Does Smuggling Baby Spider Monkeys Make you Happy?

Opening Prayer and Introduction

Speaker 1 0:26

Jesus, I do thank you for your love and grace in our lives and as we look at this chapter and as you speak to us, lord, I pray that our hearts would be open and soft to hearing your truth, hearing your grace, even being corrected away from paths that would lead us to destruction and pain. But, lord, help us understand where your blessing is, in a grace relationship with you. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen. So today’s sermon is called Does Smuggling Baby Spider Monkeys Make you Happy? Does Smuggling Baby Spider Monkeys Make you Happy? This article we’ll come back to this later, but I thought you would like the pictures. I think they’re super cute and, amy, that’s for you Everyone. Amy loves monkeys, just so you know.

Speaker 1 1:18

Okay, when you see your identity through grace, as we’ve been talking about, it changes how you treat others, okay. So when you learn about your relationship with God by grace, it changes how you treat others. It’s no longer about you and what you can get from people. First, that’s because Jesus has already met your needs. You don’t need anything from anybody. And then, secondly, you don’t need to be about protecting yourself from people, because Jesus promised that he’ll be with you, and he’ll be with you in everything that happens. So this life of grace that we’re living, where you realize Jesus is everything that you need, it’s something you have to learn. You don’t just get this right. When you become a believer, you learn that Jesus is everything that you need, and sometimes that learning process can be really super painful. You know, we will naturally keep on living like we always have in this world until we discover how grace has transformed our identity, and so we’ve been kind of using the image of putting on grace glasses during our series, looking at 1 Corinthians here. So that identity has changed our hearts and when we walk in this new identity, understanding who we are, who God has made us to be, it will make you happy. It really will make you happy. It will bring joy. That’s called joy when you have identity in your relationship with God, when you have joy in your identity with God. That is what am I trying to say. Let me rewind all that. When you walk in your identity, you have joy. Scratch everything else you just heard. You have joy. Scratch everything else you just heard, because you have the Holy Spirit inside you, and when you walk in holiness, it makes him happy. That’s the choices that you make when you’re walking in holiness. It makes the Spirit inside you rejoice. It’s like I’m a Broncos fan and I love when the Broncos score a touchdown or sack a Cowboys quarterback. It just brings me so much joy in my heart, and so I rejoice when my team does well. Well, it’s the same thing. The Holy Spirit inside you rejoices when we make righteous choices in our life.

Speaker 1 4:01

Does God want you to be happy? Does he care about your happiness? Is he just some God up in heaven upstairs? That’s like you do everything, I say and I don’t care about you. No, he actually cares about your life, but he tells us the path that will make us most happy, which happens to be aligning ourself with his will. That’s what will make you most happy. He tells us the path that will make us happy, and we generally tell him to pack sand. We generally tell him we’re going to do everything we want to do until we discover the pain and the sorrow of consequences. And then we repent and say, father, I’m really sorry for living the way that I was. Hopefully we sulk back to him and find out that as his child, he always knew what was best, didn’t he? Have you guys ever been through that Because I know I have Walking my own path, then getting consequences, then running back to him and realizing he was right all the time, even when it didn’t make sense to our hearts and minds. He always knows what’s best.

Speaker 1 5:17

It tells us this in John 10.10. It says so Jesus wants you to have an abundant life, a life that’s meaningful to you and important to God’s kingdom. And joy is a fruit of the Spirit. It says in Galatians, chapter 6. So when you’re walking in the Spirit, when you’re walking God’s path, doing God’s will, you will have joy. That’s God’s promise. It’s just a promise of God. That’s the way it works. Romans 15, 13 in the New Living Translation says this I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Man, what a beautiful verse. That’s the life God intends for us to have overflowing with confident hope, rejoicing in having peace.

