Do We Need To Accept Jesus?

    

Yesterday I came across a passage of scripture that made me stop and really think about what it means to have a relationship with Christ.  We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to even know of him.  Our culture today does not resemble a society who knows God, but yet everyone claims they are of God.  The Church folks have become to civilized to seek revival.  They want everything to stay nice and neat.  If God came into our services the way it is meant to be it would be a mess because he would rip it apart.

Today I am talking about has Christ accepted us not have we accepted him.  I know the answer, but I ask it because we act as if He doesn’t matter.  Jesus is everything or Jesus is nothing!

David Platt says in a sermon called Die in Religion or Devotion “we have created Jesus into the image of a puny savior who begs us to accept him”.  We have all been guilty of saying that God needs us to do this for him or to do that for him.  The fact of the matter is we have reduced the image of God into the image of our desires.  We have idolized Christ more often than we have proclaimed his Glory.  We so often claim Christianity but neglect righteousness.  We neglect radical lifestyles that rebel against humanism and secularism and fail to separate ourselves from worldliness.  I am miserable.  I see so many Church folks who are living a “Groundhog Day” routine.  I see the problem, but I am part of the problem.  I am the vilest of sinners and the chief of self-righteousness.

Everybody I know is a Christian, but I don’t know anyone who desires holiness and righteousness.  Our young people are so carnal.  They are so intelligent in regards to diverse subjects and so ignorant of the scriptures.  They have the ability to learn technologies in minutes, but cannot discern Godliness from worldliness.  They think they are saved.  Saved from what?  Did they just jump out of the “on my way to hell line” into the “on my way to heaven line”?  Where is the seeking of righteousness?  Where is their hunger for God and thirst for holy living?

Then on top of that we say “All you have to do is accept Jesus as your savior”.  Oh how I have said that so many times, but is it biblical?  In John 3 how did Jesus explain salvation to Nicodemous?  Did he say accept me?  Did Jesus ever say anywhere that you can come to heaven by accepting me?  He is God!  He is Lord!  Accepting him doesn’t save us.  Rather we need him to accept our vile, disgusting, and sinful nature and give us a new mind that desires righteousness. To explain my position let me just show you a passage from John 2.

 

²³ Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. ²⁴ But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, ²⁵ and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

Did you see it?  Go back and read it again.  He doesn’t need us!  He knows what we are made of and He knows we are wretched!

Salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ and nothing else.  We need to get back basic biblical principles and teach the word of God with authority that will cause men to hate us.  To often we have watered down the truth so that nobody gets mad and maybe we can convince somebody to get saved.  Jesus and all his called men were hated.  Here is the truth.  God HATES the SIN YOU LOVE! 

Do I sound crazy?  Look around your Church.  Do they really look like they are living in a state of fear and trembling as the scripture tells us to live?  They laugh and talk about TV shows and ballgames.  The preacher gets no response until he tells his best joke then everybody laughs.  Nobody repents!  Nobody weeps! Then, it’s over until next time.  Our young people walk around in a daze.  Half the people don’t have a Bible, and people all around the Church are on their way to HELL!

The Bible teaches whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  However understand this one thing.  You cannot be saved and live a continued life of carnality and unrighteous desires to ignore the holiness of an Almighty God!

Jesus loves you!  He died for you!  If you are His then should you not live for him?

Are you saved?  Really?  Too many people made a decision and to few have been converted.  What is a decision?  I am going to be saved now?  Jesus said whoever puts his hand on a plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.  Christ has called all men to repentance of sin and a desire for righteous living.  Do you desire righteousness?  Are you willing to follow Christ even if it means your life or lifestyle?  Seek God now while he may be found and then ask him to save your soul and give you a new heart.  Then let God lead you on the road of rightousness!

