WEBVTT 00:00:35.899 --> 00:00:39.000 Thank you Isaac. Good morning everyone. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:40.265 It's great to be with you. 00:00:40.265 --> 00:00:47.299 While we're continuing our study in the Sermon on the Mount, we've been working our way through Jesus's quintessential message. 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:57.332 Some would see it as the core essence of his teaching about the kingdom, of what it means to be in his kingdom and a member of the kingdom of heaven. 00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:07.332 And last week, Colby walked us through how he was helping us understand what the true essence or the true meaning is of one of the Ten Commandments. 00:01:07.332 --> 00:01:08.865 And today we'll be looking at another. 00:01:08.865 --> 00:01:14.766 And as I thought about today's message, I thought of a situation my parents faced not long ago. 00:01:14.766 --> 00:01:18.500 You may have encountered something like this in your home in one of their bedrooms. 00:01:18.500 --> 00:01:20.266 They had a long one wall. 00:01:20.266 --> 00:01:24.933 They kept having this appearance of the ants along the wall. 00:01:24.933 --> 00:01:27.799 And these weren't just your normal, you know, yard ants. 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:30.200 These were like ants on steroids. 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:33.165 These were big black ants that they've been hitting the gym. 00:01:33.165 --> 00:01:37.000 You see them across the room, they look at you, waiting for you to leave. 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:39.066 They these were the kind that show up. 00:01:39.066 --> 00:01:40.099 And they kept showing up. 00:01:40.099 --> 00:01:42.200 So they kept spraying to try to get rid of them. 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:43.332 We got to get rid of these ants. 00:01:43.332 --> 00:01:44.865 We got an ant problem and they sprayed. 00:01:44.865 --> 00:01:46.400 They'd be gone a few days and they'd be back. 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:48.099 They kept coming back. 00:01:48.099 --> 00:01:50.700 And so they realized what we're doing isn't working. 00:01:50.700 --> 00:01:52.266 We're dealing with whatever's on the surface. 00:01:52.266 --> 00:01:56.500 But we got to go a little deeper to find out where are these ants coming from? 00:01:56.500 --> 00:02:06.132 And they peel back the drywall and lo and behold, a window that they had repaired not long before that had been it wasn't sealed properly and it was leaking into the wall. 00:02:06.132 --> 00:02:09.332 And so now you had moisture in the wall, you had mold in the wall. 00:02:09.332 --> 00:02:11.866 And those ants were attracted to that, and they were come to that. 00:02:11.866 --> 00:02:16.932 Once they got all that cleaned out, sealed back up, repaired, the ants went away. 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:22.099 Now the issue was you could keep spraying the whole rest of your life. 00:02:22.099 --> 00:02:25.133 You could spray atomic fluid on those ants. They weren't going away. 00:02:25.133 --> 00:02:29.066 They're going to keep coming back until you quit dealing with just the surface issue. 00:02:29.066 --> 00:02:31.133 And you went deeper. 00:02:31.133 --> 00:02:40.500 And as we look at the sermon on the mountain, what Jesus is talking about when he talks to them about the laws that they were already familiar with, he wants to make sure they know. 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:44.332 And by the way, we're not just talking about how it looks on the surface. 00:02:44.332 --> 00:02:47.332 We gotta go deeper into the heart. 00:02:47.532 --> 00:02:50.199 And so we're going to be looking in Matthew chapter five today. 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:51.599 If you have a Bible, turn there. 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:55.733 If you have a church Bible, I think that's around page 769. 00:02:55.733 --> 00:02:57.966 If you don't have a Bible, we have them out in the lobby. 00:02:57.966 --> 00:02:59.366 We'd love to give you one. 00:02:59.366 --> 00:03:00.265 It's yours to keep. 00:03:00.265 --> 00:03:04.966 We want you turning in God's Word, reading in God's Word on your own. 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:11.332 The more you're in God's Word, the more His Word gets into you, changes your heart, it changes your life. 00:03:11.332 --> 00:03:18.466 And if you would stand as I read the passage for today, Matthew chapter five, we’ll be reading verses 27 through 30. 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:23.032 27. 00:03:23.032 --> 00:03:28.566 You have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery. 00:03:28.900 --> 00:03:40.199 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 00:03:40.466 --> 00:03:45.832 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. 00:03:45.832 --> 00:03:52.665 For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 00:03:53.233 --> 00:04:05.165 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away, for it is better that you lose one of your members, than that your whole body go into hell. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:07.966 Go ahead and have a seat. 00:04:07.966 --> 00:04:11.800 We'll talk about now what this passage means. 00:04:12.066 --> 00:04:15.000 So Jesus is jumped into this pattern. 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.165 We're going to see it six times. 00:04:17.165 --> 00:04:22.033 You have heard that it was said, I say to you six times now he is unpacking 00:04:22.033 --> 00:04:27.699 17 through 20, where he said, I didn't come to abolish the law. 00:04:27.699 --> 00:04:29.800 I didn't come to get rid of the law. 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:32.800 I came to fulfill it, came to amplify it. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:35.466 I came to help you understand what it was meant to mean. 00:04:35.466 --> 00:04:38.466 In fact, your righteousness has to be greater than that of the Pharisees. 00:04:38.466 --> 00:04:39.399 What does all that mean? 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:42.899 He's giving them six examples from familiar teaching. 00:04:42.899 --> 00:04:44.165 These are things you have heard. 00:04:44.165 --> 00:04:46.665 Let me help you understand what it means. 00:04:47.665 --> 00:04:51.466 And so last week, like I said, Colby talked about murder. 