Sex, Idols, and Darkness

Today on Summit line with JD Greer intermixed through these different moral things appalls going to discuss is going to intermix six reasons why Christians act righteously can be six reasons or do what makes us different than what other religions think you're right got out why the specific six reasons that Christians act like another week on Summit line. The Bible teaching ministry of pastor, author and theologian Katie Greer. I'm your host Molly benefits of you joining us for the first time we're in a study from the book of Ephesians and Pastor JD has been showing that God isn't just concern about our actions on outside.

He's concerned about reshaping our hearts and our desires from the inside and today working to see a practical example of how that plays out in one of the most intimate parts of our lives, our sexuality is part of our series called mystery and clarity and Pastor Katie titled today's message sex titles different from other our culture that we are in and believes that all religions are essentially the same different brands same product and that's what we here at just about every turn. Here's the question is that true is that true. Last week I try to show you that in chapters 4 and five of Paul's letter to the Ephesians that Paul talks about a lot of different Christian behaviors and candidly speaking candidly speaking on the surface there is nothing particularly remarkable about that list got things on it, like honesty and hard work, kindness, loving your family loving your wife generosity. All religions teach those only is not particularly remarkable things up, always saying to us in chapters 4 and five on the surface, but what I showed you is remarkable is why a Christian does those things Paul shows you that the gospel makes us the kind of people who want to do those things Woody Allen once made a statement that the heart wants what it wants and believe it or not, the gospel agrees with that the heart does want what it wants.

And so if you force the heart to do what it doesn't want to do is get a feel like it's in captivity and that's religion which is why a lot of people resent religion. That's why religion often feels like drudgery to people. It's forcing you to do stuff that you don't really want to do and then threatening you with eternal damnation or bad karma or whatever if you don't do that way the gospel changes us.

By contrast, Paul says, is to change our heart so that it begins to what what God wants the gospel fix the one true in our heart that is broken so for the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul gives you one of the deepest explanations of the gospel that is recorded anywhere in the Bible before he gives you the first one of these moral prescriptions three chapters of deep gospel doctrine followed by three chapters of intense application, joined by a single word. Therefore, therefore, in light of the gospel, but I have walk you through for three chapters. Therefore your life will be like this. The behaviors flow out of the gospel is working on heart. The gospel changes us internally and that our behavior changes naturally. The opposite of that is a word that I taught you last week. The word was moralism. Moralism is emphasizing external obedience more than internal disposition. I told you that many of us grew up in churches that were just like this. You were where we were told constantly that we were to do this or to do that around here we call these two churches is are always telling you what you put to do what you first do not do. I compared it last week. The stapling roses on a dead bush you happy at a dead bush in your front yard. You try to figure out how to make it look alive so you got by a dozen roses and you you cut off the roses and you staple them onto the branches of that dead bush.

It may make it look good for a little while but it's just a dead bush with some live looking fruit on it right or are you from that movie 80s movie weekend at Bernie's, and I remember that we get the dead guy that you make it look like he's a lot.

Have any of you actually have.

Remember that movie or is this… I'm not that old yet you get the dead guy that you make look alive.

That's what religions are doing religions are making dead people look like they are alive by making the big things of the heart that naturally want to do and that's why religion is such a drudgery. Many people gospel change is exactly the opposite of moralism.

Your behavior changes because you change your made alive. So you act alive. The fruit tree does not need to be commanded to bear fruit. It just also naturally living people don't meet need to be commanded a brief. They just do that naturally I never once had to tell my kids, you better start breathing or I want to thank you. You'll tell a kid they just do that because there alive and if I don't do that it's because not alive. So how does the gospel bring that kind of change into our lives by you to just command your heart to change their love somebody done love what it does is it shows you the beauty of God, and it gives you an appetite for it so that you begin to desire God more than you do, said you see the gospel. Unlike other religions is not primarily a prescription of what you are to do.

The gospel is a story that reveals the beauty of God by telling you of God's great love for you that he showed for you when you purchased your salvation. You see, every religion in the world tells you to obey and if you obey then you will be accepted. So you obey in order to gain God's acceptance of the gospel declares no you are accepted, not because of anything you have done but because of what Christ has done in response to that, go and obey.

We call that gift righteousness is one of the most important elements of Christianity the most people get and that is that God's righteousness is given to you as a gift, not as a reward for what you have earned in response to that in response to seeing the beauty and the power and the grace of God freely given to you. You change, you begin to love God and you begin to love what is good and what is right to continue this discussion here in chapter 5 is Paul is going to give you some more things that Christians ought to be doing ways they should be behaving but I don't want you here. This is just a to do list because intermixed through these different moral things that Paul is going to discuss is going to intermix six reasons why Christians act righteously in the six reasons were given what makes this different than what other religions states should be to write down outline. This is it six reasons that Christians act righteously. Regulatory pieces 51 is our first one. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. There is only one as beloved children of God. We imitate our daddy as beloved children of God.

We imitate our daddy imitate means we act like him.

