Sex and Marriage - Proverbs 5:15-29 - The Wise Family

RI hey my name is Pastor Bobby and we are in the last week of our wise family series. And if you're one of our campuses. Let me just welcome you today.

I am so excited to be able to finish this sermon series and I know Pastor Andrew from talking to him is super excited to be back next week to kick off back to school weekend so let me be a little honest with you today. Last weekend when I was trying to figure out what this week's sermon was going to be on my wife and I have been joking around because we were bummed because our kids are in Florida for the week at Nana camp and my boys. They love to hear when I preach. And they love to hear the illustrations and they remember them and so we were bummed that they were to be gone. And then last Saturday I looked at the topic and I said we are actually talking about sex today. That would've made them being here a little different.

Hearing their origin story. So then my wife tells me that she was very excited that I was preaching on sex and I said I really honestly do not know what that means, that may give new perspective to them being gonna Nana camp for the week. The only reason I can think that Pastor Andrew gave me this topic because he knows that I am way less easily embarrassed than he is. So all joking aside, this is a very important topic today were to be in Proverbs chapter 5 and this is a very important text on sex and so before we actually jump into the text. Let me say a couple different things. I think it's just worthwhile to note on the front and the first one is when you read Proverbs 500 and realize this could be five sermons out of Proverbs 5 because it's talking about so much and so use at the know today that I'm to be way narrow in scope and so let me just apologize ahead of time because some of you are going to be like. I wish to address this, or I wish you would've addressed this, are we really can talk about this and if we have five sermons we could do that but we only have one sermon so it can be very narrow in scope.

Another thing to note here is that we don't do shock jock recruit preaching here at Mercy Hill. This is certainly going to be a sermon on sex and that's what the text addresses, and so working to address that head on, but I like to be saying a bunch of stuff outside of the biblical text about sex were to be addressing exactly what Proverbs 5 addresses. So let's go ahead and jump into our text today were to be really going throughout the whole chapter of Proverbs 5, but specifically our main verses for today are verses 15 through 19 slumming ahead reading for us today.

Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets.

Let them be for yourself alone and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. A lovely dear a graceful dough, let her breasts fill you at all times with the light being intoxicated always in her love. It's funny, I think I just saw some of the men maybe taking notes for the very first time here at Mercy Hill sort of see today from Proverbs 5 is that sex is an extremely powerful gift from God. It's a beautiful thing. It's a wonderful thing but it is extremely powerful. That really is the message of Proverbs. Five. Let me be one way to sorta think about it on the front in here so my wife has sort of.

She she's begun to get embarrassed by me because we love to take these vacations where we go to the different locations where we love to hike and run in the mountains and national parks and all that and I got into this bad habit it's having three times now of arguing with the park rangers okay. I'm not normally a person like that, but we go to these places and a lot of times they don't understand where they are not to hike but to run and so I'll begin to talk to them and some these places you have to get a permit to go here you get a permit to go to the top of this peak and I remember one time I got there a right before the park closed and I was telling the lady hey I'm going up to the top and back in. You know she's like well can take you four hours a citizen take me two hours and she had this real country sort of accident. She says, sir, that's impossible and I was like no it's actually not working around the top and back. So I've kind of gotten his habit of you know that they don't know the idea of like practically running in these mountains so recently we are in Colorado about four weeks ago and my wife really want to go to the Black Canyon, is very similar to the Grand Canyon. Here's a here's a picture of it. The amazing beautiful.

It's about a 2000 foot just sheer drop off all the way down to the river. There, and so when we went to the park.

We are like we gotta go to the bottom like we have to go to the bottom so we came back two days later. And of course I began to get a little scuffle with the park ranger because one you like a permit to hike a trail my playing a permit to hike the trails America which I can permit there. They only about 19 permits per day. We got the last three permits.

So me and the two older boys was 11 AM and she was very concerned about us starting our hike.late she's like I strongly advise you against starting this high 11 AM. She said it will take you no less then six hours to get to the bottom and back. And not only that we had to sign this thing that stated all the ways that we could die in the Black Canyon and my two sons are 10 and eight she's making them repeat back to her.

Hey, do you realize the first signs of dehydration are a headache and diarrhea and making them repeat it back to her and so we go and we hike it we go all the way to the bottom.

Here's a picture of us to the bottom.

It was so amazing but I will tell you coming back out.

