WEBVTT 00:00:01.800 --> 00:00:06.219 If you would, take your Bibles and open up to 00:00:06.219 --> 00:00:11.000 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. You can also find 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:15.939 a few Bibles there in front of you. 1 Thessalonians 00:00:15.939 --> 00:00:20.160 chapter 4, as we continue our sermon series through 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:23.579 this letter from Paul to the Christians there 00:00:23.579 --> 00:00:27.980 in Thessalonica, our bulletin has us going through 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:33.200 verse 12, but after Much prayer this week. I 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:35.799 think it would be appropriate for us to stop 00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:39.280 at verse 8 today and save those remaining verses, 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:45.259 Lord willing, for a future date. So, 1 Thessalonians 00:00:45.259 --> 00:00:49.640 4, 1 through 8. Would you please give attention 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:55.439 to the reading of God's Word? Finally, then, 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:00.189 brothers, We ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus 00:01:00.189 --> 00:01:04.510 that as you received from us How you ought to 00:01:04.510 --> 00:01:07.890 walk and to please God just as you are doing 00:01:07.890 --> 00:01:13.049 that you do so more and more For you know what 00:01:13.049 --> 00:01:16.769 instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus 00:01:16.769 --> 00:01:21.409 For this is the will of God your sanctification 00:01:21.409 --> 00:01:26.159 that you abstain from sexual immorality that 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:29.540 each one of you know how to control his own body 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:33.859 in holiness and honor, not in the passion of 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:37.560 lust like the Gentiles who do not know God, that 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:40.920 no one transgress and wrong his brother in this 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:45.120 matter because the Lord is an avenger in all 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:49.099 these things. As we told you beforehand and solemnly 00:01:49.099 --> 00:01:54.359 warned you, for God has not called us for impurity. 00:01:54.650 --> 00:01:58.629 but in holiness therefore whoever disregards 00:01:58.629 --> 00:02:03.870 this disregards not man but God who gives his 00:02:03.870 --> 00:02:09.629 Holy Spirit to you this is God's failing word 00:02:09.629 --> 00:02:15.689 let's pray father we thank you for your word 00:02:15.689 --> 00:02:18.830 we thank you for a word that speaks truth to 00:02:18.830 --> 00:02:22.349 us I ask Lord that you would help us to search 00:02:22.349 --> 00:02:25.150 our hearts and know if there is any way about 00:02:25.150 --> 00:02:28.110 us that is not pleasing to you and that you would 00:02:28.110 --> 00:02:32.310 write our course and Help us to follow more closely 00:02:32.310 --> 00:02:35.370 after Jesus and that you will continue the work 00:02:35.370 --> 00:02:38.909 of sanctification in our lives Give us understanding 00:02:38.909 --> 00:02:45.430 now. We pray in Christ's name. Amen Within our 00:02:45.430 --> 00:02:47.710 worship service this morning, we have already 00:02:47.710 --> 00:02:51.409 touched on sanctification. We have read the Shorter 00:02:51.409 --> 00:02:54.949 Catechism. What is sanctification? Sanctification 00:02:54.949 --> 00:02:59.270 may not be a word that you use on a daily basis. 00:02:59.949 --> 00:03:03.409 It could be, and it should be, perhaps. But there 00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:06.310 is a way in which we use the word sanctification 00:03:06.310 --> 00:03:11.490 that I think is fairly common, and it's the root 00:03:11.490 --> 00:03:15.000 of the word. It's sanctity. And often when we 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.360 talk about sanctity, we talk about sanctity of 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:22.199 marriage, right? We talk about keeping holy the 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:27.020 union between man and woman, united in matrimony. 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:30.280 We recognize that marriage is a pre -fall gift 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:33.879 from God. And so we want to keep it holy, right? 00:03:35.020 --> 00:03:37.719 Sadly though, the common view today in culture 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:41.219 is not that marriage needs to be sanctified. 00:03:41.449 --> 00:03:46.870 The common view in culture today is that personal 00:03:46.870 --> 00:03:50.949 choice and pleasure be kept holy and sanctified. 