Jesus Saves,

RR

Tough Pill to Swallow

I am afraid we are headed to the end of American Christianity.  Over the last couple of months I have personally sought after God like no other time in my life.  God has revealed to me that I am a disgusting sinful man.  I have allowed years of filth to enter into my mind.  I have spent hours that would add up to years of time worshiping the god of entertainment and sports.  Beloved he has made this so real to me that now for the first time in my life I recognize the sin of sexual immorality like no other time.  Every show on television and every commercial seems as the one key common thing that grabs our attention and holds on to us is sexuality.  I see it in our young people in the Church and out of the Church.  There is such a desire among people to look great and attract others.  Young boys are possessed by the god of fashion and girls are selling themselves by revealing more and more skin ad they serve the god of pleasure.

Who is praying?  Who is fasting? Who is weeping?  

Here in scripture we see that God judged the people of Israel.  His people and only by his sovereignty do they still exist.  God has made no covenant with our nation.  We do not have to exist.

Isaiah 1:9-11

⁹ Unless the LORD of hosts
      Had left to us a very small remnant,
      We would have become like Sodom,
      We would have been made like Gomorrah.

       ¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD,
      You rulers of Sodom;
      Give ear to the law of our God,
      You people of Gomorrah:

       ¹¹ “ To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?”
      Says the LORD.
      “ I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
      And the fat of fed cattle.
      I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
      Or of lambs or goats.

Today Churches are losing ground quickly.  Our Churches are missing the mission.  People are dying and going to Hell.  Your friends, neighbors, siblings, spouse, children, and parents are facing HELL! We set and listen to the preaching and nobody moves.  Why?  Is it because the preacher did not study enough?  Is it because the music was not inspiring enough?  Is it because the service lasted too long?  I know what the issue is and so do many others.  SIN! We have a sin problem.  To make matters worse we know we have a sin problem, but we enjoy our sin so much that we are not willing let go.  We are not willing to give up on the pleasures that entertain us and give us pleasure.

Be not deceived God will not be mocked!  We are headed for judgment and the scripture says that judgment begins at the House of God.  This Sunday morning the altars should be filled with men and women crying and weeping for the lost.  You need to come to the altar and pour out your soul to God before he judges your own house.

We have seen nothing.  The storms over the past week are nothing.  The earthquakes are nothing.  The Terrorism is nothing.  When God judges us it will break men down.  You can see the apathy in men now.  They morn over the loss of things but will not mourn over the loss.  They will spend millions re-building structures, but will give nothing to rebuild their soul.  People will volunteer weeks and weeks of time cleaning up debris from storms, but will not spend five minutes in prayer cleaning out their own soul.  We will talk about the economy all day and forsake the economy of God!

Then there is the pathetic legalism among God’s people.  I am so sick of the hypocrisy of lukewarm religious Pharisees.  They criticize men in how they worship God and at the same time they are just as worldly.  They tell young people not to listen to certain kinds of Christian music yet they set in their own homes and watch shows that have nothing to do with exalting Christ.  They call other Churches worldly because they are active and are trying to reach at least one person for Christ in some non traditional method and yet spend hours on the lake or in the woods wasting time while men go to Hell!  They criticize outreach and all they want is wore out hymns that they don’t even believe and legalize everything from the opening prayer to the last prayer.  They spend hours working in their yards and on their homes, but yet they say oh I am so glad we are not worldly like the Church down the road.  Someday when their sons are selling dope and their daughters are having sex with multiple partners and half their congregation is gone at least they will not be worldly.

I believe the reason you are reading this is because it is meant for you.  God hates the sin you love.  You cannot please God and be in love with sin.  Kill sin!  Fight sin!  Make war with the sin in your life!  Call on the name of Jesus!  Plead with him for help!  Fast, pray and seek!  Time is running out, but Jesus is the Lord of hosts, and He desires you!  Give yourself to him!