It was about 2000 feet of gain in less than 2 miles and my kids a lot better than I did but by the time I got to the top. I was so worn out and I told my wife afterwords I said I'm surprised they let anybody go down to the bottom because what happens on these sort of trails, especially in canyons is why so many people die the Grand Canyon. So many people die. The Black Canyon because they're so beautiful there so enticing and at the beginning. It's the easiest part.

Your discount walking downhill walking downhill and you don't quite realize once you get to the bottom.

You have 95% of the work left to get back up to the top and so many people just end up dying menus.

Look it up every single year dozens of people die. The Grand Canyon. The reason is is because how dangerous it is, they're attracted by the beauty either drawn in by the beauty but they are not prepared at all, and in many ways sex were to see from Proverbs 5 is very much the same way. It's awesome. It's beautiful. It's a gift from God, but it will destroy you if you underestimate its power. So I have to be. Unfortunately, the park ranger today from Proverbs 5, warning us about the beauty, the wonder, but also the dangers of sex.

Here's the big idea for today's sermon wise families understand the power of God's design for sex wise families understand the power of God's design for sex easy sex can bring destruction, life, joy, sorrow, and wise families understand this, and because they understand how powerful it is. They know how to protect it outside of marriage and pursue it within marriage. Okay let me hear everybody say these two were there what you say protects every say pursue okay if you remember anything today leaving the sermon. Those are two big points protect and pursue.

This is what Proverbs chapter 5 teaches a really good quote I heard this week that kinda summarizes Proverbs chapter 5 and the message it's trying to get across in the message. I'm gonna try to get across today is this the enemies plan is to get you in bed before marriage and keep you out of bed after marriage. If the enemy can do that then sex will be distorted in our lives, and instead of being a blessing and a joy didn't very much will be a curse for us.

So let's look at this first big rock of protecting it outside of marriage wise families protect sex outside of marriage. Let me clarify.

I think the language is very simple, but it can be confusing. I don't mean like protected sex. We don't want, contraception, and the point what were saying is wise families. We protect ourselves from sex outside of marriage.

Okay, we protect ourselves from sex outside of marriage.

Remember, sex is like the Black Canyon to beautiful. It's wonderful but is extremely powerful and dangerous. It's so wonderfully powerful that the Bible teaches that marriage is the only thing that can actually handle it. And that's the reason we should protect ourselves, our kids are friends from pursuing sex outside of marriage because the only relationship that I can handle it is a marriage relationship between a man and a woman. I remember when I was a little kid and I was at my friends house and it just me and him and his mom left us for a little bit. We were pretty younger like eight or nine years old and they had a treadmill in their living room and she's like, whatever you do when I leave. Do not get on or touch the treadmill. So of course as soon as she left were like I get on the treadmill okay and so I never been on a treadmill and I was the point.

That's what she did want us on either been on a treadmill so I stand on the side on the rails you know and I tell my friend Josh and my crank it up. He knows that he cranks it up. I think it's it's a 10 or six days.

He was like a 10 miles an hour about a six minute mile.

And so it's going and I don't know any better and I just jump on you know. And of course what happens. I immediately fall down right and I'm holding onto the handles and a two strategist Dragon my knees on the ground you just Dragon and I remember this even this was like 31 years ago just Dragon my knees on the ground.

I don't know what to do.

I don't know how to get off and so finally you know I was 70 pounds soaking wet. Finally, I just let go and the thing just literally just shot me and I hit the back wall of the living room. The point was we were old enough, we were wise enough we were smart enough to handle the treadmill and the thing with sex is the only relationship that can handle it is a married relationship because of the power of it and you see people are so confused by this in our culture today. You know they think that God is this killjoy when it comes to sex or Christians are anti-sex or anti-sexuality, when in fact is literally the opposite. God created sex for pleasure in the building of families and no one is more pro-sex in the right context, and Christians because God created sex to be a blessing God created sex, not to ruin our joy but to bring us joy and everyone of us of the appropriate age today. This is the question we should be asking the young, old, single, married, what am I doing to protect myself from sex outside of marriage because within marriage, it brings blessing outside of marriage.

It brings destruction. We must protect ourselves from sex outside of marriage because is rinsing.