00:03:51.289 --> 00:03:54.590 People view marriage not in the way that God 00:03:54.590 --> 00:03:59.370 does. Instead, what people want to uphold is 00:03:59.370 --> 00:04:05.669 not marriage, but immorality. But friends, our 00:04:05.669 --> 00:04:11.210 text tells us we are to please God. That is our 00:04:11.210 --> 00:04:14.990 goal. This is why we were made we are to please 00:04:14.990 --> 00:04:18.449 God according to the text in holiness and as 00:04:18.449 --> 00:04:22.110 Christians we as we are set apart for holiness 00:04:22.110 --> 00:04:27.810 and we show it impurity So today if you are saved 00:04:27.810 --> 00:04:32.050 by Christ, you are not only saved to heaven which 00:04:32.050 --> 00:04:36.470 you are But you are also saved to holiness. Let 00:04:36.470 --> 00:04:40.009 me say that again You are not only saved to heaven 00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:44.160 but you are saved to holiness. And this, according 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:49.120 to the text, is the will of God. Oftentimes, 00:04:50.139 --> 00:04:53.500 we ask ourselves or we ask others, what is the 00:04:53.500 --> 00:04:56.660 will of God for my life? And usually, when we 00:04:56.660 --> 00:05:00.120 ask that question, we mean something like, where 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:03.800 am I going to go to college? Who am I going to 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:07.600 marry? What kind of career should I have? How 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:09.860 many children? What's the will of God for my 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:13.120 life and my retirement? Where should I retire 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:15.660 and how much money do I need? But friends, these 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:20.740 are fine questions. But the real answer to the 00:05:20.740 --> 00:05:26.740 will of God is your holiness. The will of God 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:33.959 is your holiness. Look at verse 1. You can see 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:38.139 that this section kicks off with kind of a transition 00:05:38.139 --> 00:05:41.899 word there. The ESV has the word finally there. 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:44.860 So we would expect something new or something 00:05:44.860 --> 00:05:47.240 to be, this to be the very end of the letter. 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.180 But what Paul is doing here is he's kicking off 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:56.240 a very practical applicable section. And we like 00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:00.149 that. We like the practicality of the Bible, 00:06:00.230 --> 00:06:02.670 don't we? Because oftentimes we look at the ancient 00:06:02.670 --> 00:06:06.269 text and we say, what does this 2 ,000 or more 00:06:06.269 --> 00:06:08.910 year old text have to do with me? Anybody ever 00:06:08.910 --> 00:06:14.769 ask that? I do. How is this helpful to me in 00:06:14.769 --> 00:06:19.870 2025? So we have a practical section, but be 00:06:19.870 --> 00:06:24.850 careful what you wish for. Because if you are 00:06:24.850 --> 00:06:27.790 struggling with the sins of this passage, this 00:06:27.790 --> 00:06:33.269 hits hard. Because Paul has his finger on the 00:06:33.269 --> 00:06:37.509 pulse of a common problem. Paul has his finger 00:06:37.509 --> 00:06:41.149 on the pulse of a problem that has existed really 00:06:41.149 --> 00:06:46.029 ever since the fall, sexual immorality. Today, 00:06:46.769 --> 00:06:51.250 we lament the decline of society, don't we? It 00:06:51.250 --> 00:06:54.889 seems that each new decade presents a new level 00:06:54.889 --> 00:06:59.430 of moral decay. But think about the Thessalonians. 00:07:01.069 --> 00:07:04.629 The Thessalonians, they were not living in a 00:07:04.629 --> 00:07:08.069 Christian society. And so they were not seeing 00:07:08.069 --> 00:07:12.670 new levels of decay. The Thessalonians were already 00:07:12.670 --> 00:07:17.009 in the cesspool. What was life like in Thessalonica? 00:07:17.730 --> 00:07:21.029 Well, like in many places in the Greco -Roman 00:07:21.029 --> 00:07:26.790 world, tolerance of misconduct, encouragement 00:07:26.790 --> 00:07:30.709 towards misconduct, particularly relationships 00:07:30.709 --> 00:07:34.750 of an intimate nature outside of marriage. And 00:07:34.750 --> 00:07:36.329 you might say, well, that's the same in our day, 00:07:36.350 --> 00:07:38.889 and that is very true. We're dealing with the 00:07:38.889 --> 00:07:41.129 same things today. This is why this is so applicable. 00:07:41.769 --> 00:07:44.629 However, there's something else that was going 00:07:44.629 --> 00:07:49.920 on. in these Greco -Roman cities related to marriage. 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:53.899 And it's that marriages were often arranged. 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:58.000 Marriages were often arranged. Now, as a father 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:00.980 of two beautiful, sweet, cute little girls, I'm 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:04.160 thinking, yes, Lord, that seems like a great 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:06.740 idea. You're telling me I get to choose who they 00:08:06.740 --> 00:08:11.519 marry? Sadly, that's not really the way it went 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:17.839 in Thessalonica. Listen to this quote from a 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:21.839 philosopher from Athens in 300 BC, so hundreds 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:24.300 of years before Christ and before this letter. 