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:55.165 And the core issue with murder was not just, hey, I never killed anybody. 00:04:55.165 --> 00:04:56.800 I'm good. 00:04:56.800 --> 00:04:58.466 No, but what about your heart? 00:04:58.466 --> 00:04:59.300 Where does murder start? 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:00.065 It starts in the heart. 00:05:00.065 --> 00:05:01.766 It starts with anger. 00:05:01.766 --> 00:05:03.000 You got to deal with that. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:03.899 Don't just think I'm good. 00:05:03.899 --> 00:05:04.800 I never kill anybody. 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:08.165 And yet you're a raging maniac in your heart, full of anger. 00:05:08.165 --> 00:05:10.766 Deal with that as well. 00:05:10.766 --> 00:05:13.500 And now he turns to the issue of adultery. 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:16.500 You have heard that it was said. 00:05:16.865 --> 00:05:18.266 Now that's a great place to start. 00:05:18.266 --> 00:05:19.365 He starts with this phrase. 00:05:19.365 --> 00:05:23.565 You have heard that it was said a key word, there being the word heard. 00:05:23.565 --> 00:05:28.100 In fact, this sets up our first point, the main idea we're unpacking today. 00:05:28.100 --> 00:05:32.266 How do we really pursue purity of the heart, not just outward external purity? 00:05:32.266 --> 00:05:36.500 We have the appearance of being a good person, pure on the outside. 00:05:36.500 --> 00:05:38.766 But how do we pursue purity of the heart? 00:05:38.766 --> 00:05:40.033 Here's the first step. 00:05:40.033 --> 00:05:46.500 Number one make sure that what you heard is what is true. 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:49.065 Make sure that what you heard is what is true. 00:05:49.065 --> 00:06:06.665 So Jesus says to them, you've heard that it was said, of course, what he's commenting on by saying that is that most people at that time receive their biblical teaching through others, by others teaching them the language that the Bible was written in the Old Testament scriptures was Hebrew, and that wasn't most people's first language. 00:06:06.665 --> 00:06:13.300 Their first language would have been Aramaic, which the Babylonian Assyrian Empire had established as the main language throughout that whole empire. 00:06:13.300 --> 00:06:16.266 That's what most people in Israel at the time spoke. 00:06:16.266 --> 00:06:20.199 Second language might have been Greek, because that was kind of the main trade language. 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:23.233 Hebrew would have been important to them as well, but most people didn't read it, speak it. 00:06:23.233 --> 00:06:29.865 So you had to depend on the local rabbi to read it to you, to tell you what it meant, so that you can understand. 00:06:29.865 --> 00:06:31.500 You had heard that it was said. 00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:36.632 The challenge, though, that Jesus is addressing here with the Pharisees. 00:06:36.632 --> 00:06:38.300 And we saw it in Matthew chapter 23. 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:41.665 Woe to you hypocrites, you blind guides. 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:51.632 The problem was that the teachers, the ones who were supposed to be the most spiritual, were the ones that were now taking the law and making it mean what they wanted to serve their own purposes. 00:06:51.632 --> 00:06:53.233 They weren't stewarding it well. 00:06:53.233 --> 00:06:57.500 So you've heard that it was said, do not commit adultery. 00:06:57.899 --> 00:07:03.199 But I'm going to tell you that there's more to it than just keeping that surface level law. 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:11.865 In fact, what Jesus is pressing at to is that everyone and this has been a challenge in the history of the church in general. 00:07:11.865 --> 00:07:14.266 Everyone needs to be in God's Word on your own. 00:07:14.266 --> 00:07:16.632 You can't only depend on what others say. 00:07:18.065 --> 00:07:27.233 Martin Luther addressed this when he started the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, opposing the Catholic Church at the time, that was just only about-- they were the ones who were in control. 00:07:27.233 --> 00:07:28.266 They knew the Bible. 00:07:28.266 --> 00:07:29.100 No one else did. 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:30.600 In fact, they took the Hebrew. Greek. 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:34.833 That's what the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, the Old Testament, Greek, the New Testament. 00:07:34.833 --> 00:07:39.665 They had it all translated into Latin, which no one knew at the time. 00:07:39.665 --> 00:07:40.432 No one spoke. 00:07:40.432 --> 00:07:41.766 All the services were in Latin. 00:07:41.766 --> 00:07:43.199 No one understood it. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:44.233 The Bible was in Latin. 00:07:44.233 --> 00:07:48.432 Therefore they have to depend on us to tell you what it means. 00:07:48.432 --> 00:07:52.833 And Martin Luther said, no, no, we gotta have the Bible in the language of the people. 00:07:52.833 --> 00:07:56.800 They've got to be able to read it on their own, understand it on their own. 00:07:56.800 --> 00:07:59.833 That's why when people ask me, you know, what Bible translation should I read? 00:07:59.833 --> 00:08:03.800 Whatever one you will read, pick it up and read it. 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:05.632 There is no perfect Bible translation. 00:08:05.632 --> 00:08:10.600 Every translation has its benefits and its challenges. 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:12.699 So pick up whatever one you will read. 00:08:14.665 --> 00:08:16.399 We've got to be in God's Word. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:20.266 That's why we emphasize that over and over here in so many ways. 00:08:20.266 --> 00:08:21.600 We have a Bible reading plan. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:23.300 We want you reading God's Word. 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:25.100 We want you reading through the whole Bible. 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:27.000 We do that once every three years. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:30.632 Then we make sure this year we're focused on New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. 