Jesus Saves,

RR

Falling Away

This Sunday Churches will be filled all around the country with people who are in love with……… themselves.  They will set in the pew through a service of apathy and put on a fake front.  They will hear a message they have heard several times and not be moved.  They will think more about the cake they made or the outfit they are wearing more than they will the suffering and the cost of salvation.  It is Easter Sunday the day of remembrance and it is so fake with so many.  Do I sound negative?  Well I am describing my own experiences in the past, but not any longer.

Did you know that according to recent research by AIG (answersingenesis.com) 2/3 of all kids under the age of 18 who regularly attend Church will quit going to Church once they get to college?  Now think about that for just a moment.  If 2/3 of our kids quit when they get to college every year for the next 18 years how many of these kids will be in Church when they become adults?  Why is this happening?

As with all problems in our society sin is the underlying issue.  In order for us to change this downward trend of the American Church we have to identify what is happening and the nature of the sins. 

Problem#1: Too many Churches are dead.  Now I am not a Church basher I am a proud member of the Bride of Christ, but I have enough sense to recognize foolishness.  So many Churches in our country are not seeking God and do you think your kids know this?  Kids today know about sex before they are old enough to ride most rides at an amusement park, so don’t think for a minute they don’t recognize lame Church services.  What is wrong with the Church?  The People are the Church.  If you are not excited and fired up about the Church then you have a sin problem.  You may say “oh no you don’t understand how it is”.  I do know and I have been there.  Your Church isn’t the problem you are.  How many people go to the Church they go to because they are just use to going there?  How many people just show up?  How many times have you went to Church and did not read God’s word one time throughout the week?  How many times have you went to Church and did not pray one time for the service during the week?

You see our kids know that there are a lot of folks pretending.  This only describes the apathy in the Church that kids are being raised up in.  There are plenty more issues.

Problem#2: Bad preaching and teaching of the word of God.  There are several different reasons why people go to Church, and I am afraid that the Preaching is not #1.  However there is nothing that will keep people in the Church like the Preaching and teaching of the Word.  I love worship and it is important after all we are created to worship the Living God, but the Bible does not say blessed are the feet of those who lead in worship but rather it says those who bring the Gospel.

Today many kids are not being fed God’s word.  They are getting what my mentor Pastor called sermonettes.  Most kids today have no idea how to defend the faith.  When they go to college and they cannot explain how all men came from Adam yet the Bible teaches incest is a sin they feel helpless.  How many of our High School kids can explain why the word dinosaur is not in the Bible.  That is a question that no professor will even ask because they would discredit their own knowledge and philosophy because they know that word was not invented until the 1800’s.  In other words over 200 years after the KJV was translated.  Unfortunately our youth are not being equipped with God’s word and to make matters worse their parents at home are not helping most of the time because they don’t have a passion for God’s word either.

 You see God’s word has been discredited in so many pulpits.  The belief today is “don’t offend anybody but instead encourage and love that is what people need”.  Do you think Satan minds what Rob Bell is teaching?  He teaches nobody is going to Hell.  This is what people want to hear.  However if we neglect in our Bible teaching Churches how to defend the faith and know what you believe in then we will lose our kids.  We have to teach God’s word to young people in a way that they will know and be prepared to be mocked and criticized.  One time I was out knocking on doors and I visited a family that had come a few times.  I knocked on the door and the Husband answered the door.  I said man we sure enjoyed you guys visiting us awhile back and we would love to have you and your family back.  He said “well to be honest with you I like you and the pastor ok, but my wife cannot stand you!”  I have always been the charming kind of guy.  The issue was his wife was lost and I preached that lost people when they die go to Hell.  I have been mocked and criticized, but I have never suffered for Christ.  Our youth need to be prepared and so trained that they will stand for God to a point they desire to suffer!

John the Baptist was so radical that he called Herod a coveting wife stealing adulterer who was going to face the judgment of God.  Jesus was such a rebel that he told the men who ruled over the Jewish religion (Pharisees) that their father was Satan.  Peter was so extreme that he told all of Israel at one of the largest festivals of the year that they were murders and was responsible for the death of Jesus Christ.  John wrote about the apostates and described them as liars and workers of the antichrist.  Notice I didn’t even use the Old Testament. 