We respond how he would respond to situations. But notice imitate God to become his children. We imitate God because we are his children. She most religions teach you that if you imitate God enough, you will become his child is no imitate God because you are his job as beloved children imitate God. And this makes all the difference here is why when religion tells you to imitate someone be like Mohammed be like the Buddha be like Jesus or the pope or the saints when it does that, but does not give you the heart to desire what they desire. Imitation becomes wearisome around somebody that you really admire and you really want to be like and you want to imitate, but you just don't seem to be the maid out the way that they are made up that happen. It is like a great student of the right worker knew like I was out I was. It was just like them. That happened to me recently. It was around the guy who is just me was so good with people. Whenever you got around and he just like it is contagious. Kind of the most important person I've ever talked to got attitude useful good about yourself and your random is always you to put his hand on you and just excited about being around people be like that. So for a while I came back and I try to be like I was like every person I'm talking to you the most important person to me and I'm really excited just to know you just to be a part of your life, and after a while I realized like I just don't like people as much is this guy does. I think this subsuming more than I need to imitate that guy's behavior. I need his heart. That's what I need more than we need to try and act like God. We need to love in the depths of our hearts to love what God loves nice you last week. Why does God do righteousness.

What is God's righteousness is because God feels like he's going to be rewarded, and blessed. If he does only, of course, I mean he's blessing himself free to bless himself more. He does righteousness, and therefore doesn't earn that it's not because he feels like he's her look bad in the eyes of all the other neighborhood gods. If he doesn't do righteousness.

Try to keep reputation.

It's not that he's afraid to throw himself into hell if he doesn't do righteousness know God does righteousness because he loves righteousness is good because he is good and that's why it never gets tiring to him. It's always what he wants to do so again here's a question where and how do we learn to love righteousness like that God produces that in us as he makes us his child. He puts his spirit in us. He gives us his desires, he helps us see who he is and what he did for us so that we are so overwhelmed with what our daddy did to rescue us that we start naturally to love what he loves and to want what he wants and naturally begin imitate him, so it's not that we imitate him to become his child. We imitate him because we have become his child and beloved Jill get the cart before the horse. It's not that imitation brings salvation. Salvation produces a desire for imitation imitation does not bring salvation. As with other religions feature the gospel says no salvation produces a desire for imitation as beloved children of God, not in order to become children of God, but because you are children of God imitate him in every situation.

Ask how does God feel about this.

How does he feel about the show that I watch people about this joke that I'm telling are laughing at how you feel about this. I was evil about this relationship people about this attitude, this activity does God enjoy this reasonable one. We act righteously is as beloved children we imitate, beloved, our daddy loves number two verse two. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Number two. We live lives of love and sacrifice for others because that's what Jesus did for us. We live lives of love and sacrifice for others because that's what Jesus did for us.

It is a response we get so overwhelmed beloved Jesus showed CRS that would begin to act that way toward others. You see when you study the Gospels. You see how love burst through every part of Jesus life. You see it when he's talking with the woman who was caught in the act of adultery and rather than joining in her rightful humiliation, rather than joining in her condemnation. He looks at her and talk to her father would to a daughter. This is neither do I condemn you go and sin no more. He looked at her with love, even though she was guilty because that's what he felt for you see it coming through when he weeps with Mary and Martha at the tomb of Lazarus because he feels their pain. You see it coming through in the garden of Gethsemane when he wept for us when the horrors and the hell of Gethsemane were pressing in on us and when he subjected himself to Roman whips to be torn apart and when he let Roman males tear through his skin and put him on the cross.

It was love that was bursting through and when you see that when you are encountering that in the pages of the gospel. What you are put face to face with his tender love and we responded. Most of this is really big around our church. We say this all the time. If you have been changed by Jesus, you will show its by forgiving others by loving others by being generous to others by serving others by serving our city by meeting the needs of the people around you and if you do not do that means you have not been changed by the love of Jesus in some places where you and I grew up, we were taught that being changed by Jesus met you got a haircut, quit listening to rock music you much Terminator two.

I maybe some other things are arriving submitted but but what I'm saying is that's not the sign that the gospel is change what the side of the gospel is is that you begin to love others deeds of great mercy acts of sacrifice and forgiveness and love and generosity for the people around you is the inevitable side but you have encountered the grace of God. It is a response one more thing and report on missile verse is this a great image living this way is a sweet fragrance to God and if you love God you want to be that way to get there is nothing worse than encountering a foul odor would you agree writing your day can be ruined by sitting next to somebody on a plane or maybe here this church who has a Fowler. Maybe they're closing this.

You didn't drive them right to get that sour smell and every time a shift in their see Chuck Mitchell Wentz you get mixed with close talker who's got bad breath that ever happened. Persecution system talking is close to your face and just on the other hand, there's there's there's nothing better than a sweet fragrance that reminds you for example I cut your boss while encounter some fragrance that reminds me of my mother making cookies when I was five years old and I get taken back into my childhood. By this by this. This fragrance is nothing sweeter than that. He saying this kind of life is a fragrance to God. Verse three but sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let's talk about that were proper for a second proper here means that it doesn't go along with it, doesn't fit sexual immorality and covetousness.

He says do not fit with the character of God. So there's reason number three. Christians do righteousness.