Speaker 1 6:29

Like so many Christians, I talk to so many people in the world I talk to. What they don’t have is peace. What they don’t have is joy, and so they’re searching for joy in all the places that they try to find it in the world. They search it in drugs and in relationships and in all kinds of sinful things. Anything that’s not God is sin, and so they’re searching for it in sin, their joy and their peace. I’m not going to have peace unless I have this and they discover it’s not there, they still don’t have the peace, they still don’t have the joy. So the path to happiness isn’t doing what we want. It says here. It’s trusting in Jesus. That’s the path to joy, the only path to joy, and it’s clearly given to us. It’s the path of faith and humility, or, as I call them, f and H Faith and humility. That is the path that we walk on as believers.

Speaker 1 7:29

Happiness is like peeing your pants Everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth. I look to my wife for a reaction. From every joke I tell I can tell if she’s laughing. It was good. Okay, all right. So with that as our intro, knowing God wants you to be happy, but he’s given you a path of happiness, let’s begin starting to read our text so that we can understand what it says.

Speaker 1 8:05

1 Corinthians 6. Dare any of you having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous and not before saints. Okay, so what happens here is the church was not happy. The church in Corinth was not happy. Why were they unhappy? Because they had their eyes on each other’s stuff and they were thinking about how to get more, and they were literally suing each other to take each other’s things. That’s what was happening in this church. Not because someone had done something wrong per se, like there was an accident. They weren’t like a bunch of accident lawyers, like all the billboards you see around here if you get in an accident and call these guys, but they were literally just trying to take each other’s things.

Identity Through Grace Changes How We Treat Others

Speaker 1 8:50

That’s how self-centered this church was. This is the epitome of pride and self-focused living.

Speaker 1 8:57

Remember, though, love real love is always giving. I’m going to give, I love you, so I give of myself to you, and we’re supposed to love God, we’re supposed to love others. We’re supposed to love our family, our wife, so it’s a giving relationship. But Satan’s deception of love is he says it’s about what I can get. What do I need to be happy? That’s the lie. That’s the wrong question. That question was inspired by Satan saying it’s about you. You’re missing something. That’s why you’re not happy. God says I’ve already given you everything you said at the same time I did because you knew it Right God’s already given you his son. What else can he give you? What else could God possibly give you that he has not given you in grace? He’s given you it all. He has oceans of his grace and he says it’s all yours already. So he says so.

Speaker 1 9:51

Satan’s deception is what can I get? This church would totally fallen in. They were getting tripped up by Satan and they were all. They were suing each other. And so he says do you not know? Okay, that’s the first time we’re going to see this. We’re going to see this several times in this chapter.

Speaker 1 10:04

Do you not know? Do you not know? That’s so important because when Paul says do you not know, he’s going to ask it over and over. What he’s saying is don’t you understand your identity? Didn’t you listen to the first five chapters of what I wrote to you? Don’t you know? You should know your identity. What you’re struggling with is not because you’re a bad person. It’s because you don’t know the truth of who you really are. That’s why you’re doing the things that you’re doing. You just don’t know, do you not know? So he’s not being a jerk saying don’t you know? Like, sarcastically, he’s saying guys, I’ve taught you this and this is what you need. Don’t you know this? He’s saying it like that. So he says don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? Okay, so, again, when he asks a don’t you know question, it’s always about identity. So right now he’s pointing to when he asks a don’t you know question, it’s always about identity.

Speaker 1 10:53

So right now, he’s pointing to our union with Christ, saying don’t you know, you’re going to judge the world. Well, we know that Jesus is going to judge the world. So then, this is talking about our union with Jesus, that we are in Christ. So, because we know Jesus is going to judge the world yes, he’s the savior of the world, but he’s also the judge. He has to judge everyone who rejects his free salvation. He has to judge them. That’s both parts of the role he has to play he’s redeemer and judge. He has to do it. He’s perfectly willing to perform what the needed judgment, because he’s also righteous, he’s loving, he loves people and he was willing to give his life to give you a salvation. And freedom. Judgment, because he’s also righteous, he’s loving, he loves people and he was willing to give his life to give you a salvation and freedom. But he’s also just meaning he has to punish, he has to judge the world.

