Amen. Amen. Thank you. I'm going to have Patrick and Jennifer come back up at the end of the service and we're going to have a time where we can focus our prayer time on them and to lay hands and pray over them as they head out.

At this time, we want to dismiss our children pre-K through fifth grade if you guys want to follow Brother Joe and Mr. David into the fun zone. Yeah. I don't know why I said fun zone, but there you go. Anybody ever seen the movie Madagascar? That's like one of my favorite movies. We're on the fun side of the island. You're on the Jersey side of the island. I love that movie.

All right. Let's open up our Bibles to Matthew chapter five. We are continuing to go through our series. This is our 13th message in the king's principles as we're looking at the Sermon on the Mount.

And these are kingdom principles for kingdom dwellers. These are the edicts that the king gives out. And so today's message is entitled God given, God governed, God given, God governed.

And so we've kind of gone through this a little bit. We started off and Jesus starts off with the Beatitudes. We're not going to redo everything, but just again, for a quick review, he starts off and he's giving us the principles for how it is that we come into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So we come poor in spirit. We're bankrupt spiritually. I realize I can bring nothing to the table to make myself right with God.

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. So when we realize that our spiritual condition, we mourn, we mourn.

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. All of a sudden, as we are broken and we come to this place where we realize we're spiritually bankrupt.

God begins to give us a desire and putting in attributes inside of us that weren't there before.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

We desire the things of the Lord. Our life begins to change. Amen.

And we see that there's a change. Now, now Jesus has gone through and begin to give us these, these precepts and these things that we follow.

And today's really interesting as we get to God given, God governed, because we're going to get to talk about in church today, the S word.

Okay. Not salvation. Okay. Because that would be the first thing it asks. Right. Not sin. Okay. But what? Sex. Yes. We get to talk about sex in church.

And half of you just went, this is really weird. But it's God given and God governed. And so let's put our big boy and big girl pants on today.

Okay. We're going to talk about some big boy and big girl. I see you making faces already.

So let's just jump into this already and see what Jesus says here. Okay. We're going to begin in verse 27.

You have heard it said, or you have heard it said to those of old, maybe your passage says that, you shall not commit adultery.

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right hand causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away, for it's better to lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away, for it's better to lose one of your members than your whole body go into hell.

Wow. We are just hitting some home runs with Joel Osteen messages these past few weeks, aren't we?

All those good feel-good things, right? Now, if you like Joel Osteen, I'm not making fun. Okay. I'll talk to you about it later. Okay. Maybe I am.

Okay. Now, many of you, many of you, I'm going to date myself here, and some of you come along with me.

How many of you can remember Dear Abby? Okay. There's a few of us. Okay. More than I thought. Okay.

Dear Abby, she was someone that you would write to in the newspaper. She had a syndicated column.

And when you had an issue or a problem, you would say, Dear Abby, you'd send her a note, and she would give you this great advice.

Okay. And most of it was biblically sound advice that she would give. I believe she was a believer.

I never really met her or whatever, but that's my thought. But there's a letter that kind of fits our message today.

And the letter, the gentleman writes in, and he says, Dear Abby, I'm in love, and I'm having an affair with two different women.

I can't marry them both. Please tell me what to do, but don't give me any of that morality stuff.

Okay. And in classic Dear Abby form, she writes back and she says, Dear Sir, the only difference between humans and morality and animals is morality.

Please write to a veterinarian. I love that. I love that. It's perfect.

It's perfect. It's perfect. You know...

You know...

And I remember I was saying that during the ceremony and you could hear this little hush going all over the room like, oh my goodness, oh my goodness. That's the very first time that they're going to kiss. And so, you know, why is that? Because people don't understand that kind of purity today. People don't understand that kind of purity today. It's foreign to most people, okay? Hollywood has lied to us. Hollywood has told us that an affair is glamorous, okay?