Here's your third reason we do righteousness because living in purely does not fit with those who love and are loved by a holy God. We do righteousness, because impurity does not fit with those you love and are loved by holy God also to those two things mentioned in those verses sexual immorality and covetousness, and let's ask why don't they fit with somebody who loves and is loved by holy God said you wanted to type sexual immorality. Sex is not supposed to be selfish and it is not supposed to be self-serving and where you do it just because it meets a need or it fulfills a desire in your life is being done selfishly, sex is supposed to be oneness of your bodies that is accompanied by oneness in every other area was not all in all PG-13 on your good graphic, but when you are in the midst of sex your bodies literally have become one.

You're very open your very vulnerable. Your bodies literally interlocked. You become one person physically, that is to be matched that physical oneness by oneness in every other area is to be matched by oneness emotionally oneness spiritually. Oneness financially where you have become part of that other person completely for life. When you have sex outside of marriage you are taking physical oneness from them without giving them the rest of yourself and it's unbelievably selfish because your body is telling the one thing your body is saying yours. But that's not really true because you are not really joining the rest of you to them like, oh, but I do.

I love them and that's why were habits that will marry them. And if you love them and become one for life. You are not both know that when you're having sex outside of marriage, and you're not married, you can walk away at any point.

Sex is a powerful gift from God in the right context. It is a wonderful loving blessing, but out of that context it is selfish and it is destructive. Maybe analogy always use. Here's is it what is Ashley do you want fire in your house.

If you're smart, the answer is it depends on what you want to put it fire in the fireplace is awesome.

It's a nice you accident your house fire. The sofa not so good sets in the right context is loving and it's wonderful out of that context, it is destructive river few years ago I did this numerous and I got tongue-tied and I said sex and the fireplace is awesome.

Not talking about that okay fire in the fireplace is a metaphor okay for sex place pulses. Sexual immorality should not even be named among you, because selfish sex does not fit with a holy, loving, sacrificial give myself completely to others. God when you having sexual relations. When you are enjoying sex with somebody outside of the confines of marriage.

It is by definition selfish. I know that takes a much you off. I don't care because that's exactly what it says sexual immorality when it is not accompanied by oneness in every other area is say I will take this from you to you the rest of myself overlooking the rest myself. We will have you married by the end of the week. A promise you I will be decay equipment Bibles get married here right now just should not be named among you, it should not be practice fantasize about long for even named a love of the NIV translates this verse it says there should not even be a hint of immorality. Not even a hint. What is that mean not even a hint means we don't flirt with it. The question I get from teenagers Christian teenagers Christian colleges all the time is what how far is too far from the baseball diamond only basis cannot go around before I start sending where we go file that very question. For some people betray things that they don't get the point you not try to see how close you can get to impurity without falling into it. The point is to be as pure as possible. I understand that if you're in a relationship that is headed toward marriage that the occasional show of affection is not inappropriate, but there is a difference in you know exactly what I'm talking about those that you don't. I'm saying that you should not be lighting a rocket. You do not intend to launch okay. You should not you should not be writing checks with your lips that you don't intend the cash for your body you want more Misty goes north on the solemn series we get to this in unbelievable detail. Okay, so you will not even have a jewel floor with not even a hint means we don't fill our minds with it and call it entertainment. I like this verse is anything a lot this week about my own viewing habits when I watch and want to listen to on time to get into this too deeply but I'm discussing many of us really to think about what we watch and what we view and I begin starts with me looking you know II know I realize it is impossible for us to live in this world and not come into contact with things are simple.

I realize that Paul is not saying that you isolate yourself in the world that you are completely and totally removed from everything.

But also know that some of you the shows and the movies that you watch and the books you read are so filled and dominated by sexual humor about sexual themes that your mind is saturated with every night before you go to bed. It is become a part of you and it is a hit of immorality from these items are subtle of a hand to fill your mind when you're by the time the average to graduate from high school. The average kid. By the time to graduate high school have seen no less than 14,000 depictions of and references to illicit sex on television. Not even a hint means you should not even have it in your mind, not even a hint means you don't talk about inch joke about improper sense verse 4B, no filthiness or foolish talk of crude joking which are out of place, but instead, there ought to be Thanksgiving just really nice for others because Jesus did for this is a challenging message today on Senate light. If you happen to join us great or if you'd like to catch up on previous messages in our study of Ephesians. You can find them online@jeanniegreer.com and for those who are more visual learners like myself much of our teaching is available on the video format as well as having the option to download the complete, unedited message transcripts for further study. We love making all these resources available free of charge because we want people everywhere to be able to dive deeper into the gospel without cost. Getting in the way when you donate to support Senate life.

You are making that happen. We are so grateful for your partnership and to express our thanks will send you a copy of the matching study guide that goes with our current teaching, mystery and clarity. The book of Ephesians will hold up the mystery and the majesty of the gospel to show us that even though God lives to blow our minds. He also loves for us to see him to know him and to feel his presence daily in our lives because if there's one thing that we all need is greater clarity into the mystery of God's live we'd love to get you a copy of this work, but today you're welcome to request mystery and clarity.

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