Speaker 1 11:41

Why does God have to judge the world? Because it would be unjust to just let sin go unpunished. Do you really want Hitler just getting away with it? Sin go unpunished. Do you really want Hitler just getting away with it? Everyone in the world would say, yeah, hitler’s got it coming. I bet he’s burning in level 10 of hell. Well, yeah, we all agree. Everyone in the world wants to see terrible things come to people who have earned it. We just don’t understand that according to God’s standard. His standard is so high that we also face God’s judgment if we don’t accept the grace of God now. So we also fall short. So Hitler, yeah, he fell short, but we use him as an example because we want to feel good about ourselves. Well, at least I’m not Hitler, right? So, deep down, we all want God to judge, because we want a God that’s righteous, that does the right thing.

Speaker 1 12:43

And Paul is telling these people listen, what your problem is is that you need to understand your union with Christ, that we stand with him and we’re going to be a part of that day when judgment happens, we’re going to see how good and perfect he is and we’re all going to agree with everything he does and we’re going to have a part in it. I don’t know what that part is, but we’re going to have a part in it, probably casting our crowns down and saying thank you, god, for the mercy that you’ve given me. And he says this, he goes on and if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? So they were going to the world to help them live their lives. They were suing each other and trying to get what they want through the world, and this because they believe themselves to be unworthy. Paul says so again. They didn’t know their identity, they didn’t know what God had given them, they didn’t know about their union with Christ. They didn’t know he’s already their life and they already have everything they need for an abundant life.

Speaker 1 13:46

Jesus said and this, when we know it, helps us to make all our decisions, even the smallest ones, if you understand how valuable you are to God, what he has given you Verse 3 he says do you not know there it is again that we shall judge angels how much more that things that pertain to this life. Okay, judging angels? That’s weird. What’s he talking about? Well, fallen angels is what he’s talking about. Can anyone think of a fallen angel? Satan, right, so we’re going to be there when they get their final judgment. We’re going to be there, we’re going to be a part of that, and this is why Satan hates you so much. Did you know this? Satan hates you and he wants to ruin your life because he knows, at the end you’re going to be there, laughing at him as he gets what he gets, praising God, rejoicing because he gets what he gets, because God loves you so much and you’re not nearly as beautiful as Satan, so he’s jealous so much. And you’re not nearly as beautiful as Satan, so he’s jealous of what you have. You have a relationship with God, you’re a child of God, you have been exalted because of God’s love, and Satan can’t have that and he’s mad, and so he hates you. All right, so now we’re going to see. Paul is going to give us the path of life, the path of life that this church should have been walking. Paul is going to teach them what this path of life looks like.

Speaker 1 15:18

Verse 4,. If, then, you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life. Do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your shame. Who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your shame Is it so that there is not a wise man among you, not even one who will be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers. Now, therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another.

Speaker 1 15:55

Why do you not rather accept wrong? Let me read that again why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren. Brethren means family. You are doing wrong and cheating your own family.

Speaker 1 16:22

He’s saying. So the path of life, the path of grace that we’re learning about, is humility.

The Path to True Happiness

Speaker 1 16:35

Of grace that we’re learning about is humility. He’s saying accept the wrong. Just why wouldn’t you rather, if you love people and you read about them, just if they’re trying to steal, just accept the wrong, just rather be cheated, because that’s a great example of humility? So what is humility, guys? Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It’s not thinking you’re less important or less valuable. Humility is simply not thinking of yourself at all. It’s not thinking less of yourself. It’s not thinking of yourself at all when you’re thinking about others. That’s love and that’s where you’re going to find the life and the joy and the happiness.

