WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.299 Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word. Thank you that you have spoken to the deep places of 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:12.040 our souls, and sometimes it's really easy and refreshing to read, and other times it can be 00:00:12.040 --> 00:00:18.839 hard and challenging. And yet, every word of your word is life. And so as we open up your word now 00:00:18.839 --> 00:00:26.920 and spend some time on Deuteronomy 5.18, we pray that you would speak to the deep places of our 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:32.820 heart, that you would bring your life and your love to those parts of us where it seems it's 00:00:32.820 --> 00:00:38.939 lacking. Do a great thing amongst us today. In Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated. 00:00:40.579 --> 00:00:48.000 Well, the ancient Greeks had a lot of legends and myths, and I think sometimes when we teach Greek 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:52.579 history, which those were some of my first degrees, we tend to make the false assumption that they 00:00:52.579 --> 00:00:56.939 really thought those legends and myths were true. And maybe some of them, that was the case. But in 00:00:56.939 --> 00:01:01.979 many cases, the myths and legends they told, they told knowing they weren't true stories, but that 00:01:01.979 --> 00:01:07.840 they communicated truth about life, like a parable. Well, one that's worth telling this morning is that 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:14.459 there was this ancient myth of Jason the Argonauts. Jason was one of the greatest heroes that the Greek 00:01:14.459 --> 00:01:22.719 world had ever seen. He's not Hercules, he's not, but he is, he was an incredible fighter, good man, noble man. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:27.839 Well, he and the Argonauts, they were not the Toronto football team, but rather another set of heroes. 00:01:28.819 --> 00:01:34.239 And he and all this, it was just multiple ships filled with heroes. We're all sailing off to fight, 00:01:34.299 --> 00:01:39.899 I can't remember what, but some horrible bad guy that was threatening their wives and their children 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:45.280 back home. And so they got on these ships courageously, and they set out across the Aegean Sea 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:53.700 to fight the bad guys. But Jason, knowing something of seas and all, knew that their path was going to 00:01:53.700 --> 00:02:01.240 take them across the, by the Isles of the Sirens. The Sirens were these famous demon women, who, these 00:02:01.240 --> 00:02:08.439 spirit demon women, who would sing this song. And this song was so compelling, so seductive, that even 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:14.020 though every Greek boy knew, as he grew up to be a man, they knew that if they turned their ships 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:19.020 toward the Sirens, they would be destroyed on the, on the horrible hidden rocks and everything. 00:02:19.359 --> 00:02:24.400 They knew if they turned toward the Sirens, they would be destroyed. Every single sailor, every 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:31.539 soldier, every warrior, whoever sailed past them, inevitably, despite themselves, would turn and try to 00:02:31.539 --> 00:02:36.860 get as close to the Sirens as possible with that seductive song, and would inevitably be destroyed. 00:02:36.860 --> 00:02:43.820 Jason, unlike all those who'd gone before him, he knew that no matter how strong and great and famous 00:02:43.820 --> 00:02:49.120 he was, he was not strong enough. He knew that the people, his great warriors and the ships, the fleet 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:54.780 of ships, they were not strong enough. And so Jason faced a problem. What would he do to get past the 00:02:54.780 --> 00:02:59.780 Sirens, to be able to protect his, their wives and their children back home? I share that story with you 00:02:59.780 --> 00:03:04.360 because Deuteronomy 5.18, we're going through the Ten Commandments week by week here in the summer. 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:09.900 And as Jeremiah read, this is the text we're looking at today. It's not very complicated. 00:03:10.780 --> 00:03:15.259 And you shall not commit adultery. It's not very complicated. It's pretty straightforward. 00:03:15.819 --> 00:03:23.580 Jesus in Matthew 5.27 tells us that it's not simply the act of committing adultery. It's not simply 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:28.820 if a married woman or man has sex with someone they're not married to, that that's adultery. Jesus 00:03:28.820 --> 00:03:34.400 says that if you look at someone with lust, if you're having sexual fantasy, if you're engaging in 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:42.080 any practice, any sexual activity that is not with your spouse as a married person, that that is 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:48.280 adultery. And all of a sudden, as we look at what Jesus said in Matthew 5.27, we realize that this 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:53.580 pretty straightforward commandment, one that might apply to this person or that person, actually 00:03:53.580 --> 00:04:01.020 speaks to every single one of us. The call not to lust is something that, like, we've, I'm sure if 00:04:01.020 --> 00:04:05.439 you've spent much time in church, you've heard before, that we shouldn't lust, we shouldn't have 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:10.539 sexual fantasies or engage in sexual activity outside of marriage. And yet, if you look at the statistics 00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:15.759 or simply at your own heart, you know that every single one of us encounters a struggle with this 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:20.879 this time or another time. It's something that we all deal with. And it's one of those things that, 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:26.779 like, I, for a long time, was in youth ministry, young adult ministry. And so, you'd be brought into 00:04:26.779 --> 00:04:31.199 this context or that to speak about pornography and these things. And the thing is, like, I'd be 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:36.099 brought into different contexts to speak about porn in different churches. And that, like, these youth 00:04:36.099 --> 00:04:41.560 pastors would say, like, come and, like, tell as many stories. Just honestly, they would say, like, tell as 00:04:41.560 --> 00:04:47.780 many stories as you can to scare these kids away from porn. I had someone email me one time saying, 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:52.379 it was a young girl in university, she emailed me and said, I've been trying to stay away from porn, 00:04:52.740 --> 00:04:57.680 but I'm addicted and I can't. So, can you tell me a few more stories of how porn is linked to human 00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:02.980 trafficking? The idea was, if I could just somehow, like, scare her enough, tell her enough haunting 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:08.120 stories, real stories, of how porn is tied to human trafficking, then she'd be able to fight against her lust. 