Proverbs 5 the consequences. The consequences are so high, it's like the Black Canyon. It's beautiful. It's wonderful with the consequences of you going down to the bottom not be able to get back up means you die at the bottom of the Black Canyon and that ranger she was very serious. You know, making my boys recite all the ways that they could die in the Black Canyon but I'm sure that speech has save somebody's life before and so Solomon here in Proverbs 5. He's got to be the park ranger of like sex. It's beautiful. It's wonderful, but he doesn't want his sons he don't want us to have to learn these lessons about sex the hard way because were to see that many of these lessons about sex their life and death lessons. These are small little tiny lessons. These are serious lessons look at some the scripturally Proverbs 5 verse three and four for the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey. Her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end what she's as bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edge sword Proverbs 55. Her feet.

They go down to death, her steps follow to the path to she'll. Proverbs 511.

This would a life of sexual sin looks like. At the end of your life.

You grown when your flesh and body are consumed.

This how the chapter ends the iniquities of the wicked ensnare him.

He's held fast in the cords of his sin he dies for lack of discipline and because of his great folly. He is led astray. You see, sex outside of marriage, it can destroy both body and soul me just just look at those words from Proverbs 52 edge sword. She'll flesh and body consumed ensnared death. These are all words that Proverbs 5 uses to describe sex outside of marriage.

The point is we must take very seriously the real-life consequences of this and for me, I don't think there's anywhere that the Bible has proved to be more true than here. I mean we just see this all around us. The consequences of sex outside of marriage. I mean, you could usefully we can literally just sit here for days and list all of the consequences, disease, divorce, unplanned pregnancies, abortion losing your family hurting your kids losing a job falling out a ministry becoming depressed. The list could literally go on and on and on. This written 3000 years ago.

This is how you know the Bible is true. Not to mention the invisible scars that so many people carry around with them because of sexual sin.

So the stakes are extremely high, so how can we actually protect ourselves. Proverbs 5 gives us a very very wise sort of principles that we can follow to protect ourselves to really get for super practical tools to protect ourselves and so you know if you're single. If you been married for a long time. If you're a teenager like you need to write these down because this is universal wisdom from God who created us of the ways that we can protect ourselves and protect those around us from sex outside of marriage. So for tools to protect ourselves from sex outside of marriage. The first one is this incline ourselves to the Bible's teaching on sex. This is verse one my son, be attentive to my wisdom incline your ear to my understanding that you may keep discretion and your lips may guard knowledge.

It doesn't matter how practical the tools are that word again after this if your heart is not inclined to want to obey God. None of it matters like none of it matters little, and so everyone of us before we get into some super practical stuff about how to protect ourselves, we have to ask the question, do we want to obey God's desire for us yoga. Satan would want us to believe going back all the way to the garden that God's desires for us are not good. And so do we want to trust what God says in his word are we willing to do whatever it is that the Bible tells us to do that. The decision we have to make right at the beginning and that's why Proverbs 5 starts with this because the practical tools don't matter if you're not inclined to want to obey God's teaching on this ugly super transparent with you guys and others throughout the rest of the sermon life like it could be helpful for some people. I remember my wife and I Allison were first dating. This was about 20 years ago. Both of us had sexual sin before we dated and we both brought that right into our relationship.

Like so many people do and so of course we were not obeying God's word. We were in sexual sin and I was probably 1819 at the time and I had been a believer for that long and I had this long struggle over God, can I actually obey you in this area like God can actually trust you know is a 1920-year-old young man.

The hormones are so strong I just cannot trust you and for so long.

We were just not obedient in this area and me being this ghetto very immature, but also wanting to kind of obey God at the same time. Once I started really trying to obey God. I just broke up with Allison no notice no explanation.

I was just like I don't have the maturity to stay in this relationship and for this relationship to be pure and so I dislike broke the relationship off and God really use that in our lives.