We see it all the time. And they have made the statement that love is free. It's free love. No, it's not. It's going to cost you something. These actions are going to cost you something. There's a huge price that you're going to pay.

Then there's the thought now that there's safe sex. Safe sex out there. What does that really mean? It's safe sex, you know? I told you we're going to talk about some crazy things here this morning.

But, you know, I think any sex outside the parameters of marriage is dangerous, okay? And so there's no such thing as safe sex, okay? There's no such thing.

And so, and the ramifications that take place and the pain that an affair leaves within the family dynamic.

And you ask any couple who has been through this in their life and they will tell you what they have been through.

Now, we have to understand that when it comes to the area of sexuality, God invented it, all right?

God invented it. God's not against our freedom.

And he came up with the idea. I happen to think it's a good idea, okay?

But he came up with the idea and he wove it into the fabric of humanity.

And because it's God-given, it must be God-governed.

We need to understand that.

It's like beautiful soil. If you've ever worked in a garden and you see that rich, beautiful soil,

that looks beautiful, but not on my rug in the living room.

It's out of place there, right? All right?

Like fire. Fire looks great in the fireplace.

It's burning hot. It's burning bright. It brings a lot of atmosphere to the room.

But place it on your couch, okay?

Well, I want to put it on my couch because it's my house and I want to be closer to it.

I want to have the freedom to do what I want to with the fire.

That's fine. Just know it will burn your entire house down.

It's not made for that. It is out of place.

And many a passion have burned out of control and destroyed many, many lives.

And many people today look at the Bible and they think that the Bible is just a bunch of negative stuff.

Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not.

But the negative commandment is put there for a positive reason.

So that your life and your world is not destroyed.

That's why it's placed there.

J. Allen Peterson calls the affair the myth of the greener grass.

And he goes on to say that most people enter into an affair with the myth that somehow this is going to solve my emotional and relational problems.

And we're in essence, it's a myth.

The grass isn't greener on the other side.

The problems just get worse.

You just create new ones.

That's all you're doing.

And so also, it's important for us to understand this morning that just because something is widespread and generally accepted doesn't make it right.

Just because something is widespread and generally accepted doesn't make it right.

Drug abuse is more widespread today than ever before.

But it's not right.

It doesn't make it right.

Speeding, for the most part, is generally accepted as behavior these days.

But it doesn't make it right.

Ask the state trooper.

Okay?

Divorce has become the norm.

But that doesn't make it right.

And just like sexual immorality, though, people will say, what's the big deal?

It doesn't matter.

Safe sex.

Blah, blah, blah.

It doesn't make it right.

Now, you figure by the time that Jesus is giving this Sermon on the Mount, by the time he gets to verses 27 and 28, he has made every man on that mountain feel so uncomfortable.

Can't you just see them checking their watches?

I know, they didn't have watches back then.

How long is this Sermon on the Mount going to go on?

How long is this guy going to go through this stuff?

I mean, seriously.

So, what Jesus is doing is peeling away a self-esteem.

God gives. He imputes it. He gives it to those who have accepted His Son. You are made right through faith in Jesus Christ. That's the only way. And that's the only righteousness that God will accept. And so, there were a bunch of smug people during this time that were thinking, You know what? I've never murdered anyone. I'm fine. And Jesus says, Okay, well, have you had hatred in your heart for them? Well, maybe. Well, then you're a murderer.

What? What in the world? Well, I've never had an affair. I've never committed adultery. Have you lusted in your heart after someone? Well, then you're an adulterer. And these inner patterns and motivations of the heart are tantamount to the very action.

And so, and no amount of religious ritual, no outward veneer of righteousness will cover up all of that. Jesus says, Because I am concerned about the heart. I'm concerned. Let's go deeper than just the outward action.

Right off the bat in our text this morning, we're going to see that sex is an age-old problem. It's an age-old problem. Verse 27. Let's look at this.

For you have heard that it was said, or you have heard it said in the days of old, to those of old, you shall not commit adultery.

