1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Pray together. 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:06,640 Lord Jesus, this is surely true. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:14,060 Had it not been for the work of Calvary, where you offered yourself as a sacrifice for our 4 00:00:14,060 --> 00:00:18,280 sins, we would be lost. 5 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:26,780 Without hope headed for hell, I thank you that you came into the world, that you offered 6 00:00:26,780 --> 00:00:31,360 yourself on the cross for our sake. 7 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:36,320 Today we want to confess that our faith is in you. 8 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:43,160 And we are unashamed to proclaim that, not only in the auditorium of this church, but 9 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:52,280 publicly, before television cameras, before the watching, sometimes mocking world. 10 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:58,660 We are unashamed to proclaim that you are our Lord. 11 00:00:58,660 --> 00:01:09,440 Give us grace, I pray, that we may bear the title Christian well before a watching world. 12 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:15,400 May we be men and women of integrity and character. 13 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:23,320 In Jesus' name, amen. 14 00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:29,320 I'm sure that many of us were glued to our televisions and watching the bizarre scenes 15 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:37,080 being played out Friday night as O.J. Simpson and his friend led police on a 50-mile parade 16 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,160 through Los Angeles. 17 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,000 I don't know what your feelings were. 18 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,160 Mine were different at different times. 19 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:53,840 But in summation, I would simply say that to me it was both sad and very sick. 20 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:55,960 What happened anyway to cause all of this? 21 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,720 Well, we don't really know the whole story. 22 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:04,400 No one does except O.J. Simpson at this point. 23 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:18,280 But we can say that behind what happened this last week, O.J. was consumed by wrong thinking. 24 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:22,080 He was not thinking correctly. 25 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,560 He was not thinking rightly. 26 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:31,720 And those thoughts caused him to make a series, apparently, of terrible mistakes that will 27 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:38,360 surely haunt him the rest of his life. 28 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,960 Spiritual strongholds are something like that. 29 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:48,260 Wrong thinking deceives and dominates. 30 00:02:48,260 --> 00:02:51,620 It then leads to wrong behavior. 31 00:02:51,620 --> 00:03:01,600 And if that is not recognized and repented of, it forms patterns of control. 32 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:12,160 These areas of life control where Jesus Christ is not truly Lord are strongholds. 33 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:16,120 They exalt themselves against the knowledge of God in us. 34 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:28,040 Last week we talked about the stronghold of unforgiveness and how that that deep root 35 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:36,480 of unforgiveness can bear bitter fruit in our lives and in the lives of others. 36 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:42,680 We talked about how important it is that the stronghold of bitterness and unforgiveness 37 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:49,960 toward those who offended us be torn down so that we ourselves are not destroyed by 38 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:57,200 it and so that we can go on and grow and advance in our Christian lives. 39 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:03,180 And now someone is going to come and share a testimony with us. 40 00:04:03,180 --> 00:04:25,280 She has destroyed and pulled down the stronghold of bitterness that was destroying her life. 41 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:28,040 This is better than 10th grade high school. 42 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:31,560 I remember that one. 43 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:39,600 I would like to share some of my feelings and personal experiences regarding last Sunday's 44 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:46,140 message on removing strongholds and holding grudges. 45 00:04:46,140 --> 00:04:52,720 I was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, the fourth out of five children and brought up 46 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:54,920 Catholic. 47 00:04:54,920 --> 00:05:02,800 At age three I suffered a head injury which brought on two serious convulsions, then seizures 48 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,280 and behavior problems. 49 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:10,320 First grade was completed at a private school. 50 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:15,400 As a result of the seizure problem grades two through five were spent at the National 51 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:20,840 Children's Rehabilitation Center in Leesburg, Virginia. 52 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:27,960 Most of the children there were severely retarded and epileptic, a condition I had never been 53 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,800 exposed to. 54 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:37,360 Thinking as a second grader I thought my parents hated me because of my obesity. 55 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,600 I had an obesity problem all my life. 56 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:47,200 I was only able to come home at Christmas time which were not the happiest times. 57 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:54,480 I didn't fit in at the National Children's Rehabilitation Center with my classmates. 58 00:05:54,480 --> 00:06:00,200 They were far sicker than I was and I couldn't identify with anybody. 59 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:09,460 On my last Christmas visit home I was determined I wasn't going back to NCRC so I overdosed 60 00:06:09,460 --> 00:06:12,400 on my seizure medications. 61 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:18,520 I can remember the nurses at Mercy Hospital and Gary gagging coffee after they pumped 62 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,720 my stomach and dragging me up and down the hallways. 63 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,320 To this day I know why I hate coffee. 64 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:30,000 I hate it, even the smell. 65 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:36,080 I survived and began sixth grade at Ambridge Elementary School in Gary, Indiana and I made 66 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:37,880 it through. 67 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:43,600 I started seventh grade at Horseman in Gary and was not the greatest. 