Purity in a Pornographic World

Matthew 5 (ESV)

20 For I (Jesus) tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The only righteousness that God will accept is purity of the heart.  

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

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. 

Jesus focused on the source of sin, and not it's manifestation.  The source of sin is the heart.  Purity is not what you do, but what is in your heart that will ultimately manifest.  

There is a difference between noticing that someone is attractive verses fixing your eyes upon them.  The source of all your sin is in your heart.

  

The further you drift from your relationship with Christ.  The more sin will consume you.  

The heart is the soil where the sins of my heart will grow.  A sin is what you place in front of your relationship with God.  

2 Timothy 2:22  (ESV)

22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

...For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Proverbs 6:32  (ESV)

³² He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 

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

Jesus is speaking in symbols.  The right hand symbolizes strength.  The right eye symbolizes priority.  There is nothing more important in your lives than walking with Jesus in purity and holiness.  

Sin is like a trap to be escaped from.  Eliminate that which tempts you to sin.  Like the T.V. shows that you watch, or your internet viewing habits.

1 Corinthians 6 (ESV)

18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

  

All sin separates us from God, but some sins have a greater impact on us.

Colossians 3:5 (ESV)

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

1 Corinthians 6:20 (ESV)

20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 6 (ESV)

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,

10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

We can be set free of sin even sexual sin if we surrender to Jesus. Jesus wants us to despair of our own righteousness, and submit to His.

1. Ask God to evaluate the motives of your heart.  

2.  Ask God to reveal any areas of your life that compromises your relationship with Him. 

3. Remove situations that tempt you.   

1 John 1 (ESV)

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalm 103 (ESV)

¹² as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Darryl Craft, Whitesburg Baptist Church

http://www.whitesburgbaptist.org/sermons/purity-in-a-pornographic-world/

The Underdog

The odds may be against us, but do not count us out.  God can flip the script, and turn our lives around.  

Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 

When we come to Christ, we have started a race.  We need to get a plan to finish what we have started.  

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT)

24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

While running a marathon, we must run through three barriers.  

1.  When we run out of strength.  

2.  When we run out of desire.  Then, we run the wrong race. 

3.  When we run out of vision.  Then, circumstances call the shots.  

Galatians 5:7-8 (NLT)

7 You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? 8 It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom.

Finishing well is taking small steps in the right direction.  

1. We must run in faith. 

2 Timothy 4:6-7 (NLT)

6 As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.

A good fight is one that we win.  If God's plan for me is not happening, I'm not winning.  

Fight against the things that bind you.  

Luke 5:18-20  (NLT)

18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

Get around friends who refuse to let you lose.  

2. Run with purpose.  

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Runners must train their bodies.  Purpose is more important than feelings. 

Watch your intake of things and people.  If they're not helping us win our race, we must disconnect. 

Hebrews 12:2 (NLT)

2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 

Jesus didn't finish for a trophy, but for our example.

  

3. Run full of faith.  

Paul had plenty of opportunities to give up.  

2 Corinthians 11:23-27 (NLT)

... have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. 

24 Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 

25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 

26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. 

27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

Where do you feel that you fit in the passage above?

Mark 10:27(NLT)

27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

The journey is hard.  It is frustrating.  Is it possible with God?  Yes!

How did Paul start the race that he finished?

Acts 9:18 (NLT)

18 Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s (Paul's) eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.

Baptism seals the deal.  It is a symbol of your cleansing, and your new life in Jesus after you've made Him your Lord.  

It's like a wedding band in marriage. It is a public statement.  

It's saying hold me accountable.  Please pray for me.  Don't count me out. I've surrendered my life to Jesus. 

Chris Erwin, Church of the Highlands

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/living-to-finish

Facing Defeat?

How to pray when the odds of defeat are against you.

    

1. Remind yourself who is with you.  

1 John 4:4  (ESV)

4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

2.  Walk with God in confidence, so you will walk out a conqueror. 

Romans 8:37 (ESV)

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

3. Victory is not based upon how we feel, but what God has said.   

1 Corinthians 15:57 (ESV)

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jamil Gilleylan,  Church of the Highlands

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/do-you-love-me1

Best Day Ever

To get to our best day ever, we must go through our worse day ever. 

 

When Adam and Eve were kicked out of paradise, they had their worse day ever.    

From that day forward, all our bad days are connected to that day. 

  

Genesis 3:22-24(NLT)

22 Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. 

What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 

23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made.

24 After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. 

And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Jesus stepped into our worse day to offer God's best day.  

Luke 23:39  (NLT)

39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”

You can be so close to Jesus, but still miss Him.  

This criminal on the cross was right beside Him, but still missed Him.  

Luke 23:40-41 (NLT)

40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 

41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Both of the criminals turned their heads towards Jesus, but one turned his heart.  

In your worse day, reach out for Jesus. 

Luke 23:42 (NLT)

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

This criminal acknowledged his own sin.  He recognized Jesus for who he was.  

His prayer wasn't a fancy prayer, but it was effective.  

He asked Jesus to remember Him in His kingdom.  This criminal believed in the resurrection. 

Luke 23:43  (NLT)

43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  

This criminal didn't have much time, but Jesus didn't need much time. 

Forgiveness is in a instant.  

Jesus was going to paradise.  The very first person who entered paradise with Jesus was this criminal. 

Getting into paradise is not based upon your good works, but whom you're with.  If you're with Jesus, you'll get in. 

In Eden, Adam's day began in paradise, but ended in punishment.  

For this criminal, his day began in punishment, but ended in paradise because he turned his heart to Jesus. 

God is not against you.  He is for you.  Jesus is for you when your circumstances are against you. 

One good decision can save you from a lifetime of bad decisions.

  

You may have forgotten Jesus, but Jesus has never forgotten you.   

Ask Jesus to come into your life to be your Lord and Savior, and you, too, can have your best day ever.

Mike Haman, Healing Place Church

https://healingplacechurch.org/media/easter-2019/