Problem#3:  Christ is not the priority.  When Jesus was being beaten and humiliated the scripture tells us that he did not get angry or despise those who beat him and laughed.  When they whipped him to the point that his intestines began to come out of his gashes in the abdomen and his faced was swollen to nearly twice the normal size and he walked down the Via Dolorosa carrying the cross he did not stop loving.  Why?  Because you were the priority!  The Bible says in Heb 12:2 that the only thing he despised was the shame.  He despised the shame of sin, but he loved you and me.  That same scripture said the he endured the cross because of the “joy to come”.

Our young people today do not see Christ as the priority in many Churches.  How many times have you been to Church and somebody say well we got a “good crowd” or “there ain’t many here tonight”?  When I hear that stuff it just irritates me.  We are sending the wrong message.  The purpose of Church is not to see how many show up, but rather to recharge and equip for spiritual warfare.  Has anybody read Ephesians 6?  If I have 5 teenagers at my next meeting some people will see that as a disappointment, but not me.  I see it as an opportunity to teach.  I would love to have 500, but God is in charge not me.  

But the Church system itself is only a byproduct of the people who make up the Church, and here is the key I think.  Too many kids are being raised that self-sacrifice is not essential in the Christian walk.  If you are not sacrificing then you are not serving.  Jesus said “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:23-27 ESV)  This is not the mindset that our young people are learning, but instead they are learning to take care of themselves.  Sports, school, work, and hobbies are more important than Church to so many of our young people.  They learned this from somebody.

The good news is we don’t have to stay in this condition.  We can keep our kids in Church and train them to be future Church leaders.  To do this we have to get real with God and submit our time to him.  We have to live in righteousness so that Christ is honored and our testimony is assured.  We have to sacrifice and miss out on worldly things so Christ is always the priority.  We have the greatest gift of love in our Lord.  He is worthy of our time.  May we pledge our whole life to him!

Praise him this Easter!

Jesus Saves,

RR

Purity Sereis Part 1 (Teen Girls)

Today’s post is written by Anne Ward.  I am so glad that Anne signed up to do this portion of the purity series.  As I said in yesterday’s blog we have divided the kids into 2 groups and will finish the series in week four as a co-ed group in our Youth worship.

Jesus Saves,

RR

Purity 101

First, i want everyone to choose a wedding dress and just hang on to it.  We're going to be talking a little about getting married tonight, and you're going to need appropriate attire  ; )

When i was a senior in high school, my best friend Julie and i spent a whole night looking at bride magazines and picking out dresses.  If you can believe it, my mom made me one of the dresses i picked out that night for my actual wedding, so hang on to it, you might need it later.

Let's pray before we get into this uncomfortable subject matter : )

I.  Purity

Purity.      What is purity?

Let me give the textbook definition..

        "freedom from contamination, from anything that would spoil the   taste or the pleasure, reduce the power or in any way adulterate       what the thing was meant to be"

What were we meant to be?    …reflections of God, Himself.

Anything that keeps us from doing that causes us to be impure.

That purity doesn’t begin with sexual purity necessarily.

Certainly that is part of it, but it’s so much more than that.

It starts with our heart-attitude toward God.

In this series, our focus is sexual purity , but know that sexual purity is only one area, and it starts on the inside, with our hearts, not our bodies.

II.  Sex

Since i used the "S" word, let's just go there...        Sex.

What is it?

What is the definition of sex?

Is it sex only if it can get you pregnant?

And what is a virgin?

Well, you can't avoid sin if you don't know it's sin, right?

So, we've got to define what this "sin" is...

What is sex?

It’s not a trick question.

Webster's dictionary defines sex as "sexual intercourse".

But can our definition, as Christians, be different?

Absolutely!