68 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:50,160 I was a year behind my sister Cathy who is ten months older and whatever teachers didn't 69 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:54,920 care for Cathy punished me for. 70 00:06:54,920 --> 00:07:00,680 During the summer following seventh grade my parents received a summons from the court 71 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:08,200 system accusing me of throwing scissors at a classmate which was a lie. 72 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:14,360 My sister Cathy had the same teacher the year before and they were not friends. 73 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:23,040 So whatever problems she had with my sister the year before she took it out on me. 74 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:30,320 Being a minor I was not allowed in the courtroom and my parents could not afford an attorney 75 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:37,040 in the fall of 1963 we were on our way to Indianapolis to enroll me in a school called 76 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:45,800 Marydale, a home for troubled teenagers run by the sisters of the Good Shepherd. 77 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,300 I didn't know or think I was troubled. 78 00:07:50,300 --> 00:07:57,280 My thoughts went back to my family hates me because of my weight problem. 79 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:03,320 Riding this phase of my life stirs up a lot of ugly memories, pain and emotions so if 80 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:06,860 the tears start forgive me. 81 00:08:06,860 --> 00:08:13,480 I went from age 14 to 190 overnight. 82 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:21,240 In actuality Marydale was a hard core women's prison. 83 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:27,640 I was an infant compared to the seasoned criminals residing there. 84 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:35,800 I won't go into the gory details describing the physical, sexual and mental abuse. 85 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:42,960 At age 14 I did not know what a homosexual was or what they wanted. 86 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:48,960 In my home we barely knew about the birds and the bees it wasn't talked about. 87 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:55,480 A good many days were spent in lock up for physically fighting to protect myself and 88 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,600 survive. 89 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,400 I didn't always win. 90 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:10,720 Upon release 21 months later in 1965 my parents and I had to return to court to have criminal 91 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,900 removed from my name. 92 00:09:13,900 --> 00:09:18,840 No high school would accept me until then. 93 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:24,320 Unfortunately I couldn't have cared less whether I had a diploma or not but my father was a 94 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:28,560 lot larger and stronger than I was. 95 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:34,280 I was enrolled in a private school in Hammond, Indiana where my retired brother Jim who is 96 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:42,720 16 years older, I can't remember, and my sister Sally graduated back in the 50s. 97 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:47,200 The first day of school sophomore year my teacher barked at me. 98 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:51,920 And I mean she barked, are you any relation to Sally Paxson? 99 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:53,120 And I lied through my teeth. 100 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,200 I said no sister I've never heard of her. 101 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:59,920 Excuse me I wasn't supposed to say that. 102 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:07,360 Sally graduated in 1958. 103 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,400 She said I look just like her and I do. 104 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:14,640 I thought here we go again another sister. 105 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:22,080 Little fear got me through and to graduation and I've never gone back for reunions or otherwise. 106 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,040 That's enough for me. 107 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:33,620 To conclude my sister Kathy and I as teenagers used to stand in our old hallway mirror checking 108 00:10:33,620 --> 00:10:36,960 out our pimples or zits. 109 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:42,320 We'd stand back and see who could hit the mirror. 110 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:55,760 A year ago March 31st I had a big 30 year old infected zit full of bitterness and unforgiveness. 111 00:10:55,760 --> 00:11:01,000 Our devoted pastor and friend Galen was my mirror. 112 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:06,340 We went through Dr. Neil Anderson's steps to freedom in Christ where I had to write 113 00:11:06,340 --> 00:11:14,880 down every person by name, each specific act and forgave every person for each incident 114 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:19,480 and drained out all the poison. 115 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:26,000 I also told my brothers and sisters I could not tell my parents about the abuse I suffered 116 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,840 though I think my mother suspected. 117 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:39,440 I was accepted, I accepted Christ and was baptized at Grace Church Roseville in 1985. 118 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:44,400 It's been a difficult journey and I've had several falls. 119 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:49,760 I am a survivor but only because of Christ our Lord. 120 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:59,080 Isaiah 40-31 grabbed me immediately in 1983 and remains my favorite verse. 121 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:04,680 They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. 122 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:09,920 Being permanently disabled I do the best I can. 123 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,120 They shall mount up with wings as eagles. 124 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:19,720 They shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint. 125 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:27,440 It's taken almost a lifetime to get off the ground but now I am soaring with eagles and 126 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:30,000 I love it up here. 127 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:36,960 Whoever thought I would be at church an hour early just to hear the angelic voices in our 128 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:40,840 choir sing. 129 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:46,720 Music remains a lifeline and helps recharge my battery and that's the end. 130 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:47,720 That's enough. 131 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:48,720 That's enough. 132 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:49,720 That's enough. 