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:44.980 This philosopher said, are women are seething 00:08:44.980 --> 00:08:50.700 right now. What could change such a despicable 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:56.200 ethic? What about the gospel? What about a biblical 00:08:56.200 --> 00:09:00.659 sexual ethic? And so here comes Paul with his 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:05.220 talk of Jesus, talk of holiness, talk of sanctification, 00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:08.259 saying it's the will of God that you refrain 00:09:08.259 --> 00:09:11.149 from this behavior. and that you would be able 00:09:11.149 --> 00:09:14.789 to control your own bodies. It's very much what 00:09:14.789 --> 00:09:17.330 Paul has to say to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 00:09:17.330 --> 00:09:20.850 6, 18. And Paul had a lot to say to the Corinthians, 00:09:21.269 --> 00:09:26.750 but he says, flee from sexual immorality. What 00:09:26.750 --> 00:09:29.929 Paul, Silas, and Timothy have to share with the 00:09:29.929 --> 00:09:32.990 Christians there in Thessalonica would have been 00:09:32.990 --> 00:09:35.909 revolutionary. Paul is saying, get rid of the 00:09:35.909 --> 00:09:39.259 concubines. Get rid of the mistresses and be 00:09:39.259 --> 00:09:42.440 committed to holiness. Friends, it's no wonder 00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:46.500 that Acts 17 records the people driving Paul 00:09:46.500 --> 00:09:50.220 out of the city, right? It's no wonder that they 00:09:50.220 --> 00:09:53.600 were accused of turning the world upside down, 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:56.700 because they were telling people to give up this 00:09:56.700 --> 00:10:02.500 sin. And in doing so, Paul and the Christians 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:07.659 there, they're really destroying society. And 00:10:07.659 --> 00:10:09.360 I think that they were doing this in two different 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:11.720 ways. The first way in which they were bringing 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:15.659 on the destruction of that heinous society would 00:10:15.659 --> 00:10:19.460 have been in business. In saying, put away the 00:10:19.460 --> 00:10:21.440 concubines and the mistresses and be committed 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:25.480 to your wives, they are destroying business in 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:28.879 this city. For we know this, that prostitution 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:34.029 was big business in Thessalonica. It was. Thessalonica 00:10:34.029 --> 00:10:37.190 was a big city. It was on the water. A lot of 00:10:37.190 --> 00:10:40.370 people coming into port and out of port, right, 00:10:40.889 --> 00:10:45.289 pursuing all kinds of heinous things. And so 00:10:45.289 --> 00:10:47.850 you tell them to stop this practice. This is 00:10:47.850 --> 00:10:50.809 hitting people in the wallet. And now you're 00:10:50.809 --> 00:10:55.129 really making them mad, but also in terms of 00:10:55.129 --> 00:10:59.769 religious practice. If Paul had said to the people 00:10:59.769 --> 00:11:04.340 there, Hey believe in Jesus, but don't change 00:11:04.340 --> 00:11:08.379 your lifestyle whatsoever The Thessalonians would 00:11:08.379 --> 00:11:11.620 have said hey, no problem here. Let's just add 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:16.940 Jesus to our list of gods Collect them all but 00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:20.940 that's not what Paul said and pagan worship was 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:24.179 connected with Immorality consider this quote 00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:29.440 The many references in 1st Thessalonians to suffering 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:33.279 being experienced by the church are best understood 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:37.480 as referring not primarily to physical persecution, 00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:41.860 but to social harassment for Christians' refusal 00:11:41.860 --> 00:11:46.559 to take part in their former cultic activities. 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:50.080 And so the Christians are saying no to this way 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.460 of life because there's somebody different. They 00:11:52.460 --> 00:11:57.399 are in Christ, a new creation. And the non -believers 00:11:57.399 --> 00:11:59.919 in the city, they don't like this whatsoever. 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:05.500 And so you see what Paul is doing. Paul is relating 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:10.100 our sanctification to abstaining from immorality. 