00:08:30.632 --> 00:08:32.000 Next year will slow it down a bit. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:36.232 Just Gospels, Acts, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs or Psalms and Proverbs. 00:08:36.232 --> 00:08:38.500 The key is to be in God's Word. 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:41.865 That's why we talk about Scripture memory. 00:08:42.066 --> 00:08:44.100 You gotta hide God's Word in your heart. 00:08:44.100 --> 00:08:45.399 You gotta be in His Word. 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:50.832 And if your only interaction with God's Word is here on Sunday morning, I hope I'm being faithful with God's Word. 00:08:50.832 --> 00:08:54.000 I'm hope I'm passing it along to you in a way that you can trust. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:58.500 But what I want everyone to be is like the Bereans I've listed Acts 17 in your notes. 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:10.066 The Bereans, they were called more noble than some of the other cities around them, because when Paul came to teach them, it said they were testing what he said daily against the scriptures. 00:09:11.100 --> 00:09:12.865 Okay, Paul, we hear what you're saying. 00:09:12.865 --> 00:09:17.899 We're going to go see if that matches up with what God's Word says. 00:09:18.066 --> 00:09:29.865 If you're only just saying well, my pastor said, or this pastor online said, it must be true and I hope it is, take it back to God's Word. 00:09:29.865 --> 00:09:31.000 You gotta be in God's Word. 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:31.432 You gotta know. 00:09:31.432 --> 00:09:36.066 You gotta make sure that what you heard is what is true. 00:09:36.066 --> 00:09:37.066 Because you could be. 00:09:37.066 --> 00:09:41.799 I'm keeping exactly what they said and they could be wrong. 00:09:41.899 --> 00:09:43.365 So be in God's Word. 00:09:43.365 --> 00:09:44.700 Let God's Word be in your heart. 00:09:44.700 --> 00:09:45.600 That's the first step. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:52.000 Second here is to focus on the spirit over the letter. 00:09:52.566 --> 00:09:57.000 Focus on the spirit of the law over the letter. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:04.700 And I use that word over real importantly, because we're not saying instead of the law instead of the letter. 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:08.365 In fact, Jesus said, I did not come to abolish the law. 00:10:08.365 --> 00:10:10.700 I didn't come to get rid of it. 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:17.466 If he was doing that when he said, you have heard that it was said, do not commit adultery, then you would expect him to say, but I say to you, go ahead. 00:10:18.666 --> 00:10:20.265 But that's not what he said. 00:10:20.265 --> 00:10:23.033 I'm not coming to abolish the law. 00:10:23.033 --> 00:10:27.799 In fact, there's this real interesting copy of the King James 1631. 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:43.100 There was back in the history of Bible publication, there was a fierce battle over the right to publish and sell the King James when it first came out in the 1600s, because it was big business, it was big money. 00:10:43.100 --> 00:10:49.200 In fact, people would sabotage other Bible publishers so that my Bibles will sell and not theirs. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:52.865 And so there was this one Bible that came out, and it's been nicknamed the Wicked Bible. 00:10:52.865 --> 00:10:54.500 I don't know if you've heard of this or not. 00:10:54.500 --> 00:10:57.700 I'm going to put it on screen so you can see why it was called the Wicked Bible. 00:10:57.700 --> 00:11:00.566 I don't know how they didn't the editors didn't catch this. 00:11:00.566 --> 00:11:03.000 Go ahead and put that image on the screen. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:04.265 I'll just point this out. 00:11:04.265 --> 00:11:06.000 Thou shalt not kill. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:07.799 That shalt commit adultery. 00:11:09.365 --> 00:11:11.865 Someone left out the word not. 00:11:11.865 --> 00:11:19.033 You think the editor would at least if you're last second checking publication, let's check the Ten Commandments just to make sure those are good. 00:11:19.033 --> 00:11:21.066 Somehow that got missed. 00:11:21.066 --> 00:11:26.466 A thousand copies were printed before they figured it out, and so the the King even got involved. 00:11:26.466 --> 00:11:28.299 We got to get all these and destroy them. 00:11:28.299 --> 00:11:32.500 There's only about ten copies that remain today. 00:11:32.500 --> 00:11:34.200 That's not what Jesus was doing. 00:11:34.200 --> 00:11:38.666 He was not saying, okay, you you've heard that it was said, here's the Ten Commandments. 00:11:38.666 --> 00:11:41.666 Just disregard those now. 00:11:41.865 --> 00:11:44.865 No, don't ignore the letter. 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:49.100 But let's also make sure that we're driving to the spirit. 00:11:49.100 --> 00:11:52.100 Look at what he says in verse 28. 00:11:52.100 --> 00:12:04.432 You've heard that it was said, but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 00:12:04.432 --> 00:12:12.200 That phrase in his heart, in your heart, that's the phrase he's making very explicit up until this point. 00:12:12.200 --> 00:12:16.700 It may not have been that crystal clear, but Jesus is concerned about your heart. 00:12:16.700 --> 00:12:20.232 Not just the surface, not just the appearance, not just the outward action. 00:12:20.232 --> 00:12:25.200 He's wondering, man, we gotta work on what's in here as well. 00:12:26.365 --> 00:12:29.166 In fact, there's a couple of phrases here that are important towards this end. 00:12:29.166 --> 00:12:44.000 He says, I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent, many find that word look to have behind it more of this active, ongoing sense looks and keeps on looking. 00:12:45.033 --> 00:12:50.432 Maybe like this idea of intense stare, gaze, plot. 00:12:50.432 --> 00:13:03.299 I didn't just notice that someone was attractive, but my gaze became fixated on them to the point now where I'm letting my thoughts go places they shouldn't. 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:07.966 Also notice, he makes it clear, looks at a woman with lustful intent. 