As long as man has been alive, this has been a problem. Even back in the biblical world, back in the Old Testament days, as the children of Israel were entering into the promised land, we see that they were walking into a culture that was soaked in sexual immorality.

Because that was part of the fabric of the pagan worship system. They had the gods of Baal and the gods of Asherah. And you would go to the temples or to some orchard and the tree area.

And you would have sex as part of worship. And that's why the children of Israel began to mix their worship, the worship of God way, with the worship of the Baal and Asherah.

It's like, wow, we can have the best of both worlds. We can go to the temple and slaughter an animal and then go up to the mountain up here or to the temple.

And have sex with these women. And so, it was an act of fertility, worshiping the gods of fertility.

And Amos chapter 2 speaks about this. When God is speaking through Amos and He says,

A man and his father go into the same girl so that my holy name is profaned.

And they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge.

Now, we don't have time to unfold all that, but what that really means is, dad and son, let's go on a boy's trip.

And we're going to both sleep with the same girl. And that's part of worship.

That's part of worship. And they had these women that worked in these temples up there, but they weren't called prostitutes because this is worship.

They were called what? Priestesses. Let's call them priestesses.

Because now we can justify our actions.

And then we'll go and slaughter an animal and say everything's good.

We're all good. We're all good. Yahweh, we love you.

But I like this over here, too.

And then we get into the New Testament, the Greek world, because that's the background of the New Testament,

where sex was simply seen as a biological function.

A biological function. There was no moral ramifications.

And so the Greeks even coined their own word for sensual, physical, sexual love.

And that's the Greek word. Does anybody know?

Who said it? Say it again.

Eros. Eros. Eros. Eros.

And that's where we get our word, what? Erotic.

Erotic films. Erotic books. All those things.

The Greek word eros. Eros.

Eros. And so, interestingly enough, the Greek term eros is never found in Scripture, though.

It's never found in Scripture.

Of all the terms used for love in the Scriptures, eros is not there.

Because originally eros means to grab something that I might satisfy myself.

And that's not true love.

That's not true love.

In the ancient world, adultery was commonplace.

Much like today. Much like today.

And, in fact, in the New Testament, the marriage vows were not held to this sacredness.

They were not seen as something that was sacred.

So that's the cultural background that Jesus is in as He's mentioning these things.

So, the commandment, however, the seventh commandment that was given...

...that's like...

...and He upholds the sanctity of marriage. Boom. Right there. Why? Because shortly after God created man on the earth... ...and gave man life... ...He sanctified marriage. The first institution... ...that God made was not the government... ...it was not the church... ...it was the family. It was marriage. The Bible tells us... ...that God said it's not good for man to be alone... ...and Adam stood there and said, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! And it says that the Bible... ...God fashioned woman...

...and brought Eve to man... ...and brought Eve to man... ...the first giving away of the bride. He brings Eve to man... ...and sanctifies marriage. And so you see... ...after He established life... ...and He established marriage... ...He sanctifies it. And that's why adultery... ...is to defile God's plan. It's to render not holy... ...what God has already sanctified... ...and set apart and said is holy. Now...

...of course, according to the law... ...to... ...according to God... ...that God upheld marriage... ...and He said... ...you should not commit adultery... ...there was a penalty... ...for adultery... ...during this time. It was not divorce... ...back then. It was... ...to be stoned to death. Immediately... ...if you were caught... ...in the act of adultery... ...immediately you would be stoned to death. Now... ...it's probably a gracious thing... ...that that law is not being practiced today. There'd be piles of rocks... ...everywhere, wouldn't there?

And you know... ...there'd probably be more funerals... ...and there would be weddings today. A lot more people would go... ...I don't know... ...if I want to get married. I don't know... ...because I don't know... ...what the ramifications are... ...on that. There'd be piles of rocks... ...everywhere. Yet today... ...sexual promiscuity... ...outside of marriage... ...i.e. adultery... ...affair... ...fornication... ...it's fashionable. It seems to be fashionable. It seems to me...

