality, 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:53.900 remember the cross, remember the resurrection and remember the spirit. 00:24:53.900 --> 00:25:03.900 Because you might say, well it's great, I do believe in the cross, I do believe in the resurrection. 00:25:03.900 --> 00:25:06.900 But I still struggle. 00:25:06.900 --> 00:25:09.900 Well, welcome to the club. 00:25:09.900 --> 00:25:12.900 Who doesn't struggle with all kinds of sin? 00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:18.900 You see in this life, while the penalty of porn has been dealt with, 00:25:18.900 --> 00:25:22.900 the presence of porn is still ongoing. 00:25:22.900 --> 00:25:27.900 Sin's penalty has always been dealt with. 00:25:27.900 --> 00:25:30.900 But sin's struggle is always going to be there. 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:33.900 We're going to fight it till the day we die. 00:25:33.900 --> 00:25:38.900 You may go weeks and months without viewing inappropriate sites. 00:25:38.900 --> 00:25:42.900 But some days you may discover that you fall. 00:25:42.900 --> 00:25:44.900 As with every sin. 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:47.900 So how are we going to fight it? 00:25:47.900 --> 00:25:49.900 How are we going to deal with it? 00:25:49.900 --> 00:25:52.900 Well we cannot do it on our own, we need the spirit. 00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:54.900 Look at verse 18. 00:25:54.900 --> 00:25:58.900 He says, flee from sexual immorality. 00:25:58.900 --> 00:26:06.900 All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 00:26:06.900 --> 00:26:17.900 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? 00:26:17.900 --> 00:26:18.900 You are not your own. 00:26:18.900 --> 00:26:20.900 You were bought at a price. 00:26:20.900 --> 00:26:25.900 Therefore, honour God with your body. 00:26:25.900 --> 00:26:34.900 Now we know that the temple in the Old Testament was the place where people went to meet with God. 00:26:34.900 --> 00:26:36.900 It was the presence of God. 00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:45.900 And you went there in celebration for who God was, but it was also a place of awesome fear to come into the presence of God. 00:26:45.900 --> 00:26:58.900 But now he's reminding them and he's saying, but because of Christ, because of his death and resurrection, you, your bodies, have become the temple. 00:26:58.900 --> 00:27:03.900 That means that Christ, by his spirit, actually lives in you. 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:06.900 So wherever you go, Christ is there. 00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:09.900 He's present with you in your life. 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:18.900 So Paul is saying to these Christians in Corinth, as they're dealing with these issues of sexual immorality and running off to visit the local prostitutes. 00:27:18.900 --> 00:27:34.900 He's saying to them, listen guys, when you're involved in sexual immorality, you are not only doing what you are doing in full view of Christ, because he's with you by his spirit. 00:27:34.900 --> 00:27:49.900 But dare I say it, you are involving Christ in your very acts, because he is present within you by his spirit. 00:27:49.900 --> 00:27:52.900 How can you do this, he's saying to them. 00:27:52.900 --> 00:27:54.900 You have been united with Christ. 00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:57.900 This is not the way. 00:27:57.900 --> 00:28:04.900 The spirit of Christ in our life gives us a new way, a new direction. 00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:06.900 He gives us his desires. 00:28:06.900 --> 00:28:08.900 He gives us his wants. 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:23.900 And it's only when we reflect and give ourselves time to think about the cross and think about the resurrection that the Holy Spirit takes that and helps us to see that we don't need to indulge in sexual immorality. 00:28:23.900 --> 00:28:32.900 We don't need porn because we have everything that we could possibly ever need and want in the person of Jesus Christ. 00:28:32.900 --> 00:28:33.900 He satisfies us. 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:35.900 He completes us. 00:28:35.900 --> 00:28:40.900 He fulfills us with everything beyond our expectation. 00:28:40.900 --> 00:28:53.900 As we so often say, the gospel is not just for unbelievers, a message that we are trying to throw down people's throats out there. 00:28:53.900 --> 00:29:00.900 The gospel is something that we need to continually apply to believers each and every day. 00:29:00.900 --> 00:29:04.900 We need to be reminded of the gospel. 00:29:04.900 --> 00:29:12.900 Well, remembering the gospel is primary and that's where we must start. 00:29:12.900 --> 00:29:17.900 But in addition to this, we need to take practical action. 00:29:17.900 --> 00:29:24.900 There's no good saying, well, help me to live a pure life and then doing nothing practically about it. 00:29:24.900 --> 00:29:29.900 We've got to be ruthless to remove the temptation. 00:29:29.900 --> 00:29:33.900 So let me encourage three ways in which we can do this. 00:29:33.900 --> 00:29:36.900 And I'm not just speaking now to adults. 