133 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:50,720 Thank you so much. 134 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:51,720 Thank you. 135 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:52,720 Thank you. 136 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:53,720 Thank you. 137 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:54,720 Thank you. 138 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:55,720 Thank you. 139 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:56,720 Thank you. 140 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:57,720 And one more. 141 00:12:57,720 --> 00:12:58,720 Thank you. 142 00:12:58,720 --> 00:12:59,720 Thank you. 143 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:00,720 Thank you. 144 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:05,160 I'm one of the six. 145 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:24,200 Peggy told us the story, but what she obviously could not share in a brief time was the pain 146 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:33,160 and the emotion that was involved in her life and which had been bound up within this stronghold. 147 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:37,980 It nearly consumed her, it nearly killed her. 148 00:13:37,980 --> 00:13:45,840 God has given her new strength, though she still has health problems, but she's free 149 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,320 and she's soaring. 150 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:56,160 And I want to encourage you, if last week you sensed the conviction of the Holy Spirit, 151 00:13:56,160 --> 00:14:04,160 to follow through with the steps of forgiveness that we talked about and allow yourself to 152 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:10,680 be free from that stronghold. 153 00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:17,280 Today we're going to talk about a new stronghold, a different one. 154 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:22,880 It seems to me to be an important one, especially on Father's Day, because it is a stronghold 155 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:27,280 that men in particular battle. 156 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:32,480 Now Peggy, you took away some of my notes, so unless you want just the conclusion of 157 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:45,840 my sermon, you're going to have to give me back my notes. 158 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:54,080 Talk about dirty tricks. 159 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:59,000 As we have said before, strongholds obstruct our spiritual progress and so they must be 160 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:00,000 attacked and destroyed. 161 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,920 We don't have a choice in this. 162 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:07,160 They must be attacked and destroyed. 163 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:15,480 Immoral behavior is a stronghold in the lives of many people, including many of God's people. 164 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:19,800 It's that one we want to talk about today, but first let's open our Bibles to 2 Corinthians 165 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:25,080 chapter 10 and remind ourselves of the key verses that we're focusing on as we think 166 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,000 about strongholds. 167 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:33,360 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 3, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according 168 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:35,360 to the flesh. 169 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:42,740 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction 170 00:15:42,740 --> 00:15:45,960 of fortresses. 171 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:51,560 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God 172 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:58,080 and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 173 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:09,040 In a February 1989 report entitled The State of Adolescent Health in Minnesota, 55% of 174 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:18,640 the females and 70% of the males reported having had sex by the 12th grade, with one 175 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:24,840 fourth of the females and one third of the males reported to have done so by age 13. 176 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:35,280 Now that should not surprise any of us, though it's tragic. 177 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:43,200 One out of every 250 Americans today has the AIDS virus, most of the time from sexual contact, 178 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,400 but as you know not exclusively. 179 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:53,160 Three million teenagers in America contract sexually transmitted diseases every year, 180 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:57,880 three million teenagers. 181 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:01,400 Syphilis is at a 40-year high in America. 182 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:07,640 There are 134,000 new infections every year. 183 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:17,320 25 million Americans are infected with the herpes virus. 184 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:21,240 The fact is that most of us know people today who are living, shall we say, without the 185 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:25,560 benefit of marriage. 186 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:32,320 The sexual revolution that hit America back in the 60s has swamped our nation and the 187 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:37,020 ship is sinking. 188 00:17:37,020 --> 00:17:39,760 This is not a modern phenomenon, of course. 189 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:48,360 Ancient cities and cultures likewise were steeped in immoral living, especially Rome, 190 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:53,440 the powerful and controlling force in the New Testament times, of course, was Rome. 191 00:17:53,440 --> 00:18:00,560 Its politics, its religion, its social customs were all contaminated by immorality, which 192 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:08,440 contributed to the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire. 193 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:17,800 Immorality was a major problem in the early churches in the Roman Empire because you see 194 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:25,680 immoral behavior was an accepted part of the culture of that day. 195 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:36,600 The very religion that many of them had come out of, the worship of the gods of Mount Olympus, 196 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:42,000 the very religion that had been a part of their lives until they came to Christ, was 197 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,760 mingled with sexual immorality. 198 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:52,880 Most of the temples to these false gods and goddesses had temple prostitutes, male and 199 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:56,000 female. 200 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:05,120 And to go into them was to worship their gods and to commune with their gods. 201 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:11,880 That is why when they came to Jesus Christ, continued immoral behavior was a problem. 