...that sex is the substitute religion... ...for our culture today. And you see it... ...all over the place. Sex sells... ...everything. Everything. There's nothing... ...on... I'll go off on a tangent... ...never mind. Listen... ...this is an older poll... ...that was taken... ...but according to the poll... ...USA Today... ...40% of men... ...and 28% of women... ...who responded to the poll... ...said that they have had... ...an extramarital affair. That's a third... ...of our nation. They have had... ...an extramarital affair.

And just another poll... ...of those people... ...who admitted it... ...64% of them... ...think that there's... ...nothing wrong... ...with having... ...these affairs. 64% of them. You know... ...the days of June... ...and Ward Cleaver... ...are long gone. I just dated... ...myself again. I know. I realize that. And I wish... ...that we could say... ...well that's a problem... ...outside the church. It's not really... ...in the church today. You know... ...but I'm telling you... ...as a pastor... ...I've... ...experienced enough to know... ...that's not the case. It's not the case. In fact... ...do you know what the rate is... ...in the church?

...the same as the world. Same as the world. According to Time Magazine... ...and Christianity... ...today... ...about a third of the church... ...will admit to... ...an inappropriate... ...sexual behavior... ...or an affair. So it's no secret... ...that God's people... ...are tempted... ...in this area. We're not... ...we're not beyond this. We're not... ...we're not above this. Hence... ...the commandment. Thou shalt not... ...commit adultery. Okay? So...

...this is an age-old problem. But secondly... ...Jesus gets to the heart of it... ...it's an internal problem. It's an internal problem. And this is where... ...the uncomfortable nature... ...comes in. Look with me in verse 28. Jesus says... ...but I say to you... ...that everyone who looks at a woman... ...with lustful intent... ...has already committed adultery... ...with her in his heart. Why? Because the heart... ...is the soil. It's where the... ...seed of sin begins to grow. And if it begins there...

...it can sprout... ...when it's full grown... ...into an action. It gives birth... ...to an action. So... ...what does Jesus... ...mean by this? Well... ...the word look... ...is a present... ...participle. And it means... ...a continuous action. It's not a glance... ...it's a gaze. I didn't just go... ...oh... ...I saw that. No, no. I see that. I'm looking. And I'm looking. And I'm still looking. And then... ...then the words... ...lustful intent...

...is a Greek construction... ...that means... ...to look toward the goal... ...of lusting... ...to satisfy...

...in...

...she's beautiful... ...okay... ...I noticed... ...I'm driving... ...but now you've went... ...all the way... ...back around the block again... ...to get another look... ...and to hang your arm... ...out the window a little bit... ...and maybe turn that music... ...up a little bit... ...because that song... ...makes you look better... ...in the car. Now... ...that's lustful intent... ...you are acting on this... ...God has wired us... ...to notice beauty... ...okay... ...but when you act on it... ...that's the lustful intent... ...intent. Listen... ...Jesus is not speaking... ...about temptation here... ...he's not...

...speaking about temptation... ...everyone is tempted... ...in this area... ...every man has been... ...tempted in this area... ...it's common to all... ...when a man sees... ...a beautiful woman... ...walk into his path... ...Satan is going to try... ...to use her... ...okay... ...and use the desire... ...that he has... ...to tempt him... ...with lustful thoughts... ...so when that happens... ...what do you do? Well you can do a number of things... ...first off... ...you can resist temptation... ...by looking away... ...I'm gonna look away...

...I didn't want to see... ...you can resist temptation... ...by turning the channels... ...oh my gosh... ...I don't want to see that... ...on my television set... ...or... ...you can look... ...to lust... ...you can look... ...to lust... ...you can... ...you can dwell... ...on that website... ...and you are looking... ...to lust... ...I can't stop... ...continuing to click... ...to the next one... ...it's gotten me hooked... ...I can't stop... ...you know... ...King David...

