Weeds of Unfaithfulness in the Garden of Love - Part A

Something about all of the 10 Commandments it is just good to remind us ourselves that this is getting all of the 10 Commandments were given for protection not simply a negative command for restriction. The restriction is meant for. Think about think of for instance the fifth commandment to honor your father and your mother will build the fence around the family. The six commandment thou shall not murder. The law builds offensive protection around like now. This commandment you shall not commit adultery.

The largest building and around the institution. The God gave of merit to protective scientist to fill the mating habits of birds faceted. One thing they specifically study his home on different species of birds remain made some only stay together for a season, while others made for years, one bird that's outstanding of the faithfulness department is the albatross.

Once chosen, the birds remain mates for life despite spending the majority of their time apart, what this is correct with skip. I think we can division today will see the God's plan for marriage includes the attention that we remain faithfully with her mate for life to see how that works in Skip dives into the seventh commandment with our current teaching series, God's top 10. This series takes us through the 10 Commandments of Russian modern way. As we began, we invite you to stay tuned after the teaching for some additional insight on the topic were Skip and his wife lamia first Skip is a word for you about our current September resource.

I've enjoyed watching the growth in the ministry of my friend Levi Lusk and now we are offering you is take back your life. Study guide and DVD is Levi to tell you about the solar on this idea. Taking back your life is a 40 day interactive journey thinking right so you can live right. This can be really powerful and special. I think some people to have this bellies in hardcover, which just makes me happy because I never had a booklist hardcover but has arisen. So you really keep track of your progress through these 40 days. It would be in a gift to someone who is looking to grow in their faith or for any of us. He wants maybe conduit will change for your heart.

Check online on your wellness where you're at all deal with internal difficulties and help you deal better with external circumstances that are challenging as we explore how it gets the very best version of ourselves that we are meant to be the book take back your life with a donation of $35 to connect with Skip call 1-800-922-1888 online and connectwithskip.com this hardcover book by Levi Lesko will help you take back your life. It's a 40 day interactive journey to thinking right so you can live right 1-800-922-1888. If you have a Bible close at hand.

Or perhaps a final lap. I hope you follow along to focus our thinking is Exodus chapter 20 verse 14. Now there's pastors. Abigail Van Buren, the gal started their happy she's not around anymore, but her daughter continues the same column. The dear Abby: her name is Jean Phillips.

Well, here's a letter that came in and was published in the newspaper dear Abby. I'm in love and having an affair with two different women I can marry them both.

Please tell me what to do and don't give me any of that morality stuff. Abby's answer dear Sir, the only difference between humans and animals is morality, please write to a veterinarian signed Abby adultery is a weed that grows in the beautiful garden that God intended marriage. It chokes out relational life. It devastates families and some will say well that's true but I have no problem in this area. My spouse and I enjoy a healthy wonderful marriage. This isn't even an issue. Good congratulations let this simply be preventative maintenance that, but I'll also add be careful. Be careful not to boast, as even the Bible says in Corinthians, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he every single one of us is vulnerable. Every single one of us is vulnerable man we know what it's like to have to handle the eyes. It's a problem with us women you have a different issue typically and that is the need to be appreciated, encouraged, comforted, love we all can be vulnerable in this area, it could be that some that are listening to this are currently having an affair. I don't know maybe maybe right now you're in the middle of that or you're contemplating it and maybe perhaps you've even justified it by saying will not one woman can satisfy me or one man can satisfy me totally. It's all a trap.

It's all a lie was a talkshow host talking to his guest that night was Ricardo month-old mom who has played in times past, many romantic roles and the talkshow host asked him an interesting question.

What makes a great lover's answer was surprising, he said, a great lover is someone who can satisfy one woman her entire lifetime and be satisfied with one woman. His entire lifetime. It's not someone who goes from woman to woman.

Any dog can do that." The audience was stunned and yet our society seems to elevate doglike behavior in sports heroes, musicians and even politicians. It's looked up to. It's the theme of promiscuity is of songs, movies, primetime television, in fact, it seems that the only unpopular person to be these days is a virgin Brazilian supermodel Gisele said this today.

No one is a version virgin when they get married and she said when she was interviewed recently when the church made its laws centuries ago.

Well, women were expected to be virgins first of all, the church didn't make these laws, these are long before the church ever existed were dealing Old Testament, but CS Lewis was right when he said on you said chastity is the most unpopular of all Christian virtues. He was right now.

Something about all of the 10 Commandments and it's just good to remind us ourselves of this as we get into all of the 10 Commandments were given for protection, not as simply a negative command for restrictions. The restriction is meant for protection of think about it. Think of for instance the fifth commandment to honor your father and your mother. The law builds a sense around the family with that commandment. The six commandment, thou shalt not murder.