Over the next year so that we could be people when we got back together even before we are married we could be people that were self-controlled, you know that had the spirit of self-control because if you don't have self-control before marriage, you certainly are not and have self-control in marriage and so you know I just had to make that commitment of like God. I want to obey your word on this, even though it's extremely hard. The second thing that we can do these there's there's forget super practical. We should guard our speech we can. Proverbs 53 for the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey. Her speech is smoother than oil want to clarify one thing. Here's were not confused. It's not that, like the women are just attempters or anything. This is Solomon writing to his son. So we talking about a woman here, but men or women, both contempt each other into sexual sin, which is be super clear about that and my experience of seeing way more men attempting women into sexual sin than the other way around, but obviously it could go either way. We must guard our speech. You know many many affairs start now with the actual affair but they start with words you know they start with like words over coffee pot at the office or words over a lunch meeting and so are we guarding what we say to the opposite sex. That's extremely important over married. It could just be simple, flirting with the opposite sex or something else we must guard our words and what I'm saying is I'm not saying you will say this though, well, you can have a genuine friendship with somebody the opposite sex and nothing at all what I am saying. If you have a genuine friendship with someone of the opposite sex. There should be light on that relationship, and there should be accountability around that relationship especially if you're married, so we must guard our words. The third thing is we must guard our location. Guard your location with what verse 8 Says Keep Your Way far from her. Do not go near the door of her house doesn't say I don't know in the door of her house that's obvious. Don't bow near the door of her house know that's assuming that you and I every single one of us are flesh and blood and have a sinful nature to the commit the command here is not known go in but don't even go near the door of the house and so for all of us. I think we need to say what is that door of temptation for us.

What are the places or the areas we are most tempted is a certain person's house is in a certain place.

Is it the Internet is your phone is a group of friends. What is saying here. Proverbs 5 don't even go near the door. So who here today need to change your location needs to change a job or change even having a phone if that's how you're accessing pornography or change the group of friends that you have you seen so many times I been so many of his counseling situations, we begin to bring up hey I work out of town.

I travel I struggle with sexual sin. My work out of town and I travel and we say okay you should quit your job and find another job.

What I can do that there's there's a man. The consequences are way too high for that one consequences here. Proverbs 5B literally using words like death or he talked to Noah Collison and that's addicted to pornography. Maybe you say hey if you literally got ready your phone, you know, you just stayed away from the door a little bit more probably be a little easier because there's no way I could do that. There's no there's no way I could do that. There's no at 11 2022, without a phone.

It's like okay that's a huge pain to not have a phone but what's worse to me. Look at what Proverbs 5 describes in terms of the road. Sexual sin leads down Marilyn Jesus says in Matthew 530. If you are right hand causes you to sin, cut off, but I think in, cut it off and throw it away for it's better that you lose one of your members, then your whole body go into hell. I member for me when I was going to this struggle that I mentioned earlier, the first two years of college wasn't a sexual centers as a host of just struggling to live in honor and glorify God and I I came to realize that there my first two years of college. I was cut away at college like many students are God just so convicted me I was like I just leave school like I just quit school move back home and go to school somewhere else because a group of friends because of where I lived like I had just I was just bound up in all these simple simple habits and I like the only way the only way that I'm to get free from this is just totally change my location and so some of you if you're dealing with some maybe sexual sin that nobody knows about years made a total location change whether it's job phone or whatever else the fourth one about protecting ourselves is to know that God sees your ways you think Solomon mentions this on purpose for a man's ways are before the eyes, the Lord, and he ponders all his paths, you know, we follow God.

We need a healthy fear that all of our lives are lived before the Lord.

God sees our dorm room. He sees us when you're online.

He sees us when were on a work trip.

He sees our thought life. God ponders our paths so we may bill to keep this stuff secret right from our spouse, our kids are our friends, but God is letting all of us know that he certainly he certainly sees it. So these things here. These four things they will go a long way in protecting us from sexual centers were willing to walk this path. Let me say a couple things before we move on to the second point of today's sermon. There maybe some of you who are teenagers or college students you're young and your like men I hear what you're saying and I believe what Proverbs 5 is saying like I believe it II realize I shouldn't act out in sexual sin. But when you look forward your like man I married for 10 more years you don't like what I supposed to do and one thing I would just say because I think we often can get confused about this know you may be craving intimacy. Or you may be lonely. A sexual relationship is not the only way to be fulfilled and that God created us to have intimacy and relationship with him and that really can fulfill our hearts and even a even intimacy among friends. It's not just a sexual relationship, but we can have this deep community with other people. That's not necessary. Sexual sexual and so I just think we need to keep that in mind as you are struggling through this and yeah maybe you're not get married for 10 years you can still pursue a deep relationship with God and with others and be fulfilled in that sexual sin will only make your soul thirstier a promise that is not to fulfill what you actually think it's going to fulfill. Let me say this to before we move on this to be a little controversial but it is absolutely true. Marriage is not a cure for sexual sin. There are some of you today. I just know it that you're living in a relationship you're not married. Maybe you're engaged, whatever you're living in sexual sin and you both are telling each other. Certainly when we get married it will solve this. I promise you it will not solve it will intemperance yes I think possibly because Paul is very clear. Being married and the desire for sex. It's kind of like a firewall like help when you are married with those desires, but a firewall does not keep the fire out. Drivers are like a fire extinguisher and he says this in first Corinthian seven because of the temptation is sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife or conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband.