...King David had this... ...he was... ...think about... ...one night... ...he's walking out... ...on his rooftop... ...and no doubt... ...thinking about the battle... ...that's going on... ...and he walks out... ...and he sees Bathsheba... ...a few houses over... ...she's out there... ...taking a bath... ...she's out there... ...it's a beautiful night... ...she's taking a bath... ...and David could have... ...looked over there... ...and seen her... ...and said... ...oh my goodness... ...and walked back inside... ...but David didn't do that... ...did he? What did he do? He looked... ...and he kept looking... ...and he kept looking...

...and then he said... ...you know what... ...I like what I see... ...and I'm the king... ...and it's good to be the king... ...I can have whatever I want... ...I think I want her... ...send her... ...to my room... ...and what happens afterwards... ...was simply... ...what was already going on... ...in his heart... ...he was already... ...sleeping with her... ...before he ever got her... ...to his room... ...he began to act on it... ...he looked... ...to lust...

...big difference... ...he looked to lust... ...the mind is where... ...the battle is fought... ...and often... ...what goes on in your mind... ...will be acted out... ...at some point... ...if you continue... ...to allow these things... ...to go on in your mind... ...you play these scenarios... ...over and over... ...in your mind... ...there'll come a point in time... ...when that will not... ...satisfy you... ...and you will begin... ...to look to lust... ...and whatever area... ...this is... ...in your life... ...you will give in to that... ...because... ...you're tired of just playing... ...the scenario over... ...now I need to act...

...act on it... ...I need to do something... ...it's boring... ...to just sit here... ...and think about it now... ...anymore... ...I want to do something... ...about it... ...I'm going to move on this... ...you know... ...it's been said... ...in the modern day parable... ...that sow a thought... ...and you'll reap an action... ...sow an action... ...and you reap a habit... ...sow a habit... ...and you reap a character... ...sow a character... ...and you reap a destiny... ...and maybe that's what Jesus... ...had in mind here... ...I mean... ...Job... ...knew where the battle was... ...he knew that the battle was in...

...was it in his mind... ...and in his sight... ...here's this old diseased man... ...and he gets to a point in his life... ...and he knows he has problems... ...in this area... ...and he says... ...I have made a covenant... ...with my eyes... ...how then could I gaze... ...at a virgin... ...how then could I gaze... ...at a young woman... ...I'm making a covenant... ...we have to be careful... ...with what we allow our eyes... ...to see... ...guarding your eyes... ...because what we see... ...even after we...

...turn away... ...what we have seen... ...we will have taken... ...photographs of it... ...your mind is so... ...so powerful... ...and it can be displayed... ...in your mind... ...hours... ...days... ...even years later... ...it took me so many years... ...of prayer... ...praying before the Lord... ...I remember being in... ...second grade... ...living in our apartment... ...in Germany... ...and finding my dad's... ...girly magazine...

...right under...

...those things that came up like photographs... ...in my mind. I can't I... ...it was a battle going on... ...to not... ...not be sucked into that. So, guys, you know what? Don't give me that line. Well, I'm just looking and admiring her... ...God's creation. I'm admiring God's handiwork. That's why I'm looking at her. God created her. Didn't he, Pastor Curtis?

I'm just...I'm just admiring God's handiwork. Well, let me tell you... ...you don't say that... ...you don't say that about trees, do you? I don't hear you guys going down... ...about flowers and mountains. That's God's handiwork. And those are beautiful things. Let's be honest here. You and I both know... ...why you are looking with that intent. Clearly, Jesus was speaking to men here. Look again at verse 28.

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent... ...has already committed adultery... ...with her in his heart. Now, why does he address men in this area? Well, mostly because... ...men have this problem. Not always... ...but mostly. Okay? But let's look at the other side of this, guys. Just for a second. If there weren't Bathsheba's... ...bathing on the rooftops... ...it sure would be helpful. Come on.