00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:44.900 I'm speaking to parents who have responsibility for their younger children and for you having control of your own home. 00:29:44.900 --> 00:29:47.900 So here's three things and I'm sure there are others. 00:29:47.900 --> 00:29:50.900 First of all, install software. 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:54.900 The web is easily accessible. 00:29:54.900 --> 00:29:58.900 So it's important for you to have filters on your computer. 00:29:58.900 --> 00:30:05.900 You can set your computer up to search in safe mode to disallow sites that you don't want accessed. 00:30:05.900 --> 00:30:10.900 Now the problem with that is you can turn off safe mode, can't you? 00:30:10.900 --> 00:30:14.900 You can control the settings to whatever you want and nobody's going to know. 00:30:14.900 --> 00:30:21.900 So the best way is to use accountable software such as CovenantEyes.com. 00:30:21.900 --> 00:30:26.900 If you want to know more about CovenantEyes.com you can ask me afterwards. 00:30:26.900 --> 00:30:34.900 CovenantEyes means your internet activity is all recorded and it's all monitored 00:30:34.900 --> 00:30:41.900 and a report is sent on a monthly basis or a weekly basis to an accountability partner. 00:30:41.900 --> 00:30:48.900 There are people who send their reports to me and I can see what they're looking at. 00:30:48.900 --> 00:30:53.900 In the same way, my reports are sent to somebody else. 00:30:53.900 --> 00:30:55.900 I have an accountability partner. 00:30:55.900 --> 00:31:02.900 It doesn't stop access to whatever you look at on the computer, but it does help prevent it. 00:31:02.900 --> 00:31:09.900 And it does mean others know what you're looking at and they are there to intervene and to bring support. 00:31:09.900 --> 00:31:20.900 So I would strongly recommend that every home, every computer should have something similar to CovenantEyes on their computers. 00:31:20.900 --> 00:31:25.900 But don't stop with your computer. You've all now got fancy gadgets with your mobile phones. 00:31:25.900 --> 00:31:28.900 Thankfully I don't have a mobile phone. And some of you do. 00:31:28.900 --> 00:31:32.900 That not only makes phone calls but you can access the internet with your mobile phones. 00:31:32.900 --> 00:31:39.900 Don't just have it on your computer and then play around with your mobile phone. Sort out your phones as well. 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:47.900 You've all got access to unsuitable apps. You don't need them. Get your phone sorted too. 00:31:47.900 --> 00:31:53.900 So that's install software. The second one is to block channels. 00:31:53.900 --> 00:31:58.900 Most people today have Sky or Free2Air. 00:31:58.900 --> 00:32:03.900 And it beams into your home unwanted programs and explicit channels. 00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:07.900 Recently we had some Free2Air installed. 00:32:07.900 --> 00:32:11.900 And we discovered that there's a channel on it called Movies4Men. 00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:17.900 And it's not just Rambo. I don't want movies for men in my home. 00:32:17.900 --> 00:32:22.900 So we've put a security code on it so it can't be viewed. 00:32:22.900 --> 00:32:30.900 And if you're going to have TV in your homes, make sure that you remove what is obviously not helpful. 00:32:30.900 --> 00:32:35.900 And again, parents, you've got to take the first steps in doing this. 00:32:35.900 --> 00:32:41.900 So install software, block channels. Thirdly, read well. 00:32:41.900 --> 00:32:49.900 There are lots of books and magazines that promote and push sex outside of God's good design. 00:32:49.900 --> 00:32:53.900 So you have to be very careful what you read. 00:32:53.900 --> 00:32:58.900 Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. 00:32:58.900 --> 00:33:04.900 And perhaps I'm right in saying that the women would read more novels than men. 00:33:04.900 --> 00:33:08.900 Be very careful, ladies, what books you're reading. 00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:17.900 Read books that are going to help and not distort God's good design for relationships and sex. 00:33:17.900 --> 00:33:26.900 I encourage us all to read, men in particular, Captured by a Better Vision, Living Porn Free, written by Tim Chester. 00:33:26.900 --> 00:33:33.900 He's the same author as the one who's written The Gospel Centred Life, the books that we're studying on Wednesday. 00:33:33.900 --> 00:33:38.900 And there will be other suitable material as well. 00:33:38.900 --> 00:33:44.900 The simple point is, let's not pretend and lie to yourself that you're in control and that you can manage everything. 00:33:44.900 --> 00:33:52.900 And it might not be a problem for you today, but we need to take action. 00:33:52.900 --> 00:34:00.900 Make it your priority this afternoon to sort out some of these details. 00:34:00.900 --> 00:34:05.900 So that's a very practical way of taking action. 00:34:05.900 --> 00:34:11.900 Sexual immorality was an issue in the early church. 