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:13.199 For those of you who remember the 90s, if anybody was in, like, youth ministry in the 90s or attend 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:17.340 a youth group, like, they used to bring in not stories of human trafficking, because we didn't 00:05:17.340 --> 00:05:21.879 talk about that as much in the 90s, but rather they'd bring these speakers to talk about STDs and 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:28.579 then STDs and STIs, as if, like, you can scare people into purity. And the reality is it just doesn't 00:05:28.579 --> 00:05:36.220 work. You could, like, just like the Greek warriors, you could know that turning toward this lustful 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:42.860 stuff is dangerous for you or that it's sinful. But if you just, you can fill yourself more and more 00:05:42.860 --> 00:05:48.320 and more with, I should not do this, I should not do this. And yet we find ourselves in, despite 00:05:48.320 --> 00:05:53.580 ourselves, and despite the truth we know, turning toward it. Now, perhaps you can't relate at all to 00:05:53.580 --> 00:06:00.420 the issue of the battle regarding lust or porn or adultery, but maybe there's another thing. You know 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:05.260 something else that the Bible forbids gossip. You know you shouldn't gossip. And it just, you know, 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:08.740 you're with your friend. You just can't help. You just find yourself inevitably gossiping again. 00:06:09.099 --> 00:06:15.599 Or lying. Or anger and hate. Whatever it is. There's things that the Bible forbids that you 00:06:15.599 --> 00:06:20.420 and I know we shouldn't do, but we find ourselves turning toward it. What do we do about that? 00:06:21.500 --> 00:06:27.240 Well, first, before we move on, it's important for us to note that everything the Bible forbids, 00:06:27.899 --> 00:06:34.800 everything that God forbids, he does it because he loves us. That's the context of the commandment. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:42.460 It's his love and commitment to our flourishing. And so, sometimes, like, I was at Camp Iowa last 00:06:42.460 --> 00:06:47.040 week, and I was chatting with some of the, they're, like, in grade 10, and I said, you know how, like, 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:51.040 some of your youth leaders, you know, like, some of your camp leaders, you know they want you to have 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:56.220 fun, right? They're just the most fun. And then there's always, like, that one cabin leader who just, 00:06:56.280 --> 00:07:00.879 like, seems like, like, every day is a Monday for them, right? They're just always in a bad mood, 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:06.439 and they just, if it's fun, it's bad, right? They knew what I was talking about. Maybe you don't. 00:07:06.500 --> 00:07:10.659 But, you know, there's just that one person. So, I said, you know what, some of us, we act as if God 00:07:10.659 --> 00:07:15.199 is that cabin leader, the one that, like, he sees us laughing, and he's, like, stop it, right? And that's 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:20.040 how we relate to God sometimes. But really, God is a lot more like the cabin leader that you just know 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:24.819 loves you so much and wants you to have so much fun. And that is the context of the commandments, 00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:30.439 that God is committed to our flourishing. And that's the context of all of this. Everything, 00:07:30.659 --> 00:07:34.719 therefore, that God says, don't do that. It's not because he's trying to, like, crimp our style 00:07:34.719 --> 00:07:40.339 or make us sad. He doesn't want us to laugh and have fun. But it's because everything he forbids, 00:07:40.379 --> 00:07:47.199 he does so for a reason. And the reason, there's a few, but everything that the scriptures show us is 00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:53.680 sinful. It's stuff that doesn't just hurt us, but hurts those around us. I share this with you because 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.340 you and I in those places where we're wrestling with temptation, we so often will believe a lie 00:07:58.340 --> 00:08:03.860 that society tells us, that our decisions just affect us. It's why you hear so much rhetoric from 00:08:03.860 --> 00:08:08.240 politicians trying to change stuff about, well, like, it's just between two consenting adults, 00:08:08.340 --> 00:08:13.519 so whatever. Just let them be what they be. But that's this lie that your sin just affects 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:16.340 yourself. And if you're sitting with someone else, it's just you and the other person. 00:08:17.280 --> 00:08:23.319 When we engage in things the Bible forbids, it hurts those around us. Whether you find yourself 00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:27.779 just beginning to kind of hide away from people and you begin, like, just being more removed and 00:08:27.779 --> 00:08:33.039 kind of robbing your friends of a friend. Or you find yourself in so many different ways, and I'm not 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:37.980 going to get into a whole, like, anti-porn talk right now, but specifically for pornography, like, 00:08:38.019 --> 00:08:42.000 it is intimately tied to human trafficking, right? And so it's one of those things where you find 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:46.639 someone that they'll wrestling with this as if it just affects himself, but it's actually perpetuating 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:53.019 really harmful, harmful stuff. It also gets in the way of our relationship with God and therefore 00:08:53.019 --> 00:08:59.039 our joy and our thriving and our sense of real intimacy and joy. And so as the scriptures, these 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:03.679 different things in the Ten Commandments that the Bible forbids, it's forbidding them because God is 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:10.500 committed to our and those we love, our thriving and our communities flourishing and our joy. 00:09:10.500 --> 00:09:16.620 But what do we do when we find, despite knowing all those truths, that we find ourselves doing 00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:22.960 those things again? We'll go through that today. In 1 John 1, 9, it says that if we confess our sin, 00:09:23.580 --> 00:09:27.000 he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:09:27.620 --> 00:09:31.179 And that really is the first step to dealing with the temptations and the sin in our life. 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:38.480 We find that when sin, when it's a secret, and it's amazing how much we can, what lengths we can go 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:43.460 to keep our sin hidden. And we do it for the self-preservation, this idea that that is, 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:47.080 in our own commitment to our thriving, that keeping our sin secret is the way forward. 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:52.060 But sin is like mold. Mold, when it's in the darkness, like it just flourishes and grows. 