00:13:10.232 --> 00:13:11.633 That phrase lustful intent. 00:13:11.633 --> 00:13:14.033 It sounds like the original word behind it is just one word. 00:13:14.033 --> 00:13:17.033 It sounds like our word scandalized. 00:13:17.066 --> 00:13:20.066 The Greek word sounds just like that. 00:13:20.265 --> 00:13:20.966 And it. 00:13:20.966 --> 00:13:23.566 Matthew uses that word a bunch. 00:13:23.566 --> 00:13:25.265 He uses it more than any other writer. 00:13:25.265 --> 00:13:29.500 In fact, probably half the New Testament uses show up in Matthew. 00:13:29.500 --> 00:13:32.500 And here's why this is important. 00:13:32.500 --> 00:13:34.865 He, by using that word, is driving to. 00:13:34.865 --> 00:13:37.600 I'm not just talking about a momentary temptation. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:46.832 I'm not just talking about one moment in your life where you slip into the sin of lust, or even a pattern where you struggle. 00:13:46.899 --> 00:13:53.799 By using this phrase, this scandalize, this intent, lustful intent. 00:13:55.466 --> 00:14:06.000 He's speaking to a deeper issue that I'm going to get to when we get into the third point, this phrase can also be translated, oddly enough, it can also be translated differently. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:11.600 It can be translated like looking to someone with the intent of causing them to sin. 00:14:11.832 --> 00:14:19.232 You can translate it both ways, looking to them with the intent of causing them to sin again. 00:14:19.232 --> 00:14:21.066 So all this is pointing to I'm not. 00:14:21.066 --> 00:14:23.232 I didn't just have a glancing, fleeting thought. 00:14:23.232 --> 00:14:26.232 I am on a mission. 00:14:26.765 --> 00:14:30.432 I've got sin in my heart and I'm going to carry it through. 00:14:30.432 --> 00:14:36.666 And I'm looking at this person in a way that they know there's more. 00:14:36.666 --> 00:14:39.100 There's more that I want. 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:42.100 I intend more here. 00:14:43.732 --> 00:14:47.399 All of this points back to the heart issue that Jesus is talking about. 00:14:47.399 --> 00:14:56.666 We gotta press into the heart because ultimately we can appear to have it all together on the outside, and the heart still be very distant from God. 00:14:56.666 --> 00:14:59.899 We can go through the motions and say the right things and still be very distant. 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:01.666 Every parent has experienced this. 00:15:01.666 --> 00:15:09.066 When you're trying to teach your kid how to apologize to a sibling, okay, now's the time for you to say sorry to your brother. 00:15:09.066 --> 00:15:12.066 I'm sorry. 00:15:12.100 --> 00:15:15.332 No you're not, you're not. 00:15:15.332 --> 00:15:16.533 And everybody knows it. 00:15:16.533 --> 00:15:17.365 And you know it, too. 00:15:17.365 --> 00:15:22.000 You're making clear I'm not really sorry, but I'll say the words to satisfy you. 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:26.399 But what you want is. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:29.399 I am so sorry that I did that to you. 00:15:29.765 --> 00:15:33.466 It hurts me at my very core that I could act that way. 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:35.533 Will you forgive me? 00:15:35.533 --> 00:15:38.533 I never want to do that again. 00:15:39.166 --> 00:15:42.566 And adults, we need that as well, don't we? 00:15:42.566 --> 00:15:44.166 There's plenty of adults. 00:15:44.166 --> 00:15:49.200 Maybe they say the word sorry, but they don't mean it. 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:52.566 I've been there as well. 00:15:52.566 --> 00:15:57.033 Jesus is pressed into the heart of the issue, not just the letter. 00:15:57.033 --> 00:15:58.899 And by the way, let me give a caveat. 00:15:58.899 --> 00:16:01.133 The letter is still important. 00:16:01.133 --> 00:16:08.066 You might hear someone say, hey, Jesus said if you committed adultery in your heart, you've already committed adultery, so I might as well go ahead, see the thing through. 00:16:08.066 --> 00:16:09.466 No, that's not the point. 00:16:09.466 --> 00:16:12.100 The letter of the law is still important. 00:16:12.100 --> 00:16:14.566 Do not commit adultery. 00:16:14.566 --> 00:16:17.133 Yes, all sin equally separates us from God. 00:16:17.133 --> 00:16:19.899 But not all sin has the same consequences in life. 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:24.200 And adultery is devastating. 00:16:24.732 --> 00:16:29.166 The fallout of that will carry on for years. 00:16:29.166 --> 00:16:29.899 I've got a friend. 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:37.200 It's probably been ten years ago since he committed adultery, and one of his children still will just barely speak to him. 00:16:37.265 --> 00:16:47.666 It's affected him, his children, his ex-wife, probably whatever relationship she's gone into, his new wife’s ex husband, their children. 00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:52.732 The trickle effect ripples out far beyond what you can imagine. And you. 00:16:52.732 --> 00:16:54.533 He has to ask himself, was it worth it? 00:16:54.533 --> 00:16:57.533 No. 00:16:58.100 --> 00:17:05.400 So don't misconstrue this and somehow twist it to fit your own evil desires. 00:17:07.066 --> 00:17:09.599 How do we pursue purity of heart? 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:12.066 Also know about the spirit of the law. 00:17:12.066 --> 00:17:13.266 Focus in on the heart. 00:17:13.266 --> 00:17:17.900 And then number three, the third one here that we're going to press into. 00:17:17.900 --> 00:17:26.333 Number three, do whatever it takes to cut, remove lust from your life. 00:17:26.665 --> 00:17:28.133 Do whatever it takes. 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:32.500 This is what this next two verses are driving at. 00:17:32.500 --> 00:17:38.000 If your right eye causes you to sin-- that's actually that word scandalize, not the previous phrase I mentioned. 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:41.633 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. 00:17:41.633 --> 00:17:45.799 It's better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:49.965 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. 00:17:49.965 --> 00:17:54.400 It's better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go to hell. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:57.000 Okay, this is shocking. 00:17:57.000 --> 00:17:59.599 This is pretty strong language. 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:01.799 Tear out your eye and cut off your hand. 00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:02.799 What do you do with that? 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:06.200 Jesus often spoke in this kind of language to get people's attention. 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:11.266 He said, unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you can't be part of me. 00:18:11.266 --> 00:18:13.633 And a lot of the disciples said, this is too much. 00:18:13.633 --> 00:18:15.700 We can't handle that. And they left him. 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:24.865 Jesus spoke in a way often to shock people, to get their attention, to cause them to really take into account what he's saying. 00:18:24.865 --> 00:18:28.365 So is that what he's doing here, or does he mean this literally? 00:18:28.365 --> 00:18:31.532 Some in the history of the church have taken this literally. 00:18:31.532 --> 00:18:34.266 In fact, here's a picture we'll put on the screen of an early church. 00:18:34.266 --> 00:18:36.400 Father, this isn't Gandalf. 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:37.400 Don't worry. 00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:41.133 I'm sure Gandalf was a Christian, but this is a guy named Origen. 00:18:41.133 --> 00:18:48.599 He was an early-- in fact, many consider him to be one of the most brilliant early theologians of the church. 00:18:49.333 --> 00:19:01.000 But he was also very tortured with his temptations, and he was so overwhelmed by lust, he came to the point of going, I got to do whatever it takes to get rid of this temptation in my life. 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:06.066 First he said, let me just roll around on a bed of thorns naked and see if that takes care of it. 00:19:06.066 --> 00:19:07.099 I don't know where he got that. 00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:12.766 That's not in the Bible that I know, and I'm not having seen that, it didn't work, so don't try. 00:19:12.766 --> 00:19:13.900 It didn't work for him. 00:19:15.333 --> 00:19:16.500 What can I do next? 00:19:16.500 --> 00:19:20.900 He read Matthew 19 where it says some have become eunuchs. 00:19:20.900 --> 00:19:25.266 Some have been made eunuchs by themselves for the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:25.266 --> 00:19:29.932 And so he ultimately decided to castrate himself. 00:19:30.365 --> 00:19:32.865 Taking this quite literally. 00:19:32.865 --> 00:19:35.365 Is that what is recommended here? 00:19:35.365 --> 00:19:37.133 Is that what Jesus is saying? 00:19:37.133 --> 00:19:40.133 Cut off body parts to avoid sin? 00:19:41.165 --> 00:19:45.066 Well, let's talk about a few of the phrases here to try to get at what he is driving at. 00:19:45.066 --> 00:19:47.665 What is he really driving at? 00:19:47.665 --> 00:19:49.732 I mentioned the phrase caused a sin. 00:19:49.732 --> 00:19:51.099 Sounds like scandalized. 00:19:51.099 --> 00:19:53.333 That's showed up in Matthew 13. 00:19:53.333 --> 00:20:05.165 It shows up in a number of different places, and it often is attached to a more final distancing yourself from God. 00:20:06.133 --> 00:20:08.165 He speaks to the Pharisees this way. 00:20:08.165 --> 00:20:13.099 The Pharisees, it says of them that they were offended by what Jesus had to say. 00:20:13.099 --> 00:20:17.400 They had fallen away because what Jesus had to say cause to sin. 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:25.200 It's the same word, the same phrase translated differently in the parable of the soils in Matthew chapter 13, it speaks of those who fell away. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:30.865 They were-- shot up for a little bit and they fell away, meaning they didn't stay with him. 00:20:30.865 --> 00:20:32.066 They didn't continue to pursue him. 00:20:32.066 --> 00:20:39.665 Peter uses the phrase in in chapter 26 when he says, even though everyone else will leave you, I will never fall away. 00:20:41.165 --> 00:20:44.566 And then he turns around and denies him. 00:20:45.365 --> 00:20:48.599 See, it's speaking to not just this isn't just a fleeting sin. 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:50.465 This isn't just a momentary struggle. 00:20:50.465 --> 00:20:54.799 This is where I say I am separating myself. 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:56.700 I am rejecting God. 00:20:56.700 --> 00:21:00.465 It's dealing to a much deeper issue of the heart. 00:21:00.465 --> 00:21:01.665 It's not just a sin once. 00:21:01.665 --> 00:21:04.333 So let me cut off my hand. 00:21:04.333 --> 00:21:09.099 Now let's also talk about those two situations. Right eye. 00:21:09.099 --> 00:21:11.000 Right hand. What? 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:13.133 Why would he pick the right eye and the right hand? 00:21:13.133 --> 00:21:16.799 Do you have a left eye and a left hand as well? 00:21:16.865 --> 00:21:18.500 Just cut those off. 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:20.865 But problem is, that doesn't work. 00:21:20.865 --> 00:21:21.900 Take out your right eye. 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:24.599 You still have your left eye. 00:21:24.599 --> 00:21:31.299 You still have the ability to carry out the sin of visual lust. 00:21:31.965 --> 00:21:33.500 So what is he talking about? 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:38.165 Turn in your Bibles to First Samuel and I put the, should be, the page number should be in your notes. 00:21:38.165 --> 00:21:56.532 First Samuel chapter 11, because there's a specific instance here related to the cutting out of the right eye that helps us get to the understanding of what Jesus is meaning when he says, cut out your right eye, tear out your right eye, cut off your left hand. First Samuel 11. 00:21:56.532 --> 00:22:01.266 We'll just read verses one through 2 or 3 here. 00:22:01.266 --> 00:22:04.266 This is when Saul was king. 00:22:04.299 --> 00:22:06.865 He had just been named king. 00:22:06.865 --> 00:22:10.766 But of course they still have people around them trying to overtake them, attack them. 00:22:10.766 --> 00:22:11.532 Verse 11. 00:22:11.532 --> 00:22:15.365 Then Nahash, the Ammonite, went up and besieged Jabez Gilead. 