Speaker 1 17:20

And this church. They were not happy because they were walking a path of self-life. What can I get? How can I exalt myself? By putting other people down, by taking their stuff, by being richer, stronger, whatever they needed. They were actually doing wrong and cheating each other. This is called the flesh life doing whatever my flesh wants. And they were doing it. They were cheating their own family. He says you’re doing it to your brethren and that equals family. So, as the church, you know all the believers here in this room and all the believers on the island and all the believers in America and all the believers in the world. God says we are a family and what I love about this church is I don’t have to tell you guys, spend time with your family, because I see you all week long spending time with each other and it’s awesome. And if we haven’t gotten to connect yet, if we need to get together, we want to grow. What this family’s about Relationships are always grown by spending time with. I love that about this church is that you guys are spending time together throughout the week. You live your lives together. I guess it’s an island so it’s not that hard, but it’s good to see you guys. Out there In Colorado there’s like millions of people. We never saw anybody at our church like at wherever we were at. It was rare. All right.

Speaker 1 18:41

Verse nine Do you not know? There’s the identity. Words again that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Okay, so again, what’s he talking about when he says do you not know Identity? He’s talking about identity. Do you not know the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. So what does that mean? Their identity is you are righteous. Paul says this is your identity. You are righteous. Do you know who? You are Right? Remember when Mufasa is talking to Simba and he’s like he’s Mufasa ghost. And he comes to Simba and he’s like remember who you are? Remember Because Simba was messing around with jungle people, animals. That’s actually a good illustration. I should have dug into that. So he was messing around because he didn’t know his identity. Why do we mess around? Because we don’t know our identity.

Speaker 1 19:45

You are not an addict, you are not a fornicator, you are not a sinner. That is not who you are. When you believe in Christ, you have been transformed and sanctified, set apart for God’s kingdom purposes. He loves you and he’s already cleansed you. He’s washed you. Those things are not your identity. But what is your identity? You’re a child of God, by grace. This is vital for the next. I want you to hear that so that when I read the next part, you understand what he’s saying. He says do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves. Paul tells them their identity is as children of God, and that is more true about them than any other identity that they could identify with. This is more true about you, and we have to let go of every other identity if we’re going to find joy and the peace of God that he offers. They are a true identity. They are kingdom kids. They are chosen children. They’re a true identity. They are kingdom kids. They are chosen children. They’re transformed tots. They’re righteous rugrats. They’re awesome ankle biters and that’s all I could come up with.

Speaker 1 21:19

This is the new, jesus-given identity, and he says this is your only life now. This is your only life. What I have made you, I made you again. It doesn’t matter how you were born, it doesn’t matter what you’ve struggled with or what you participated in or what you’ve done. You have a new identity, a new identity and it’s you’re mine, you’re mine. He claims you no matter who you are or what you did. He claims you because of his love. He says I am your life now. You don’t have to find your life in all the things. You don’t have to try to get your life by suing each other and being mean to each other and doing whatever you want. It’s I give you free life and I pour it out and I’m not embarrassed by you and I will give you healing when you need healing and I’ll give you love and I’ll give you value and I’ll give you everything that you need. This is our union with Christ. That’s why it’s so important that we talk about our union with Christ every week, because it means you’re okay, you have what you need.

Speaker 1 22:34

He says verse 7 and such were some of you. What an awesome verse. All the things that were listed. The church was filled with people who had that as their identity. But Paul says that’s not your identity anymore, but you were. He lists three things you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Speaker 1 22:57

Our identity changed the moment we believed. It was no longer the things that we had it in before, our old identity that we held and believed in. It was crucified with Jesus on the cross. That’s why it doesn’t meet your needs anymore. That’s why we struggle with discouragement and depression when we’re living in sin. That’s why we struggle with anxiety, because our bodies were not made to live in an identity that’s not really us. Our bodies themselves rebel against living a sinful life because we were made, we’ve been unified with Jesus. That’s why sin and self-focused living won’t make us happy anymore. Our only problem is that we try to carry around this old, dead corpse with us and we try to live our lives by body, surfing on a dead corpse that was crucified with Jesus. That’s what we’re doing when we’re choosing a sinful identity.