00:09:52.060 --> 00:09:57.320 And at my parents' home in Stittsville, we had some mold problems. And so we picked up some spray 00:09:57.320 --> 00:10:01.039 and we spray it. It's like, oh, we got rid of the mold. And then like later that day, the mold's back, 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:05.779 right? What we ended up having to do actually was to remove the curtains and to let the sun shine 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:10.519 through. Because when you're able to shine a light on mold, the real light, the sun's light, 00:10:10.899 --> 00:10:16.100 it loses its grip on the wall. It actually begins to dissipate. And the same is true for our sin. 00:10:16.459 --> 00:10:21.259 It's incredible how much we want to keep our sin hidden, but when we actually are able to confess 00:10:21.259 --> 00:10:26.759 it, all of a sudden it loses its grip on us. It's actually an incredible thing to watch. 00:10:26.839 --> 00:10:31.620 And I've gone to see as a pastor, just kind of walking with people, is that you can have people 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:36.960 who for years, this stuff just holds them, just owns them. And then it's a beautiful thing 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:42.440 when you see someone find the courage, or sometimes it's that desperation, or simply the sanity, 00:10:42.580 --> 00:10:48.360 to say, you know what? It doesn't work to fight this on my own. And you can promise yourself again 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:52.700 and again that you're going to try harder and do better and be more faithful, but you won't 00:10:52.700 --> 00:10:57.879 until you're able to confess it to someone. And this wisdom that we've learned over the years 00:10:57.879 --> 00:11:03.019 of who to confess to, you want to confess to someone who is not kind of at the same level 00:11:03.019 --> 00:11:08.480 of defeat in it as yourself. Sometimes you want to do that because then it's just kind of like you 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:12.980 just kind of feel bad for each other, you know, pat each other on the back and be like, okay, 00:11:13.419 --> 00:11:19.019 we're both really miserable. But you want to find someone, perhaps your pastor or a trusted, 00:11:19.259 --> 00:11:25.480 someone who you know is walking to victory over that sin and be able to confess to them. 00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:30.759 The second thing that we've observed over time chatting with George and other pastors is that, 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:36.360 or just observing my own life, is that when we, is that sometimes when we finally want to confess 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:41.779 to someone, we'll confess little pieces of our sin to different people. So no one, we're not really 00:11:41.779 --> 00:11:46.620 confessing how hurting and messed up we are. And so one of the things that I just want to encourage 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:52.080 you today in trying to live out 1 John 1, 9, if you're trying to deal with habitual sin, 00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:55.399 something that you find yourself continue to go back and go back and go back to, 00:11:55.480 --> 00:12:01.080 is to find someone who's mature. Perhaps it's George, Jonathan Camere, Daniel Apton, 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:06.279 some of the guys who, or surely some of the people that you know are seriously, you know, 00:12:06.300 --> 00:12:12.180 walking with the Lord. Come and confess to them and be committed to confessing every time you fall 00:12:12.180 --> 00:12:17.039 in this area. And at first it might not seem like you're having too much freedom, but over time you 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:24.379 see that it begins to lose this grip on you. As long as our sin is hidden, it just, like it owns us. 00:12:24.379 --> 00:12:30.120 David in Psalm 32 speaks right to this and he says that as long as he kept his sin hidden, 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:35.080 he was talking about lust, adultery, as long as he kept it hidden, it was like the strength of his 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:40.779 very bones was sapped. That when he confessed his sin, when he went public with it, all of a sudden 00:12:40.779 --> 00:12:46.580 the strength came back. It makes no sense. It's actually insanity for us to, we want to keep our sin 00:12:46.580 --> 00:12:51.620 hidden as if that's for our happiness, as if that's for our security. But when we do, 00:12:51.620 --> 00:12:58.580 we're self-imploding. The safest thing you can do, the happiest thing you can do, the thing that will 00:12:58.580 --> 00:13:02.960 restore your confidence and your freedom and your joy is to find the courage to confess. 00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:11.600 The second thing Jesus says in Matthew 5, 28 and 29, it's part of like the same paragraph when he 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:17.759 says that if you lust, it's you've committed adultery. In Matthew 5, 28 and 29, he says that 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:22.500 whatever part of you causes you to sin, cut it out. He says if your right eye causes you to sin, 00:13:22.860 --> 00:13:28.200 gouge it out. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. He was just talking about lust, so 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:33.779 you can just continue on logically from there. If your penis causes you to sin, amputate it, etc. 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:40.220 Okay? Now Jesus is speaking, he's speaking metaphorically, but he's not exaggerating. Okay? 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:47.300 Just as painful and as awkward as it would be and inconvenient to gouge out your eye, your hand, 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:53.360 or an intimate part of your body. So also, we have to be that relentless with our sin. 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:57.720 Notice he didn't say, for those of you who are sitting in the front, like if you're Ross, 00:13:58.259 --> 00:14:02.320 then you need to take this seriously. He didn't say if you want to be on staff at the church, 00:14:02.580 --> 00:14:09.240 then cut out a part of your body. He says if any of you sin, then cut it out. 00:14:10.220 --> 00:14:15.700 He's speaking to every single one of us. If you, every single one of us has to take your sin that 00:14:15.700 --> 00:14:19.860 seriously. So what is he saying? He's saying that thing that is your avenue towards sin, cut it out. 00:14:20.420 --> 00:14:24.980 Some of the ways I've seen girls and guys live this out around me is, one of my friends 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:31.840 was addicted to porn, and they, you know, just kind of journaled, wrote down, what is their access to 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:37.899 porn? And it was their phone. And so they got rid of their iPhone. You know, any other iPhone users here, 00:14:37.899 --> 00:14:41.959 you know that, like, that's not just a phone. It's part of our identity, right? They got rid of 00:14:41.959 --> 00:14:47.459 their iPhone and got a flip phone so that they couldn't have access to porn. Another friend of 00:14:47.459 --> 00:14:51.879 mine had a, was offered a job at Parliament Hill. This was a job they, like, they dreamed of getting. 