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:16.059 Now you might say, well, how do I do that? How 00:12:16.059 --> 00:12:21.860 can I grow in godliness in such a culture as 00:12:21.860 --> 00:12:26.279 ours? How can I be committed to holiness? when 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:30.340 there is immorality all around, when it's ubiquitous. 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:36.320 Friends, we need to turn off the TV. There is 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:41.340 such grime on television. You need to be careful 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:43.460 with what you watch. We need to be careful with 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:46.799 what we watch. We need to be careful with what 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:51.700 we view on the internet. There is so much on 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:54.320 there that we should never see. so much honor 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:56.620 that our children should never see, and so we 00:12:56.620 --> 00:13:01.580 must protect our children from it. I commend 00:13:01.580 --> 00:13:04.120 those of you who carry around what's called a 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:08.399 dumb phone so that you cannot access videos on 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:14.059 your phone. Why? Well, because I think Jesus 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:21.860 says it best for Matthew 5, 27 through 28. This 00:13:21.860 --> 00:13:24.029 is within the Sermon on the Mount. which should 00:13:24.029 --> 00:13:27.289 show us something. You have heard that it was 00:13:27.289 --> 00:13:31.129 said, you shall not commit adultery. But I say 00:13:31.129 --> 00:13:34.429 to you that everyone who looks at a woman with 00:13:34.429 --> 00:13:37.970 lustful intent has already committed adultery 00:13:37.970 --> 00:13:45.730 with her in his heart. I know I've shared this 00:13:45.730 --> 00:13:48.629 illustration before, and so my apologies for 00:13:48.629 --> 00:13:51.389 a recycled illustration. but I think it's been 00:13:51.389 --> 00:13:55.070 long enough. When I was living in Poland, I remember 00:13:55.070 --> 00:13:58.909 in Warsaw how night clubs would advertise their 00:13:58.909 --> 00:14:02.610 establishment by having little cards printed 00:14:02.610 --> 00:14:05.129 with inappropriate pictures and putting them 00:14:05.129 --> 00:14:08.470 on the windshields of vehicles. So you would 00:14:08.470 --> 00:14:11.409 go into a parking lot and it's just filled with 00:14:11.409 --> 00:14:13.470 these cards and sometimes they would blow off 00:14:13.470 --> 00:14:15.490 and they'd be on the streets, littering is bad 00:14:15.490 --> 00:14:20.330 too. And this isn't unique to Warsaw or Poland 00:14:20.330 --> 00:14:22.889 or any of that but what was interesting is one 00:14:22.889 --> 00:14:27.029 day I saw a Polish priest walking to his car 00:14:27.029 --> 00:14:29.710 and so he enters into the parking lot he sees 00:14:29.710 --> 00:14:34.110 what's on the windshields and he covers his eyes 00:14:34.110 --> 00:14:38.809 like this as he walked he covered his eyes meaning 00:14:38.809 --> 00:14:42.110 that he bumped into nearly every Volkswagen in 00:14:42.110 --> 00:14:44.830 the parking lot but he would not allow himself 00:14:44.830 --> 00:14:49.350 to even gaze on such sin And at the time, I can 00:14:49.350 --> 00:14:50.970 remember thinking as a young man, being like, 00:14:50.970 --> 00:14:53.429 aren't you mature enough that you don't have 00:14:53.429 --> 00:14:55.789 to do that? Can't you just keep walking? No, 00:14:55.789 --> 00:14:58.330 he wasn't even going to allow Satan to have a 00:14:58.330 --> 00:15:02.750 foothold. He knew how dangerous that was. And 00:15:02.750 --> 00:15:05.610 so as he got to his car, he brushed that card 00:15:05.610 --> 00:15:08.769 off the windshield and he got into his car and 00:15:08.769 --> 00:15:10.789 he left the parking lot. Friends, we need to 00:15:10.789 --> 00:15:15.570 be like that. We need to turn away from sin before 00:15:15.570 --> 00:15:18.879 it's ever a problem. And it's not just in terms 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:22.840 of pictures or videos or television, books even. 00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:26.179 There are some writers who write with such a 00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:28.879 flair that they can depict something even better 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:31.899 than a video. Friends, be careful what you read. 00:15:33.539 --> 00:15:37.539 Take the book back to the library, sell it, throw 00:15:37.539 --> 00:15:39.639 it in the garbage if you need to. Be careful 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.679 with what you read. Also be careful with how 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:46.549 you dress. We need to be people of modesty. The 00:15:46.549 --> 00:15:49.090 text is going to tell us that there's a relationship 00:15:49.090 --> 00:15:52.830 between who we are as we pursue holiness and 00:15:52.830 --> 00:15:55.570 looking out for others. And so we need to dress 00:15:55.570 --> 00:15:59.629 with modesty. We also need to be careful with 00:15:59.629 --> 00:16:02.750 how we talk. We need to be careful with the language 