202 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:21,000 It was a stronghold that many of the people in the early church needed to overcome. 203 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,360 The apostle was aware of this. 204 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:30,120 In the book of 1 Corinthians, he writes some very strong words to the believers in the 205 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:31,120 church there. 206 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:40,160 I'm going to read now from 1 Corinthians 6, beginning in verse 9. 207 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:45,520 He says, Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? 208 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:48,480 Do not be deceived. 209 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:59,880 Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, 210 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:06,840 nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall inherit the kingdom of 211 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:07,840 God. 212 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:15,240 Let me just take a moment to say that immoral behavior is far more than sexual immorality. 213 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:20,720 Immoral behavior includes all of those things that Paul has just listed here, but because 214 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:26,680 sexual immorality was such a difficult problem in that day and is today, I'm focusing on 215 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,440 that particular immoral behavior. 216 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:38,080 Now Paul goes on to say regarding these believers, and such were some of you. 217 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:45,240 In other words, the believers in the Corinthian church were involved in the kinds of sins 218 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:49,240 that he has just talked about. 219 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:54,800 But you were washed, you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the 220 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:59,960 Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God. 221 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:12,120 And so he affirms the fact that Jesus Christ had done a genuine work in their lives. 222 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:16,400 But he had heard some disturbing news. 223 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:21,400 Apparently some of them were reverting back to the old patterns. 224 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:30,920 And so he says in verse 15, do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? 225 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:37,480 Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? 226 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:38,900 May it never be. 227 00:21:38,900 --> 00:21:46,120 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her? 228 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:52,440 For he says the two shall become one flesh, but the one who joins himself to the Lord 229 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:56,120 is one spirit with him. 230 00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:59,280 Flee immorality. 231 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:05,060 Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against 232 00:22:05,060 --> 00:22:06,740 his own body. 233 00:22:06,740 --> 00:22:12,320 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you 234 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:15,520 have from God and that you are not your own? 235 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:23,000 For you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. 236 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:28,240 The sexual immorality that obviously had overtaken many Christians in Corinth and in other New 237 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:35,920 Testament churches has emerged again in the last part of the 20th century as a major problem 238 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:44,200 in the contemporary Western church. 239 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:55,440 In fact, surveys that are done by both secular and Christian organizations indicate that 240 00:22:55,440 --> 00:23:04,320 the practice, the behavior of people who profess to be Christians is not much different with 241 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:14,120 regards to sex than people who are in the world. 242 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:17,520 That's how much of a problem it is. 243 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:26,080 Now, if this is not currently a stronghold in your life, then praise God. 244 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:30,040 But for many people who are sitting in this auditorium this morning, we're dressed up 245 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:38,280 in suits looking nice on the outside, on the inside, we struggle with strongholds. 246 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:44,760 And one of them, faced by people right here in our midst whom we love, is a stronghold 247 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,240 of sexual immorality. 248 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:57,080 And it's no wonder our culture is permeated with sexual innuendo and permissiveness. 249 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:07,920 The concept of moral right and wrong is no longer acceptable in our society. 250 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:13,880 If you declare yourself in those kinds of terms, you are accused of setting yourself 251 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,600 up as a judge of others. 252 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:22,080 It's tragic. 253 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,640 That kind of language is no longer acceptable in our classrooms. 254 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:34,200 Our children are not being taught right and wrong with regards to morality. 255 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:41,000 Problem has swept over our society and the result is destruction. 256 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:48,120 Likewise, in our culture today, advertising and entertainment shamelessly exploit sensual 257 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:55,240 themes and images to the point that you wonder sometimes what are these people really trying 258 00:24:55,240 --> 00:25:01,260 to sell. 259 00:25:01,260 --> 00:25:07,280 This is not a modern phenomenon that we are facing today, but neither is it an acceptable 260 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:12,680 practice. 261 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:18,760 It is not any more right for us who name the name of Jesus Christ to live immoral lives 262 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:27,680 today than it was when the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians. 263 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:34,220 Why is it that this kind of living is wrong? 264 00:25:34,220 --> 00:25:37,740 Why is it not acceptable? 