The law builds offensive protection around life and now this commandment you shall not commit adultery. The law is building a fence around the institution that God gave of marriage to protect it. In fact, it's interesting that in Judaism there is a little saying a little phrase called the same God which means the fence.

They say the law is God's fence built to protect us. Now I'm saying that because every now and again you hear someone say you know all these commandments keep saying, thou shalt not, thou shalt not there so negative, what's up with God. It's because God is so positive. Actually that is giving the commandment.

It really is positive. If you see a sign on the door that says keep out you might think what sold him to go where. Keep reading the sign says keep out danger, explosives you all like this is going to positivism. It it so I don't blow myself to smithereens that that sign keep out danger, explosives, so it is with these commandments were to go through this tonight as well as a portion of Matthew chapter 5 like we have been in a couple of the commandments because our Lord Jesus makes reference to it. So let's get ready to turn back and forth to Matthew chapter 5 let's go to this commandment. The simple straightforward verse once again 14 verse 14 of Exodus chapter 20 you shall not commit adultery. Now adultery is fashionable, socially made the very fact that it's in the top 10 list here.

The very fact that God would include this shows that there is a major problem that his creation has with adultery, and adultery has been a popular sin always has been all the way back in the Old Testament all the way back in the Old Testament, for instance, there was bail worship in the Old Testament and the worship of the counterpart, Asher ref God and God is that were worshiped by sexual means under the groves and on the hillsides of Israel. It got so bad bail worship and Asher is worship that the prophet Amos and chapter 2 of his little book, wrote father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in a pledge by the time we get to the law of Moses. This is one of the commandments, that is, if broken, punishable by stoning to death. Now that law is certainly not an effect in this country and I can imagine if you were still in effect in this country there be rock piles everywhere on our landscape to the Greeks moving a little bit closer to modern times the pagan Greeks saw sex is merely a biological activity had no moral consequence whatsoever. In fact, in the town of Corinth.

There was a temple upon the acro Corinth it still visible in ruins today were a thousand priestesses would come in the evening, down into the city of Corinth and ply their trade to the visiting men of the city became very popular to visit Corinth. In fact, there was a saying, not every man can afford a visit to Corinth because of those 1000 priestess prostitutes ply their trade. In fact, the Greeks even claim their own word to describe human sexual love Eros were we get the term erotic.

You know what it means. At its root, Eros means to grasp because the very thought of erotic love. According to the Greeks was to take something for yourself simply to satisfy yourself it was all selfish, self oriented kind of love will today.

Sexual promiscuity is fashionable before marriage as well as after marriages shouldn't really surprise us. Should it because Jesus even said and then the last days will be similar to the days of Noah and the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, and both of those times were characterized by widespread sexual promiscuity, both heterosexual and homosexual actress, 23-year-old Jessica Alba recently said that she likes the idea of being intimate with many different men because she likes to experiment sexually and finds nothing wrong with getting to know intimately, sexually, as many men as possible in her lifetime. That's the prevailing attitude, maybe not as bumped that far out as hers, but it is the prevailing attitude James Patterson and Peter Campbell to book some years ago in which they looked at the American landscape and the activity of adultery and they noted that 49% of married Americans have at least considered having an affair with 31% actually have had an affair.

That's an alarming amount according to their findings, they say quote today a majority of Americans 62% think there's nothing morally wrong with the affairs that they're having. In fact, I don't know if you know this.

If you do, it might be frightening but I was doing a little digging and found that there are even agencies out there that will help spouses provide alibis for their spouses if they go out of town they'll have fake companies call inviting them to a conference or sending booking forms for an out-of-town meeting they'll have phone calls come to the spouse that pose as hotel concierges and saying member your reservation for this meeting that you have coming up, and even a phone number supposedly of the hotel. Obviously false that if that spouse calls will answer with the name of the hotel and even sound like they're trying to paged the room of that person become a business and unfortunately sadly it's not just outside the church is becoming an increasing problem among those who call themselves believers. One of the biggest counseling issues we have here, and any church.

As I spoke with the pastor this week in another state. He said Skip 90% of my counseling is dealing in some degree with this very issue. That's why the Bible has so many warnings about this because even great heroes in the Bible have fallen to this you can think of a few Sampson was one David another is son Absalom amnion.

Joseph was tempted in this area, so this sin.

Adultery is fashionable, socially something else and this will turn out to Matthew chapter 5 the sin is not only fashionable, socially it's formed inwardly. It's not just an act.

Is it it's an attitude that begins in the heart, often to the gateway of the eyes. That's where the seed begins Matthew chapter 5 something that I think because the crowded dropped their jaws and open their mouths, especially all the men would Jesus preach this. Matthew five verse 27 you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery.