Speaker 1 24:08

This is my identity, but spiritually it’s a dead corpse, so it’s not going to do anything for you. It’s not going to lead where you want it to lead and, yes, it used to work. It used to kind of meet your needs Before you were a believer living sin. It could numb the pain, it could help you feel good about yourself, it could help you meet those needs. But your needs for affection and value and numbing your pain all of that was given freely to you as the abundant life that Jesus offers you, the health and the joy that he says is yours now. That’s what God intends for you, and he says you can only find it in Jesus once you meet him. You can’t go back to doing. It’s not going to work. It’s like someone puts salt on that field it’s not going to grow. It’s not going to work. It’s like someone puts salt on that field it’s not going to grow. It’s not going to produce fruit anymore because you found the true life. So he did what needed to be done. He killed that old, miserable, broken life and he replaced it with his beautiful Holy Spirit, offering us everything we could ever need through his Son. And it’s all gained, as we simply believe in this wonderful gospel that we’ve been talking about. When you believe it, you discover that it’s true. You’ll see that it’s true.

Speaker 1 25:37

If you choose to keep living by the old corpse, your life will smell like an old corpse and that’s not the abundant life. It’s just not what Jesus has for you. He says you were washed. That means you were set apart as clean and healed and valuable. God doesn’t see you as smelly. He sees you as clean, holy. He says you were sanctified. That means you were set aside and to serve God. Your life will only matter in your own heart. You only feel the value when you’re serving the Lord and you’re justified.

Speaker 1 26:18

You’ll never need to be embarrassed or ashamed because all shame has been gone when you’re justified. That’s what it means. There’s no more shame. You don’t have to be ashamed. You can freely say I did this, I did this, I did this and Jesus paid for it all and I’m totally free. And Satan will be no, you’re an idiot. And you’ll be like no, I’m not, I’m free. Jesus paid for me. And that’s how shame gets completely deleted by Jesus. So even when you sin today, you’re still free from shame. You run to Jesus. You don’t have to be embarrassed. You don’t have to go in timeout.

Speaker 1 26:53

God doesn’t use shame to change you ever. He uses the love and spirit of his son to transform you. He doesn’t use shame. So he says in verse 12, all things are lawful for me, but I will not. Not. All things are helpful, all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

Speaker 1 27:11

So the Corinthians had misunderstood their identity. They thought it was I’m free to sin and it doesn’t matter what I do now. Yay, that’s what they thought it meant, and we call that today licentiousness.

Lawsuits Among Believers

Speaker 1 27:26

Okay, which means I have a license to sin. Now that I believe in Jesus, I can just sin as much as I want and I will be forgiven. So Paul gives them the principle that they’re messing up now.

Speaker 1 27:37

He says guys, listen, you are free, you are 100% free. I want everyone in this room to understand and hear you are free, you have been forgiven of your sins. If you believe in Jesus, you will go to heaven. It doesn’t matter how many times you fail or sin, you were forgiven. God knew what he was signing up for to forgive you of your past, present and future sins. It doesn’t matter if you’ve confessed each one.

Speaker 1 28:00

God’s not asking for a list. He knows far better than you how much you’ve sinned and he signed up for this deal. He says you are free. You are not under the law, the ten commandments, is not our relationship with God. You are 100% free from the ten commandments. You are free. We’ve died to that. You will always be forgiven. But as a Christian you can still choose to sin if you choose to. But if you choose to sin, it will hurt you and it will hurt others. That part doesn’t go away. The consequences of our sin doesn’t go away.