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:55.860 It was a job that would be good on their resume. It would be much better money than the other jobs 00:14:55.860 --> 00:14:59.939 they could have gotten. But they knew they'd have unfiltered access to the internet. And so they turned 00:14:59.939 --> 00:15:06.600 down that job and got a much more menial job that was a lot more work and a lot less fun and paid 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:13.300 significantly less because they were committed to just obeying Jesus. It wasn't their eye that was 00:15:13.300 --> 00:15:18.600 causing them to sin so much as that, that unfiltered internet at work. So they cut it out. For some of 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:24.320 us, it might not be a technology we have to deal with, but a relationship. You can tell yourself and 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.519 tell yourself that you're friends with them because you're influencing them to the gospel and all that 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:32.420 stuff, but really, you know they're toxic. You know they're toxic. Whether it has to do with lust stuff or it 00:15:32.419 --> 00:15:37.579 has to do with gossip or anger or whatever it is, you know that being with them brings you down. 00:15:38.459 --> 00:15:44.139 And you can either treat Jesus' words as a joke or you can take it seriously. Those are your options. 00:15:45.779 --> 00:15:49.199 Take it seriously because there's life in obedience to Jesus. 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:59.759 The next thing in seeking out to live these words, do not commit adultery, is that confession is 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:05.420 something that we initiate. That when you sin or you're feeling tempted, you confess to someone. 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:10.920 But the next thing we need that we sometimes confuse with it to is accountability. Accountability, 00:16:11.280 --> 00:16:14.820 unlike confession, where confession you initiate, accountability is where there's someone who's 00:16:14.820 --> 00:16:19.420 committed to walking with you. Someone that can text you or meet up with you or call you throughout 00:16:19.420 --> 00:16:24.640 the week and say, how are you doing? And specifically, ask them. Ask them to ask you the questions about 00:16:24.640 --> 00:16:31.860 your sin. And so, and so you ask questions like, have you looked up porn this week? Or whatever else 00:16:31.860 --> 00:16:37.720 the question you need to ask. Ask people to ask you those questions. And not just regarding the specific 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:44.879 sinful behavior. But how we live this out is also by having someone ask us questions about our 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:50.879 spiritual disciplines and our thriving. And so if you just focus simply on the sin aspect, you'll find 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:56.899 that there's other things missing. But when you have someone who'll ask you, how's your time in the 00:16:56.899 --> 00:17:02.500 word this week? How's your time in prayer this week? And some of those questions, you'll find that 00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:05.579 it's going to help you be able to do the things you need to do to fight it. 00:17:05.579 --> 00:17:12.699 And that brings us to the next one. In Psalm 119 verse 9, the psalmist writes, how can a young man 00:17:12.699 --> 00:17:17.639 keep his way pure? Young men, young women in the room, you know it is very hard to keep your way pure. 00:17:18.419 --> 00:17:23.960 It feels sometimes like it's impossible. How can a young man keep his way pure? At first, it almost 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:28.480 sounds like it's like a question of desperation. How can a young man keep his way pure? But he actually 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:35.279 gives an answer. By guarding his way according to your word. By guarding your way according to 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:42.799 your word. He's saying that the way that you and I are able to walk in purity is by this like, by 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:51.519 like holding fast to the Bible. By holding fast to it. It's, the Bible refers to itself as, as food, 00:17:51.779 --> 00:17:58.579 as bread, as our spiritual nourishment. And so a really apt analogy. When I was in grade 12, my, my 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:02.799 parents switched me from a school that was kind of far away to a school that was really far away. 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:07.639 And so I'd have to get on the bus very early. And I was like the first stop or second stop. 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:11.899 So by that, like we'd pick up everyone else. I had to get up like basically the day before, 00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:14.339 you know, in order to catch the bus to get to school the next, you know what I'm saying? 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:18.059 And so I had to get up super early. And I don't know about you, when I'm super tired, 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:22.419 I have no appetite. Some of you might be the opposite. I just have no appetite. So get up super 00:18:22.419 --> 00:18:27.180 early. I was always super tired. I had to, and my mom, she's amazing. I'm, I'm really sorry for you if 00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:32.120 this is how you get introduced to my mom because she deserves better. But, um, my mom had this, 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:38.640 like this ability to search out the most tasteless and flavorless and texturless cereal. And to be 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.519 like, Hey, breakfast. Now she's amazing. Like this, it's just not fair to only share that story with 00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:46.519 you. Amazing woman. But just when it comes to cereal, this wasn't, wasn't the best. Okay. 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:51.519 And so I'd be there as nutritious, just didn't taste, feel or do anything good besides nutrition. 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:56.259 And so I'd get up for myself cereal. I'd sit at the table already not hungry. Like I would have 00:18:56.259 --> 00:19:01.160 had trouble eating bacon and eggs. Um, and I'd be sitting there just force feeding myself this food. 00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:05.119 Now, why did I do that? I didn't do it because my parents said I had to, because literally I don't 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:09.400 think they actually cared. Okay. I did it because I wanted to have a good day. I wanted to thrive. 00:19:09.500 --> 00:19:14.879 I wanted to do well in school, you know? So because of that, I force fed myself the stuff that was 00:19:14.879 --> 00:19:18.879 nutritious. And the same is true for the Bible. There's times where you, there's certain, 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:23.840 certain parts of the Bible you read. It's just like the words are jumping off the page to you. 00:19:24.060 --> 00:19:28.060 And it feels like just, honestly, you think of whatever's your favorite food. It feels like that, 00:19:28.180 --> 00:19:34.260 you know? It tastes like bacon and eggs. I didn't have enough breakfast today. I'm really thinking 00:19:34.260 --> 00:19:40.140 about bacon and eggs. But, okay. But there's other times where it really, you read it. Deuteronomy is 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:45.560 one of those parts of the Bible that more typically when you read, it will feel more like my mama's cereal. 