Revelation
Week 4
“Choose Purity”
Welcome:
Everyone
Guest
Online
Review:
We are in the 4th week of a series called Revelation. Here is the first chapters of this book we have Jesus final words to a grow of seven churches. And I believe what He said to them has meaning for us. The correction & instruction He gave them can help us grow & mature & succeed in our faith journey. So far we have learned we need to CHOOSE JOY; CHOOSE HOPE; & CHOOSE INTEGRITY.
If you missed any of the messages & want to catch up, they are available on iTunes, our website, or our Facebook page.
CONNECT:
I’ve share this story before, but some of you have not had the pleasure of enjoy the depths of my stupidity, so I will share again. :)
When I was 6 or 7 I was hanging out with my older brother Jim & his friend Michael Sullivan. These guys were 8 or 9. And we were at Michaels house goofing off in the driveway riding bikes. Mike & Jim started playing in Michael’s mom’s VW Bug. And in the glove box they found several books of matches. So what do young boys do? They play with matches :)
So we were striking them & blowing them out, and then it progressed to lighting them & throwing them at each other, to lighting them & then lighting the book of matches. Anyway Jim & Mike had used up all their matches so they jumped on their bikes & started to ride off down the hill to where we lived. So I was in the midst of lighting my matches and being the little kid not wanting to get left behind. I just throw my matches & chased after them.
Did I mention it was autumn & there were leave piles near by? Yeah needless to say a few minutes later we heard the sirens of fire trucks. Did I mention my uncle was a fireman? Needless to say it quickly became apparent which kids were responsible for the fire & which kid threw his matches in the leaf pile. There was also a pallet of asphalt shingles near the leave piles, which was next to a wooden fence.
So what started very innocently as just having fun turned very destructive & dangerous very quickly.
Needless to say I have been much more careful with matches since then :)
TENSION:
You see fire IS a wonderful thing. When it is used properly:
It can keep us warm when it’s cold
It can be used to cook food to sustain us
It can light our way in the dark
It can even protect us from an attacker or wild animal (or walker)
Fire is a wonderful thing when it is used properly. When it is handled with care and respect, It can be a real powerful tool & a real blessing.
BUT as wonderful as fire can be when used properly it is equally dangerous & destructive.
Fire burns
Fire consumes
Fire destroys people, property, possession
Fire can quickly turn on you if you don’t respect it & handle it properly
What is a blessing can quickly become a curse when mishandled.
Are you with me?
There are things in this life that are very similar & can quickly get away from us & put us in danger.
TRUTH: I think this was the case with our next church, in Revelation chapter 3, Thyatira.
Thyatira was known for its dyer, they worked with wool coloring it. Which is kind of interesting as we look at what Jesus says to them. Because they take what is plan & clear & color it & it gets them into trouble.
Jesus says in verse 19… “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.”
Jesus says, you guys are doing great, your love, your faith, your service, your patient endurance in difficulty are all growing. He even says I see “constant improvement” in these things.
So on the one hand they are doing awesome but Jesus continues…
“But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols…” Revelation 2:19-21
Even though they are doing great & constantly improving in love, faith, serve, & patience they are failing MISERABLY on the morality front!
They had become INDIFFERENT, DESENSITIZED
Allowing themselves to be lead astray & falling into sin that is dangerous & destructive.
On the surface everything looked great, but behind the doors of the church everything had become jacked up. And they were giving into sexual sin. Sacrificing the purity of their relationship with Jesus for a cheap substitute that would destroy them.
APPLICATION:
Now I would love to say, we don’t need to talk about this subject. I would love to say it isn’t problem, especially in churches. But the numbers say otherwise. I’m gonna beat you up with all the STATS but here are some that tell me, I need to teach on this:
Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography 11 years old
1 of 3 visitors to all adult web sites are women
50% of Christian men and 20% of Christian women admitted to an addiction to pornography.
33% of men cheat on their wives 25% of wives will be unfaithful
50% of marriages will be impacted by sexual infidelity
THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM & A MAJOR PROBLEM IN THE CHURCH!
We too have become INDIFFERENT, DESENSITIZED we are surrounded by such a sexualized culture that we don’t even blush any more. And when we aren’t shocked by sin we stoping seeing it as dangerous, we become careless and before we know it our personal world is ON FIRE!
I wish I could say as a pastor that the bulk of the counseling I have done in the last 20 years has been because people wanted to know how to love Jesus more; wanted to know how to be more effective int heir Bible study; but when someone comes to see me to discuss martial troubles it usually because someone has checked out of the relationship physically; mentally; or emotionally and when dig into root problems all too often there is pornography or some form of infidelity (online flirting, sexting, or an affair)
Some might say, this isn’t a topic for church, WELL GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF SEX, He created it, He sanctioned it, He blessed it, and He established boundaries for it.
Sexual Sin can sideline us & ruin us like no other sin can. Why? Because so often it is a secret sin, one we hide from everyone, one we wrestle with behind closed doors. And when you struggle in secret, you struggle alone!
And we have said it before & I will say it again YOU CAN’T DO LIFE ALONE & you can be victorious over sin on your own! You need Jesus to settee free & friends to hold you accountable.
And sadly when it does finally come to light it is the damage is already done. I want better for you!! Jesus wants better for you!!!
So we need to be on GUARD & have GUARDRAILS in place to protect us.