Speaker 1 28:43

And he says here you will be a slave of the sin you choose to do. And God says here you will be a slave of the sin you choose to do. And God does not want you to be a slave. He says you are my children, you are free and I do not want you to be a slave of anything. And Paul says I’m 100% free. I could sin as much as I want if I wanted to, but I don’t want to because God has made me free. I know my identity, that I’m free and I’m not free to dishonor God. I’m free to love him and please my heavenly father and let him live through me. And I ask him to live through me every day. And that’s the life that we’re free to live. Jesus, do what you will through my life, through my words, through my body, my hands, everything I do. You make yourself a slave. You’re free, but you willingly let sin tie you up in ropes when you choose to sin. A slave is under the power of another, and that’s what Paul says. We can’t do. We’re not going to do that.

Speaker 1 29:45

And in our world, as well as in Corinth, this power over one another and this sin was most experienced through their choice in sexual sin. So it was pretty wild. In Corinth they had a temple to Diana in the city of Corinth and in that temple, which was their god, it was the demon that they were worshiping. The worship they had prostitutes, and if you wanted to worship, you went and had sex with a prostitute. So their whole culture was used to sex being a spiritual thing and it wasn’t a sinful thing in their minds before they learned about God and his righteousness. So this was their idea.

Speaker 1 30:30

Verse 13, foods for the stomach and stomach for foods. What does that mean? It means when you’re hungry, you eat. Man, I’m starving, I need a cheeseburger, we all understand that right. Or else you get hangry, and everyone doesn’t like you when you’re hangry. But God will destroy both it and them. Now, the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. So their common teaching was fill up your appetite, it doesn’t matter. So their culture said the same thing about sex when you feel like it, it doesn’t matter, just do it with whoever, whatever it’s, just meet your needs, satisfy your desires. Whatever you want, go for it.

Speaker 1 31:18

And Paul’s saying that’s Paul’s correcting them by telling them the truth. And the truth is your body isn’t your body, it’s the Lord’s body. Your body is the temple of the Lord. It’s not about you, it’s not your body anymore. Your body was made for the Lord. It’s not made for sinning. We’re not made for sinning.

Speaker 1 31:45

The purpose of your life is to join yourself with the Lord, in union with him, and you are one with him as a believer. So whatever you do, he’s with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. His love for you is so perfect. He will endure your mess. He will. We were made for each other, us and Jesus. That’s good news. It’s really beautiful Verse 14,. And God will both, and God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. So Jesus’ body has already been raised up. He’s been given his glorified, resurrected body. He sits in heaven. It’s pure and holy and beautiful beyond measure. We are in Christ now, so his life is our identity, so we will receive what’s

Understanding Our True Identity in Christ

Speaker 1 32:41

true about us A pure and holy and beautiful beyond measure. That’s the body you’re gonna just like a seed, goes into the ground and becomes a plant, but it’s still the same. The seed became the plant, but the team? Do you not know what does that mean? Take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not.

Speaker 1 33:06

I was totally okay with any sexual thing. People wanted to do so if they felt like it does matter, because Jesus lives in you and it matters Because it’s not you, it’s him. And God has blessed marriage as the only place where sex is safe. Because sex, the Bible says, is like fire. When it’s in its right place, it’s beautiful. When it’s in the fireplace, it is absolutely beautiful. It provides warmth, it cooks. I mean it’s beautiful. When it’s in the fireplace, it is absolutely beautiful. It provides warmth, it cooks. I mean there’s all kinds of wonderful uses for it. But when it’s in its right place, you will get burned and possibly killed because of the consequences of messing with something that is dangerous and powerful. And that’s what Paul is saying sex is. So what’s the big deal? Why is this a big deal?

Speaker 1 34:01

Verse 16. Do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her, for the two, he says, shall become one flesh, but he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. He who is joined to the Lord, so we have a union with Christ. See, in the heat of lustful passion, spiritual things seem really far away, really distant, not important. But the root of our lustful passion, and when we try to do sinful things to meet that, is a desire for love, acceptance or even adventure, and all those things are more completely satisfied in our one-spirit relationship with Jesus. That’s the truth, no matter what you think about it, no matter what the culture says about it. Jesus says I’m what you really need. I am the only thing you really need. I’m not angry with you for trying to meet those needs. I love you. I’ve already met those needs, though, so wake up and come to me and live in this union with Christ that I’m offering you.