00:22:15.365 --> 00:22:20.365 And all the men of Jabez said to Nahash, make a treaty with us, and we’ll serve you. 00:22:20.365 --> 00:22:22.165 Okay? You obviously are stronger than us. 00:22:22.165 --> 00:22:23.066 Let's make a treaty. 00:22:23.066 --> 00:22:23.900 Let's make an agreement. 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:25.066 What do you need from us? 00:22:25.066 --> 00:22:27.200 We’ll serve you. We’ll be good. 00:22:28.165 --> 00:22:29.299 Here were his conditions. 00:22:29.299 --> 00:22:39.700 Nahash the Ammonite said to them, On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes and thus bring disgrace on all Israel. 00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:42.500 The elders said, give us several days. 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:43.865 We may send messengers. 00:22:43.865 --> 00:22:44.799 Let us think about it. 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:48.465 Let's see if we can get somebody to come and help us fight you. 00:22:48.465 --> 00:22:53.965 Josephus, an ancient historian-- in fact, he was about a contemporary of Jesus. 00:22:53.965 --> 00:22:55.900 He came just after Jesus’ life. 00:22:55.900 --> 00:22:56.965 He was a Jew. 00:22:56.965 --> 00:23:00.599 He captured a lot of the Jewish history, a lot of Jewish history that we know today. 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:10.266 He recorded, he said this commenting on these specific verses, this he did that when their left eyes were covered by their shields. 00:23:10.266 --> 00:23:12.299 They might be wholly useless in war. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:14.965 Now, I hope you're following. 00:23:14.965 --> 00:23:16.299 Does that make sense? 00:23:16.299 --> 00:23:21.900 He's saying the reason why they cut out their right eye is because in battle, when you held your shield with your left arm. 00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:26.566 Because your right arm held the sword, oftentimes you also had your left eye covered. 00:23:26.566 --> 00:23:30.066 If you're right eye is gone, you're useless. 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:37.232 Cut out your strength, your power, your self sufficiency. 00:23:37.232 --> 00:23:40.400 The right hand was often seen as the stronger hand. 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:42.799 It was the hand used in business agreements. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:44.200 We're going to shake on it. 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:45.365 We're going to swap sandals. 00:23:45.365 --> 00:23:49.700 Whatever they did, it was seen as your means to conduct business in society. 00:23:49.700 --> 00:23:56.599 And so Jesus is saying here, by talking about your right eye and your right hand, he's ultimately saying, all of you. 00:23:58.633 --> 00:24:00.665 We can't just deal with the surface issues. 00:24:00.665 --> 00:24:01.500 We got to get to the heart. 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:03.766 Maybe it's like our phrase, throw it all in. 00:24:03.766 --> 00:24:06.066 Plus the kitchen sink. 00:24:06.066 --> 00:24:07.965 Nobody really wants the kitchen sink. 00:24:07.965 --> 00:24:10.965 What you mean is everything. 00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:14.200 All of you. I want your heart. 00:24:14.200 --> 00:24:17.200 You gotta go deep. 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:19.365 It can't just be. 00:24:19.365 --> 00:24:20.500 Yeah. No, I've never. 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:23.799 I've never cheated on my significant other. Never have. 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:25.200 So I'm good. 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:28.200 I am the perfect spouse as a result. 00:24:29.865 --> 00:24:31.165 No. 00:24:31.165 --> 00:24:36.766 Look, press in to the heart and do whatever it takes. 00:24:36.766 --> 00:24:43.400 Be willing to do whatever it takes to cut sin, lust, out of your life. 00:24:43.432 --> 00:24:48.900 Too often we love to compartmentalize our life and compromise with sin. 00:24:48.900 --> 00:24:51.965 I can keep this sin in my life and it's going to be okay. 00:24:51.965 --> 00:24:53.400 I can manage it. 00:24:54.900 --> 00:25:03.900 I can keep it over here, and I can act this way on Sunday morning or when I'm around the church people; I can act this way when every other time I want, and it's okay. 00:25:03.900 --> 00:25:11.965 But Jesus is saying, I want to go to the very essence of who you are, the very core of your being, and deal with that. 00:25:14.165 --> 00:25:16.500 Here's what I want to do. 00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:21.400 I want to give you five applications to take from this. How do we do that? 00:25:21.400 --> 00:25:23.266 How do we cut sin out of our life? 00:25:23.266 --> 00:25:25.665 How do we cut lust out of our life? 00:25:25.665 --> 00:25:28.900 How do we do whatever it takes to cut these things out of our life? 00:25:28.900 --> 00:25:33.432 I'm going to give you just five quick, quick applications to address these. 00:25:33.432 --> 00:25:36.965 To dive into these first number one, work on your mental game. 00:25:38.365 --> 00:25:39.599 Work on your mental game. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:42.833 Work on the imagery that you allow into your mind. 00:25:42.833 --> 00:25:45.465 Colossians three, two through three is in your notes. 00:25:45.465 --> 00:25:50.099 Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died. 00:25:50.099 --> 00:25:51.766 Your life is hidden with Christ in God. 00:25:51.766 --> 00:25:52.700 Set your mind. 00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:54.165 Set it on things that are above. 00:25:54.165 --> 00:25:57.432 I've heard John Piper when he talks about battling lust. 00:25:57.432 --> 00:26:07.400 He said, whenever I am tempted to have an image of something I shouldn’t in my mind, I immediately try to fixate my mind on an image of Jesus on the cross. 00:26:07.432 --> 00:26:12.266 You can't keep two images in your mind at the same time. 00:26:12.266 --> 00:26:17.900 And if I'm focusing on Jesus on the cross, my mind can't be filled up with images that shouldn't be. 00:26:19.165 --> 00:26:21.833 Be disciplined to choose a different image in your mind. 00:26:21.833 --> 00:26:28.165 If you're tempted to have an image in your mind of someone that you're lusting after, that you shouldn't imagine them differently. 