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:49.720 Okay. Where you read it and it's just like, it doesn't, doesn't feel like, doesn't captivate 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:57.000 your interest. Okay. Or like the parable that Neil read, Luke 6, 1 to 9. Right? Where like it doesn't, 00:19:57.179 --> 00:20:03.039 the meaning doesn't just jump off the page at you. And yet, if, if you believe that the Bible is 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:09.679 real, if you believe it really is God's word, then, then take what it says true, truly that, 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:17.180 that the Bible feeds us. And so that's why we got to read through the pages of the Bible day after 00:20:17.180 --> 00:20:22.220 day after day. It's amazing. I'll, like, I've done this in my life. I've, I've seen others do this and 00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:26.860 meet up with where it's like, oh, I just, I can't beat this sin in my life. I'm just, I just feel far 00:20:26.860 --> 00:20:32.320 from God. Oh. And then you'll start asking about, like, are you in the word? Well, no. Or, or how's your 00:20:32.320 --> 00:20:36.720 Bible reading? Oh, really good. And then you find they're just only reading your, I'm, I'm only reading my 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:42.720 favorite parts of the Bible, the parts that just jump out at me. But, but every, every page of 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:48.980 scripture is God breathed. It's all for our good. You know, when Jesus is feeling temptation, 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:56.079 and he's in, in Matthew 4, I think, Jesus is battling temptation, and, um, how does he beat the 00:20:56.079 --> 00:21:02.180 temptation? Do you know? He quotes the Bible, right? He's feeling temptation, and he holds, he's doing what 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:06.700 Psalm 119, 9. Jesus is a young man, and he's guarding his way according to the word. He's, he speaks out loud, 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:13.279 what the Bible says. Do you know that every verse Jesus quotes against the temptation, it's all from 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:19.059 one book of the Bible. Do you know what it is? It's Deuteronomy. Question, like, can you and I, when 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:23.059 we're feeling temptation, when we're wrestling with sin, can you and I quote Deuteronomy at our 00:21:23.059 --> 00:21:29.799 temptation? Could you, like, do you even know what Deuteronomy talks about, right? There's parts of the 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:35.980 Bible, not just you, that, that me also will really struggle with, um, being able to hold fast to, 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:41.259 because you don't read it, right? It's one of the reasons it's so important to be at a church like 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:45.920 Church of the Messiah. It's not the only one, but it's definitely one, where there were, we're faithfully 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:49.759 going through the Bible, and you'll see, like, we were committed to preaching through the Bible, so 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:54.180 you'll see that, and reading through the Bible, so Neil read a part of the Bible that is, seems more 00:21:54.180 --> 00:21:59.039 difficult to wrestle with, but, but this church consistently is, is preaching through the tough 00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:04.799 stuff of the Bible, but it's not enough to get that once a week on Sundays, but for us to be daily 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:11.680 devoted to reading through the Bible, wrestling with what the Bible says, eating it up. It feeds us, 00:22:12.159 --> 00:22:19.279 just like that cereal, whether you feel it or not, it still feeds you. Um, an analogy that George has 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:23.920 shared a couple years ago that I want to remind you of. George shared that the Bible is like, um, 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:28.820 it's, it's like the, uh, you're on a quest, you know, um, if you've read The Silver Chair, there's 00:22:28.820 --> 00:22:33.039 other books like this, right? Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. So these, these kids, they get this riddle at 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:37.000 the start of their quest, and they're like, they're put, they're mulling over their heads, they're mulling 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:41.519 over their heads, and it doesn't make sense. It's some poetic thing, and then along the quest, at one 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:46.060 point, like, things come to folks, and they see that Ridge of the Mountains, and also they recall that 00:22:46.060 --> 00:22:51.019 that speaks to the, like, that, that, that riddle actually is about that, and then they're able to know how to 00:22:51.019 --> 00:22:56.279 navigate it. George said the Bible is like that, and he's right, the Bible's like that, that there's 00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:59.220 things that will speak to us as we're reading through it, and it doesn't seem to make a lot of 00:22:59.220 --> 00:23:04.660 sense, and then you're in a situation, and all of a sudden it pulls the situation to focus. The only way 00:23:04.660 --> 00:23:10.779 you're going to be able to remember what that riddle said is by mulling it over, holding fast to it, 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:16.779 and that's why men and women who are faithful to the end in their walk with God, who are thriving in 00:23:16.779 --> 00:23:22.339 what God made them for, are people who are reading through the Bible, and when you get to the end, 00:23:22.539 --> 00:23:29.180 to start again, and be reading through it, and reading through it. How can a young man or young 00:23:29.180 --> 00:23:37.319 woman walk in purity? By living according to God's Word. And before moving on, for so many of us, purity, 00:23:37.819 --> 00:23:43.779 it seems to be something that we're convinced means, like, the absence of defilement. So our goal to 00:23:43.779 --> 00:23:48.960 live pure is just to be free of lust, to be free of gossip, to be free of anger. But when the 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:53.799 scriptures speak of purity, it never is only speaking of being rid of sin, but rather it's a 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:59.619 life that is teeming with the fullness of God. And so you'll see as you read through the letters in 00:23:59.619 --> 00:24:04.259 the New Testament, that when it speaks of, like, putting to death sin, it always also speaks about 00:24:04.259 --> 00:24:10.700 clothing yourselves with compassion, and kindness, and generosity, and worship, singing psalms, and hymns, 00:24:10.700 --> 00:24:15.880 and spiritual psalms, like it says in Colossians 3. You'll see that again and again and again. 