Can you be a virgin according to the world and still be living in sin according to the Word of God?

Oh  yeah!

Let's see what the Bible says...

1 Corinthians 6:16-20 (The Message)

 ^16-20There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one." Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never "become one." There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another. Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.

Ephesians 5:3-4 (The Message)

 ^3-4Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.

Hebrews 13:4 (The Message)

Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.

Romans 13:14 (Amplified)

14But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts).

God doesn't just deal with sex, does He?

He draws the line way before "sexual intercourse," as Webster defined it.

God says...Don't even let it get into your head.

So... anything that causes you to think about sex or anything you do to cause someone else to think about sex is sin, right?   Wow!

III. Oops!

So, what does that mean for us?

Where does that mean we draw the line?

How far is too far?

Is it ok to kiss?

Is it ok to hold hands?

What do you girls think?

We're going to talk a lot more about those kinds of things next week.

That's your teaser to get you back next Wed ; )

But some of you may need to do some business in order to be ready for next week.

I am so grateful that God led Randy to offer this series at this time.  Most of you are still so young that dating is really not even an issue yet, so thankfully, you will know how to deal with things before you're in the middle of them. 

Some of you, however, are already dating and some of you may have already made some poor choices. 

We haven't really discussed how far is too far, but some of you  know that you've already gone too far.  There's no question in your mind.

IV.  Unconditional Love

I want to be really clear on this...

Although the choices you make certainly effect your relationship with the Lord, you cannot make enough bad decisions to effect His love for you.  He is always available for you to come back.

So, if there are some of you who have crossed the line in your dating life, i want you to know that God is waiting with His arms open wide for you to return to Him.

All He requires is a brokeness over your sin and repentance, or turning from that sin.  We're not going to stop for  a time of response or anything like that, but if you do fall into that category, i am available to talk to you, or you can just spend some time with the Father in your bedroom at home.

I want everybody to write down Psalm 51 that way anyone who needs to repent will have those verses tonight after you're home.

God is the ultimate forgiver and restorer.

You cannot do anything that will ever trump His love for you...ever!

V.  Betrothed

In 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 Paul says this,

        2 Corinthians 11:2-3 

          2 For I am zealous for you with a godly eagerness and a divine jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one Husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ

          3 But [now] I am fearful, lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Paul was jealous for the church members at Corinth because he had been the officiating minister at their engagement to God.

Does that make any sense at all?

As believers, we are betrothed to God.  Betrothal is more serious than an engagement, but that's the closest thing we have.  One major difference being that when girls were betrothed to their future mate, the groom's family paid a dowry or a down payment to secure the bride for their son.

Are you ready?!  This is awesome stuff!

Jesus is the Dowry, or Down Payment, that was paid for our marriage to the King of Kings.  That's how much God wanted us to marry Him.

He    bought    us    with    His    Son!

Girls. how can we take that for granted and chase after anything else?!

When we come to know God through, His Son, Jesus Christ, we enter into a betrothal contract; we are engaged to marry Jesus.

Does that sound weird to you?

If it does, that's because this world has sold us the lie that we need something else... that God is not enough.  And it's just that, a lie!!!

hand out & read "Courted by the Creator"

God is head over heels in love with us.  We don't think of the relationship we have with God as an emotional, love relationship, but it is!  Or at least He desires for it to be.

In Philippians, Paul says that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow.  (Philippians 2:9-11)

That gives a whole new meaning to "weak knees", doesn't it?

I want the name of our Betrothed to make us "weak in the knees".

If It doesn't, pray for that kind of love for Jesus!

I pray for it all the time!

VI.  Theme and Ribbons

        A.  "More Like Fallin' in Love"

I chose us a theme song for this series too.  I'm sure you've heard it...

It's "More Like Fallin' in Love" by Jason Gray.

(hand out lyrics)

Here's why i chose this song...

Somehow we have made relationship with God some unemotional, contract that we sign in order to receive our get-out-of-hell-free-card.