00:16:02.750 --> 00:16:05.570 that we use. And we need to be careful with how 00:16:05.570 --> 00:16:09.330 we talk about our spouses. Friends, when you 00:16:09.330 --> 00:16:11.990 talk about your husband or your wife, do you... 00:16:11.629 --> 00:16:15.129 build them up in the eyes of other people? That 00:16:15.129 --> 00:16:19.509 will show how we feel about marriage. That is 00:16:19.509 --> 00:16:23.429 a gift from God. And so for all these ways, be 00:16:23.429 --> 00:16:28.950 careful. Additionally, in terms of sanctification, 00:16:29.110 --> 00:16:32.350 we realize something else. That we need to replace 00:16:32.350 --> 00:16:36.009 the sinful things with good things. Because that's 00:16:36.009 --> 00:16:38.769 what God does with us, right? We're a new creation 00:16:38.769 --> 00:16:41.490 in Christ. And so we need to take that which 00:16:41.490 --> 00:16:45.070 is wrong for us and cast it off. But we need 00:16:45.070 --> 00:16:46.990 to replace it with good things. And the good 00:16:46.990 --> 00:16:49.049 things I have in mind are called the means of 00:16:49.049 --> 00:16:53.909 grace. Friends talked about how there are some 00:16:53.909 --> 00:16:56.250 very bad books. There's also a very good book. 00:16:57.210 --> 00:17:01.009 We should read this. We should read this privately. 00:17:01.769 --> 00:17:04.009 We should read this with our families. We should 00:17:04.009 --> 00:17:08.150 read this here at church. So go to the WIC meetings, 00:17:08.450 --> 00:17:12.140 women. Men. Men of the Covenant, Sunday School, 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:15.039 Table Talk, be committed to these things, and 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.299 most importantly, be committed to the very Word 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:20.980 of God. Also be committed to prayer. You want 00:17:20.980 --> 00:17:23.460 help in standing against the wiles of the devil? 00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:26.140 Be committed to prayer. Ask for God's help if 00:17:26.140 --> 00:17:30.720 this is a struggle of yours. Also we need one 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:33.160 another, don't we? In order to stand against 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:35.819 that which is evil, we need one another. We need 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:38.990 the church. We need accountability, and so again, 00:17:39.009 --> 00:17:42.029 if this is a struggle, have people in your corner. 00:17:42.789 --> 00:17:44.730 You've got elders in this church who want to 00:17:44.730 --> 00:17:48.529 help. You've got wise Christians who have been 00:17:48.529 --> 00:17:51.630 walking this road for such a long time enlist 00:17:51.630 --> 00:17:57.730 the help of others. Look at verse 6, as we also 00:17:57.730 --> 00:18:01.029 recognize that sexual sin hurts not just us, 00:18:01.329 --> 00:18:04.299 but it hurts others. You remember the seventh 00:18:04.299 --> 00:18:06.960 commandment, do not commit adultery. Do you also 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:10.039 remember how the tenth commandment relates to 00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:14.319 the seventh? Because there God says, do not covet 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:19.019 your neighbor's wife. Friends, sexual sin hurts 00:18:19.019 --> 00:18:22.500 others. Think about how much heartache would 00:18:22.500 --> 00:18:25.380 be saved if people would follow the Bible's teaching 00:18:25.380 --> 00:18:28.579 on saving the gift of sex until marriage, and 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:31.700 that marriage would be exclusively between married 00:18:31.700 --> 00:18:36.440 man and married woman. Sexual sin hurts other 00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:39.500 people. But also look in verse eight and let 00:18:39.500 --> 00:18:44.500 me read this. Therefore, whoever disregards this 00:18:44.500 --> 00:18:49.160 disregards not man, but God, who gives his Holy 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:56.119 Spirit to you. Primarily our sin is against God. 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:59.079 That alone right there should be enough for a 00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:02.569 Christian to say no to this. Because God calls 00:19:02.569 --> 00:19:07.009 us to not to impurity but to holiness if you 00:19:07.009 --> 00:19:11.750 disregard this you ultimately disregard God Who 00:19:11.750 --> 00:19:14.130 is the giver of the Holy Spirit right there at 00:19:14.130 --> 00:19:17.410 the end of verse 8 now? Why does Paul include 00:19:17.410 --> 00:19:20.930 that there the giver of the Holy Spirit to you? 00:19:20.950 --> 00:19:24.990 Why does he put that there? There's a writer 00:19:24.990 --> 00:19:28.130 named Andrew Malone who sees a connection between 00:19:28.130 --> 00:19:32.579 this statement and the giving of the Holy Spirit 00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:35.319 or the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:39.079 in Ezekiel chapter 36. I'm going to read just 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:43.319 a little bit of Ezekiel 36 for us from about 