00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:21.400 It talks, Paul will write about fleeing sin, and then, and then, like, running the race, running 00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:27.880 toward the prize. What you run from catches up with you, in a sense, but what you run toward, 00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:33.559 you'll find that if you're only focused on just putting to death sin, you'll find somehow, like, 00:24:33.580 --> 00:24:38.600 it still owns you. It's still your focus. It still occupies your thoughts, and compels you toward it. 00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:43.519 But as you do the things you need to do, confess your sin, amputate the avenues toward sin, 00:24:43.919 --> 00:24:49.500 bring accountability into life, be reading the Word, and as you begin to give yourself to the 00:24:49.500 --> 00:24:54.099 stuff, not only that the Bible calls us to put to death, but give yourself to the pursuit of living 00:24:54.099 --> 00:25:00.719 a life with Jesus. Compassionate hearts, kindness, humility. As you actively engage in what God calls 00:25:00.719 --> 00:25:06.859 us to, we find that the freedom begins to be part of it. You know that just, one of the things in, 00:25:06.859 --> 00:25:12.299 in the helping people get free of porn and other lust issues that we found, one of the number one 00:25:12.299 --> 00:25:18.639 reasons that people will relapse into this stuff is boredom. And I've chatted with psychologists who, 00:25:18.699 --> 00:25:23.899 like, they say, like, they used to be simply focused on, like, getting to those childhood issues, 00:25:23.899 --> 00:25:27.039 and, or, like, you were abandoned as a kid, and, like, you're trying to deal with that stuff 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:30.479 to try to, like, help people get free. And some of those questions can be good to deal with, 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:36.460 but part of it is just that issue of boredom, which is why, again, the Bible, who knew, is so wise 00:25:36.460 --> 00:25:42.680 as it calls, not just to put things to death, but then to engage in the epic work that God is doing 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:49.680 today. It is, we actually begin to join Jesus in what he's doing, and to fill our time with the stuff of 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:56.480 God, to give ourselves to purity. You find that there's actually so much more strength to put that stuff 00:25:56.480 --> 00:26:03.779 to death. And so, again, before moving on, what is our mandate? What is that stuff we're called to? 00:26:04.579 --> 00:26:07.759 Well, it's a really answer that I got to read through the Word. Day after day, you'll see the 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:12.799 Bible speaks to it. But very simply put, Jesus, at the start of his ministry, reads his mission 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:18.920 statement. It's an ancient prophecy found in Isaiah 61. Jesus reads it over himself. This is his mission 00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:24.319 statement, not just 2,000 years ago, but today. This is Jesus' mission statement. And it's relevant to you 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:29.579 to me because to be a child of God, to be a Christian, is to be a follower of Jesus. So if 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:34.259 that's Jesus' mission statement, then whether you know it or not, this is your and my mission statement 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:39.859 for today and every day of our lives. This is our mission statement. And Isaiah 61, it says that 00:26:39.859 --> 00:26:46.019 he is anointed to preach the gospel to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to bring freedom to 00:26:46.019 --> 00:26:51.359 captives, to open the eyes of the blind, to be bringing hope to those who don't have hope, 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:56.879 to bring the truth of who Jesus is to those who don't know it. And freedom from captivity, 00:26:56.879 --> 00:27:02.719 that encompasses so much. To be advocating for victims, whether it's sexual abuse or human 00:27:02.719 --> 00:27:07.139 trafficking, that type of stuff. But even, not only that, but how many of those around us 00:27:07.139 --> 00:27:10.740 who might be living what seems to be lives of freedom are actually captive to their own 00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:15.979 lusts, or captive to the pain of bitterness in their hearts, to be captive to unforgiveness, 00:27:16.139 --> 00:27:18.299 who are in prison of their own unforgiveness. 00:27:18.299 --> 00:27:26.159 And Jesus today, and tomorrow when you're back at work, is seeking to set people free from those 00:27:26.159 --> 00:27:31.319 cages. And how does he do it? But through his hands and feet, the church, you and me. 00:27:32.680 --> 00:27:37.379 I share this with you because a huge part of defeating the lusts and sins of our life, 00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:42.539 to being able to have the ability to stay away from the stuff that the Ten Commandments tell us 00:27:42.539 --> 00:27:48.319 to stay away from, is as we engage in the beautiful calling that he has in our lives. 00:27:49.399 --> 00:27:53.980 It really isn't optional. To follow Jesus, to be a Christian, is to give ourselves to this work. 00:27:55.259 --> 00:28:01.119 There's more. Romans 12, 1 and 2 says that we are able to present ourselves wholly to God, 00:28:01.180 --> 00:28:08.200 that we can't find that strength to do that. As we present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, 00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:13.860 through the renewal of our minds. And this is one of the beautiful truths we find that 00:28:13.860 --> 00:28:18.380 the Bible just was way ahead of all the psychologists. That when you're seeking to 00:28:18.380 --> 00:28:23.920 change your behavior, to change your lustful thoughts and behaviors, that a huge part of it 00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:28.700 isn't just focusing on, again, trying hard or promising this. You actually have to renew your mind. 00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:34.100 And how do we do that? But again, by reading the scriptures, by meditating on them, 00:28:34.099 --> 00:28:42.240 giving ourselves to that. Now, when people have, whether for myself or others, when we're talking 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:46.319 about dealing with this stuff, so often what we're looking at is behavior modification. 00:28:47.459 --> 00:28:55.419 We see it says don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, all this different stuff that the 00:28:55.419 --> 00:29:00.359 scriptures call us to not do. And so we want to change our behaviors. And so we're looking, okay, 00:29:00.359 --> 00:29:04.699 I'm going to confess my sin. And I'm going to, you know, amputate my access to it. I'm going to do 00:29:04.699 --> 00:29:11.539 these things. But ultimately, what we're actually looking at isn't just behavior modification, 00:29:11.959 --> 00:29:16.139 but a heart transformation. Because Jesus actually says, I don't have it written down. 00:29:16.639 --> 00:29:22.379 Snap. I think it's actually Matthew 18, where Jesus says that it's out of the heart that unlawful 00:29:22.379 --> 00:29:27.699 talk comes a harmful speech and sexual morality. And he lists off a whole different bunch of 00:29:27.700 --> 00:29:32.680 examples of sin. Ultimately, what's happening when we find ourselves living out harmful behavior, 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:39.000 disobeying God, is that it's not just a behavior problem. It's a heart problem. There's brokenness 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:40.420 in our hearts. 