Jesus here is quoting this seventh commandment, but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. In other words, if I may paraphrase the heart is the soil for the seed of sin grows its inward way before it's outward.

It's incremental. It's a process now in our commandment, that we just read in the Old Testament. You shall not commit adultery.

Again the Hebrew is very very simple and basic to words in Hebrew form, the entire verse, low not half low not half.

We would translate it no adultery put in by the translators. You shall not commit adultery low, not off no adultery could could speak about a single action.

However, in Hebrew, it's in what is called the imperfect tense which suggests a process and now I'm taking you back to where the process starts this where it all begins. Jesus outlines it here. Whoever he said looks and at the present participle in the Greek it is a continual process. In other words, it's not the involuntary glance it's the steady gaze. That's the problem it's David out on the rooftop of Jerusalem.

Looking out of the landscape and boy he got an Eiffel that night. He looked out there, he saw a woman bathing and David looked and then he probably went looked double take and there was a fixed steady gaze. That's where the problem began wasn't the initial look, but it was the lingering in the fantasizing by the way there's so called experts out there. They're all over the place that websites are being interviewed. Sex experts and end the typical line is well fantasizing what goes on in the mind is perfectly acceptable, they'll say as long as it stays in the mind and nobody else knows about it.

Gentlemen that's where the battle is won or lost is in it.

It's in the mind is what is allowed to be seen and then lingered over over a period of time. Remember that old saying, so I thought reconnection, so an action, reap a habit.

So a habit, reap a lifestyle and so a lifestyle you may reap a destiny. It all begins inwardly I remember having a conversation with. He wasn't a young man I was a middle-aged man had a problem with this as many men do woman to go Brian. His eyes would follow and I brought it up to him because you know I'm just appreciating God's creation. I said well I don't notice you looking at trees quite the same.

When you go by them seem to be selectively enjoying God's creation, but it's so rationalize it at that.

No unfaithfulness is fashionable social and the ideas of auditor form.

I'm so glad you were able to join us here and connect with Skip weekend division and today's teaching was just one message at an in-depth series God's talk to be encouraged and inspired as you listen again and maybe share the series with a friend. You can do that and connectwithskip.com or when you purchase a copy of this entire series for your audio library will have ordering information for you in just a moment but first some thoughts today from Skip and his wife Linda today we touched on at the Harry sticky topic, probably a topic that has become worse and worse and worse since probably the beginning of time and that was the topic of adultery and it is devastating and responsible for breaking hearts and homes and families in and lives. How would you encourage married men and women to keep their hearts wheat free good question and you're absolutely right.

But my my mind goes back to King David and most of our listeners will be aware of the story of David and his how committed adultery, and how the prophet came busted in but they may not know that he wrote a couple of Psalms. After that one was Psalm 51 and he said something in there that I was found a key he said against the. The only have I send an doneness wickedness and I remember reading that with great pause because I thought what he he sinned against Bathsheba and he sinned against her husband and he sinned against the people and his wife that he was in covenant with he sent against a lot of people, but to David first and foremost, he realized that he had sinned against God and and and that offense against a holy God is was paramount to above everything else. So I think that God is the last one people consider in an AM in a fair and if you were the first one that you might change note, Joseph fled temptation and it's because he had like Daniel purpose something is hard before, so I would tell her audience, two things to burn bridges and to build bridges, burn bridges, the temptation and to build bridges of affection.

So if you're married, you build a bridge of affection and you do things that that solidify the relationship and make it more satisfying to you communicate in a way that you both love being with each other but then you have to burn bridges of temptation and that might be like Joseph running away. You know, he literally streaked out of the room turning off the cable turning up became think running away scripts and to magazines what I learn is that they are when it's right there can be literal things and you're so good about doing that in our home and I've had a really really busy week and I come back in the bed wasn't made, and you made it our youth brought me coffee one night. It was particularly stressful and you said let me run and get dinner and it's just sound nice you know that if you just keep attending your own garden and planting beautiful seeds and beautiful flowers you need to be do some weeding thing like you said you really need to work and build those relationships and sell just fine encourage you has been said wife invest in your left one do something today that would be a sweet nothing is sweet something for them well. Thanks so much line you Skip in the message you heard today was part of God's top 10 a great series that your audio library and you can today when you get all 17 teachings bundled is an audio CD package it's only $39 plus shipping.

Or if you prefer to give each teaching individually. You can also do that from Skip-Jacob soaking adults would be forgiven will find out next time we Skip this teaching reads of unfaithfulness in the garden of love here and connect with Skip weekend division presentation of connection so you guys never change and ever-changing time