So does being married help deal with those desires yes absolutely very clear from your but if you cannot control yourself if you don't have self-control, you're not, get married, and all the sudden have self-control. That's just the reality of it and I would just say this, obviously, people can change people get married they grow they could change, but I would be extremely cautious about marrying somebody that does not have self-control because that will play out in a number of very reckless ways.

Once you actually are married I see just as many married men that are addicted to pornography as single men that are addicted to pornography and so getting married doesn't just solve the sexual sin problem or issue are isoleucine outside of marriage, sex must be protected but now let's look at the other side of the coin while should be protected outside America should be pursued inside of marriage reverence like the Black Canyon is not you get is not going to the Black Canyon when you does better understand what you're dealing with, and sex is the same way.

That's why marriage is the only thing I can handle it so .2 wise families pursue sex with in marriage.

This may embarrass y'all it's not embarrassed me at all okay. Unfortunately, there are many marriages where sex is so protected outside of marriage. But the same effort is not given to pursuing it within marriage and Proverbs 5 is very clear that it absolutely should be pursued and prioritized within marriage.

There's a big issue if all the effort is going into protecting it outside of marriage.

If you're married, but not pursuing it within marriage in these verses, I think give us at least two ways to pursue sex within marriage. The first one is this with intentionality.

We must intentionally pursue one another in marriage. Look at verse 15 and 16 is both sides of the coin is not talking about like just what you should do is actually talking about what you should do here. Drink water from your own cistern, so it's not just saying hey, don't. Don't drink water from that wanted saying drink water from your own cistern. This is talking about sex flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets. Let them be for yourself alone and not for strangers with you.

So I think the question I would ask all of us. If you're married is the pursuit of your spouse the most intentional thing you're doing and your family not your kids not there sports, not your job not your business not your finances not your hobbies, not your ministry.

Let's not be confused about any of this. All of those things probable without a healthy marriage and there's a million stories and examples of that. And this is missed so often get married you have kids you have a good job and all of those things end up becoming the priority when in reality the foundation of all of that is built on as a healthy marriage and so it's not just being intentional about sex. It's about being intentional about the relationship like being intentional with your spouse. Good marriage. Good sex life happens by accident. And here I know some of you are saying here's a summary you're saying right now and you're in your mind you're not saying out loud. Or maybe, maybe your nudging your spouse.

You know he's just examples. You know some men maybe sin or some women may be saying yeah, Pastor Bobby, but you don't you don't get it. Like my husband doesn't emotionally engage with me and some men maybe saying yeah, but my wife will have sex with me or she's disrespecting me and the wife says something. The husband says something so that's why I'm not pursuing them. Probably the way that I should and Mike, I understand that like I understand how those things can become a real wedge in a relationship but you know what that is. That is literally the death spiral of marriage and intimacy because what Ephesians 5. Christian marriage gospel center marriage no Ephesians 5 teaches that you don't look at your marriage from the perspective of what can you do for me what he done for me lately. How have you treated me this week even though that's that's primarily how most of us actually think that's a death spiral for any relationship what Ephesians 5 says is no we should look at our spouse and say how can I serve you. How can I intentionally serve you whether your serving me or not.

That's the only way to break the chains of that death spiral of intimacy. The second way that we can pursue sex within marriage is with enjoyment just say that with enjoyment. Look at what verse 18 and 19 says let your fountain be blessed, rejoice in the wife of your youth.

A lovely dear a graceful go, let her breasts feel you at all times with the light be intoxicated in her love with the same. Enjoy your spouse, marriage is not a job like it's a blessing from God's words blessed. Rejoice and be filled, the intoxicated God has given us a spouse, so that we can enjoy them and rejoice in them. They can never replace God but they are certainly such a wonderful gift from God delights in your marriage. You see the thing is, marriage is such a wonderful beautiful gift from God and so many of us.

We are numb to that God has given us this wonderful spouse, and we are literally numb to the miracle of marriage you I share this before. I hate to fly. Okay, I do fly. But I hate to fly.