00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:49.640 Which brings us back to Jason. How did Jason get past? How did he get past, or how did he deal with 00:29:49.640 --> 00:29:54.960 the sirens? He didn't just say, you know what, I'm going to tell myself as many horrible stories of 00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:59.720 sailors who dashed themselves on the rocks. And that will motivate me to freedom, to not go to 00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:04.460 them. Jason knew that wouldn't be enough. Others had tried it. So Jason brought with himself Orpheus, 00:30:04.840 --> 00:30:10.420 the world's greatest harpist. And so as they got close to the sirens, Jason said, Orpheus, 00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:18.720 play your song. And as Orpheus began to play a greater song, a more beautiful song, that filled the minds, 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:25.339 that captivated the minds, the hearts, and the very souls of those sailors. They were able to get past 00:30:25.339 --> 00:30:35.240 the sirens. And that, again, is a truth that the Greeks wrestled with, and one of the scriptures 00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:42.079 already spoke of. In 2 Corinthians 3, 18, let's turn there now. 00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:46.199 The Bible says, 00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:52.240 And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:57.399 image, from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:03.079 What is it saying there? It's beautiful poetry. But it's saying that where we are able to be 00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:09.699 transformed. We didn't have the strength to stay away from that sinful thoughts or behaviors, 00:31:09.700 --> 00:31:12.000 and now we have the strength to flourish. 00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:17.759 Where we didn't, where we just, as much as we thought, oh, it would be so good to join Jesus in what he's doing, 00:31:17.819 --> 00:31:22.259 to be able to share the gospel with my co-worker, you're just, you're still too shy. 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:27.319 Where we find that strength that transforms us, is as we behold Jesus. 00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:34.940 As we turn our attention to him, let the beauty of who God is, and what he's done, and what he's doing in our lives, 00:31:34.940 --> 00:31:39.900 as we let the beauty of the gospel, not just be something that we're looking at with our mind, 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:42.980 but actually, as we let it, like, captivate our hearts. 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:48.600 As we fall in love with who Jesus is, and what he's doing, what he's about. 00:31:49.160 --> 00:31:51.160 That actually transforms us. 00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:55.360 That we are to behold and to savor who Jesus is. 00:31:56.900 --> 00:31:59.920 So, that's one of the reasons that we spend time in worship. 00:31:59.920 --> 00:32:05.400 It's not just about singing some songs, or doing, like, Christian karaoke, we have the words on the screen, we sing along. 00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:07.960 But to actually, like, feast on those words. 00:32:09.560 --> 00:32:12.500 Pray to be in awe of those truths. 00:32:13.539 --> 00:32:20.120 To revel in the beauty of who Jesus is, and what he's doing, and what he's done for us. 00:32:20.840 --> 00:32:23.360 That's where we find this magnificent transformation. 00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:29.539 There's a scene, perhaps you already know, where this sinful woman, this adulterous woman, 00:32:30.119 --> 00:32:34.039 comes to Jesus among all these very good guys. 00:32:34.179 --> 00:32:36.659 Their lives are empty of darkness in so many ways. 00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:38.459 And they think that that's purity. 00:32:38.659 --> 00:32:41.639 And this woman, she has lusted and committed adultery, all this stuff. 00:32:41.879 --> 00:32:48.399 And she's on her knees at Jesus' feet, crying, just, like, wiping Jesus' feet with her tears and her hair. 00:32:48.579 --> 00:32:50.359 And in that culture, that'd be very intimate. 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:53.619 In our culture, just be weird, but they're just very intimate acts. 00:32:54.139 --> 00:32:57.919 And these Pharisees are like, okay, Jesus, do you not know who she is? 00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:02.919 Thinking they're the ones who are pure, because their lives are absent of a lot of bad behavior. 00:33:03.959 --> 00:33:06.959 And Jesus says, he who's forgiven much, loves much. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.919 Ultimately, purity isn't simply about filling our lives with the stuff of God, 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:15.959 but there really is, at the heart of it, about a love for Jesus. 00:33:15.960 --> 00:33:22.000 These guys, their lives are so absent of all this bad behavior, but their hearts are far from God. 00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:25.180 And because of that, they don't love him, their hearts are dead. 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:30.380 As a kid, like, I was a homeschool kid. 00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:34.980 Didn't, like, I, when I went, finally went to school, I never got a detention. 00:33:35.120 --> 00:33:37.620 Like, I, my life was devoid of a lot of bad stuff. 00:33:38.059 --> 00:33:39.960 And so I'd read that, and I'd be a little perplexed. 00:33:39.960 --> 00:33:42.200 Like, okay, I don't feel like I've been forgiven much. 00:33:42.360 --> 00:33:43.500 So do I get to love much? 00:33:43.500 --> 00:33:46.700 And then as I kept reading through the Bible, I found that, 00:33:46.940 --> 00:33:51.579 even though I hadn't, like, lived out a lot of those more, like, whatever stuff, 00:33:52.539 --> 00:33:55.680 that, you know, I had, I had committed adultery. 00:33:56.079 --> 00:33:56.900 So I'd lusted. 00:33:57.839 --> 00:33:59.799 And I had murdered, because I've been angry. 00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:03.380 And Jesus says that to be, to hate your brother is to, is to commit murder. 00:34:04.140 --> 00:34:09.460 And I found that as you actually wrestle with what the reality is of what Jesus has forgiven us, 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:13.780 you and me, of every single one of us is just like that woman. 00:34:15.059 --> 00:34:17.840 Those Pharisees were just like that woman. 00:34:18.740 --> 00:34:23.400 Except, instead of receiving Jesus' forgiveness, and then devoting themselves to him, 00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:26.179 they sat there, unmoved with their hearts dead. 00:34:26.179 --> 00:34:36.319 Just last year, he was preaching from one of these passages about putting our sin to death 00:34:36.319 --> 00:34:37.179 and Jesus' forgiveness. 00:34:38.099 --> 00:34:42.219 In Colossians 3, it says, Paul's writing about these very serious sins, 00:34:42.839 --> 00:34:46.279 sexual morality and idolatry and all this different stuff. 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:48.099 And then to those same people, he says, 00:34:48.099 --> 00:34:49.679 now is God's holy and beloved. 00:34:50.299 --> 00:34:51.819 Close yourself with the stuff of God. 00:34:52.980 --> 00:34:56.360 And so I was preaching that evening to these kids and my buddy who drove me there. 00:34:56.900 --> 00:34:57.839 I shared with them, you know what? 00:34:58.179 --> 00:35:00.719 Maybe there's a time right now, or maybe it's in years from now, 00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:03.759 that you need to hear these words, that you're God's holy and beloved. 