00:26:28.165 --> 00:26:29.900 Imagine them worshiping Jesus. 00:26:29.900 --> 00:26:32.099 Imagine them before the throne of Jesus. 00:26:32.099 --> 00:26:39.032 Imagine them loving on their family or serving their family instead of imagining them for your own evil gain. 00:26:40.566 --> 00:26:41.700 So that's the first one. 00:26:41.700 --> 00:26:43.500 Work on your mental game. 00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:44.965 Work on your mental imagery. 00:26:44.965 --> 00:26:48.299 Be intentional to choose a different image. 00:26:48.299 --> 00:26:52.432 Number two renew your mind with Scripture. 00:26:52.432 --> 00:26:54.365 Renew your mind with Scripture. 00:26:54.365 --> 00:27:00.633 I talked a few weeks ago about the importance of memorizing God's Word to battle any sin, so I chose after that 00:27:00.633 --> 00:27:03.099 22-24. 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:10.066 Verse 23 especially is focus on renewed being renewed in the spirit of your mind and the way you do that is through God's Word. 00:27:10.066 --> 00:27:15.032 12 says that the Word of God is living and active. 00:27:15.032 --> 00:27:17.465 And so if you get God's Word in your heart, it's alive. 00:27:17.465 --> 00:27:18.500 It's going to change you. 00:27:18.500 --> 00:27:20.900 It's going to work in your life. 00:27:20.900 --> 00:27:32.599 Friend of mine shared recently with me, and he's a pastor and he shared with me John, there was a season early in my ministry where I struggled with looking at pornography, and it was a huge struggle and I didn't want to stay there. 00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:35.965 And he said, so I committed Psalm 51, the whole psalm to mind. 00:27:35.965 --> 00:27:43.566 And he said, there were so many times that I had to get up from my desk, get up from my computer, and walk around my desk. 00:27:43.566 --> 00:27:45.833 Quoting Psalm 51 created me a clean heart. 00:27:45.833 --> 00:27:47.833 O God, renew a right spirit within me. 00:27:47.833 --> 00:27:50.032 Cast me not away from your presence. 00:27:50.032 --> 00:27:51.566 Take not your Holy Spirit from me. 00:27:51.566 --> 00:27:55.432 Restore in me, restore in me the joy of salvation, but create in me a clean heart. 00:27:55.432 --> 00:27:55.799 He said. 00:27:55.799 --> 00:28:00.000 Sometimes I would walk around quoting that till I felt like the temptation had passed. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.599 I'd sit back down and 90s later I'd have to get back up and do it again. 00:28:07.299 --> 00:28:09.099 Get God's Word in your heart. 00:28:09.099 --> 00:28:13.465 Find the Scripture that you need to memorize to battle lust. 00:28:13.766 --> 00:28:16.766 Number three change your environment. 00:28:16.865 --> 00:28:26.000 If you find yourself continually facing a certain temptation over and over again, it could be tied to your environment. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:27.400 And so change your environment. 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:29.000 There's a there's a story. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:31.500 I heard Tommy Nelson say he was a pastor in Texas. 00:28:31.500 --> 00:28:39.165 He used to speak a lot at some of the student conferences we went to, and he shared this story of a couple he was doing premarital counseling with. 00:28:39.165 --> 00:28:40.799 And they said, you know what? 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:46.599 We keep finding ourselves facing temptation. 00:28:46.633 --> 00:28:49.066 We’ll be at her parent's house. 00:28:49.066 --> 00:28:58.865 No one else will be home, we’ll be there late at night, we’ll be in the basement on the couch watching a movie, and we'll be half naked and we'll find ourselves tempted. 00:28:58.865 --> 00:29:01.432 And he said, who wouldn't? 00:29:01.432 --> 00:29:03.299 Who wouldn't be tempted in that situation? 00:29:03.299 --> 00:29:08.299 You got to back up a few steps from that and not, first of all, be in that environment. 00:29:08.299 --> 00:29:15.665 Change your environment, get people around you that can help you navigate that, that you can call and say, hey, I'm in this environment. 00:29:15.665 --> 00:29:16.900 I know I'll face temptation. 00:29:16.900 --> 00:29:17.900 Will you be praying for me? 00:29:17.900 --> 00:29:21.500 I had a friend when he was trying to come out of alcoholism. 00:29:21.500 --> 00:29:25.266 He had a sponsor and he would call him like every hour. 00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:28.000 Man, I want to go drink right now. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:29.766 Would you would you pray for me? 00:29:29.766 --> 00:29:31.365 Would you help me not drink? 00:29:31.365 --> 00:29:34.365 And the guy stuck with him. 00:29:35.766 --> 00:29:42.432 Would you be okay with one of your friends calling you every hour in their battle against lust? 00:29:42.432 --> 00:29:45.432 Would you call someone? 00:29:45.833 --> 00:29:48.965 Change your environment, get people around you. 00:29:48.965 --> 00:29:51.965 And then number four. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:55.000 Keep looking deeper. 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:56.865 Keep looking deeper. 00:29:56.865 --> 00:29:59.865 Press deeper into the heart. 00:30:00.165 --> 00:30:08.000 If your car after you leave church today doesn't start, you don't just go, well, my keys don't work and throw them away. 00:30:08.432 --> 00:30:10.766 The keys clearly have quit working. 00:30:10.766 --> 00:30:13.432 No, no, no, you ask probably. 00:30:13.432 --> 00:30:15.700 I guess there's a challenge with my battery. 00:30:15.700 --> 00:30:19.200 And then if it's not that you keep working your way down, maybe it's the alternator. 00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:21.400 If it's not that, maybe it's the wiring, maybe it's the starter. 00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:27.766 And then ultimately you go, it was the engine, but you work your way down deeper and you ask why. 00:30:30.766 --> 00:30:37.566 If you're struggling with lust, especially in a continued regular situation, keep asking why? 00:30:37.865 --> 00:30:41.700 Why do I find myself continually drawn into this situation? 00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:45.232 Why over and over again? 