Sometimes ladies can dress...

...a certain way and act a certain way and act a certain way...

...and they will accentuate certain body parts...

...because they know men will look...

...okay? And they want that attention. And that's not the attention...

...you want, young ladies. We need you to help us out. Put some britches on that fit. Cover up...

...cover up whatever God has blessed you with. Save that for your husband...

...who will come a point in time...

...when he will honor you...

...in a way that this man is not going to. Amen?

So it's not just an age-old problem. It's not just an eternal problem.

But it's a conquerable problem. Jesus doesn't leave us here and say...

...well, there's no solution at all. No, he gives us a solution.

And here's the solution right here. Verse 29.

If your right eye causes you to sin...

...tear it out. Throw it away.

For it's better that you lose one of your members...

...than your whole body be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin...

...cut it off and throw it away. For it's better to lose one of your members...

...than your whole body go into hell.

And when you read those words, what's your response...

...when you think that's his solution?

Seriously? Seriously? Plucking eyes and cutting off hands.

That's what we're going to revert to.

That's your solution, Jesus.

You know, that is absolutely sick.

I think that's the point.

I think that's the point that Jesus is trying to make.

I think, you know, Jesus said that to gross you out.

Because he wants you to understand how gross sin is.

And sin must be dealt with radically because of its effect.

Because of its effect.

And so, what does Jesus mean by all this?

Because in the first place, it seems like he's contradicting himself.

Think about it.

It seems like he's contradicting himself.

Because if the problem is in the heart.

If the problem is internal.

And it's in the mind.

And what the eye sees.

And what's entertained in the heart.

If that's where the problem lies.

Then what good does it do to deal with the outward?

Why is mutilation the answer here?

Why does he give you mutilation?

And let's suppose that you gouge your right eye out.

I'm telling you, you still have your left eye.

And you can do a lot of peeping with your left eye.

If you cut your right hand off, you can still do acts of evil with your left hand.

You know, so how does that really work?

Obviously then, this is to be taken figuratively, people.

Figuratively.

And some of you might say, well, no, Brother Curtis.

I believe the Bible will be the absolute truth.

And God means it literally.

Okay, well, I expect to see some physical changes.

And many of you, you know who you are by next Sunday.

And we'll just walk by you.

Bless you, brother.

Bless you, sister.

Can't keep your eyes to yourself, can you?

And be willing to give up whatever is necessary, listen to me, for the sake of purity. For the sake of purity. This is huge. If it's going to draw us closer to the Lord, if it's going to protect us from evil, then even the most cherished things that we possess, we should sever them. If it's going to pull us away from the Lord. And notice this phrase right here, he says, causes you to sin.

That speaks originally to the piece of bait that's put on a stick and you put it in a trap and the animal comes in and hits the trap and then, boom. It's an entrapment. That's what it's speaking of.

So anything that would morally trap us should be eliminated as soon as possible.

Martin Luther used to always say, you can't stop the birds from flying around your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair.

You can do something about it, people.

I just can't help myself.

It's just my Achilles heel.

It's my one week.

Oh, shut up.

You are justifying your actions.

You are justifying your actions.

It means get rid of the entrapments.

Put a safe distance between you and that which you know will allure you.

Put a safe distance.

For some of you, that means you need to stay away from some of those magazines in the stores.

Absolutely.

You just need to stay away.

For some of you, it means that you need to stay away from certain websites.

Or off the internet, how about all together?

If you don't have the discipline, then just, hey, take me off the internet.

Well, I won't be tied in with the world today.

Oh, shut up.

You know?

Turn on the news somewhere.

Turn on Jacksonville News.

But maybe some of you need to put a safe distance between you and certain phone numbers.

Maybe some of you need to put a distance between you and certain people.

Because you know it causes a certain response when you're around them.

We're not just talking about married people today, folks.

We're talking any sexual activity outside the confines of marriage.

That's adultery.

Well, I'm not married.