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:47.259 25 through 29. Listen to these words. Again, 00:19:47.380 --> 00:19:49.940 the promise of the Holy Spirit. Listen for the 00:19:49.940 --> 00:19:54.460 connection to our text. I will sprinkle clean 00:19:54.460 --> 00:19:58.460 water on you. and you shall be clean from all 00:19:58.460 --> 00:20:02.140 your uncleannesses and from all your idols I 00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:05.799 will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart 00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:09.119 and a new spirit I will put within you and I 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:12.019 will remove the heart of stone from your flesh 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:15.099 and give you a heart of flesh and I will put 00:20:15.099 --> 00:20:19.700 my spirit within you and cause you to walk in 00:20:19.700 --> 00:20:24.980 my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 00:20:26.539 --> 00:20:29.519 The emphasis there, as in our text, is on the 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:33.579 walking and the cleansing and the receiving of 00:20:33.579 --> 00:20:37.519 the Holy Spirit. This is a clear picture. You 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:41.779 who have the Spirit are to walk according to 00:20:41.779 --> 00:20:45.420 the Spirit. You who are a Christian are to follow 00:20:45.420 --> 00:20:49.740 after Christ. And so let's think about this for 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:53.200 a second. Who are you trying to please? Are you 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:56.210 trying to please yourself? Or are you trying 00:20:56.210 --> 00:20:58.390 to please God? This is a very common way for 00:20:58.390 --> 00:21:01.930 Paul to speak. But you might say, well, yeah, 00:21:01.930 --> 00:21:03.950 I'm trying to please God, but it's difficult. 00:21:04.150 --> 00:21:08.990 We're in the middle of a cultural war. You know, 00:21:09.170 --> 00:21:12.849 Christianity gets criticized very often by progressives 00:21:12.849 --> 00:21:17.190 for our sexual ethic. They say, why can't everyone 00:21:17.190 --> 00:21:22.829 just love whomever they want to? Why not? Well, 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:25.940 Among other places because of Romans chapter 00:21:25.940 --> 00:21:30.079 12 1 through 2 I appeal to you therefore brothers 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:34.019 by the mercies of God to present yourselves your 00:21:34.019 --> 00:21:38.640 bodies as a living sacrifice Holy and acceptable 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:41.940 to God, which is your spiritual worship Do not 00:21:41.940 --> 00:21:44.660 be conformed to this world but be transformed 00:21:44.660 --> 00:21:48.980 by the renewal of your mind That by testing you 00:21:48.980 --> 00:21:52.039 may discern. What is the will of God? What is 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:55.519 good? and what is acceptable and what is perfect. 00:21:55.599 --> 00:22:00.160 Friends, you are a living sacrifice. That is 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.119 your purpose in Christ. And so it's incompatible 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:06.559 for you to live for the flesh and to live for 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:09.500 God. And these sins of the flesh are not pleasing 00:22:09.500 --> 00:22:15.019 to God in any way. And so we need to be committed 00:22:15.019 --> 00:22:18.819 to holiness. I'm so thankful that there are people 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:21.500 who are not just committed to personal holiness, 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:24.339 but there are people who are committed to helping 00:22:24.339 --> 00:22:28.380 other people be committed to holiness. There 00:22:28.380 --> 00:22:31.940 are a number of great organizations and people 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:35.779 who are doing wonderful work to help others be 00:22:35.779 --> 00:22:39.619 freed from the trappings of sexual sin and the 00:22:39.619 --> 00:22:42.960 trappings of the lust of others. When I was living 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:45.500 in Eastern Europe, I was fairly close to a group 00:22:45.500 --> 00:22:48.789 of women who were going about and helping those 00:22:48.789 --> 00:22:51.410 who were entrapped in these ways. Friends, there 00:22:51.410 --> 00:22:54.910 are a number of good people doing this and we 00:22:54.910 --> 00:22:57.670 should be committed to praying for those who 00:22:57.670 --> 00:23:02.109 would risk their lives to uphold a biblical sexual 00:23:02.109 --> 00:23:04.789 ethic. Christians who are on the front lines 00:23:04.789 --> 00:23:09.990 just like Paul was. We need to be committed to 00:23:09.990 --> 00:23:13.660 this ourselves and we need to be committed to 00:23:13.660 --> 00:23:16.440 helping others who are committed to these things. 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:18.559 But you might say, well, why would you go to 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:21.200 such trouble? Why would you go to such danger 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:23.819 to stand up for marriage and purity and holiness? 