00:30:45.232 --> 00:30:47.232 Until you get there and figure out why? 00:30:47.232 --> 00:30:52.865 And it may take a long time, but don't just keep it on the surface. 00:30:53.500 --> 00:31:01.066 And then number five, ultimately, it's may be required that you change your technology. 00:31:02.465 --> 00:31:06.066 I've told the story before, so I won't give all the details, but there was a worship pastor. 00:31:06.066 --> 00:31:17.500 His name was Chris Beal, and he had been carrying on multiple affairs behind the scenes, even fathered a child with one of the affairs and no one in his church, no one in his family knew about it. 00:31:17.500 --> 00:31:26.500 He moved cities to try to get a fresh start, start a new church, ended up confessing it all to his pastor, to his family, and they took him through a restoration process. 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:39.833 And part of it was, you need to find a job where you have no access to a computer and no access to a phone, and we're going to get rid of your cell phone, because so much of what he had done had been through chat rooms and through keeping things secret. 00:31:43.766 --> 00:31:47.299 You may need to change your technology. 00:31:48.099 --> 00:31:52.500 This was a hard one when I can't tell you how many people I've mentioned this to. 00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:54.900 You know, I find most of the time I they'll tell me. 00:31:54.900 --> 00:32:00.365 I find most of the time when I'm looking at porn, I'm doing it on my phone at home, late at night, alone. 00:32:00.365 --> 00:32:01.865 Well, get rid of your phone. 00:32:01.865 --> 00:32:04.865 I can't do that. 00:32:09.032 --> 00:32:12.099 Cut out your right eye. Cut off your hand. 00:32:12.099 --> 00:32:13.766 You can't get rid of your phone. 00:32:13.766 --> 00:32:15.500 You really can't find a way. 00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:17.266 I don't want to. 00:32:17.266 --> 00:32:19.865 I don't want to be inconvenienced. 00:32:19.865 --> 00:32:22.566 And I could preach about this the whole rest of the month. 00:32:22.566 --> 00:32:26.066 Okay, so I won't keep going on and on about that. 00:32:26.066 --> 00:32:27.099 But here's the issue. 00:32:27.099 --> 00:32:35.700 Are you willing to do whatever it takes to cut the sin out of your life, or do you want to keep nurturing it and you want to keep managing it? 00:32:35.700 --> 00:32:37.099 What do you want? 00:32:37.099 --> 00:32:39.833 This isn't a game. 00:32:39.833 --> 00:32:40.700 Which do you want? 00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:42.266 Do you want purity of heart or not? 00:32:42.266 --> 00:32:46.299 Are you willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means being inconvenienced? 00:32:46.299 --> 00:32:49.500 Even if people go, that's the dumbest looking phone I've ever seen. 00:32:49.500 --> 00:32:54.365 I know, I know, but I'm pure. 00:32:54.365 --> 00:32:57.365 What do you want? 00:32:58.700 --> 00:33:01.700 What is it worth? 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:06.000 Create in me a clean heart Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:07.700 Be willing to do whatever it takes. 00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:09.066 I'd love to talk with you about that. 00:33:09.066 --> 00:33:10.066 I'd love to pray with you. 00:33:10.066 --> 00:33:14.900 Ultimately, the only thing that's going to change your heart it's the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:16.665 It's not us just trying harder. 00:33:16.665 --> 00:33:18.865 It's Jesus transforming your heart. 00:33:18.865 --> 00:33:21.799 Is Jesus making alive in you what was dead? 00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:28.532 And I'd love to talk with you about what it means to come to know him, to confess your sin, to trust in him, to depend on him. 00:33:28.532 --> 00:33:31.099 That's ultimately the only thing that's going to change you. 00:33:33.465 --> 00:33:35.465 Today may be the day for that, for you. 00:33:35.465 --> 00:33:36.965 If so, I'd love to talk with you. 00:33:36.965 --> 00:33:45.566 After, I'm going to close us in prayer, and then I'm going to mention a couple of other things to wrap up our financial year as a church. 00:33:45.566 --> 00:33:51.799 And after that, I would love to visit with you and talk about following Christ, knowing him, walking with him. 00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:54.799 Let's pray. 00:33:54.799 --> 00:33:56.099 God, we thank you for today. 00:33:56.099 --> 00:33:57.266 We thank you for your word. 00:33:57.266 --> 00:34:03.066 We thank you that your Word is driving us to deal with the heart issue and not just appearances. 00:34:03.066 --> 00:34:07.500 I think most of our temptations is to make sure we appear to have it all together. 00:34:07.500 --> 00:34:13.400 And you want to deal with the heart, not just the surface, not just the outside of the cup, but you want us to clean the inside. 00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:16.065 That only comes by your Spirit working in us. 00:34:17.733 --> 00:34:22.800 I pray your Spirit would move here today. 00:34:25.266 --> 00:34:29.166 If there is anyone that has been harboring secret sin. 00:34:30.865 --> 00:34:37.500 In fact, I know that God has prompted some today. 00:34:37.500 --> 00:34:40.500 He's dealing with you. 00:34:41.932 --> 00:34:48.266 Some of us have immediately thought of that, that sin we're managing. 00:34:48.900 --> 00:34:51.900 Would you bring conviction right now? 00:34:52.599 --> 00:34:54.965 In fact, I just want to ask you, I'm not going to point you out. 00:34:54.965 --> 00:35:00.932 I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand or stand. What I want to ask you to do right now, if that's where you are, is just to pray. 00:35:01.699 --> 00:35:03.000 Just simply pray where you are. 00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:08.032 God, would you give me the courage to deal with this sin? 00:35:08.032 --> 00:35:12.965 Just pray that right now you may not know how you're going to get through it. 00:35:12.965 --> 00:35:14.800 You may not have any idea, but pray. 00:35:16.865 --> 00:35:19.065 Would you give me the courage to deal with this sin? 00:35:19.065 --> 00:35:23.065 I don't want to stay stuck in the sin anymore. 00:35:24.865 --> 00:35:28.565 Thank you that your Spirit gives us the power to have victory over sin. 00:35:28.565 --> 00:35:29.365 Would you guide us? 00:35:29.365 --> 00:35:31.865 Jesus, we love you. Amen.