265 00:25:37,740 --> 00:25:43,960 There are many, including some in so-called churches, who would condemn what I am saying 266 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:55,080 to you this morning, who embrace or at least excuse immoral living of various sorts and 267 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,680 perversions. 268 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:06,360 But why is this lifestyle of immorality, whether heterosexual or homosexual or other sorts 269 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:14,480 of perversions, why is it not acceptable among those who name the name of Jesus Christ? 270 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:20,300 Well, there are several reasons and they ought to be obvious to all of us. 271 00:26:20,300 --> 00:26:26,360 First of all, this kind of behavior disobeys God's law. 272 00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:31,080 God's law exposes and reveals His character. 273 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:39,960 In His law, He tells us of His moral expectations for His creatures. 274 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:44,320 To break the law is to transgress. 275 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,400 What God's character says is right. 276 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:55,080 Not only does God tell us in the law how we ought to behave because of His character, 277 00:26:55,080 --> 00:27:00,320 but because of His concern, His concern for us. 278 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:09,000 The fact is that if we obey His moral laws, we have happier and healthier lives. 279 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:15,280 It is for our own good that God establishes the standards He does as well as to reveal 280 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:17,860 His character. 281 00:27:17,860 --> 00:27:23,840 To live otherwise is a violation of God, our Creator. 282 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:30,200 Secondly, it's not acceptable because it denies Christ's work. 283 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:34,200 Paul says to these believers, you were washed. 284 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:35,200 You were sanctified. 285 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:41,080 You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 286 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:42,920 You claim the work at Calvary. 287 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:48,160 You say His blood was shed for your sins. 288 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,960 You say you are filled with the Holy Spirit of God. 289 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:58,800 So He says flee immorality. 290 00:27:58,800 --> 00:27:59,800 Flee from it. 291 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:06,560 Have nothing to do with it because it denies Christ's work in your life. 292 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:12,640 Third, it defiles the Spirit's temple. 293 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:20,120 The Holy Spirit dwells within us and our bodies as frail as they are made of dust, our bodies 294 00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:31,800 nonetheless contain the Spirit of God, not in a limiting sense, but in a presence sense. 295 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:34,840 He is within us. 296 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:37,880 That is not some theory or idea or notion. 297 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:38,880 It's a reality. 298 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,880 The Holy Spirit lives in our bodies. 299 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:50,920 And so He says if we're involved in immorality, it defiles the Spirit's temple. 300 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:55,400 Another reason that this kind of behavior is unacceptable in the church is because it 301 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:59,340 disgraces the church's witness. 302 00:28:59,340 --> 00:29:04,040 Back in the fifth chapter of this very book, the apostle Paul writes to them about a specific 303 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:13,400 case, a man who was living openly in an immoral way, in such a way that even the Gentiles 304 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,540 held their noses at what he was doing. 305 00:29:16,540 --> 00:29:19,480 Even the pagans thought this was terrible. 306 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:27,600 Apparently the church in some sense embraced him and said, well, that's okay. 307 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:30,800 They thought it was all right for him to live that way. 308 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:36,520 And Paul sternly tells them that it's destroying their witness. 309 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:42,640 And so he says that man must be purged from your midst. 310 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:49,040 He commands them to discipline him and put him out of the fellowship. 311 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:54,520 Church discipline was important and its goal was then that that man might repent of his 312 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,440 sin and be brought back and restored. 313 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:03,160 And according to the second Corinthian letter in the New Testament, that's exactly what 314 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,800 happened. 315 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:14,080 Immorality disgraces the church's witness. 316 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:21,720 And fifth, immorality can draw demonic participation. 317 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:30,880 There is a classification of demons called unclean spirits. 318 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:33,160 Now it's not really that any of them are clean. 319 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:38,720 They're all defiled by the rebellion against God. 320 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:46,080 But unclean spirits are unclean in a sexual way. 321 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:54,000 There's a certain category of spirits that are drawn toward people who are living immorally 322 00:30:54,000 --> 00:31:03,080 in order to influence them to gain a beachhead in their lives and then take control of their 323 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:06,800 minds and their bodies. 324 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:08,320 And they do. 325 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,120 They do. 326 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:17,880 So it is unacceptable, even dangerous, to live immorally, to allow that stronghold to 327 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:27,240 be established in one's life because it draws demons. 328 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:34,400 When immoral behavior is engaged in and not repented of, it can become a stronghold that 329 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:39,480 would destroy one's life. 330 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:44,760 It has now become a stronghold overnight. 331 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:51,880 It's when that kind of thinking is allowed to control to the point that it begins to 332 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:57,440 be acted out. 333 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:03,760 And in the acting out of those immoral thoughts, there is a pattern of activity that is established 334 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:07,560 and control is gained. 