Okay so when I'm flying all thinking about is we are literally in a metal tube going 500 miles an hour and I have to be looking out the window just to know when were about to crash or fight the flames or anything like that. I mean it's a modern miracle that you're flying through the air in a metal tube at 500 miles an hour. Anybody that's sleeping while were flying a mic.the psychopath right there where experiencing a modern miracle you're just over here sleeping as this is normal. The thing is, honestly, that's how many of us get in the rut of our marriage of what we have this beautiful gift Ephesians 5 that literally pictures Christ's relationship to the church and the gospel and God has given us this miraculous gift and were numb to it which is totally numb to it and so I think for probably all of the couples here today as you leave, you need to have a conversation of how are we being intentional with one another how we pursuing one another.

How are we enjoying one another and some of you. I'm guessing today. You literally need to get your Bible and in the front are in the back of it.

You need to make a note and you need to literally say starting today I'm in a pursue my spouse with intentionality and with enjoyment because that's what God has created for us in marriage. So we see the two big rocks today from power.

Chapter 5.

What we do outside of marriage we protect sex.

What we do within marriage we pursue sex.

Remember that quote that I started with today. The enemies plan is to get you in bed before marriage, and to keep you out of bed after marriage and let's make a commitment today to not let that happen.

I want to close today by really swinging directly to people that believe today that you're never going to be three from the sexual sin in your past or you're never going to be free from the guilds of that sin in your past. I just want to speak the gospel message directly to you because I know the text like this. There's hundreds of people in our church that are in sexual sin may be right now. Or they are with shame and guilt over what has happened in the and you see when toppers five in this Bible and that way would be horrible for all of us. This is all Proverbs 5 and all of us have iniquity iniquities of the women ensnare him. He's held fast in the cords of his sin times for lack of discipline and because of his great falling is led astray see the reality is all of us sexual sin. Some other sin.

All of us are condemned by our own task like we are condemned exactly because of the sins that we have committed before a holy and righteous God, but see the thing is, we can be free from that in many of you have been made free from that and today you just need to start to and that to live. In contrast, the end of Proverbs 5 with Isaiah 53 verse five is about Jesus. What he's done for us. He was pierced for our transgressions that sit in the abortion the adultery, pornography addiction, some other sexual sin was pierced for every single bit of our transgressions. You can't think of one can't come up with one that Jesus was not pierced for our iniquities all the sins as high as some of them are in the sight of God and all of the sins upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds were healed. Some of you today, you need a piece for just the very first time liking you need to just say Jesus you died for me on the cross like my sin wasn't that bad that you had to literally die for what you did that because you love me and then you were buried and resurrected, and if we believe that we can have new life in Jesus can cleanse us like our sins are as far as the east is from the west. Some of you guys today made it one of the camps as you need to believe that for the very first time and there's no chain that Jesus can break but some of you that that's not the issue of believing it for the first time you just you have believed that, but you're just having trouble just walking in that vicious shame from something in your pastor's guilt, like I can never feel like unclean, but you can be in Jesus can give you that and so I don't know what you need to do today in terms of belief wise like men come for at the end of the service and talk to somebody maybe sit there in your chairs were singing. Just open your hands as if you have turned from that sin and repented and trusted Christ, you are forgiven your righteous your perfect son or daughter in the sight of God. This song that were to sing to close today.

Going to baptisms in baptism.

Obviously the perfect picture death and resurrection of Jesus. But here's one of the verses saying I really want all us all to internalize this today as we sing it is now you're making me like you holding me in white matter what we did clothing me in white bringing beauty from ashes will have your bride morning meal rid of all the shame and known by her true name and that's why I sing spray together.I pray that you will be bring freedom and healing and cleansing today. If we trusted you, Jesus. I just know that Satan would want so many people here today to just continue to sit in the shame and guilt of their sin. But Jesus you don't see them like that anymore because you have died for them you were buried. You are resurrected from them is a Holy Spirit I pray today that you will give people freedom. Freedom from the current sin may be that they're dealing with more freedom from us and from 20 years ago is in the gospel there really truly is freedom. I pray God that you would do that here today.

I pray for the singles in our church that you would give them strength to remain pure, I pray for the married couples that you give them strength and endurance to remain pure and to pursue sex within their marriage in a pursue their spouse and I pray that you would bless the marriages of our church and I pray this in Jesus name