00:35:04.299 --> 00:35:06.699 That even as you've done horrific stuff, you don't recognize yourself. 00:35:07.179 --> 00:35:08.559 You feel so far from God. 00:35:09.039 --> 00:35:10.519 You've done something you thought you'd never do. 00:35:11.539 --> 00:35:14.339 If you look to Jesus for forgiveness, you're his holy and beloved. 00:35:14.340 --> 00:35:18.720 I talked about the reality of his forgiveness. 00:35:19.880 --> 00:35:20.640 We drove home. 00:35:20.720 --> 00:35:21.260 It was two hours. 00:35:21.400 --> 00:35:21.960 Got to my house. 00:35:22.039 --> 00:35:23.860 And just as I was about to get out of my car, I don't know why, 00:35:23.900 --> 00:35:24.680 I just turned to my buddy. 00:35:25.180 --> 00:35:27.260 And I said, hey, did you want to talk about anything else? 00:35:27.700 --> 00:35:28.280 It was late. 00:35:29.140 --> 00:35:29.800 And he said, yeah. 00:35:30.500 --> 00:35:33.900 And he confessed to me that he'd committed, about a year and a half before, 00:35:34.240 --> 00:35:36.340 horrific crimes against a child. 00:35:38.700 --> 00:35:39.840 He said, what do I need to know? 00:35:39.900 --> 00:35:40.460 What do I need to do? 00:35:40.519 --> 00:35:41.079 What do I need to hear? 00:35:41.079 --> 00:35:46.219 Well, on the one hand, everything in me just, well, you knew how I would have felt. 00:35:48.519 --> 00:35:52.519 But standing upon the Bible, I had to look him in the eye and say, 00:35:53.219 --> 00:35:55.360 you're God's holy and beloved. 00:35:57.019 --> 00:36:02.259 I had to hug him, embrace him, who I knew had used intimacy in horrific ways. 00:36:02.759 --> 00:36:04.099 Just hug him and held him. 00:36:04.519 --> 00:36:05.719 You're God's holy and beloved. 00:36:06.360 --> 00:36:10.279 Just like this woman who's been forgiven much, you've also been called to love much. 00:36:11.079 --> 00:36:12.880 And we went from there to the police station. 00:36:12.980 --> 00:36:14.920 He turned himself in and he went to jail. 00:36:17.119 --> 00:36:19.679 The police officers, I remember them questioning him, grilling him, grilling him. 00:36:19.759 --> 00:36:20.900 Why did you turn yourself in? 00:36:21.019 --> 00:36:22.219 You never were going to be caught. 00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:23.420 Now you're going to go to jail. 00:36:24.319 --> 00:36:26.380 And he just, he said to the police officers through tears, 00:36:27.079 --> 00:36:28.219 God is a God of love. 00:36:28.779 --> 00:36:29.799 He's come into my life. 00:36:29.920 --> 00:36:31.980 And that love means this kid getting help. 00:36:32.860 --> 00:36:34.539 The kid only gets help if I come forward. 00:36:35.239 --> 00:36:36.860 And he said, God is a God of justice. 00:36:37.199 --> 00:36:38.259 That means I go to jail. 00:36:38.260 --> 00:36:40.820 God is a God of freedom. 00:36:40.920 --> 00:36:42.220 That means I have to turn myself in. 00:36:43.340 --> 00:36:45.360 He found, I just was on the phone with him this past week. 00:36:45.540 --> 00:36:49.880 He found freedom even behind prison bars, legit, as he confessed his sin. 00:36:50.480 --> 00:36:53.740 And this memory he was trying to suppress and hide from and keep secret, 00:36:53.980 --> 00:36:55.220 and he managed to do that successfully. 00:36:55.640 --> 00:36:58.560 He was in a far greater prison than when he actually went to jail. 00:37:00.660 --> 00:37:03.340 I tell this story because every single one of us is like this guy. 00:37:03.340 --> 00:37:07.460 That every single one of us is stuff that we want to keep hidden and secret. 00:37:08.140 --> 00:37:13.440 And just like him, our sin, maybe it's not on such a grand, like a large scale, 00:37:14.200 --> 00:37:18.100 but our sin has hurt other people, whether we understand how it does or not. 00:37:19.160 --> 00:37:21.700 And just like him, we can think that we're living in freedom, 00:37:21.820 --> 00:37:24.220 but really we're in a prison that's so much worse. 00:37:24.219 --> 00:37:32.019 But just like this guy, we can run into the light and confess our sin. 00:37:32.099 --> 00:37:34.500 It can feel scary, but it is the place of safety. 00:37:35.919 --> 00:37:37.199 I just spoke with him on the phone. 00:37:37.259 --> 00:37:37.919 It's a year later. 00:37:38.299 --> 00:37:40.559 And this guy, he just got out of prison. 00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:43.699 It's a lot of conditions on his freedom, all this stuff. 00:37:43.699 --> 00:37:51.119 But the joy that this guy knows in the forgiveness he's found in God is a beautiful thing, 00:37:51.199 --> 00:37:53.480 and it is a joy that you and I can have today. 00:37:54.379 --> 00:38:02.739 And so I want to invite you to this week to come forward and confess whatever stuff you need to confess, 00:38:03.419 --> 00:38:06.939 to engage in the battle of putting sin to death, 00:38:06.940 --> 00:38:11.740 to give ourselves to the call to join Jesus in what he's doing, 00:38:12.380 --> 00:38:13.740 bringing light into the darkness. 00:38:14.300 --> 00:38:18.019 But more than anything to realize that you and I can walk in freedom and joy, 00:38:18.260 --> 00:38:22.019 not because of how good we're doing or bad we're doing on a given week, 00:38:22.280 --> 00:38:23.860 but because Jesus has forgiven us. 00:38:23.880 --> 00:38:29.539 Because ultimately, the call to purity is not simply about a life devoid of sin 00:38:29.539 --> 00:38:32.840 or even a life that's full and busy with the epic stuff of God. 00:38:32.840 --> 00:38:38.539 But you and I and anyone else who's pure is pure because of Jesus' forgiveness. 00:38:39.400 --> 00:38:42.200 That's why we talk about the cross so much and sing songs about this and all this stuff. 00:38:42.700 --> 00:38:43.519 It's because of Jesus. 00:38:44.100 --> 00:38:44.559 Let's pray. 00:38:44.780 --> 00:38:45.519 Would you stand with me? 00:38:48.800 --> 00:38:51.780 Heavenly Father, as we mentioned this morning that 00:38:51.780 --> 00:38:58.200 that the things the Bible forbids cause harm to ourselves or others, 00:38:58.200 --> 00:39:02.700 I know that for some of us, it feels all too real. 00:39:02.840 --> 00:39:10.740 That the sins that others have committed have harmed us in such brutal ways. 00:39:11.700 --> 00:39:16.019 Even just talking about the stories they have legit can be triggering for us. 00:39:16.660 --> 00:39:19.900 For others of us, maybe for all of us as well. 00:39:21.880 --> 00:39:23.180 God, we've defamed you. 00:39:23.640 --> 00:39:27.380 We've sinned against you in all manner of different ways. 00:39:27.380 --> 00:39:32.280 And yet, just like that woman on her knees with tears coming down her face, 00:39:33.840 --> 00:39:37.280 encountered the beauty, the awe-inspiring glory of your forgiveness, 00:39:38.180 --> 00:39:44.039 God, would you fill our hearts afresh in awe and wonder at your forgiveness, 00:39:44.760 --> 00:39:47.619 at the gospel, that you who knew no sin became sin, 00:39:47.660 --> 00:39:49.320 that we might be the righteousness of God, 00:39:49.320 --> 00:39:54.120 whether we're murderers or adulterers or any sort of anything. 00:39:55.220 --> 00:39:58.200 God, for those of us who have been harmed by this stuff, 00:39:58.700 --> 00:40:00.220 would you bring healing and wholeness? 00:40:02.400 --> 00:40:04.880 For every one of us, God, bring your forgiveness and freedom. 00:40:06.240 --> 00:40:08.059 You would help us to live out the call 00:40:08.059 --> 00:40:10.260 to not commit adultery, 00:40:10.260 --> 00:40:13.360 but instead, to live life as forgiven people, 00:40:13.620 --> 00:40:16.020 walking in the fullness of purity to your glory. 00:40:16.440 --> 00:40:18.060 In Jesus' name, amen.