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:30.920 Why? It's in verse five. Because we know God. 00:23:32.140 --> 00:23:34.319 The reason to be committed to these things is 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:38.859 because we know God. The people who act in these 00:23:38.859 --> 00:23:43.539 sinful ways, they do not know God. And God calls 00:23:43.539 --> 00:23:47.400 us, according to verse 7, to holiness. And actually, 00:23:47.420 --> 00:23:50.240 as you look at the text, there is a Trinitarian 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:54.859 reason here, a Trinitarian reason to be committed 00:23:54.859 --> 00:23:57.079 to a biblical sexual ethic and to be committed 00:23:57.079 --> 00:24:00.559 to holiness. And it's because of the past call 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:04.619 of God in verse 7, the present gift of the Holy 00:24:04.619 --> 00:24:08.000 Spirit in verse 8, and the future judgment of 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:12.500 Christ in verse 6. Friends, sanctification is 00:24:12.500 --> 00:24:16.220 a product of our knowing God through Christ by 00:24:16.220 --> 00:24:19.680 the power of the Holy Spirit. Christians are 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:22.200 set apart from the world. We live in this world, 00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:25.940 but we do not belong to this world. We are to 00:24:25.940 --> 00:24:30.720 live following after Christ. Christ is your goal. 00:24:31.460 --> 00:24:35.039 And Christ tells us to seek first the kingdom 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:41.640 of God and His righteousness. Friends, these 00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:44.740 sins, and I'm trying not to be explicit. I'm 00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:47.220 trying to be mindful of young ears. These sins 00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:51.759 are so common. Teenagers are struggling with 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:55.500 this. Adults of all ages are struggling with 00:24:55.500 --> 00:24:58.759 this. Friends, I want to give you good news. 00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:03.900 If this is your struggle, please know this. There 00:25:03.900 --> 00:25:07.700 is forgiveness for sexual sin. There is forgiveness 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:12.339 for this sin. in Christ alone. It should not 00:25:12.339 --> 00:25:15.660 be lost on us, especially those of us who have 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:18.339 studied the life of David recently, that he really 00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:21.599 struggled in these areas, didn't he? And yet 00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:23.759 he was called a man after God's own heart. And 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:27.839 you can read his Psalm of repentance in Psalm 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:32.940 51. It's a must read. Friends, Jesus has come 00:25:32.940 --> 00:25:35.720 for the forgiveness of sin for the Christian. 00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:39.200 He has nailed these sins to the cross. So if 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:41.900 this is an area of struggle to you, for you, 00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:47.259 take it to Jesus. Jesus, who not only saves us, 00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:52.079 but Jesus who cleanses us. I want to leave you 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:56.960 with two scriptures. Before we conclude. First, 00:25:57.099 --> 00:26:03.500 John one nine. If we confess our sins, he is 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:08.079 faithful and just to forgive us our sins. and 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:14.099 to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And then 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:20.980 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13. No temptation 00:26:20.980 --> 00:26:24.660 has overtaken you that is not common to man. 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:29.039 God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:32.039 beyond your ability, but with the temptation, 00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:35.960 he will also provide the way of escape that you 00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:40.059 may be able. to endure it. Friends, Christ is 00:26:40.059 --> 00:26:42.440 faithful to provide the way of escape and Christ 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:45.180 is faithful to forgive those who call upon him 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:49.019 in faith. As 1st Thessalonians 4 .1 says then, 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:54.359 let us seek to please God more and more. For 00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:59.619 this friends, this is the will of God. Let's 00:26:59.619 --> 00:26:59.900 pray.