The believers in Thyatira were doing a lot of great things, they were growing & improving but this one things was derailing the whole church.
I don’t want to see you or anyone here become a casualty.
So How Do We Protect Ourselves? So glad you asked…
1-KNOW THE DANGER
I remember going to camp as kid and that is where I first got to shot a gun. They taught us Firearms safety before they let us handle a gun. We needed to understand & respect the gun before we would be able to shoot at a target.
Because a gun can be a powerful tool or a dangerous weapon depending on who is handling it. When we fail to appreciate the danger is when we become careless and someone gets hurt! The Bible says…
“Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 6:24-29
Can you play with fire & not get burned? NO
Can you flirt with pornography, flirt with someone who isn’t you spouse, operate outside the boundaries God has established in Word and it not get you into trouble? NO
Paul said in 1 Corinthians…
“Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.”
Paul doesn’t say “Flirt with” “Fool around with” sexual sin, he say “RUN!!!!”
This isn’t only aside against God, you are sinning against yourself! You are doing damage to yourself, to your own soul!
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
When you barrow someone’s car, do you treat it like crap? Or are you extra careful? I would hope extra careful, why? Because it doesn’t belong to you. So you want to be respectful of their property & return it as good as you received it, if not better!
When we come to faith in Jesus, we are no longer our own, He purchased us, we belong to Him. If you can’t take care of yourself for your own sake, DO IT FOR HIS SAKE!!!
He paid TOP DOLLAR for us!!!
When we flirt with sexual sin, it’s like me playing with matches as a kid, you are standing in dry leaves with a book of matches, if we misuse it, we are going to burn things down!
We need to KNOW THE DANGERS! And here is something else, when you sin in this way THERE IS ALWAYS A RIPPLE EFFECT, it isn’t just you that it impacts, it will spill over & do damage to others.
SO KNOW THE DANGERS
2-KNOW THE BOUNDARIES
Believe it or not the Bible has a lot to say on this subject matter.
We don’t have time this morning to go through every verse in the Bible that talks about sex & sexual conduct. Suffice it to say, It’s pretty clear on the boundaries.
Solomon, said in Proverbs..
“Drink water from your own well—share your love only with your wife. Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.”
It’s a beautiful & sacred at between a husband & wife. It is reserved for marriage.
***Why? That’s so old fashion, come on, it’s just sex.
That’s that INDIFFERENT, DESENSITIZED attitude. Sex isn’t just sex. Sex is the mingling of two souls. When you sleep with someone, you are GIVING yourself to that person, you are tethering yourself to that person.
Because people have sleep around it brings baggage & insecurities into marriages. Spouses wonder “Am I as good as someone else they were with?” It causes doubts & conflicts. It undermines the foundations of your house. And sex goes from being something beautiful that BLINDS a couple together to something destructive that TEARS them apart.
Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman? For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.” Proverbs 15-21
What is he saying, GIVE YOURSELF ONLY to your spouse. Forsake all others. Don’t give yourself to ANYONE ELSE.
Listen, sex is not a weapon for spouses to use to manipulate each other. If you play that game in your marriage SHAME ON YOU!!! You are taking something beautiful that God has given you to perverting.
And people, PORNOGRAPHY is cheating! You are giving yourself to someone other than your spouse. That sexual energy & desire for your spouse, what would normally draw you to them is being channeled into some else. IT’S NOT OK!! IT IS A BIG DEAL!!! YOU NEED TO BREAK BREAK FREE!!!
Know the Dangers, Know The Boundaries, & finally
3-KNOW YOURSELF
We have a tendency to lie to ourselves. We tell ourselves that we don’t have a problem, that we can handle things, when we are in WAY OVER our heads!
Listen if you know this is an area of weakness for you, BE HONEST with yourself. Don’t pretend that you couldn’t be sidelined by something like sexual sin. Solomon warns us in Proverbs 4:23
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23
Guard your heart, be vigilant, on the look out. Not carelessly wandering through life.
Have you ever been walking along & walked into a spider web? You weren’t looking & it caught you unaware & then you’re flailing around like a crazy person. If we aren’t careful, sexual sin will do the same thing to us.
If you have struggled in the past or struggle right now there is lots of HELP available. There are tools to help you protect yourself from falling. David said…
“I will not even look at anything shameful” Psalm 101:3
Don’t give yourself the opportunity to be in a position to get into trouble. Almost all of us carry a gateway to sexual sin in our pocket. There are apps that can get you into trouble, people in your contact list, friends on Facebook, and endless web pages.
Would you be ashamed of what someone would find on your phone? Are there TXT’s or FB messages that you wouldn’t want your spouse to see? Are there pictures that would destroy hurt your spouse?
Be honest with yourself, KNOW YOURSELF, know your weakness…
Paul said..
“So be careful. If you are thinking, “Oh, I would never behave like that”—let this be a warning to you. For you too may fall into sin.” 1 Corinthians 10:12
Know the danger, know the boundaries, & know yourself
BOTTONLINE: CHOOSE PURITY
If you have have failed in this area, it’s not too late, Jesus FORGIVES, Jesus restores.
“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” 1 John 1:9
Confess it & be forgiven & then CHOOSE PURITY!!!
LANDING:
Listen, everyday we have a choice, no one makes us fall into sexual sin, it’s about our daily choices, so CHOOSE PURITY…