335 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:14,640 And then it's a stronghold. 336 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:18,560 It is not acceptable in the church of Jesus Christ. 337 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:27,720 It is not acceptable in the testimony of one who is a Christian to be also immoral. 338 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:33,360 We are to guard ourselves against immoral behavior, not just against because it's a 339 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:35,520 sin against the body. 340 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:37,200 It is that. 341 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:42,400 But because it damages the soul, as Peter tells us, beloved, I urge you as aliens and 342 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:55,720 strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 343 00:32:55,720 --> 00:33:03,000 Friend of mine was sharing recently, actually in a group meeting, very transparently, that 344 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:18,480 in his work a woman had come and when he first saw her there was this spark of attraction. 345 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:22,360 He called it a window that opened in his life. 346 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,600 This is a very happily married man. 347 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:32,520 He's a godly man, father of several children. 348 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:36,400 But when he saw this woman and they looked at each other, there's something happened. 349 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:43,960 There was chemistry there that was evident to him immediately. 350 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:50,720 And though he had never experienced a lot of sexual temptation in his adulthood, suddenly 351 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:57,920 this window was there and it was before him every time that he ran into her. 352 00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:10,080 He did a very brave thing in sharing it with us and we together prayed for him and he repented 353 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:17,400 of any thoughts where he had entertained fantasies and opened himself up to us as a group to 354 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:23,520 be accountable so that we have the privilege of asking him, how's it going? 355 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:28,680 Then that day what he really did was to shut that window. 356 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:34,400 Now he can go back and make the mistake of opening it again. 357 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:39,640 The point is though that he shut the window that day as an act of his will and I'm talking 358 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:46,720 to some folks right here now who have windows like that in your life. 359 00:34:46,720 --> 00:34:52,680 And so often it happens at the workplace. 360 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:59,160 And too often it begins as friends, as one person who's having trouble in his or her 361 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:05,040 marriage and there's sympathy and so there's talk about it over coffee and before long 362 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:18,200 those kinds of conversations turn to more and a window of lust opens up. 363 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:30,400 If that's something you're facing today, I plead with you to go to your spouse first 364 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,040 and to say honey there's something I need to share with you. 365 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:34,520 It's very hard for me to do it. 366 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:38,920 I want you to know I've done nothing wrong but here is what I'm facing. 367 00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:40,320 Here's the temptation. 368 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:42,280 You know what you'll do? 369 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:48,800 People slam that window so fast. 370 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:52,360 Now in a moment of weakness you can go back and pry it open again. 371 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:55,960 You've got to guard yourself. 372 00:35:55,960 --> 00:36:03,040 But that window is especially alluring as long as it's private, as long as nobody else 373 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:13,360 knows, sharing it with your spouse, sharing it with a trusted friend is the best way in 374 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:22,040 the world to shut the window of temptation toward immorality. 375 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:29,440 But I'm also speaking undoubtedly to some in whom this is a stronghold. 376 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,160 It's not just a temptation. 377 00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:36,840 There has been a yielding to temptation. 378 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:43,080 There has been the establishment of control in your life. 379 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:51,360 There is ground that belongs to Jesus Christ that he is not lord of in your sexuality. 380 00:36:51,360 --> 00:37:01,720 Maybe it involves pornography or self abuse or some unhealthy attraction or relationship. 381 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:03,920 How do you pull down a stronghold? 382 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:08,960 We go back to the same three statements that we used last week. 383 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:12,040 Discover what is true. 384 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:21,880 I tell you at the base of the stronghold of immorality are so many lies, so many lies. 385 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:25,720 Let's think of a couple of statements of truth and there are many others. 386 00:37:25,720 --> 00:37:30,800 First of all, statement number one, what is true is this. 387 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:37,080 Immorality is a good gift from God. 388 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:41,280 Have you ever prayed in your life, oh God, take this away from me? 389 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:43,880 I've prayed that before. 390 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:46,240 That was a stupid prayer. 391 00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:48,160 Why? 392 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:56,440 Because that's part of being human, to be sexual. 393 00:37:56,440 --> 00:38:00,880 We're asking God to make us less than human if we ask God to take that drive away from 394 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:04,100 us. 395 00:38:04,100 --> 00:38:10,200 To ask God to do that indicates that we think it's wrong, that it's dirty and it's not. 396 00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:11,360 It is not evil. 397 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:15,840 It is not immoral to be sexual. 