You will be one day, God willing.

You will be one day.

And that's not your spouse.

Well, I'm going to marry her one day.

But you're not married now, so you don't have that freedom.

There's an honor that's supposed to take place in this relationship.

And you're not honoring her.

You're not honoring him.

Don't allow yourself to be the target for the devil's fiery darts.

The Bible says, flee temptation.

Flee temptation.

You know, think about Joseph.

Joseph did this.

You know, I think Joseph was, you know, was very tempted.

Here he is.

He's been in prison.

He's been in prison.

And in those days, prison, it was nothing but fellas, guys.

Just fellas.

And he's in a household now.

And this married woman comes up to him.

They're all alone and grabs him and says, take me to bed now.

She probably had that deep voice too, like that too.

Real sultry.

Take me to bed now.

Now that would be, that's a very affrontive temptation right there.

My husband's not here.

Take me to bed now.

And it says, he fled.

He fled.

He didn't just say, he didn't say, well, I don't want to be a poor witness to her.

I, can we just sit here and hold hands and let me tell you about Jesus?

No.

She wants something other than Jesus right now.

Now it's not there.

Get out.

Get out.

Flee temptation.

That's what it taught.

Many people say that they flee temptation.

But they flee temptation and leave a forwarding address.

I'm walking away from this.

But I'll be over here if something ever comes back up again.

You know you do it.

You say you're fleeing.

I'm leaving it.

I'm leaving it behind.

I'm leaving it behind.

Sort of.

Sort of.

I mean, let's be honest.

You know, maybe you're having a relationship with someone at work.

And it's just, it's just conversation.

Because they really understand you.

And it's just gotten to a point in my life.

Compromise can destroy you. And so, in closing, I want to give you two tips. Two tips here to prevent an affair. Because, you see, there are some people who, who attract you more than others. You just know, and you know who they are. You know, there's an allurement about them. And there's some sites that attract you more than others. Let's be honest. And so, but the first thing I want you to do is realize the damage that adultery

can do and stop the process. Stop the process. Number one, you can damage yourself. You can damage yourself. You see, there's things out there called sexually transmitted diseases. And those people who are very promiscuous usually end up with some of these things. That's, that's a reality. It, it can destroy you physically. It can destroy you emotionally. Just the guilt from all the deceit. The anxiety from all the hypocrisy that you're living out. And you're, you're declaring all these things. Statistics have

proven that marriages built upon an affair are almost doomed for failure because they are built on deceit. You know, if somebody's telling you, I love you, sweetheart. You're the one. You're the one. And she, I just made some poor choices earlier. But I see now that God's led me to you. And I'm, I'm going to leave her. And I'm going to marry you one day because you are my soulmate. You are the love of my life. I'm telling you, he said that to someone else down the line.

It can destroy you spiritually. It can destroy you spiritually. Take away your peace. Take away your fellowship with God because you're walking in sin. It can destroy your family. It erodes trust.

It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family. It can destroy your family

and you're having an affair,

what's the difference between you and the world?

Why do I need this religion stuff?

It's not helping you out a whole lot.

And also, it hurts the heart of God.

It hurts the heart of God.

Why is it that God is usually the last to be considered in this?

You know?

It's at the very end when we see ourselves knee-deep

in all these choices and mistakes,

then we go, oh God, I'm sorry.

You know, marriage was God's idea from the very beginning.

We talked about it early on.

And so it's against God.

That's why David says in Psalm 51,

against you and you alone have I sinned

and done this evil in your sight.

And let me just say that if God were first to be considered,

a lot of this would be prevented.

Purity begins with a commitment to God

even before you have a commitment to a spouse.

I hope, young people, you hear that.

Purity begins with a commitment to God

even before the commitment to a spouse.

And you know what?

And maybe you're, you know what?

We'll get to the end of this verse.

Second thing, the second tip

is realize the potential of a godly marriage

and go for it.

I mean, really, really go for it.