00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:18.900 It's an issue today, and it's going to be an ongoing issue into the future. 00:34:18.900 --> 00:34:26.900 So we need to be prepared how to deal with sexual immorality, how to deal with porn. 00:34:26.900 --> 00:34:33.900 So let me suggest two things in closing that will help us as a community together. 00:34:33.900 --> 00:34:38.900 First of all, we need a community where people are open. 00:34:38.900 --> 00:34:42.900 We are all sinful people, let's not pretend. 00:34:42.900 --> 00:34:46.900 We all have different struggles with all kinds of different sins. 00:34:46.900 --> 00:34:52.900 But we ought to be open with one another as to where we are at. 00:34:52.900 --> 00:34:58.900 I don't mean that you write in all your sins into the local news sheet and tell everybody what you've been up to. 00:34:58.900 --> 00:35:00.900 That's not what I'm saying. 00:35:00.900 --> 00:35:06.900 I'm saying that the Christian life was never meant to be walked alone. 00:35:06.900 --> 00:35:14.900 God saved us, not to keep us as individuals, but to save us into a family. 00:35:14.900 --> 00:35:21.900 To bring us into a community that is there to support us and to care for us. 00:35:21.900 --> 00:35:25.900 So you all know people within the family of the church. 00:35:25.900 --> 00:35:29.900 Go to people who you know who are going to help you and encourage you. 00:35:29.900 --> 00:35:33.900 Be honest about your struggles. 00:35:33.900 --> 00:35:41.900 And let God use the people within the family of the church to be a means of healing in your life. 00:35:41.900 --> 00:35:45.900 Not just with sexual immorality, with all sin. 00:35:45.900 --> 00:35:50.900 But in particular as we are thinking today with these issues. 00:35:50.900 --> 00:35:58.900 So let's have a community of openness, encouraging and supporting one another. 00:35:58.900 --> 00:36:02.900 But also let us be a community of grace. 00:36:02.900 --> 00:36:08.900 We need to be a people that receives grace, not condemnation. 00:36:08.900 --> 00:36:12.900 It's so easy to point the fingers at other people. 00:36:12.900 --> 00:36:16.900 It's so easy to write people off and say, did you see what they did? 00:36:16.900 --> 00:36:18.900 Did you hear about what happened in their life? 00:36:18.900 --> 00:36:20.900 And just write them off completely. 00:36:20.900 --> 00:36:26.900 Well let's remember we all need grace. 00:36:26.900 --> 00:36:32.900 And without Christ, not one of us is good enough. 00:36:32.900 --> 00:36:38.900 The church should be the safest place to be in for all of our struggles. 00:36:38.900 --> 00:36:48.900 Christ came to us. 00:36:48.900 --> 00:36:51.900 He said you are not your own. 00:36:51.900 --> 00:36:54.900 You were bought at a price. 00:36:54.900 --> 00:36:57.900 You're precious to God. 00:36:57.900 --> 00:37:00.900 He doesn't want you to leave you where you're at. 00:37:00.900 --> 00:37:03.900 He wants to change us, to transform us. 00:37:03.900 --> 00:37:09.900 Therefore, honour God with your body. 00:37:09.900 --> 00:37:29.900 Let's pray together. 00:37:29.900 --> 00:37:33.900 In the quietness, let's do business with God. 00:37:33.900 --> 00:37:43.900 Commit ourselves to making changes in our lives that we need to. 00:37:43.900 --> 00:37:57.900 Admit to God the way our life is and the things that we need to put right. 00:37:57.900 --> 00:38:03.900 Our Father, we thank you so much for the Gospel, for the good news of Christ. 00:38:03.900 --> 00:38:07.900 We thank you for his cross that we have been forgiven. 00:38:07.900 --> 00:38:11.900 That there is no sin that is unforgivable. 00:38:11.900 --> 00:38:15.900 Thank you that you have been raised from the dead. 00:38:15.900 --> 00:38:17.900 That we are united with you. 00:38:17.900 --> 00:38:19.900 One day we are going to be like you. 00:38:19.900 --> 00:38:21.900 Perfect in every way. 00:38:21.900 --> 00:38:23.900 With no more struggles. 00:38:23.900 --> 00:38:29.900 But help us to remember that today we have a new master to live for. 00:38:29.900 --> 00:38:31.900 The Lord Jesus. 00:38:31.900 --> 00:38:33.900 One who is kind and good. 00:38:33.900 --> 00:38:37.900 And gives us and fills us with all that we ever need. 00:38:37.900 --> 00:38:43.900 And please that you would fill us all with the power of your Holy Spirit. 00:38:43.900 --> 00:38:47.900 Reminding us daily that Christ is present with us. 00:38:47.900 --> 00:38:53.900 That everything that we do, everything that we say, we are bringing Christ into that. 00:38:53.900 --> 00:39:01.900 May we be so turned off from that, that we would be turned to Christ. 00:39:01.900 --> 00:39:07.900 That we would be filled afresh with the wonder of who you are and all that you have done. 00:39:07.900 --> 00:39:11.900 To realise that you alone satisfy. 00:39:11.900 --> 00:39:15.900 Father, please bless us as a community. 00:39:15.900 --> 00:39:19.900 May we be open to one another, supporting and caring. 00:39:19.900 --> 00:39:26.900 And may we forever show grace and the help that we need. 00:39:26.900 --> 00:39:29.900 We ask this in Jesus name. 00:39:29.900 --> 00:39:30.900 Amen. 00:39:30.900 --> 00:39:39.900 Before we sing our last song.