398 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:24,160 Our sexual drive is a powerful creative energy given to us by God for enjoyment, for blessing 399 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,000 and for the oneness of marriage. 400 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:30,760 I tell you it's great. 401 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:36,040 Discover what is true, that sexuality is a good gift from God. 402 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:39,000 Don't believe a lie about that. 403 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:43,960 Secondly, sexual control results in freedom. 404 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:46,360 That's the opposite of what the world says. 405 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:50,560 The world says if you want to really be free, then just go out and do what you want to do. 406 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:52,480 Don't worry about control. 407 00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:55,640 But it is sexual control that results in freedom. 408 00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:58,280 That's the truth. 409 00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:08,440 Freedom from disease, freedom from wrong associations, freedom from guilt, freedom from memories 410 00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:16,600 that haunt the mind, sexual control results in freedom. 411 00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:25,920 It gives you the freedom to present yourself to your spouse without any regrets. 412 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:29,020 Sexual control means that you don't have to live in bondage. 413 00:39:29,020 --> 00:39:32,240 It results in freedom. 414 00:39:32,240 --> 00:39:40,640 Thirdly, what is true is that the Holy Spirit enables your will to be strong. 415 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:47,760 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, da-da-da-da, and at the end comes what? 416 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:49,840 Self control. 417 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:52,580 Self control. 418 00:39:52,580 --> 00:40:01,500 We do not have to live as victims of our drives. 419 00:40:01,500 --> 00:40:06,160 God wants us to be victors in life. 420 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:12,120 He does not want us to be helpless prisoners of our sensual appetites, even the good ones 421 00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:15,760 He's given to us. 422 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:21,920 He wants us to experience self control, and when you and I exercise our will and live 423 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:30,660 in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we can know consistent self control. 424 00:40:30,660 --> 00:40:33,920 I wish it meant that we could be sinless. 425 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:39,360 It doesn't mean that, but it does mean that we can know consistent self control. 426 00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:41,880 After you've discovered the truth, choose to act on it. 427 00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:46,960 Determine ahead of time that you will obey God and preserve yourself. 428 00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:52,700 This last week, the Southern Baptists held their convention down in Orlando, and one 429 00:40:52,700 --> 00:41:01,200 whole day around that convention center, there were 150,000 individual commitment cards signed 430 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:13,060 by Southern Baptist teens promising to wait, to enjoy sexuality in marriage, promising 431 00:41:13,060 --> 00:41:15,480 to wait. 432 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:24,320 Later this month, when DC 94 occurs in Washington, they are going to plant a million of these 433 00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:32,080 cards on the Capitol Mall to testify to those people in our leadership in this nation, including 434 00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:40,800 the Surgeon General, who believe that somehow we are victims, helpless victims of an animalistic 435 00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:43,080 drive. 436 00:41:43,080 --> 00:41:48,960 A million cards from teenagers who say, I choose to wait. 437 00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:55,440 What a great thing. 438 00:41:55,440 --> 00:42:06,720 If temptation arises at work, choose ahead of time how you're going to respond to it. 439 00:42:06,720 --> 00:42:08,080 Choose to act on the truth. 440 00:42:08,080 --> 00:42:09,840 Enjoy God's order of marriage. 441 00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:12,160 That's another way of doing it. 442 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:16,160 Cultivate the intimacies of your marriage. 443 00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:21,400 Save yourself for the one you promised to love and honor. 444 00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:22,400 Act on it. 445 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:23,840 Choose to act on it. 446 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:26,480 Flee from temptation. 447 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:31,800 Avoid sexually stimulating and seductive situations. 448 00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:36,520 Do not allow yourself fantasies. 449 00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:41,960 Do not play with temptation in your mind. 450 00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:46,960 Live with no secrets. 451 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:52,760 Establish barriers and walls around you. 452 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:58,440 Decide now that you will not yield should the temptation come. 453 00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:02,600 I was in graduate school this last week in Chicago and one of my profs, he walked by 454 00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:07,800 himself down through Chicago late one night just to get a feel for what's happening in 455 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:10,200 the city. 456 00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:16,640 And while he was on this walk, he was propositioned. 457 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:19,680 Sometimes temptation comes when you may not expect it. 458 00:43:19,680 --> 00:43:26,680 Decide ahead of time what you will do when that moment comes to say no. 459 00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:29,120 Third wield your weapons. 460 00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:30,780 Pray. 461 00:43:30,780 --> 00:43:32,800 Pray what Jesus taught us to pray. 462 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:37,680 Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil. 463 00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:45,200 Ask God to make you a Joseph to deliver you from being a Samson. 464 00:43:45,200 --> 00:43:49,400 Use his word and graft it into your heart, its teachings, its warnings. 465 00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:51,480 Jesus responded to temptation. 466 00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:57,920 It is written, Psalm 119 says, how can a young man keep his way pure? 467 00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:00,300 By keeping it according to thy word. 468 00:44:00,300 --> 00:44:03,520 With all my heart I have sought thee. 469 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:07,680 Do not let me wonder from thy commandments. 