Speaker 1 35:17

So what does he say in verse 18? This is the application that Paul has you want to be happy. You want to be happy. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside his body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. And your body has some precious cargo. He says verse 19,. Do you not know? There it is again that your body is the precious cargo. He says verse 19,. So the application is really simple Flee sexual immorality. Why? Because your identity as the temple of God and the bride of Christ, and he will make you most happy. He is the source of your joy. That’s it. You are not your own. You were bought with a price. This wasn’t to control you. God’s not after trying to control you. He wants to enjoy you and he wants you to enjoy him. This is showing you how valuable you are to him, how precious you are to him.

Speaker 1 36:38

He says stop messing around with things that are a waste of time, that are not going to meet your needs. Only I will meet your needs. That’s what Jesus says. Nothing you do is insignificant. Nothing is just you doing it. I’m alone. It doesn’t hurt anybody. It’s not about that. Because you’re not alone. You’re never alone. It’s not about that. Because you’re not alone, you’re never alone. It’s not your body. Jesus is truly with you at all times. He will never leave you or forsake you and you are truly free, yet not free to sin. You’re free from sin to go and live your life with God and you’ll find that you’re not going to be living your life trying to get your needs met, but you’ll be filled with this intrinsic love and joy and satisfaction. And when you talk to people, it’s not about what I can get from you, it’s about I’d love to share with you how much I’ve been loved by showing you that I love you and listening to you and caring about you and meeting your needs.

Speaker 1 37:43

We’ll close with just reading Galatians 2.20. It says I’ve been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. If you’re tempted to sexually any kind of sexual immorality, which almost everyone is,

Sexual Immorality and the Temple of God

Speaker 1 38:05

the only way to freedom is to remember that Jesus’ love is more real and more satisfying than anything else. He really lives in your heart. He will meet every need. Life with him is a more stimulating adventure than any sexual thing you could ever do, but just like any relationship, you have to jump into this relationship with your whole heart, your whole heart, and that’s what we’re scared of. And that’s what we’re scared of.

Speaker 1 38:39

So I’m asking you today open your heart fully to God. It is dangerous, it’s not safe. When you open your heart fully, are there things you’re trying to smuggle through, like baby spider monkeys? You can’t smuggle anything through. Just confess your sin to the Lord and know the warmth of his embrace. The love he has for you isn’t dependent on you, but you can keep yourself from his love, experiencing his love, by holding on to your sin. Instead of holding on to him, grab your joy by letting go of the sin. You can only hold on to one thing at a time, so it’s him or sin.

Speaker 1 39:39

Father, we repent of ever thinking that you wouldn’t meet our total needs. We repent of ever believing that you would leave something out, that you are keeping us from some sort of pleasure or some sort of joy. Father, your love is so perfect. It does meet our needs. You have a design and a plan to do us good, to give us a future and a hope. And, god, we love that. We have been loved by you. And now, lord, I turn willingly from my sin and I pray.

Speaker 1 40:20

As a church, we flee sexual immorality because it’s not the perfect, good-tasting love that we have from you. It’s an imitation, it’s a lie and it brings us under the power of another. And, jesus, you have set us free and we will stand in that freedom and we will live in that freedom and we will rejoice in that freedom Because we have been loved, not because we’ve earned it, but because of the grace of Jesus Christ, our beautiful eternal Savior. In Jesus’ name, we pray Amen. If you don’t know that you’ve been forgiven of your sin, then today get alone with God and say save me. Jesus has died on the cross for you. It doesn’t. You don’t need to ask him to die, you don’t need to ask him anything. Just, I believe in Jesus. Save me. I say this right now because two weeks ago we had a man in here and he died this week. You don’t know. You don’t know. God says I love you so much and this is your time. Come to me, receive my grace, get on the victory side.