But it's not!

God is in love with us, and i believe it breaks His heart that we are not in love with Him.

Jesus.

say It with me...  Jesus.

Girls, that name is powerful, and It should make our little hearts pitter patter more than any great guy we will ever meet on this earth.

        B.  Purple Ribbons

As a symbol of our betrothal, and to give you a visual reminder of your engagement to Jesus Christ, as well as, to remind you to pray for true purity, i have purple ribbons for us.

They are purple because, as believers, we are daughters of God, daughters of the King...or, as i like to say, princesses, and purple is symbolic of royalty.

You didn't know you were royalty, did ya?

And, more importantly, you didn't know i was royalty!

So, let's tie these on our left wrist, since that's the closest one to our hearts.  And keep this, at least, until we finish this series or longer if you want.

        C.  A Love Story

Really, our lives are like great novels or movies.

And, we often think that we are the main character, but we shouldn't be.

The main character is God.

And, did i mention it's a love story?!

In fact, it's the greatest love story ever!

Spoiler alert!!! ...

In the end,    we     get     the     God!!! 

        Not the guy!    ...the God!

Revelation 16:6-9 (The Message)

^6-8Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty cataract, the sound of strong thunder:

   Hallelujah!
   The Master reigns,
      our God, the Sovereign-Strong!
   Let us celebrate, let us rejoice,
      let us give him the glory!
   The Marriage of the Lamb has come;
      his Wife (that's us) has made herself ready.
   She was given a bridal gown
      of bright and shining linen.
   The linen is the righteousness of the saints.

 ⁹The Angel said to me, "Write this: 'Blessed are those invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.'" He added, "These are the true words of God!"

Do you have your wedding dresses.  Well, you won't need 'em.  Our Groom and His Dad are gonna take care of our dresses.  How awesome is that?!  We don't even have to worry about what to wear!

Come back next week.  That's when we're going to put the rubber to the road, so to speak.  We're going to look at some very specific things you can do to remain pure.  And you pray before you come, because some of the things i'm gonna say might be hard to hear.

Pray.

...Purity 101 Worksheet to take home...

Purity Series (Teen Boy's) Part 1

Last week we began a purity series in our Wednesday night youth worship.  We decided that to do this we should break off into two groups and separate the guys and the girls.  We are going to do this for three weeks and then we will have our last part of the series in a joint service.  I am teaching the guys and we are having a lot of fun with this.

Unfortunately the subject of sex and living a pure life for Christ is quickly vanishing.  There are not many Churches addressing these topics with their Youth.  We feel that this is desperately needed.  We cannot avoid the subject!  The Bible is filled with information and direction of how we are to behave and live a life of Purity.  I made several mistakes as young man growing up and I don’t want any kid in our county to not understand God’s system. 

When I began doing my research I really had a hard time finding info without having to pay for some large packet.  Please feel free to copy and paste this if you would like to start a series at your Church or in your home.  If you want all the info I have you can look me up on facebook or twitter and let me know.  I will email you the doc files.  I will share with you over the next few weeks all of our series both Boys and Girls lesson plans.

This section was written by Randy Runions and Anne Ward.

Jesus Saves,

RR

Becoming God’s Man

In a World that Hates God

Part 1

Guys I have to tell you something that nobody ever told me until my wife and I got married.  Right now your future wife has most of your wedding planned.  Seriously!  Apparently most girls dream of that and imagine how wonderful it will be.  They plan where it will be and how they will look and even how you will look. 

If you are anything like I was as a teenager then that is probably the last thing on your mind.  But here is the cool thing. Your future wedding day is an illustration and dramatization of the Church’s future wedding day with the Groom who is the Lord Jesus Christ.  I hope that when we finish this series we not only have a heart for God, but a heart for the lady God puts in our life just as Christ has for his future Bride. 