470 00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:14,480 Thy word I have treasured in my heart that I might not sin against thee. 471 00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:18,840 And then fellowship, another powerful weapon to wield. 472 00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:24,520 Allow yourself to be transparent with another or with others. 473 00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:32,180 Be responsible to each other in your group for asking honest, personal, probing questions. 474 00:44:32,180 --> 00:44:35,600 You cannot afford not to do that, my friend. 475 00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:40,440 And gentlemen, I speak especially to you because I understand your problem. 476 00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:47,260 I don't understand the temptation of women in this area because I ain't one. 477 00:44:47,260 --> 00:44:50,120 I know it's real. 478 00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:59,220 But I can speak to you men because I'm a man that we need to wield our weapons well. 479 00:44:59,220 --> 00:45:04,920 We cannot afford to lay our weapons down and be casual in the spiritual warfare of our 480 00:45:04,920 --> 00:45:08,520 culture. 481 00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:15,240 Sometimes it helps us to face our strongholds if we take a long, hard look at the consequences 482 00:45:15,240 --> 00:45:19,960 of strongholds, if they remain unchallenged. 483 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:26,480 Let me just read to you some thoughts from Charles Swindoll as to the consequences of 484 00:45:26,480 --> 00:45:30,680 this kind of a stronghold. 485 00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:38,880 Where we fall into immorality, the consequences include the total devastation that your sinful 486 00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:42,680 actions will bring to your children. 487 00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:49,080 Their growth, innocence, trust, and healthy outlook on life will be severely and permanently 488 00:45:49,080 --> 00:45:51,920 damaged. 489 00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:56,600 The consequence of the embarrassment of facing other Christians who once appreciated you, 490 00:45:56,600 --> 00:46:00,120 respected you, and trusted you. 491 00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:04,680 The consequence if you're engaged in the Lord's work of suffering the immediate loss of your 492 00:46:04,680 --> 00:46:09,880 job and the support of those with whom you've worked. 493 00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:15,920 The consequence of disillusionment and anger which will spread rapidly among those to whom 494 00:46:15,920 --> 00:46:19,160 you once ministered. 495 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:26,040 The consequence that your fall will give others the license to do the same following your 496 00:46:26,040 --> 00:46:28,160 example. 497 00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:34,880 The consequence that your mates will immediately, most probably, be isolated by those who once 498 00:46:34,880 --> 00:46:37,080 stood near. 499 00:46:37,080 --> 00:46:41,160 That's not the way it ought to be, but that's the facts of life. 500 00:46:41,160 --> 00:46:45,360 The consequence of inner peace that you enjoyed will be gone. 501 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:51,720 The consequence that you will set in motion a generational chain reaction that you won't 502 00:46:51,720 --> 00:46:55,880 be able to stop no matter how hard you try. 503 00:46:55,880 --> 00:47:00,320 The consequence of the heartache that you will cause your parents, your family, your 504 00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:03,520 peers, your mentors. 505 00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:09,000 The consequence that you will never be able to erase the fall from your mind or from the 506 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:12,000 mind of others. 507 00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:28,440 It's the name of Jesus Christ who will be tarnished, giving his enemies reason to sneer. 508 00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:33,640 The consequence that your mate will feel betrayed and can never again say that you're a model 509 00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:35,680 of fidelity. 510 00:47:35,680 --> 00:47:41,240 Suspicion will rob him or her of your trust. 511 00:47:41,240 --> 00:47:46,760 The consequence that your escapades will introduce to your life and to your mate's life the very 512 00:47:46,760 --> 00:47:51,640 real probability of a sexually transmitted disease. 513 00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:53,000 We could go on. 514 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:55,200 There's no need to. 515 00:47:55,200 --> 00:48:01,640 The consequences of sexual immorality are so clear. 516 00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:07,560 The advantages of doing what God tells us to do so clear. 517 00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:15,320 How can any of us, realizing that we have a stronghold of sexual behavior and immoral 518 00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:20,720 behavior in our lives, how could any of us look at that stronghold and not say, let me 519 00:48:20,720 --> 00:48:22,880 at it? 520 00:48:22,880 --> 00:48:25,960 I will not allow that stronghold to remain. 521 00:48:25,960 --> 00:48:32,600 I will not allow that stronghold to destroy me, my family, and disgrace Christ. 522 00:48:32,600 --> 00:48:40,960 I will not allow that stronghold to open me up to the control of demons. 523 00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:47,720 The grace of God, that stronghold is coming down. 524 00:48:47,720 --> 00:48:52,520 Let's pray. 525 00:48:52,520 --> 00:48:54,040 This is a heavy duty stronghold. 526 00:48:54,040 --> 00:48:55,040 I understand that. 527 00:48:55,040 --> 00:48:57,600 It's a very personal and private stronghold. 528 00:48:57,600 --> 00:48:59,360 I know that too. 529 00:48:59,360 --> 00:49:07,160 But oh my friend, you dare not ignore what I've talked about this morning. 530 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:12,880 If it's not a stronghold in your life, then breathe a prayer of thanks to God, but don't 531 00:49:12,880 --> 00:49:17,920 let your guard down. 532 00:49:17,920 --> 00:49:26,600 If it is a stronghold, will you determine by God's grace to be at it today? 533 00:49:26,600 --> 00:49:34,960 To plan your attack, use your spiritual weapons, choose to act upon the truth. 534 00:49:34,960 --> 00:49:42,640 And God promises that that stronghold will eventually collapse, and your thoughts will 535 00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:45,640 be brought to the obedience of Christ. 536 00:49:45,640 --> 00:49:57,280 Oh God, our Father, today may we attack with every bit of power that you would give us, 537 00:49:57,280 --> 00:50:04,600 this stronghold of immoral behavior, as it may exist in our lives. 538 00:50:04,600 --> 00:50:12,140 Let us never be content with it, compromise with it, excuse it, but rather destroy it 539 00:50:12,140 --> 00:50:15,920 with our spiritual weapons. 540 00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:20,560 Search our hearts, oh God. 541 00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:31,440 Find within us any wicked way, and forgive us, and establish our feet in the everlasting 542 00:50:31,440 --> 00:50:32,440 way. 543 00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:42,200 In Jesus' name, amen.