But the godly marriage is an example

to so many couples around you.

Well, how do you do that?

Date your mate.

Date your mate.

I mean, Jill and I went out last night.

We were really convicted that,

gosh, we just haven't been out in a long time.

We had the best time last night.

We just went and had some food out on Jekyll Island

and we just walked on the beach

and made fun of all the tourists who were out there.

That was a blast.

The water's freezing.

Tourist.

Tourist, tourist.

Look at the bathing suit.

Tourist.

But we had lots of laughs.

Date your mate.

Don't let dating be something you do.

The great white hunter.

I've won her.

Now I don't have to date her anymore.

You know?

Pay attention to her.

Keep dating each other.

Because marriages don't collapse overnight.

They don't collapse overnight.

It's a long, slow...

It's a biblical principle. It's in the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 7, Paul says, Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time. Okay? I love that. That you may devote yourselves to prayer, but then come back together again so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. Amen! All the men said? Alright! So the idea is to meet each other's needs, both

sexually and sexually and emotionally. So why? You don't look anywhere else. I don't have to look anywhere else. I got the best thing in the world right here. Why should I look anywhere else? And you know what? Let's just say this. Maybe you're here today, and I know that some of us come from a place of brokenness, and you have been divorced. You have maybe had, you have had to suffer.

Either one side or the cost, either one side or the other, the cost, and the hurt of an affair, and all these things. And maybe you've made some bad choices. Maybe somebody close to you made some bad choices, and it's hurt your heart. All these things. I get that. We live in a fallen world. I get that. But understand that our God, my God, your God, is big enough to restore and renew that which seems to have been broken.

And from this day forward, no, no, no, no, no, no. This day forward, let's start fresh and anew. Just as he spoke to the prophet Joel, he says, if you will return to me, I will restore to you the years that it seems that the locusts have eaten.

What seems like Satan and life has robbed you of. You didn't get this. You didn't get that. Maybe you're a college student, and you made some choices, and you listened to the lie of that young man that said he loved you, and he'd be with you forever, and you caved.

You, from this day forward, put the banner in the ground, and let's start fresh and new. God has something for you.

You know, Bobby and I, and Angel, we were talking about movies a few weeks, a few Sundays, Wednesdays, Wednesdays at service. We were talking about movies that we like.

And what are those movies that, when you see them on TV, you always stop, and you've got to watch it. You know, even if you've seen it 30 times.

And for my wife, it's just dumb movies like Bridesmaids, and all that other stuff, and whatever.

And so, but anyway, you know, Bobby and I were talking, yeah, man, the outlaw of Josie Wales, and yeah, you know, this, that, and the other, and Green Mile.

That's a great movie. I love the Green Mile. Shawshank Redemption.

But you know, another one, you ever seen the movie, it's with, he's got a small part in it, The Wonders, with Tom Hanks.

It's the musical group that had their one-hit wonders, okay?

I love that movie. It's so funny. If you haven't watched it, you can go see the movie.

But there's a line in there where Liv Tyler, and she plays Miss Faye in the movie.

And she has to break up with Jimmy, who's a snot. He's the leader of the band, but he's a real selfish snot.

And it gets to the point where she looks at him, and she begins, it's really dramatic, and she has these tears that come across her.

And she says, Jimmy, I've wasted thousands and thousands of kisses on you.

Shame on me for kissing you with my eyes so tightly closed.

And for some of us, we need to remember that we need to guard our testimonies.

Guard the purity of our relationships.

Just because it may seem okay, I'm telling you, the world is watching you, and you need to make decisions.

Is it really best?

Is this really best?

Don't let evil be spoken of your good.

God, I know you may be able to do this, and it may seem right and everything, but I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you, the world is this really best.

And some of you may get overwhelmed with all these decisions you need to make, and this, that, and the other, and what do I do for this, and how do I guard?

Just do the next right thing.

One step at a time.

And let the Holy Spirit lead you in God.