In order to serve God in an “Unashamed” frame of mind we have to be willing to be uncommon.  This series ignores the attitude of what everybody else is doing.  This series is based on the Bible and God’s standards not the worlds view.

What in the world is going on?

·         In 2009 46% of high school students admitted to having sexual intercourse.

·         Each year 19 million STD infections occur and nearly half of them are among 15-24 years of age.

·         2800 teenage girls get pregnant everyday

·         1 out of 2 Rapes are under the age of 18 and 1 out of 6 are under the age of 12

So here is the question.  If we live by an attitude that everybody is doing it then at what point is too far? Is pregnancy ok?  Is catching a disease ok?  Is rape ok?  The world conveniently sets standards and decides what is ok.  We only have one law giver and Christ is King!

Apostle Paul’s Plea for Purity 

I Thessalonians 4:1-8

1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; 2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. 8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit

I.                   Purity

a.       What is Purity?

                                                              i.      “freedom from contamination, from anything that would spoil the taste or the pleasure, reduce the power or in any way adulterate what the thing was meant to be.

b.      What has God Created us to be? The reflections and image of the Triune God      

                                                              i.      Genesis 1:26= “Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.

                                                           ii.      Anything that keeps us from displaying the image of God is also making us impure. 

                                                         iii.      Purity Does not begin with sexual purity, but rather it begins with a heart for God.

                                                          iv.      This series is a focus on what we believe is one of the greatest challenges facing every young person in our culture.  Today sexual purity is under attack.

II.               Sex

a.       What is sex?

                                                              i.      Webster’s dictionary defines it as “Sexual Intercourse”

                                                           ii.      Are Christians held to a higher standard than worldly philosophy and interpretations? Absolutely

                                                         iii.      We clearly see this today in film and music.  Virginity in worldly standards only has to do with one thing, but God has called for his Children to not think and behave as the world but rather “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2)

                                                          iv.      What does the Bible say about sex?  Well it’s all over the book but here are a few key verses that get to the point!

1                          I Corinthians 6:16-20 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

16 Do you not know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For it says, The two will become one flesh. 17 But anyone joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

  18 Flee from sexual immorality! "Every sin a person can commit is outside the body," but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

Ephesians 5:3-4 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

3 But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. 4 And coarse and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks.

Hebrews 13:4 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

4 Marriage must be respected by all, and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge immoral people and adulterers.

Romans 13:14 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.

         

1.    The Bible does not suggest sexual standards.  Many people will tell you this is ok as long as you don’t do this, but God’s word is not made up of hidden messages.  Instead it is clear.

2.    Here is what the Bible says: males and females have no place or right before a holy God to conduct or even suggest relationships that can even lead to lust or sexual tendencies.

3.    What does that mean? God’s word is telling all young men to keep their hands to themselves and their eyes and ears protected from anything that can lead to them unholy thoughts.

4.    If you take part in anything that makes you think about sex or desire sexual tendencies the Bible calls it sin.

III.            How do we stay Pure?

A.     Let’s look at some basic concepts tonight and we will go further next week.

1.       Stay pure by living for Christ one day at a time.  Too many people are racing through life and bypassing their youth.  How many kids do you see who wish they were teens and how many teens wish they were adults.

2.       Solid and open relationship with Christ.  Is he your Lord?  Jesus said “if you love me keep my commandments”.

3.       Adore him.  Can Christ fulfill and satisfy your needs?

IV.             What if I have gone too far?

A.      Let’s look at some basic concepts tonight and we will go further next week.

1.       What can separate you from the Love of God?

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:


      “ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
       We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”^[c]
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)

2.        If your answer is nothing can than you missed Paul’s message.  You see God’s love is overwhelming and that is plain in this verse, but what many people don’t realize is we have a sin problem in this world.  Nothing can come against God’s people and separate them from Christ, but when we let sin in then we are separated.  I will explain more next week

3.       So what do you do? Repent!  Repentance means not that you are sorry but that you are turning away from sin.

Let’s pray!